bento & recipes

It's the last day of the Loving Local blogathon. While I could whinge on for weeks about local food, I will soon be shifting my focus to school lunches starting this tuesday! But here are a few fab lunch ideas for both adults and kids...

I enjoy
the
variety
at the
farmer's
market
and our
CSA.
While
our CSA
provides
us with
asian
greens
in the
spring
and
fall, I
rely on
Hmong
Farms
at the
Framingham Farmer's Market for unique asian vegetables through the hotter summer months, grown a few towns north.

This bento lunch included: rice (kept separate until serving to prevent sogginess), spicy asian eggplant, spicy baked tofu, and my bok choy joy.













Spicy Asian Eggplant

3-6 long asian eggplant
2 T. peanut oil or canola oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. hot sauce
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 T. shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. cooking sherry
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Cut ends off eggplant.
Slice lengthwise, then
in 1/2 inch segments.
Heat oil in a saucepan
with garlic, ginger & hot
sauce. Cook 20 seconds
over medium heat, add
eggplant, stir. Add the
rest of the ingredients.
Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking about 10 minutes or until eggplant is very tender.

Some asian eggplant will be thin and smaller, others larger. This recipe assumes you'll be cooking no more than 2-3 cups chopped eggplant.

I often wish there was a local producer of tofu, tempeh & miso in the area. What a wonderful addition to an asian stall at the farmer's market that would be! But many stores carry asian produce & grocery items. I often visit our local asian market Asinayo when the farmer's market is not in season.










The farmer's market in our
town has been adding about
one new vendor each year it
seems, a good sign! There is much to choose from, and it's nice to hang out on the village green after shopping to enjoy some fresh kettle corn or bread still warm from baking.

I picked up some corn from the Hanson's Farm stall, bok choy from Hmong Farms, and bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. The corn was super delicious. We tried the silver variety for a change, which was supposedly not the "sweet" kind, but it still tasted sweet to us!

With plenty of tomatoes still pouring in from Stearns Farm CSA, I made a tomato-laden lunch which included a leftover tomato dish from the night before. When we take home some of the "seconds" tomatoes from the farm, it's handy to have a dish to accommodate some of the squishier fruits.

This lunch included: raspberries (Stearns Farm CSA), salad of lettuce, tomato & chives (Stearns Farm CSA) w/dressing in a side container, breaded baked heirloom tomatoes (tomatoes & herbs from Stearns Farm CSA), corn on the cob rounds (Hanson's Farm), orange cherry tomatoes (Stearns Farm CSA).

Breaded Baked Tomatoes

3-4 large tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp. kosher salt
spray olive oil (or something to grease the baking pan)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. chopped fresh oregano
2 T. buttery stick (cold!), cut into bits
1/2 tsp. sugar
3 cloves garlic, chopped













First slice the tomatoes and
place them in a colander over
a bowl to drain. Sprinkle on
the salt and toss, then leave to
sit for 10-15 minutes (in the
refrigerator if necessary to
keep the fruit flies away!).

Spray a glass baking dish
with olive oil, then layer the
tomatoes.

In a medium bowl, mix the
remaining ingredients and
pour or spoon over the
tomatoes. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5-10 minutes until the
breadcrumb topping
is lightly browned.
Allow to cool a bit
before serving.