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Nov 14
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It’s Not All About the Turkey—Brown Bag’s Guide to Thanksgiving in the DC Area

By BBBlog

There are plenty of things to do in DC before and after your Thanksgiving feast is kaput, so get off your tired, turkey behind and get out there!

If you’re a runner—or a walker—consider signing up for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot for Hunger, sponsored by SOME (So Others Might Eat). You’ll be doing something great for others, setting a good example for yourself and your family (esp. the kiddies!), and working up an appetite for The Big Meal later in the day. If you’re looking at this and thinking, “All I really want to do on Thanksgiving Day is lie around, watch football and wait for the timer to ding on my turkey,” think about the multitudes of people out there who may not even have a hot meal, much less a kitchen-wide spread just waiting for them. Get up. Get out. Help. There’s a 5K run/walk starting at 9 AM, and a Little Turkey One-Mile Fun Run beginning at 8:30 AM.

How about volunteering with Food and Friends? They have a whole list of things that they need help with! Take your pick: volunteer for Slice of Life and help out at a pie pick-up location Tuesday, November 20th; deliver Turkey Boxes from November 19th through the 21st; or help with food preparation and holiday meal delivery on Thanksgiving Day (or earlier in the week). Food and Friends is a very cool organization. If you’re not familiar with them, go to their website and learn more about what they do. In a nutshell, they serve men, women and children of all ages living with HIV/AIDS, all types of cancer, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and more. Often, Food and Friends is the only support these individuals receive. People all over need help, but maybe this Thanksgiving, you can start with your neighbors in DC, Maryland and Virginia.

We’re all busy this year and every year, so if you’re short on time (and energy), consider donating to one of these very worthy organizations:

Bringing in the Birds with Bucks: This year, the Capital Area Food Bank is looking to provide meals for almost 4000 seniors in the DC area. That’s a lot of seniors that need help—and you can give it to them.

Bread For the City: Let them eat turkey, we say! This great group is looking to provide turkey and trimmings to 9000 hungry families in the DC area this Thanksgiving. Each meal costs approximately $29. Can you feed a family?

The Salvation Army: Every year (all year), The Salvation Army helps families. You see them out ringing their bells, asking for change and advocating for people in need. Consider helping them do what they do best. Donate or start your own Red Kettle Campaign.

The American Red Cross: Today and every day, consider donating to the American Red Cross. People in New York and New Jersey are still reeling from the impacts of Hurrican Sandy and desperately need your help and generosity right now. The work that The American Red Cross does in times of natural disasters is beyond inspiring–it is, quite literally, life-saving. Remember this organization this holiday season and consider donating your time as well as your money.

And after you’ve done your part, given of yourself—what then? DC’s got lots in store for you! If you’re looking for a little parade action, look no farther! Check out The Silver Spring’s (Ellsworth Dr, Silver Springs, MD) pre-Thanksgiving Day parade on Saturday, November 19th at 10 AM. The day after Thanksgiving (November 25th), you can have a little storybook magic on your Black Friday shopping spree. Reston Town Center in Reston, VA is hosting their annual Storybook Magic Parade beginning at 11 AM. There will be lots of costumes, over 70 performers, music and smiles galore! Check it out!

Another time-honored DC turkey tradition? The presidential turkey pardon! Presidents have been presented with Thanksgiving turkeys since the days of Lincoln, but it was only with President George H.W. Bush in 1989 that a turkey was officially pardoned. Since 2005, these lucky birds have been flown to Disneyland to serve as the grand marshal of their annual Thanksgiving Day parade. After their service at the parade, they live the rest of their charmed lives in Frontier Land. That’s a lucky bird—they don’t call it “The Happiest Place on Earth” for nothing.

Whatever you do this Thanksgiving, The Brown Bag wishes you well. We hope you are surrounded by love and gratitude and that you’ll consider giving that love to the world around you. Enjoy your families, your fun, and of course, your food. We’ll be here when you get back—waiting to serve you all your healthy, honest favorites to get you through the holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 09
Love0

Cater Me This, Brown Bag

By BBBlog

So, you’re in charge of the office holiday party and you’re already a very busy bee. Can’t you call somebody to take care of the details and just give them a few approvals? Actually, yes you can. You can call The Brown Bag!

Maybe you already knew that The Brown Bag caters, but did you know this: The Brown Bag offers full-service catering. That’s right—we said it–full-service. This means that you can sit back, relax and get on with your life while someone else, namely the lovely Catering and Event Manager for The Brown Bag, Deedra Moore, plans a bash you won’t soon forget.

Deedra does it all. Need linens? No problem. China and glasses? Handled. Lovely floral arrangements, perhaps? Deedra can take care of that. Don’t have time to set everything up? We do! How about some friendly staff to help out during the event? Check! And really, what’s a party without entertainment? Deedra’s on that—she’ll find just the thing you’re looking for to keep your party hopping!

Mainly, the Brown Bag handles corporate events. If you know us well, you know that we’re a daytime business. We are breakfast and lunch specialists, so we are more than ready for your holiday office bashes, luncheons, breakfasts, etc. We’re well versed in event planning, too—we’ve been at this for a while and we’re filling up fast for the holidays this year. Say you’ve got a large office and you’re wondering if we can handle the truth of your 500 to 600 crazy office mates. Absolutely! Go big or go home, right? During the rest of the year, the events that we cater average less than a hundred people, but that number jumps up to around 250 (average) during the holidays, and we’re on top of it. We have staff lined up and ready to go (and Deedra can multi-task like no one you’ve ever seen!)! And just in case you’re wondering about the range of our events—we regularly cater fire drills. That’s right—fire drills. At our Brown Bag headquarters, we get the call and we get to work. After our building mates have stood outside freezing, sweating, getting wet, whatever—they come back in to a little buffet of snacks. Kind of makes you want a daily fire drill, huh? Office parties, corporate events and fire drills—we can handle whatever you throw at us.

We all know food is at the heart of any great party, and The Brown Bag has lined up a holiday catering menu that deserves a bow on top–our gift to you. Check out our Holiday Catering Menu here, and if you’re not hungry when you’ve finished reading it, we’re wondering if you’re feeling well? Have a fever, maybe? If you can’t find something on this holiday menu that makes you drool, check out our regular catering menu (or our Tailgate Specials). We’ve got something for everyone: seafood, chicken, steak, ham, Greek and Mediterranean specialties, a little something from the South, bagels and latkes, vegetarian and gluten-free options, cheese, desserts, beverages and the list goes on! So, call us. You tell us how many, we’ll help you choose the food and then you can stop thinking about it—we’ll do the rest. You can show up and revel in the glory of a well-planned event. We don’t mind. We love to make you look good.

We’re booking up fast for the holidays, so give Deedra a call at (202)408-2824, or send her an email at dmoore@brownbagonline.com. She’s ready and waiting to take a load off your shoulders and make your event shine.

Nov 01
Love0

Call Me Sasquatch

By BBBlog

What do you know about your carbon footprint? What is a carbon footprint? According to Carbon Earth ( http://www.carbonearth.co.uk/carbon-footprint-facts.htm). Your carbon footprint is a measure of how your home and social activities impact the earth/environment in relation to the greenhouse gases you produce each year (measured in tons of carbon dioxide). Do you know how you measure up? Neither did I until I used this handy-dandy footprint calculator. http://www.carbonearth.co.uk/CarbonEmission.asp#Your_personal_carbon_footprint_calculator. I’m not exactly Sasquatch in relation to my fellow Americans, but in terms of the rest of the world, I’m the Abominable Snowman. And so are you. The only bright spot: While the average American’s carbon footprint is still much larger than China’s average citizen, China did surpass the US in total carbon emissions by about 80 percent in 2011. Clearly, there’s some tarnish on that silver lining, but we’re grasping at positive straws here.

So, what to do? It’s a big world and you’re only one person, right? Yes, but we would argue that change starts with one person. It’s the whole pebble-in-the-water/ripple-effect thing. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint today—right now—where should you start? If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a million times, start with buying local and buying organic. If you bought it from the farmer right outside of town instead of flying it in from Peru, think about all the gas you’d save. And that’s just the beginning of the benefits! Just for the record, we would like to add “eat seasonal” to this rule, as well. It only makes sense.

What else? Keep the packaging to a minimum. Try to frequent stores that keep their packaging scarce, like offering loose tomatoes instead of ones wrapped in plastic. In general, regarding resources, choose plastic over paper, but the best choice is reusable shopping bags. Bring them yourself. You don’t have to worry so much about the packaging at Brown Bag because we did it for you. We use plant-based, petroleum-free packaging that is biodegradable and compostable. We buy post-consumer products and choose recycled products whenever possible, too. We enjoy doing our part.

Here’s something you can do right now that’s super-easy: Unplug electronics that you don’t use all that often and/or aren’t in use. Did you know that LCD TVs use about 43 percent more electricity than old-style picture-tube sets? Electronics, even in standby mode, continue to draw energy. Unplug it when you’re not watching! Easier still—use a power strip and flick everything off at once. Done! How about reduce/reuse/recycle? Still a great way to shrink that footprint!

Try holding onto your old car if it’s in good working order. Yes, hybrids are great and we’re grateful to have them, but if you don’t need a new car yet, don’t buy one. It takes a lot of energy to build a hybrid (or any car, for that matter). Speaking of transportation, why not try the bus, train or subway? Or schedule your flights into non-stop trips whenever possible. Do you really want to stop in Chicago on your way from New York to Miami? We think not. You’ll get to the beach faster and save some fuel if you just go direct. Think about paying a few dollars more to do your part.

Other easy ways to shrink your big foot are: bundle your errands, turn your water heater to vacation mode (or turn it off!) while you’re away, use native plants in your landscaping, use cold water for laundry, and ditch your bottled water! Try filtering your water at home and using a refillable water bottle instead.

You have more power than you think, Sasquatch. Power to create problems and power to fix them them. Try the carbon footprint calculator, think about your life and some easy ways you could change it daily. Here’s an easy way to start—come to The Brown Bag for breakfast and lunch where we’ve put a lot of thought into what we can do every day to trim our carbon footprint. Your one simple decision pays it forward and multiplies. Wasn’t that easy?

Oct 23
Love0

Better Than It Sounds: Pumpkin Gut Soup Stock

By BBBlog

You’ve found your pumpkin, scooped it out, carved it up and put a light in it. You have a pile of what can best be described as “pumpkin guts” leftover. What to do? Seems like a shame to waste all of that pumpkin, right? This year’s goal?  Use the whole pumpkin. The entire thing. No waste. But what to do?

Let’s pretend you’ve already carved your jack-o-lantern and start with the guts. Our favorite way to enjoy at least part of the guts? Roast the seeds! Here’s how: Separate all of the seeds from the slimy, stringy stuff. When you’ve got them all in their separate piles, you can rinse the seeds and get any excess pumpkin off of them or you can leave it there—your decision. Next step—get ready to roast! It used to be that people just took the seeds, spread them out in a single layer and let them dry for a day or so. These days, we don’t have to wait. So, take 2 cups of your pumpkin seeds and toss them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of melted butter or olive oil (we recommend the olive oil—you’re eating seeds, so keep it healthy!), and a teaspoon of salt. Put them on a baking sheet, spread them out into a single layer and roast them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Stir the seeds around every ten minutes so they roast evenly.

That’s our simplest recipe. Want to add a little spice? One way is to stick to the above recipe but also add ½ teaspoon of cumin and one teaspoon of cayenne pepper. How about a little spicy and sweet combo? Try this: Whisk together one egg white, ¼ cup natural can sugar, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a ½ teaspoon of fine-grained sea salt, then add your pumpkin seeds and toss them around a bit. Put it all in a strainer and get rid of the excess egg white, then spread the seeds in a thin layer on your baking sheet and roast at 375 for about 12 minutes or until the seeds are golden. When you take them out of the oven, sprinkle with a little more sugar and cayenne, and season with more salt if you need to. For more recipes, try this link: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001524.html

Now that the seeds are taken care of, on to the rest of the guts! What you’ve got left after the seeds have been removed is basically strings and slime, as we mentioned before. Make sure that there’s no pumpkin rind mixed in with your goo. Take all of the sliminess and put it into a food processor and process until it looks and feels like baby food. It might be a little watery and yucky looking, but trust us—this is way better than canned. Your pumpkin pie never had it so good! At this point, it’s ready to use in breads, pies, etc. Two cups (or 16 oz) is equal to one can of pumpkin.

We promised Pumpkin Gut Soup Stock, didn’t we? If you want soup stock, don’t put your pumpkin guts in the food processor. Put all of your pumpkin goop (with or without seeds) in a stock pot full of water. Feel free to throw in any other veggie parts you may have around that you were going to toss out, like carrot and celery tops—they’ll add flavor. Boil this little witch’s brew for 30 minutes or so (or until it starts to change color), then strain all the veggie pieces out and—voila!—Pumpkin Gut Soup Stock! Use it in soups, casseroles or whatever. It freezes well, too!

Want a few more ways to get the most out of this year’s jack-o-lantern? Try these tips:

  1. Make a healthy facial mask. Take your pureed pumpkin (about 5 teaspoons) and add 3 teaspoons of brown sugar and a splash of milk. Mix it up, slather it on in a nice circular motion (exfoliation tip), and sit back for 20 minutes or so. Stay away from the eye area and beware: This concoction smells good, so be prepared for a slice of pumpkin pie after to satisfy your sure-fire craving.
  2. If pumpkin isn’t your thing, give it to someone who likes it—feed it to your backyard critters! Birds will love the seeds, and you can cut the pumpkin into fourths for the deer to munch.
  3. Make a pumpkin planter. After you’ve de-gutted your pumpkin, fill it with dirt, plant a flower of your choice, and let it decorate your front porch for a few days. When you’re finished, plant the entire pumpkin in the ground—the pumpkin will naturally decay and serve as fertilizer for the plant.
  4. Make pumpkin bowls for serving soup (remember that soup stock?).
  5. Compost! When your jack-o-lantern, pumpkin bowls, etc are kaput, throw that pumpkin in the compost bin or straight into the garden. It will naturally decay and you can till it into the soil in the spring. Happy summer veggies!

As if all of these things weren’t reason enough to use every part of your pumpkin this year, consider this:  Pumpkin is really good for you. Pumpkin is a low calorie vegetable that packs an antioxidant punch! It has loads of vitamin A, and flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as leutin, xanthin, and carotenes. Carve away, eat up, enrich the soil, help your skin! We don’t care just how you use all that your jack-o-lantern has to offer—just use it all!

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