Category: Guest Posts

155. #HeinensSundaySupper – Dinner with the Donleas

 With stone fruit back in season, fresh peaches are reappearing in recipes around Barrington.  They’re playing a special role in this week’s Heinen’s Sunday Supper, shared by none other than Kelly Donlea, the Chief Operating Mom of one of our favorite foodie families.
For a look at Sunday Suppers around Barrington, Heinen’s Grocery is offering a gift card to one local family each week to shop for ingredients and prepare a special Sunday meal.  In turn, each participant will share their photos and thoughts at 365Barrington about their family’s favorite dishes and the personal significance of gathering weekly for Sunday Suppers.
Dinner with the Donleas

by Kelly Donlea, Barrington mom, chef, cookbook author & founder of OrganizingDinner.com
Family dinner is one of the most honored traditions at the Donlea house. While what goes on the table is important to me, it comes second to the goal of how many times we make it to the table as a family each week. The stress of a perfect dinner can mean that you miss the moment, or that the cook can’t sit, and we value, above all else, the time together.
For me, the key is being organized and having Heinen’s Grocery on my chauffeur route where I can get organic produce and the best meats, making dinnertime easy. When the ingredients are high quality, the amount of preparation, or “masking” is minimized, as they can be served after simple cooking with light seasoning.  And with the fresh packaged extras available at Heinen’s, I can easily supplement a course or two with prepared items that will make an ordinary meal extraordinary.
For Sunday Suppers I do try to make things a little more special. Even if we are landing at the table after a long day of church, birthday parties and baseball, a fresh flower arrangement, some candles, or using our good china can add festivity to the night.
Seafood is always a draw for a special occasion dinner and, for that, there is no better place than Heinen’s. They source their fish from the best possible ports, and have them shipped overnight for the freshest fish-to-table option in our area. One of my favorite fish-accompaniments is Peach Pepper salsa and, with peaches coming into their season, I knew that would be the base of our Sunday meal.
This salsa can top most any type of whitefish or shellfish prepared with a honey-lime-soy sauce and garlic marinade.  When I saw the size of the scallops in the case at Heinen’s, I knew that would be my choice.
Their peaches were perfect, which can be hard to find up until this time of year, and the rest of the produce, including onions, garlic and green peppers were, of course, perfect too. I grabbed some baby artichokes from the prepackaged vegetable case, some fresh organic cilantro and a bag of Heinen’s brand organic brown rice. One cheese they had out for sampling was Vermeer by Beemster.
I am always on the hunt for a perfect dry Gouda, and this full-flavored Gouda variety is one of the best I’ve ever tried.
A Vermeer has lower sodium and fat than a traditional gouda, so even better. I grabbed a block to use in my artichoke stuffing and enjoy as a meal appetizer.
I blended the Vermeer with panko, garlic cloves, fresh basil and cream cheese for the artichoke stuffing.
I served the scallops and artichokes with a side of Cilantro-Lime Rice.
I enjoyed a fruity, crisp La Merika Chardonnay that Heinen’s had on special for just $7.99/bottle.
For dessert, I made a stop at Heinen’s Bakery and my kids loved every bite of  Heinen’s Raspeberry-Stuffed Pillow cookies.
Heinen’s Grocery is located at 500 N. Hough Street, between E. Main Street and Route 14 (next to Meathead’s) in Barrington, Illinois. They’re open 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Heinens.com.
CLICK HERE for Kelly’s Sunday Supper Recipes……

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27. Students Host Fashion Fundraiser for Guatemalan Family

 If you’ve been reading our posts here at 365Barrington.com for a while, you know we love to write about upcoming events and the people behind the many things to do in Barrington.  Today, we’re taking a new approach.  In a new series called Good Works, we’ll be inviting guest writers to share posts about people helping others and ways we can get involved.
Our first guest post is from a Barrington High School Junior named Courtney Quigley.  We asked Courtney to share, in her own words, the experience that motivated her to organize a fashion show fundraiser in Barrington this weekend.  The purpose of the event is to help build a home for a Guatemalan family living, among rats, in a shack surrounded by garbage.
The student fashion show is called Hope’s in Style, it’s happening at The Garlands Center for The Performing Arts from 1 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, February 24th, and we’re all invited.  All proceeds from the event will go to Pottter’s House Association to build a house for 8-year-old Monica Morales and her seven family members who currently call a Guatemala City garbage dump their home.
And that’s where I’ll let Courtney Quigley herself pick things up.  I hope you will be moved, as I was, by her story…
Hope’s in Style
by Courtney Quigley, Barrington High School Junior
When I was younger, I really thought I knew exactly where my life was going. At seven years old, I wanted to be a world famous actress.  Later, I decided that I wanted to be a chef. The third ambition was to become a doctor. But things change in your mind when they change in your heart.
Things changed for me when my family went on our first trip to Guatemala. I was eight years old and my younger sister was only five.  On that trip, we worked with an organization called Kids Around The World that builds playgrounds in places affected by war, poverty, illness and natural disasters.  At this time in my life I spoke no Spanish, so I thought I would not be able to communicate with all the children that we met. But I was so wrong.
My mom threw my siblings and me a soccer ball and the kids slowly but surely came over to us. We played soccer for the next three days. By the time the playground was ready I had made friendships, learned how bad I was at soccer and, most importantly, I found a place in my heart that was especially dedicated to Guatemala.
Guatemala City has about 1 million people living in it. These million people produce a lot of trash. All their trash is dumped in a 40-acre ravine.
As you can imagine, homeless people in Guatemala City have naturally migrated there. In fact, three generations of human beings, fathers, brothers, sisters and mothers have lived in that trash and built whole communities out of it.
That is where Potter’s House comes into play.…

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365Barrington Partners

From the Community

“As part of NAMI’s partnership with Sinclair Broadcast Group during March, “Sinclair Cares: Mental Health Support + Hope,” nearly 100 TV stations nationwide will broadcast a Town Hall this Saturday and Sunday, featuring NAMI Chief Medical Officer Ken Duckworth, M.D.

You can watch this very special event by searching for airdates on those select local stations. (Many stations also plan to stream the broadcast via YouTube on Monday, March 27.)

Tune in to learn about mental health warning signs, as well as how to get help for yourself or a loved one at one of our hundreds of NAMI affiliates across the country.”

Read more or register for a free weekly online support group at the link in our bio.

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