Pineapples & the mysterious "Alice in Wonderland-style" pineberry

Yesterday an oddly-shaped box was waiting at our door - it had the same colors of the packaging we receive every month when our fruit of the month from Harry & David - a lovely gift from Jackie when we moved into our new space - arrives.  So far we've received packages of 4-6 pears, apples, oranges, grapefruit, peaches, always in a shoebox-shaped packaged.  But this one was huge. 
We tore it open and there it was -- a glorious PINEAPPLE!

Its flamboyant green leaves poked out of the delicate yet sturdy packaging.  The last time we actually had a whole pineapple in the kitchen was  ten, maybe 15 years ago.  Its not that the enormous fruit (technically multiple fruit merged together, and perceived as one) isn't delicious - but we've always shyed away at the store.  The pineapple afterall is a huge commitment -- too much fruit for a few people & requiring a serious knife to to cut open.

Photos of the pineberry solution after the jump.

Partying at the Inner Cirlcle with descendants of Transfatsylvania

upintheair
Originally uploaded by nycmayorsoffice

Last weekend, the healthiness of  food in New York City was on stage so to speak as Mayor Mike Bloomberg was portrayed as  a descendant of a line of vampires from "Transfatsylvania."

It was all happening at the Inner Circle Show - a tradition that began in 1923 of journalists roasting New York City mayors and other influencers via multi-act musical theatre satire.  When our dear friend @francarpentier brought us to the dress rehearsal (and hooked up seats in the first two rows smack in the middle!), she described how in 2007, the show famously moved  then Mayor Rudy Guliani to dress in drag.

This year, songs poked fun at Mayor B's ban on transfat and his more recent efforts aimed at reducing our salt intake.  We were crying from laughter as an elegant Melissa Russo (co-anchor of WNBC's Saturday evening show) dressed in a white sequence ball gown and a salt shaker cap strapped on her head, alongside Andrew Siff (WNBC-TV reporter) as Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty, sang about wanting to eat what they want and argued that salt was necessary to keep the snow off the streets.

Tina's Cuban Cuisine: Good for the wallet, the body and the soul

While New York may be the most international city when it comes to the number of foreign-born people who share the space,  when it comes to eating, the melting pot phenomenon has made authentic international cuisine sometimes hard to find.  A little gem in an unlikely neighborhood - one block from the Empire State Building - with wholesome and fresh ingredients cooked up with incredible flavor and served in an impeccably clean establishment by warm staff is Tina's Cuban Cuisine on Madison between 33rd and 34th St.  The portions are so enormous, you can share a $9 entree with a friend - or save half for the next day.

Celebrating St. Patty's with a Green Resolution

Living and working in Manhattan is tremendous and relentless. With the excitement of the city that never sleeps are eight million of us crowded together in pollution and among rodents. Because the daily commute through midtown alone sometimes comes at the expense of our sanity, we city gals sustain ourselves with small luxuries. And in this economy, that often means the really small luxuries that make a real difference.   So does opting for the extra .15 cents per pound for the organic bananas make the cut as an effective therapy for the daily grind?

A new book by Rodale Inc. CEO and Chairanm Maria Rodale argues YES. In the book, Rodale concludes that although organic food is often more expensive than conventional food, it pays in the form of reducing weight gain, hormone imbalance and even infertility.

Whether it's fact or fiction, we think any delicious and wholesome treat that might nourish our bodies and souls is woth a shot.  While we aren’t giving up on deli salads or brunches at our favorite bistros, on this St. Patrick’s Day we’re making an oath to eat at least one organic green a week. Men’s Health has some great ideas that make it easy to do.

Dollars for diakon radish, dandilion and dates

Ever since we've been reading about a study that paid moms to buy healthy food, we've been amusing ourselves by coming up with appropriate healthy snack alliterations to add to bucks for broccoli, cash for carrots.   We want to hear yours in the comments! 
The study found moms just spent the extra dough on sugary snacks.  Which really makes us wonder -- did they ever try coupling the discounted dates with a nice easy recipe?