To go

There
are
many
occasions
that
require
larger
methods
of food
transport
than
a bento
box or
lunch
bag.

My
husband's
40th
birthday for example, required cupcakes to be moved in good condition, since he insisted on scheduling work that sunday. I love my Wilton cupcake carrier, and it's really cool because the insert flips for 24 mini cupcakes, or is removable for a sheet cake.

One cannot live on
cupcakes alone--or
maybe they can, and
I'd volunteer to try if
I ever lose the rest of
the baby weight--so
I brought along some
pasta salad and pbj
sandwiches.

A few days later I was in for an even bigger challenge-- one of my sisters was coming to visit and had recently gone gluten-free (among other restrictions, including no garlic)!

I needed to pack up a tasty
vegan meal for 3 adults &
4 children to be eaten at
grandma's house.

These roasted lemon
potatoes were garlic-free.

Next, some rice noodles
with bok choy and red
pepper with a mango
ginger sauce and bbq
tempeh.

Not shown, a 4 bean
salad.

Grandma's favourite food
is green beans, so I cooked
up the week's green and
purple beans from the farm
and created this salad...
she likes things rather
simple and also doesn't
like garlic.

Green Bean & Tomato Salad

2 quarts string beans,
steamed or boiled
2 tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/2 cup pitted kalamata
olives
1 red onion, sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
a few T. of fresh herbs (optional) such as thyme or marjoram

Cook green beans until just tender. Run under cold water in a collander or place in a large bowl of ice water.
Cut up tomatoes. (I chose a red tomato and a yellow tomato for contrast.)
Slice the onion. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion until softened and add lemon juice and wine.
Place green beans, tomatoes & olives in a large serving bowl or platter. Pour sauteed onions over green beans and toss gently. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.

I also tried out the gluten-
free cupcake recipe from
VCTOTW for the first time.
Pretty good, very easy to
make, though still sort of
grainy or muffiny. I may
spend the big bucks next
time I make these and use
almond flour. The corn flour
in these made them taste like corn muffins instead of cupcakes.
Everyone enjoyed them, though they're definitely more crumbly in the hands of a 3 year old!













And Maia has racked up another month...cruising the kitchen at grandma's house at 13 months.