When I walk through the mall looking for gifts I can't help but cringe at all of the junk I see. Giant plastic remotes, magic eight balls, and other wasteful plastic toys – half of which no one actually uses and in due time relocate to the landfills. Call me a Grinch but to me the holidays translate to an onslaught of waste. Between Thanksgiving day and New Years Day, Americans generate 25 percent more waste than usual. That is an extra 1.2 million tons per week (6 million tons total). That's why I'm going to offer to you a list of ideas to cut back on waste. If only one person reduces their …
Thanks to some great submissions from Fair Lawn businesses and residents last year, Patch has compiled a wide variety of local recipes for the holiday season. Bon Appetit! ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO WITH BACON, CHESTNUTS AND PARMESAN By Cooking In Your Kitchen and Catering For the Risotto 12oz Arborio rice 2ea Shallots, minced 2oz Butter 1oz Extra virgin olive oil 3 Thyme sprigs 4oz White wine 36oz Chicken stock 4oz Grated parmesan cheese 2T Mascarpone cheese For the Garnish 1 Butternut Squash, large and iced 2oz Brown sugar 2T Extra virgin olive oil 1 Sage branch 8oz Chestnuts, …
Happy New Year! Now that 2010 has passed, it's time to look forward to what you can accomplish in 2011. The traditional way to do this is to adopt a "New Year's Resolution," and if you aren't too shy, we'd like you to share your resolutions with Patch. Post your personal goals for 2011—or better yet, your communal goals—in the comments field below, or email them to Editor Jacob Kamaras at jacob.kamaras@patch.com. Wishing you a happy, healthy and safe New Year.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is charged with keeping the United States and Canada safe from dangers originating from the sky or space. Tonight, however, the Colorado-based government agency adds one more important task to its daily list of duties. The agency will again provide its Official Santa Tracker that marks The Big Man's every move as he makes his way throughout both hemispheres. Included on the site is a countdown and activity page and a flight tracking system. Kids and adults alike can enjoy this entertaining site that will have sugar plums dancing through …
The first hint of winter snows to come didn't quite take me by surprise recently. I had heard that flurries were predicted on the weather channel. Still, spotting snowflakes fluttering here and there in feisty gusts of wind created a feeling of excitement that made me think of holiday parties, cups of piping hot chocolate, shiny-colored paper decorations and all things that glitter. It was the end of Hanukkah and I was feeling more Christmas-y than Hanukkah-ish. I have to blame my Rhode Island-born Jewish mother for the magical pull that Christmas has on me. When I was a child of 6 or 7, …
If you need a break from shopping and cooking—and wish to opt for a more spiritual holiday season—below is a list of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Sunday church services in Fair Lawn: Fair Lawn Bible Church, at the corner of 11th Street and Hopper Avenue, will hold a 7 p.m. Candlelight Service in the sanctuary Friday night for a message entitled, "The Birthday of the King." Pastor Marc McGrath said, "Christians means the 'presence' of God on earth in the person of Jesus. When Jesus came, God truly came to be 'present' among us. As John tells us, 'The Word became flesh and made his …
Every year around this time people dust off their plastic mistletoe balls and hang them in doorways in the hopes of soliciting a smooch. I remember many holiday parties in which the mistletoe was the source of much squealing and giggling as couples kissed under the green boughs. It never occurred to me to wonder what mistletoe is and why it is a symbol of Christmas. In fact, I'm not even sure I knew it was a real plant considering the only mistletoe I've ever seen has been constructed of waxy plastic with dusty ribbons and berries with seams. American mistletoe (Phoradendron) is one of 2 …
Christmas is almost here, which means it's time to review Fair Lawn Fire Marshal Jay Bender's safety tips for the holidays. In separate interviews with Patch, Bender warned against carbon monoxide accidents caused by fireplaces and fires resulting from the placement of candles on Christmas trees. If a fireplace isn't properly maintained, Bender said, a carbon monoxide (CO) fatality could be the devestating result. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "In the U.S. each year, nearly 500 die while as many as 20,000 visit emergency rooms for exposure." "The sad thing …
Still haven't purchased all of your Christmas gifts? There are plenty of high-tech stocking stuffers you can find in Fair Lawn, at stores like Air Voice, Radio Shack, AT&T, Technology Link, and The Gamer's Gambit, among others. Patch videographer Joe Appio sampled the gadgets at Air Voice on Fair Lawn Avenue. Also, please take a few minutes to visit our exhaustively assembled shopping directory.
Why seek big city excitement—and the crowds and stop-and-go traffic that come with it—when you can spend the last few hours of 2010 and ring in the initial hours of 2011 at a popular Fair Lawn eatery? Here's a guide to local New Year's Eve celebrations that won't disappoint: The Fair Lawn Athletic Club (14-19 Parmelee Avenue) will feature music from the 1950s until today and, for $75 per person, guests can enjoy a dinner buffet of filet mignon, fish, pasta, and chicken, along with an open bar. There will also be a happy hour with hors d'oeuvres. All proceeds go to the Fair Lawn Food Pantry…
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Hmm, I must be the goose because I've been putting on my winter weight since October. I'm not bothered by it, really. I've accepted the fact that in the colder months I'm more inclined to stay indoors, raid my refrigerator and gradually expand. What I have not learned how to accept gracefully is Christmas. I don't mind Christmas for other people. I love looking at the festive shop displays and visiting friends who have beautiful Christmas trees in their living rooms. But, Christmas was never my holiday, and I never missed it. I grew up …
Holiday time invokes thoughts of family and friends getting together to eat delicious foods and drink yummy cocktails. The problem is that someone has to host the warm evening and in order to have a stress-free, successful party, you have to work your little bum off for days before the event. All the hard work is worth it when you are able to drink a glass of wine, nibble on an appetizer, and watch your guests having a wonderful time. The key, according to me, is to be super organized and have a list of things to do before the event. Last year we hosted 20 people for Christmas and I initially…
Santa Claus arrives this week. Do you have your Christmas tree yet? If not, don't fret. American Nursery of Fair Lawn has a wide variety of 6-foot and 8-foot Fraser and Douglas firs for last-minute shoppers to choose from. A walk through the nursery area affords you the opportunity to view all the trees, out in the open and up close so you can view them from all angles and know what you're getting. "Fraser firs are a little more hearty," says Joe Sandberg, whose father Gary owns American Nursery's one-acre Saddle River Road location as well as the smaller American Garden Center on Maple …
Besides for a nativity scene and a Frasier fir tree, the fireplace is one of the most iconic symbols of the Christmas season. It's a place to gather for warmth as the season's chill settles in, but more importantly, how else is Kris Kringle supposed to enter the home to deliver gifts to good boys and girls? However, if a fireplace isn't properly maintained, a carbon monoxide (CO) fatality could be the devestating result. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "In the U.S. each year, nearly 500 die while as many as 20,000 visit emergency rooms for exposure." With …
Partygoers at the Krazy Coconut's "Reggae Christmas" were treated to a break from the cold weather this past weekend courtesy of the warm, tropical sounds of No Discipline. The local reggae band delivered a rollicking performance, treating diners at the Morlot Avenue restaurant to original numbers and renditions of reggae hits. No Discipline has been bringing the sound of the Carribean to the New York-New Jersey area since 1983. The band's founders, brothers Al and Mike Bazaz (Al lives in Glen Rock), have recorded and performed over the years with a continuously changing roster of …
Maybe they're thinking green (or maybe they're just thinking about saving some green), but more than a third of New Jersey residents admit to "regifting" in the latest Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind Poll. "The popularity of regifting is driven by many things for different people," said Burçak Ertimur, a professor of marketing at FDU's Silberman College of Business. "For some, it's thrift in difficult economic times, or it's a way to get around annoyingly high expectations about gift-giving. It's also awareness of, or guilt over, how much stuff goes into the landfill. But the main …
Christmas spirit is alive and well at the Fair Lawn Community Center, where the Skyline Theatre Company performed "It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play" on Sunday. Most are more familiar with Frank Capra's classic film, but staged as a live play, "It's A Wonderful Life" has six actors playing all the parts, sometimes two roles at a time. Patch takes you inside Skyline's final rehearsal for the show.
It's that wonderful time of year when everyone is throwing holiday fiestas of every design. Between ugly Christmas sweater parties and classy cocktail gatherings, there's a chance you're heading somewhere chock full o' calories this weeked, next weekend, or every night between now and Jan. 1. Since the freezing cold is not very conducive to working out, I can't think of anything better than offering some tips on how to stay in shape without working out in the bitter cold, desperately trying to run off eggnog and candy cane. So here comes some healthy cooking advice. Don't be alarmed, I'm not …
We see them everywhere: decorating offices, churches, post offices and hospitals; they spruce up television sets, and can be bought anywhere from the grocery store to the hardware store. As soon as the Thanksgiving table is cleared, poinsettias seem to appear out of mid-air and we are inundated with the things until after Christmas. I've never been a big fan of the poinsettia, but after a visit to the Rutgers' floriculture greenhouse on Cook Campus, I had a change of heart. Even if you're not a fan, seeing 1500 poinsettias in one place is just overwhelmingly beautiful. For years, Rutgers has…
As a special gesture for the holiday season, Cooking In Your Kitchen and Catering of Fair Lawn sent Patch the following recipe: ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO WITH BACON, CHESTNUTS AND PARMESAN For the Risotto 12oz Arborio rice 2ea Shallots, minced 2oz Butter 1oz Extra virgin olive oil 3 Thyme sprigs 4oz White wine 36oz Chicken stock 4oz Grated parmesan cheese 2T Mascarpone cheese For the Garnish 1 Butternut Squash, large and iced 2oz Brown sugar 2T Extra virgin olive oil 1 Sage branch 8oz Chestnuts, fresh or frozen 8oz Thick cut bacon, cut into 1" pieces For the Emulsion 1oz Butter 1 …
