The holidays are approaching — time to brush up on manners with a special pre-holiday “Tea with Mrs. B” this Sunday, November 11, at The Fairfax at Embassy Row. In this two-hour event, Mrs. B will offer holiday etiquette advice, while The Fairfax’s Chef Ferrier will share healthy holiday eating suggestions. There will be a full kid-friendly tea service and even a photographer on hand for family photos while everyone is dressed in their fancy tea attire.

We had such a fun time at a “Tea with Mrs. B” event at the Morrison House in Old Town Alexandria last year. If you can’t make it to Sunday’s event, the Morrison will also host holiday story time teas on November 17 (Thanksgiving) and December 15 (Christmas/Hanukkah). Visit Mrs. B’s website for additional details.

Holiday Etiquette and Tea Party for the Entire Family
with Mrs. B
Sunday, November 11, 2012
1:00-3:00pm
Fairfax at Embassy Row
2100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Adults: $49 per person; Children: $29 per person
Purchase tickets online here or call 202-736-1459.

A cold and steady drizzle didn’t deter the foodie tots from seeking out more delicious eats around town this weekend. This time, it was the Summer Picnic Spectacular at the coming-soon Union Market in Northeast DC.

We love this project, from development firm EDENS, for many reasons. Modeled after foodie meccas like the San Francisco Ferry Building, it’s bringing retail back to one of the earliest market sites in Washington. It’s gathering some of our favorite local producers and brands (Trickling Springs Creamery, Rappahannock River Oysters, Peregrine Espresso, to name a few) in one beautiful location. It will have a cheese shop. And on this wet weekend, it provided good eats, drinks and fun for the whole family. And it warmed this mama’s heart to see so many other foodie tots in attendance. It’s truly a delicious time to be a kid or an adult in Washington.

Click the slide show to see the foodie tots favorites, including fried pickles, corn salad, churros, ice cream worthy of a salute, and more.

Free picture slideshow generated with Smilebox

Union Market opens September 8.
1309 5th Street NE
Washington, DC
www.unionmarketdc.com

Disclaimer: Headline is a shameless rip-off of nod to the Washington City Paper’s Young & Hungry blog. Give me a call if you want to branch out to the younger and hungrier audience.

Happy Friday! We’ve nibbled and noshed our way through the first month of our summer break with no slowing down in sight. Here are just a few things I’ve been meaning to tell you about… and remember, the Ball jar giveaway ends tonight so go comment, quick!

EAT: Ever find yourself in a rut at snack time or when packing camp or school lunches? Enter NatureBox — a monthly subscription service of healthy snacks. I don’t know about your kids, but my oldest is definitely at the point where I can offer something and have him turn up his nose. When someone else offers it, it’s suddenly magical. And if it comes in a “treasure box” in the mail? Jackpot! Our sample box contained firecrackers (sweet chili flavored), dried cherries, Sunshine vegetable chips (in yellow, green, orange and purple!), nutty granola and honey fig bars. We loved the carrot and taro in the Sunshine chips in particular. My son wondered, “Why would someone give a kid a firecracker to eat?” But then ate them, all. At $19.95 a box, which contains 4-6 different snacks, it’s pretty in line with the high-end snacks at Whole Foods. They share the same criteria we do: no HFCS or artificial sweeteners, colors or flavors. Visit their website to learn more. If you’d like to try it out, the promo code HEALTHY may be used for 25% off your first month of subscription (if choosing month-to-month — 6-month subscriptions receive 1 month free and 12-month subscriptions receive 3 months free).

PLAY: Within the first ten days of summer vacation we made one round-trip drive to New York and promptly followed that with an unplanned road trip to North Carolina (after the crazy DC storms knocked out our power during a 100-degree heat wave). So new iPhone games were definitely deployed to help keep the kids happy on the road. And a new offering from PBS Kids was right up our alley: DW’s Unicorn Adventure. In the game, Arthur’s little sister D.W. must find healthy foods to fuel up (the rainbow of fruits and vegetables), while avoiding bad foods that zap your energy (soda, doughnuts and chips). Yes, it’s a bit simplistic, but I have to admit to smiling when I hear my 5-year-old exclaim, “Oh no, a doughnut!” And while it’s just challenging enough to keep him interested, my two-year-old finds it easy enough to play around with, too.

GO: There are *so* many food festivals and parties this summer in DC. Tomorrow, the Think Local First folks cap off their Eat Local First week with a Farm-to-Street Block Party, 1:00-7:00pm on V Street NW between 13th and 14th. The foodie tots enjoyed the event last year (especially the blueberry lemonade from Busboys and Poets); those 21 or over will enjoy the beer garden featuring local brews from DC Brau, Chocolate City and 3 Stars Brewery. Visit the website for details, or just purchase tickets at the event ($15 includes food tickets; kids enter free).

Disclaimer: I received a sample NatureBox and a free download of the DW game for review purposes. No other compensation was received. All opinions, as always, are my own and/or that of the foodie tots.

Farm two in our FRESHFARM Markets Week is Toigo Orchards of Shippensburg, Pa. Of all our local market vendors, Toigo is probably most likely to be a household name. Not only do they appear at a dozen markets around town, their produce is on the menu at Clyde’s and other restaurants and you can find their applesauce, pear butter and bloody mary mix — even fresh produce, in season — at local MOMs and Whole Foods grocery stores.

I first met Mark Toigo at a Slow Food DC dinner in 2008, but the Toigo family has been farming at Toigo since 1972. They practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which emphasizes natural and eco-friendly pest prevention. With over 21,000 apple trees (450 acres of fruit), they offer plenty of variety each fall and my foodie tots have always enjoyed their generous samples at market as they select their apples each week.

In addition to the apples, peaches and tomatoes Toigo is known and loved for, you can also find extra special items like quince and chestnuts, in season. And cherries, stone fruit, pears, the cutest pickling cucumbers, honey and more.

Try our peach tomato panzanella with some of Toigo’s fresh fruit this summer — you won’t be disappointed. Or, try Clyde’s Peach Cobbler with Cornmeal Biscuit Topping or Emeril’s Roasted Toigo Pears with Honey and Goat Cheese.

Find Toigo Orchards at FRESHFARM markets at Crystal City, Dupont Circle, Penn Quarter, and the White House, and the Del Ray, Arlington, Falls Church, Glover Park, Reston, Bethesda Central, Columbia Pike or Takoma Park farmers markets.

The younger foodie tot and I stopped by the H Street NE FreshFarm Market last weekend to finally scope out one of the few markets on the east side of town. At a new location this season (on 13th at H St., NE) , it’s a great little neighborhood market with some well-known vendors (Atwater’s Bakery, Quaker Valley Orchard and Keswick Creamery) as well as ones I’d yet to shop with. And, the fabulous new Gordy’s Pickle Jar was there as well. Made in the District, their Sweet Chips have already won an award at the International Pickle Festival (yes, there really is such a thing) — and, won over a new fan in the foodie tot as well. (I loved their Thai Basil Jalapeños and will be back for a jar of them next.)

The balloon artist was there as part of the Food Revolution Day festivities (we unfortunately missed the cooking demo) — while our ladybug was adorable, the little girl ahead of us took home a ballerina in a pink tutu modeled after herself. So cute!

I don’t think I have to tell you that asparagus and strawberries are the stars of the season at market right now. We also found beautiful red rhubarb as tall as the toddler and delicious Red Russian Kale. And for all your upcoming pie needs, Cedarbrook Farm sells lard. If you live on the Hill, or are just looking for a more mellow (and kid-friendly) market experience than Dupont Circle in the summer, give H Street a try.

(And after, stop by SOVA for an Intelligentsia coffee treat for mom and dad. The front window seat is perfect for toddler people watching.)

H Street NE FreshFarm Market
at 13th St. & H St., NE
Saturdays, April 21 – November 17
9am – 12noon