pantry advice from mark bittman

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A great article from Mark Bittman via the New York Times...it starts, "Perhaps, like me, you have this romantic notion of shopping daily- maybe even a mental vision of yourself making the rounds, wicker basket in hand, of your little Shropshire or Provencal or Tuscan village. The reality, of course, is that few of us provision our kitchens or cook exclusively with ultra-fresh ingredients, especially in winter, when there are simply no ultra fresh ingredients. But if your goal is to cook and cook quickly, to get a satisfying and enjoyable variety of real food on the table as often as possible, a well-stocked pantry and fridge can sustain you."

garbage truck party!

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Sometimes my scattered brain does not file things away as it should. Today I just remembered that I never posted this super cute garbage truck party! What a fun theme for a 2 year-old (or any age, really).

From Lucy: "Liam really wanted a garbage truck cake and theme (he's obsessed with them) and yet I really wanted to be stylish and semi-eco, too. Nathalie (of the apple party) was one of my inspirations. Like you, I was horrified at making the cake from scratch- especially a three-tiered one, but everyone was too in awe of the flashing lights to notice the actual cake (wires were hidden in between the cake segments and a battery pack was in the back)." 

Thank you, Lucy! More details on the party and the 'eco' aspects here.

As always, I love sharing the parties you creative lovelies have come up with. Send your photos to me at: hickspapergoods(at)yahoo.com.