Disposable Aardvarks Inc.

Almost Potato Week

2011-09-11T10:42:00.001-07:00

I'm a huge Vampire Diaries fan. And the season 3 premiere is coming up this week. I had some grand plans, only one of which has made it to reality thus far. This bento is MINE.
I created the ribbon and blood drop out of blanched red pepper. And I added baked some Sophie's Kitchen vegan breaded shrimp (frighteningly realistic actually).
It was almost too cool to eat! TVD bento: pineapple, orange cherry tomato "vampire" (with the closest thing I had to Ian Somerhalder's signature hat), blanched spinach, steamed broccoli, edamame, vegan breaded shrimp, rice.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: brown rice w/veggies; vegan breaded shrimp; edamame; steamed broccoli; pineapple; lemon cookie; potato leek kale soup (w/side of smoked salt).

The
boys

deci-

ded

that

this

week

would

"potato

week"

because

we'd

gotten

lots of

local

potatoes

from

our

CSA.

Soup

yester-

day, Alton Brown potato salad today.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: potato salad; Gardein crisp tenders; green beans.

But potato week didn't quite go as planned. I pulled out these yummy spinach tofu quiches from the oven and popped in a baking sheet full of sweet potatoes wedges. Half way through, the oven promptly turned off and displayed an error code. Now, I love my new oven to bits, but according to the GE website, all error codes are proceeded by the letter "F", and all mine as showing was a red "5". Go figure. So I abandoned the sweet potato fries (yuck, half-cooked sweet potatoes? Hopefully the squirrels enjoyed them from the compost). Luckily I still had some rice in the rice cooker from the night before...
Ryan & AJ's lunches: garlic broccoli stir-fry; spinach tofu quiche w/cheddar Daiya cheese; rice.

By the next morning we'd solved the oven malfunction...by turning off the circuit breaker for the entire house (yes, we tried the individual ones for the kitchen first, but it was unsuccessful).

Ryan & AJ's lunches: mashed purple potatoes; blanched spinach w/peanut sauce; simmered shiitake mushrooms; edamame.

Adieu Irene

2011-09-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Irene was

only a tropical storm

by the time it arrived

in Massachusetts last

week, but it was enough

to knock out power to

most of the state. We

were without electricity

for about 48 hours,

which was fine, except

for the refrigerator

situation! I was crossing

my fingers that we would have power back by tuesday for the first day of school so I could pack decent bentos of course! And luckily, the night before, shortly after 6pm, we were up and running again...just in time for my husband to arrive home from Seattle with no real idea of what we'd all endured over the past few days.

I managed to salvage quite a lot of the food. Since it's all vegan, and largely produce, most of it was fine without refrigeration. The hardest part was breaking the kids' habit of randomly opening the fridge to look for snacks throughout the day!

Ryan & AJ's 1st day of school lunches: pinwheel tofu salad sandwiches w/cucumber letters; cantaloupe balls; green beans.

Here are Ryan & AJ off to third and second grades, and Nate ready to head off to his first day of kindergarten! His teacher has asked that I leave a selection of non-perishable snack items in his classroom, so no bentos for him until next year! Sigh.

For the second day of school, Ryan requested he help to make strawberry cream cheese. He chopped up some berries and mixed it with Tofutti cream cheese for bagels.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: cucumber slices; fresh pineapple; roasted chick peas; steamed broccoli; mini bagels with strawberry cream cheese.

Time for some sushi! Ryan and I recently went to the new Wasabi sushi train at the local mall. It was very impressive and had him in a sushi sort of mood.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: sesame tofu & vegetable maki sushi w/side of soy sauce; tiny square of Lake Champlain dark chocolate w/almonds; apple slices; carrots; steamed broccoli; a strawberry; edamame.

I was in the mood for smoked tempeh, so I sauteed some Lightlife Fakin' Bacon. I don't buy it often because Whole Foods has increased the price to just shy of ludicrous, but sometimes I just have to treat myself.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: tempeh, lettuce & tomatoes sandwiches on toasted french bread; mini zucchini muffin; dried apricots; pickles; Tofurky & soy cheese clover garnish; carrots; cucumber slices.

Now, for the reason I

REALLY bought the

smoked tempeh strips!

I dreamed this, and I

just HAD to try it:

smoked tempeh &

artichoke heart maki.

Yes, really.

I sauteed the artichoke hearts in Earth Balance and garlic powder until lightly browned. It was

delicious. But...

...I had to fulfill the dream meal and tempura batter and fry more of them, topped with Sriracha laced Vegenaise. O.M.G. Worth every friggin' calorie. These would have made wonderful additions to a bento, but I could barely bring myself to share them at all, and they disappeared quicker than Harry under his invisibility cloak.

For a quicker look at daily bentos, vegan goodies, and environmental news, follow "veganf" on Twitter.

Elm Bank

2011-08-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

From time to time we've ventured down to Wellesley to Elm Bank, a 36 acre garden and grounds of the Massachusetts Horticultural Center. It really is a beautiful place when everything is in bloom, and this time it was host to the Massachusetts Marketplace Festival.

Teeming with enough vendors to empty your wallet and tempt every sweettooth, the festival celebrated New England's farmers, specialty food producers & artisans. Our personal favourite was Vision's Sown, bakers of delicious cookies made with minimally processed and ancient grains; I hope they make their way to our local farmer's market or Whole Foods soon!

I was a little disappointed after cheerfully shelling out admission for myself and four kids, that I then had to pay for separate tickets for almost every activity the kids wanted to do--I must have missed this somehow in their online advertising. I understand there was fundraising to be done, but I don't normally carry a lot of cash, even for bouncy houses and face painting.

But really, we couldn't pass up the expertise of the face painter...

Other activities included glitter tattoos, hayride, & butterfly crafts (which were free, yay!). There were ample shaded picnic tables available for our picnic lunch...

Butterflies seemed to be the theme of our day, with Maia choosing a butterfly design for her face, and all of the kids colouring a butterfly puppet. Right behind the butterfly table was a purple butterfly bush--and as if on cue, a beautiful one descended to the flowers for the occasion...

The kids were enthralled, and played along with their puppets...

Much of our time at Elm Bank was spent in Weezie's Children's Garden. We have come here before to meet up with friends--it's a wonderful creatively landscaped children's play area.

If you're in the area, Elm Bank is worth a visit, festival or no!

Family Food

2011-07-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

This summer the kids don't have any activities where they are away from home during mealtimes. There have been very few bento-making opportunities. So I thought I'd share a bit of our lunch & dinner fare...When I'm not going to be home for a meal with the kids, or if I'm not eating with them for some other reason, sometimes I just put a big plate of food on the table (or picnic table, or floor, whatever!) and they choose what they want.

Other times I'll put out a muffin tin meal. Having a meal of all finger foods is fun for the kids (you know, I bet it would be fun for adults too!).

Summer is full of local veggies from Stearns Farm, so they are the centerpiece of most meals. Often it's easiest to just roast a variety in the oven.

Sit down lunches & dinners at the table are usually family-style now that everyone is old enough. It takes a lot of food to feed everyone nowadays!

Camping can be challenging. I need to bring along more reuasables and fewer disposables. We create a bag of recycling every day, but I need to learn how to create less waste when outdoors for multiple days.

One of my favourite
camping foods is Tasty
Bite meals. Most of
them are vegan, and
I love a spicy meal
when outdoors. The
packaging is actually
pretty minimal compared
to most other shelf-stable
food items. When I'm
alone I eat them right
out the package.

A quick food for camping
or at home is cous cous.
This tiny pasta is effort-
less to prepare, and it
goes with just about
anything.

Oh, and let's not
forget...Maia turned
3! Happy birthday!

Restaurant Review: Grasshopper

2011-07-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Grasshopper
Allston, MA

So funny, I think
VeggieBean and I
were shadowing one
another at various
Boston area restaurants
this past spring. We
visited Grasshopper on
Mother's Day, and
clearly Sarah had just been there too since a review of the restaurant popped up on her blog just the week before. And of course we both gave a nod to the ubiquitous veggie "chicken" fingers that most everyone loves--the pinnacle of battered deep-fried junk, but oh you just must find a way to rationalize them once or twice a year. So scrumptious.

If you haven't guessed,
Grasshopper is a vegan
asian restaurant. There
are a few around Boston,
but my kids have really
taken a liking to
Grasshopper. The menu
has all the Chinese
restaurant standard
fixtures: spring rolls,
wonton soup, lo mein. Plus
they have many unique
items, even desserts--can you say vegan strawberry cheesecake?!

The menu is ginormous,
and then they always
have delicious specials
every day on top of the
usual selection. It's
hard to choose! Luckily
we have a big family so
we can order a lot to
share. This time I tried
a kale, mushroom, seitan
& veggie stir-fry that
was excellent.

So is there anything NOT
good about Grasshopper??
Well, yes, actually there is:
They don't deliver! You can
eat in, or take out, but they
don't deliver AT ALL. But
it's worth the trip to eat in,
and they have great hours:

11am-10pm daily, except
noon-10pm on sundays.

So if you haven't already,
get yourself over to the
Boston borough of Allston
and have a good meal.

Grasshopper is located
at 1 N. Beacon Street.

617-254-8883

And check out their website,
because you can order online!

burnt out

2011-07-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

Could you tell? The end of the school year had me burned out from lunches, cooking, eating...too many end of the year this & thats, the internationally traveling husband, and new activities for the kids.

Before I move along more interesting posts, I have to catch up, so here goes... longest post EVER...

Lunches & snack: Good Dog rounds; steamed broccoli; Ian's Alphatots; side of ketchup.

Upper left: cantaloupe; sandwich; cucumber slices; carrot; apricots/raisins.
Upper right: oyster crackers; cucumber slices; steamed broccoli; mashed potatoes; spicy baked tofu.
Lower left: carrot; steamed broccoli; pickle; apricot; chocolate chip cookie; smoked Tofurky, Vegan Gourmet monterey jack cheese, lettuce on flax lavash wrap bread.
Lower right (Maia's): cucumber slices; apricots; carrot; 1/4 sandwich; cantaloupe.

Maia's lunch: soy cheese slices; Tofurky slice; chocolate chip cookie; steamed broccoli; carrot; pickle; apricot.

Upper left: pineapple; cucumber slices; leftover asian stirfry over rice.
Upper right: orange wedges; blanched spinach; hummus & cucumber sandwiches; chocolate chip cookie.
Lower left (Maia's): 1/2 english muffin sandwich; blueberries; grapes; carrot; pickle slices.
Lower right: english muffin sandwiches; carrots; grapes & blueberries; cucumber slices.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
steamed broccoli;
Tofurky slices;
cucumber slices;
cantaloupe & grapes;
sandwiches.

Maia's lunch:
cantaloupe & grapes;
steamed broccoli;
Tofurky slices;
1/2 cinnamon
raisin bagel.

Lunch: cantaloupe; cucumber slices; broccoli cheddar crescent rolls; peanuts.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
water-
melon;
Tofurky
slices;
cuc-
mber
slices;
peanuts;
pickle;
carrots;
banana
blue-
berry
mini
muffins.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
spicy
sweet
potato
waffle
fries;
carrots;
green
beans;
side of
ketchup;
mini
banana
blue-
berry
muffins.

Maia's lunch: carrots; green beans; mini banana blueberry muffin spicy sweet potato fries; side of ketchup.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
carrot; steamed broccoli;
cucumber slices; peanuts;
apricots/raisins;
sandwiches.

Maia's lunch: pizza rollup; steamed broccoli; carrots; tomato; pickle; watermelon.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: pizza rollups; watermelon; steamed broccoli; cashews; carrots.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: soy yogurts; dark chocolate square; carrots; english muffin sandwiches.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
Sunshine Burgers on
buns; carrots; pickle;
blanched spinach;
pineapple.

Lunches: green grapes; Tofurky slices; steamed broccoli; blueberries; carrots; tofu spinach stuffed pasta shells.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
cinnamon raisin bagels;
soy cheese cubes;
Tofurky slices; carrot;
pickle; watermelon.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
broc-
coli
onion
tofu
mini
quiches;
baked
sweet
potato
fries;
side of
ketchup;
water-
melon.

Maia's lunch:
watermelon;
mini broccoli onion
tofu quiche; baked
sweet potato fries;
side of ketchup.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
peanuts;
pickle;
carrots;
blanched
spinach;
water-
melon;
crack-
ers w/
soy
cheese
and
Tofurky
slices;
raisins
and
apricots.

Lunches: rice pilaf w/green beans; blueberries/mixed nuts; Tofurky slices; carrots.

Ryan & AJ's
lunches:
grapes;
sand-
wiches;
cucumber
slices;
peanuts.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
banana blueberry mini
muffins; carrots; raisins;
grapes; steamed broccoli;
cucumber slices; peanuts.

Maia's lunch:
grapes; steamed
broccoli; carrot;
black olive; mini
banana blueberry
muffin; pickles;
cucumber slices;
cheddar soy
cheese;
snow peas.

Ryan's lunch: peanut butter & agave nectar rollups; steamed broccoli; carrots; pickle; black olive; mini banan blueberry muffin; pineapple mango salsa; cucumber slices.

Maia's lunch: blueberries; snow peas; pickle; Tofurky slice; rice cube with goma shio; blanched spinach; cucumber slices.

Upper left: rice cubes w/goma shio; blanched spinach; Tofurky slices; cucumber slices; grapes; mini muffin.
Upper right: grapes/strawberries; sandwiches; carrots; pickle.
Lower left: cantaloupe & grapes; kale & veggie sausage; carrot; pickle; brownie; mini muffin.
Lower right (Maia's): cantaloupe; blueberries; strawberries; kale & veggie sausage.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
1/2 an
apple;
steamed
broc-
coli:
english
muffin
pizza;
choc-
olate &
vanilla
soy
pudding.

Lunches (left): baguette slices; steamed broccoli; chocolate chip cookie; apple slices; sesame tofu.
Lunches (right): english muffin pizzas; green beans; watermelon.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: cashews; carrots; orange slices; brocolini stem fried rice.

Lunches (left): sesame noodles w/spinach; strawberries/watermelon; edamame.
Lunches (right): english muffin sandwiches; apple rhubarb crumble; steamed broccoli; carrots.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
mini
banana
blue-
berry
muffins;
straw-
berries/
raisins;
pickle;
carrots;
eda-
mame;
cucu-
mber
slices.

So that's that for the school year! In a few months I'll have 3 boys in the same school in 3rd grade, 2nd grade, & kindergarten. And Maia will continue in preschool, but 3 morning a week.

Review: The All Natural Face

2011-05-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

Review: The All Natural Face

Who would have thought
that I'd find an all-vegan
cosmetic and bath products
shop that just opened
nearby! The All Natural
Face has been a popular
online store for quite a few
years, but owner Crystal
Clark just opened a
storefront at 861 Edgell Road in Framingham, MA.

Now anyone who knows
me, knows that I am not
really into makeup and
stuff, or actually spending
any time on my appear-
ance at all. But I couldn't
resist checking this place
out. Upon entering the
(very purple) shop,
handblown beads, and
jewelry made from them,
taunt you at the front windows. Crystal also sells these via her Etsy shop from time to time, but she put that hobby on the back burner due to the demand for her natural vegan cosmetics.

Just the delicious smell
alone will keep you in the
store. I had to try the
mango soap (Ryan's
favourite food after all).
It is fantastic, but subtle.
I also gave the flavoured
lip gloss a go, and the
raspberry scented one
takes me right back to kindergarten where my girlfriends and I would hide under the tables at naptime trying out our collection of various fruity chapsticks. I also got a coconut one, and a cherry bomb tinted lip gloss...not too strong a colour, but considering I hadn't bought a lipstick since my wedding in 2002 I figured it couldn't hurt. And I've been using it just because it smells so darned yummy.

That's about as much soap
and makeup as I could
handle consuming in a week,
so I also purchased a
deodorant. I asked for the
strongest thing she had,
because I am out hiking
or running almost every
day, and sweating a lot, so
I was skeptical. But so far my new vegan roll-on crystal aluminum-free deodorant in lemongrass-grapefruit scent works almost as well as my old super chemical toxic variety, so I think I'll stick with it.

I'm sure I'll be going back
for more soap, lip gloss &
deodorant in the future.
And what a great resource
for cruelty-free makeup
for festivals or Halloween.
Also should Nate be asked
to wear any makeup (he's
been doing a bit of modeling)
I'll know where to go. The prices are very reasonable, and Crystal can tell you the source of each and every ingredient.

Check out TheAllNaturalFace Facebook page and "like" it to keep up to date on products available in the store or online.

The retail shop has
plenty of parking.
Call 978-261-3238
for more info.

April showers & some flowers

2011-05-22T08:23:00.001-07:00

We've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the spring weather. Time for picnics at the park! After watching the Boston Marathon pass through our town, we walked to a nearby playground for lunch and some fun.I brought along a picnic bento of finger foods for everyone to share.

And here are some lunches from April:
Ryan & AJ's lunches: peanuts; cucumber slices; stir-fried broccoli over rice.

Maia's lunch was
similar: a strawberry;
a pickle; cucumber slices;
stir-fried broccoli over
rice.

It's trickier making a
complete lunch without
nuts for preschool.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
cupcakes; sandwiches;
pickle; carrots.

Ryan & AJ's lunches:
Thermos' of tofu-herb
ravioli; pickle; carrots;
grapes; strawberries.

You can always tell when
the spring rains arrive--
my pics get dark & gloomy.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: somen
noodles with sesame tofu &
steamed broccoli; carrots;
grapes; apricots/raisins;
mini banana muffins.Maia's lunch: apricots; grapes; steamed broccoli; somen noodles w/sesame tofu; carrot; pickle; snap peas.

Happy spring!

Restaurant Review: The Pulse Cafe

2011-05-02T08:39:00.001-07:00

On Earth Day we ate out at The Pulse Cafe in Somerville, MA. The food is all vegan, diner-style fare, and we definitely pigged out!

We started with a double
order of nachos, which
came piled high with
chili and nut-cheese. We
added extra guacamole
on top. The kids were
anticipating really liking
these, but I think there
were just too many
flavours happening at once, and the chili and cheese were not their preferred tastes. I think they're just accustomed to my own chili at home.

The buffalo tofu bites on
the other hand were
AMAZING. Our server
was concerned they'd be
too spicy for the kids, but
they loved them! They
came with celery and a
dip. Next time we'll
definitely be ordering more
of this superb treat!

While waiting for our entrees I browsed the vegan literature from the Boston Vegan Association, and various animal rights organizations. This restaurant is quite family friendly, with a decent bathroom and plenty of dining space. There was a queue developing for tables as our meal progressed!

Another nifty thing about The Pulse Cafe is that it serves breakfast all day (despite not being open at breakfast time, LOL). AJ wanted to try the scrambled tofu with toast. The servings here are HUGE, and we all shared some AND brought leftovers home which 3 of us split the next day!

All the kids had their first-ever root beer floats! And Ryan insisted on ordering a bowl of black bean soup--it was delicious! I ordered the "Bacon Cheeseburger" after seeing a recommendation from a customer on The Pulse Cafe's Facebook page. The bun was tasty, the burger a little plain, but the melted Daiya cheddar and the smoked tempeh strips and condiments were yummy.
My husband ordered the "Philly Cheese Steak". I later heard the whole wheat roll was an experiment--usually they use a white roll--and we thought it was fantastic. This giant seitan sandwich was a major win with us all, and we'll be hard-pressed not to order it again on our next visit! Super!
Despite being extremely
stuffed, we shared one
slice of the Silk Mint Pie,
one of the day's dessert
specials. I'm not a big pie
eater, but everyone
seemed to like it.

We will definitely be
returning to The Pulse
Cafe in the future! It
may rival the kids'
favourite sushi after their quarterly haircut visit in Cambridge.

The Pulse Cafe is located
at 195 Elm Street, Somerville,
MA, about half way between
the Davis Sq. and Porter Sq.
T stops on the Red Line (but
technically still in Davis Sq.).
They are closed mondays.
Call 617-625-1730 for more
info.

volcanoes & pajamas

2011-04-16T05:41:00.001-07:00

Ryan had a volcano in his lunch on monday, because that night he would be presenting his volcano project at the district's iNight for gifted students. His lunch was made of: steamed broccoli; his favourite Tofurky, lettuce, soy cheese sandwich with Tofurky volcano, ketchup lava, & rice cheese letters; and a chocolate chip cookie.

Here are Maia and Nate watching Ryan do an experiment with yeast and hydrogen peroxide to illustrate pressure inside a volcano.

AJ had a similar
lunch, with his
name in the center
of his sandwich.

Tuesday
lunch:
pasta
salad;
banana
walnut
mini
muffin;
sesame
tofu;
carrot;
canta-
loupe.

Wednesday's lunches: Thermos of artichoke olive ravioli w/sauce; 1/2 an apple; green grapes; carrots; cucumber slices; snap peas.

Thursday I decided
to start looking ahead
to easter: tomato
couscous decorated
with rice cheese
"eggs"; green beans;
cantaloupe & purple
grapes.

I thought the grapes looked rather like jelly beans because they were so small and dark. For the couscous, I substituted a tomato-basil pasta sauce for 1/4 of the cooking liquid to give it a new flavour.

Friday:
pickle
slices;
carrots;
canta-
loupe;
mini
onion
broc-
coli
tofu
quiche;
toast.

Nate's class was having
its annual pajama
breakfast. In place of
scrambled eggs, I made
tofu quiche. I forgot to
buy bagels, so I cut a
piece of toast into a
circle and spread it with
Tofutti cream cheese;
and I sent pancakes along with real maple syrup. Nate loved everything. His class also had bananas, strawberries & grapes, and they squeezed their own orange juice.

a hike & lunch

2011-04-11T18:08:00.000-07:00

On saturday Ryan & I went on a guided hike along the Bay Circuit Trail in Andover, MA sponsored by L.L. Bean, with the Bay Circuit Alliance chairman Alan French. It was great to learn some of the history of the trail, and plans for the future.

We began with a walk up Holt Hill with views to Boston and its suburbs.

Ryan's lunch: cucumber salad; blanched spinach; edamame; simmered shiitake mushrooms; rice.

My lunch was essentially
the same, minus the
rice, with added orange
slices. It was nice to
finally have weather
warm enough to be
able to enjoy lunch
outside.

After lunch Ryan still wanted to hike a bit more. We took the bog trail at Ward Reservation, which is basically a floating boardwalk down to a pond. We spent a lot of time watching a snake make it's way through the bog beside us.

Feels like Spring

2011-04-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Finally getting some warmer days here and the snow has melted. But it doesn't LOOK like spring yet since nothing is green. And it doesn't TASTE like spring yet because there are really no local foods available to speak of and little to forage for. But regardless, the approach of real spring weather has made me want to put a bit more effort into lunches again, so that's a good thing!

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
cucu-
mber
slices;
cold
spin-
ach;
carrot;
rice
trian-
gle;
purple
grapes;
eda-
mame.

Maia's lunch: pickles;
wrap sandwich slices;
checkered apple; dried
apricot; strawberries;
steamed broccoli.

Ryan & AJ's lunches
were the same except
AJ had grapes.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: bagel sandwiches; cucumber slices; carrot; pickle; grapes (with strawberries for Ryan).

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
udon
noodles
with
peanut
sauce
& broc-
coli;
cucu-
mber
slices;
baby
carrots;
green
grapes;
pickle;
orange
slices.

Maia's lunch: udon
noodles & broccoli with
sesame oil & soy sauce;
strawberries; carrot;
slice of smoked Tofurky.

AJ's lunch: carrots; rice balls with furikake; blanched spinach with toasted sesame seeds; peanuts; pickles; frosted carrot cake.

Ryan didn't go to school on friday because I took him to the newly renovated Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science in Boston instead.

Ryan's lunch: his favourite sandwich; apple; mini s'mores Luna bar; fruit rollup.

Catching Up with the Kiddos

2011-04-06T06:02:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged exclusively about the kids in a long time. Of course they're getting bigger.

Ryan:

Ryan is really growing up.
He still loves his Lego
blocks and Pokemon though,
along with the usual Harry Potter, Club Penguin, etc. He is very interested in geology & astrophysics. He will be presenting a project about volcanoes at the gifted program's annual event next week. He's a very social guy, always taking off with friends after school. And he keeps some pretty cool looking TapFish, LOL.

AJ:

I'm lucky to get any
pictures of AJ lately.
He either hides or sticks
out his tongue or runs off in a blur...he just doesn't like the attention. He is quite content to draw, write, or create animation videos on his DSiXL. However he has been spending quite a lot of time on the phone and online with friends discussing Club Penguin games and exchanging passwords & codes. Gotta get this kid into art classes I think.

Nate:

Always the photogenic
one, Nate loves posing
for pictures. Although
4-year-olds can do a lot
of whining, Nate is fun
to be around lately as
he grows out of the
preschool stage. He still
likes to take his own
sweet time doing just
about everything. He
spends much time
building and pretending,
pretty typical for his age.

Maia:

Talkative & outgoing, that's Maia. She can hold her own around her brothers, but she shows off a quieter side at school. She loves to get out and go places, read, and pretend with her Littlest Pet Shop toys. She has branched out from carrying her Toy Story Jessie doll and blue bear, usually leaving them in her bed, and can usually be found with a Hello Kitty or pink Puffle.

Bento Class

2011-04-05T14:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I held my first bento class! I decided to keep it simple, using sandwiches and common kitchen items that most everyone would have. I felt that for a first class, I wanted everyone to go away feeling, "yeah, I could do that."

We started with the sandwich, using white & wheat breads with small cookie cutters to cut out a cute image. I figured that almost every parent can probably dig up either actual cookie cutters or playdough cutters. For the faces we used raisins, whole wheat angel hair pasta, and 100% fruit fruit-rollups. To shape the mouths I brought along a bunch of metal frosting pipers. Using the back end of a frosting piper makes it a cinch to cut out a perfect crescent.

After building the sandwiches, I showed everyone how to cut Tofurky slices into pom-poms. Then we tucked them into the bento along with tiny grape tomatoes and halved snap peas.

I demonstrated a few quick ways to cut baby carrots to not only look attractive, but to make them fit vertically into a bento box. Using two colours of grapes, we skewered them on frilly toothpicks in a pattern.

I brought along a mini microwave steamer for the broccoli which makes steaming small quantities of vegetables effortless. And we topped off the meal with a Sweet & Sara toasted coconut marshmallow! The bento boxes were purchased on sale at All ThingsForSale, and everyone had their choices of a giraffe or deer design.

Everyone did a great job creating an original bento, and many used them to send to school the next day! Here are some of the finished lunches:

March recap

2011-04-03T15:09:00.001-07:00

March was a long
month. So lots to
cover. Best to stick
all the lunches in
one post.

Stuffed pasta shells,
grapes, carrots,
strawberry, mini
muffin.

English muffin sand-
wiches decorated with
rice cheese "peach
blossoms", pickle,
carrot, mini muffin,
steamed asparagus,
grapes, strawberry.

And for Maia...
carrots, steamed
asparagus, 1/4
sandwich, pickle,
dried apricot, strawberries.

Orange
"Puffle"
english
muffin
pizzas,
carrots,
mini
muffin,
steamed
broccoli,
grapes.

And breakfast for lunch: home fries, steamed broccoli, mini tofu asparagus quiche, whole
wheat bagel with Tofutti cream cheese.

Thermos of leftover
pasta & broccoli
casserole.

Side of honeydew
melon.

Maia's
Hello
Kitty
lunch:
cucu-
mber
slices,
Hello
Kitty
sand-
wich,
straw-
berries,
carrots,
pickle
slices.

I got
out the
old
Hello
Kitty
toaster
for this one. I remember buying it while visiting a friend outside of Chicago, then carrying the big box with me on the train and through the windy city streets in the city. But I was very happy to have it!

Next up: pizza sandwiches (to imitate the school lunch menu of French bread pizza that day), carrots, mini muffin, dried apricots/raisins, cucumber slices.
Below are just simple sandwiches & tater tots w/sides of ketchup.

Maia's lunch: cantaloupe, Terra chip exotic potato chips, snap pea crisps, steamed broccoli, a pickle.

Canta-
loupe,
bagel
chips,
rice &
bean
burrito,
steamed
broccoli,
pickle.

Kid-made lunches:
pbj sandwiches,
carrots & pickles.

St Patrick's Day!
steamed asparagus,
soba noodles, honey-
dew melon, green
banana muffins,
pickles.

Below: honeydew
melon, tater tots w/
ketchup, burrito.

Grilled nutritional yeast cheeze sandwiches, pickle, carrots, green grapes, steamed broccoli.

Brown
rice w/
chik'n
donburi,
cucu-
mber
slices,
carrots,
straw-
berry,
green
grapes.

Leftover vegan
pepperoni pizza
from Peace O' Pie
restaurant, orange
slices, steamed
broccoli, mini
muffins.

Wrap sandwiches,
green grapes, carrots,
steamed broccoli,
pickle.

Maia's lunch: sliced wrap sandwiches w/rice cheese flowers, strawberry, green grapes, pickle, steamed broccoli & asparagus.
Finger food lunches: Green grapes, steamed broccoli, carrots, cucumber slices, peanuts & chocolate chips, spelt bunny pretzels, dried apricots/raisins.

Nate's snack:
cucumber slices,
pickle, carrots,
green grapes,
strawberries.

Rice & chick pea curry, honeydew melon, steamed broccoli.

Carrot
sticks,
cucu-
mber
slices,
raisins/
apricots,
pickle/
straw-
berry,
tofu
salad
sand-
wich
rolls.

Cantaloupe and
honeydew melon
chunks, sour pickles,
carrot sticks, mini
banana blueberry
muffins.

Melon, pickle,
carrots, spelt
bunny pretzels,
mini muffin.

Stuffed pasta shells,
strawberry, steamed
green beans, carrots,
smoked Tofurky slice,
mini banana walnut
muffin.

Maia's lunch: strawberry, steamed green beans, 1/2 english muffin pizza, pickle, smoked Tofurky slice, carrot sticks, cucumber slices.

Pig

2011-03-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was National Pig Day. Not quite sure the significance, but I had an idea for a pig, but not an idea for Peanut Butter Lover's Day. So a pig it was!

Ryan and AJ's lunches:
pickle; smoked Tofurky
"flower"; carrot "flowers";
gel cups; asian rice crackers;
pink rice pig with soy cheese
ears & nose, nori eyes, &
strawberry jam cheeks;
steamed broccoli; purple
grapes.

Maia asked for a "butterfly sandwich" for her lunch...
Maia's lunch for preschool: pickle; baby carrot; steamed broccoli; purple grapes; jam sandwich.

And Monday's lunches...
Ryan & AJ: edamame; sauteed asparagus; soba noodles; orange slices.

February sure didn't FEEL short!

2011-03-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

And here is the backlog of February bentos...
I'm guessing this was Ryan's lunch, because AJ doesn't like lots of blueberries! At this point I can't remember what was in each sandwich unless the middle is showing: Cucumber slices, carrot, cantaloupe & blueberries; a sandwich.

Looks like a small
lunch for recouperating
boys: peanut butter &
jelly sandwiches; Nudgie
bar piece; steamed
broccoli; pickle; carrots;
cantaloupe; dried apricots.

crackers, Tofurky & soy
cheese; carrot; cucumber
slices; cashews; mini
apple cider raisin muffin;
1/2 a yellow apple; pickle.

Not exactly bento, but s it's still lunch: Thermos of leftover whole wheat pasta & kale bake for AJ, lentil soup for Ryan; applesauce; pretzels.

A lunch of leftover
pepperoni pizza from
Peace O' Pie! Plus a
tiny piece of raspberry
dark chocolate, carrots,
and some applesauce on
the side.

Mini pumpkin muffin;
mini apple cider raisin
muffin; steamed broccoli;
orange slices; pickle;
1/2 a chicken-free pattie
on an english muffin.

Not exactly bento, but s it's still lunch: Thermos of leftover whole wheat pasta & kale bake for AJ, lentil soup for Ryan; applesauce; pretzels.

Maia's lunch:
Tofurky slices;
grapes; cantaloupe;
rice pilaf with
broccoli.

Rice pilaf with
broccoli; cantaloupe
& purple grapes; mini
pumpkin muffins.

A muffin tin meal at home:
Celery sticks; baguette slices; poppyseed thyme crackers; mini pumpkin muffins; raisins; baby carrots; soy cheese squares; dried apricots; yellow apple slices; cashews; gherkin pickles; seaweed rice crackers.

Chili; cous cous;
steamed broccoli;
meatless meatball;
steamed cauliflower.

Maia's lunch: steamed broccoli; Tofurky slice; cantaloupe; grapes; steamed cauliflower; cous cous.

Some sort of english
muffin sandwich;
cantaloupe; baby carrots;
cucumber slices.

Wasn't this the coolest
potato you've ever seen!
Looked like a cute little
animal... I almost hated
to use it, but when it
finally started sprouting
its time had come.

Basmati rice with channa masala (chick pea curry); cucumber slices; pickle; mini pumpkin muffin.

Soba noodles; striped
apple slices; sesame
baked tofu; blanched
spinach; cucumber
slices; avocado cucumber
sushi.

Maia's lunch:
cucumber slices;
striped apple slice;
blanched spinach;
avocado sushi; soba
noodles.

English muffin pizzas; Tofurky slice; 1/2 a yellow apple; steamed broccoli; carrot rounds.

Strawberries; apple
slices; rice & bean
burrito; carrot sticks;
pickle; steamed broccoli;
green beans; mini
banana muffin.

mini apple cider
raisin muffin;
steamed broccoli;
pickle; snap peas;
strawberries; dried
apricots.

Flax lavash wraps;
cucumber slices;
mini pumpkin muffins.

no tomatoes in winter

2011-02-27T05:16:00.000-08:00

Tomatoes are my favourite food in the world...but I have learned to go without fresh tomatoes for half the year. I will occasionally buy a couple to make a layered dip for a special occasion (there is a greenhouse in the next town that grows organic hydroponic tomatoes and they are available at the regular supermarkets), but throughout the winter and spring I mostly rely on jarred and dried tomato products, or whatever I froze or dehydrated in the summer and fall.

Two summers ago, local tomato crops in New England were ruined by late blight. It was then that I learned to go without them for such a long stretch that now 9 months doesn't seem like such a big deal to wait for a perfectly sun-ripened local tomato.

And so I can appreciate
what we DO get more as
well. This year the winter
farm shares at the CSA
are the longest yet,
stretching til the end of
March! That means there
will only be 2 month of the
year we are not receiving
locally grown vegetables.

Winter offers lots of root
vegetables, mostly stored
in the root cellar and
divided for each monthly
pickup through the season.
Carrots, parnsips, purple-
topped turnips, potatoes,
celeriac, onions, shallots &
beets. Roasting, mashing,
and making simple soups
takes care of the majority.

The rest of the winter
share consists of kale,
swiss chard, spinach,
baby salad greens, leeks,
cabbages, popping corn,
and a little extra garlic.

Amazingly most of this
is grown in the actual
ground, just covered by
a simple frame mobile
greenhouse.

This winter saw (and is
still seeing--it's snowing
as I type) some huge
snow accumulation. But
on a sunny day the
temperature in side the
greenhouse can reach
the 80sF.

Another lower greenhouse
was added this year to
increase kale and chard
production. While the kale
from the summer still
survives in the field, covered,
this kale is much more
robust, offering sharers a
large bagful at each pickup.

Spinach with Dried
Tomatoes & Garlic

8 oz. fresh spinach, washed
1 T. olive oil
1 T. margarine (I use Earth
Balance)
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 sun-dried or dehydrated
tomato slices, soaked
salt & pepper

Soak the dried tomatoes
in hot or boiling water
for 30 minutes. Save the
soaking water! Remove the softened tomatoes and slice thinly or chop.

In a large pot or skillet, heat the olive oil & margarine over medium heat. Add garlic & tomatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add spinach, a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Toss with a fork or tongs. Cook for another minute. Add a few tablespoons of the tomato soaking water, cover pot, and cook 1-2 minutes until tender.

a month's worth

2011-02-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Let's see if I can get a month's worth of missed bento posted! Plus one or two from the end of December...

Vegan chik'n salad; steamed broccoli; Delta airlines Biscoff cookies; vegetable gyoza; pickle; cucumber slices; mini banana muffin.

Dark
choc-
olate
covered
coconut;
gluten
free
seed
crack-
ers;
meat-
less
meat-
balls;
eng-
lish
muffin
pizza;
carrot
& cucu-
mber
ribbons.

I was trying to make the cucumber and carrots look like ribbon candy. I might have to blanch it next time I try this to make it more bendable, or thread it together with something.

The dark chocolate covered coconut is made by Next Organics. I found it in the Orlando airport, on sale, along with dark chocolate covered apricots and cherries. I bought half a dozen packages they were that good.

Back to school in
January: pineapple
chunks; cucumber
slices; sandwiches
w/rice cheese "notes"
(must have been music
day at school); carrot
sticks.

Maia got to use her new
Mickey & Minnie bento:
honeydew melon; steamed
broccoli; a pickle; smoked
Tofurky slice; carrot sticks;
snap peas; oatmeal carrot
cookie; tiny round
sandwich.

And for the boys:
honeydew melon; tiny
round sandwiches;
oatmeal carrot cookies;
smoked Tofurky slice;
carrot sticks; dried
apricots for Ryan, raisins
for AJ; steamed broccoli.

Grilled nutritional yeast
cheez sandwiches; steamed
broccoli; orange slices; 1/2
a cookies & creme Luna bar.

Sandwiches; honeydew melon,
blueberries, & halved pitted
cherries; carrot rounds;
green beans.

And Maia had:
carrot sticks; pickles;
green beans; smoked
Tofurky slice; honeydew
melon, blueberries;
halved pitted cherries.

This looks like Ryan's
lunch, probably while AJ
was sick: sandwiches;
carrot sticks; peanuts;
pickle; blueberries; mini
apple cider raisin muffins.

Mini pumpkin muffins?;
cold tofu; steamed broccoli;
baby carrots; brown rice.

Apple pumpkin Nudgie
bar; dried apricots;
cucumber slices;
poppyseed thyme
crackers; sandwiches;
pickle; snap peas; baby
carrots.

Maia's lunch:
mini pumpkin muffin;
piece of a Nudgie bar;
smoked Tofurky slices;
dried apricots; cucumber
slices; pickle; baby
carrots; snap peas.

And I think that was it
for the month!

Holidays

2011-02-25T04:48:00.001-08:00

It's so easy to get derailed from blogging. A stomach virus had us laid out flat, my husband had a very busy travel schedule, and there were so many school events and holidays and projects to attend to. Suddenly you realize that you are no longer allotting time to blog, but instead posting 30 second bursts of pics on Facebook instead.

We arrived back from Florida just in time for the brunt of the winter holidays.
Here is one of the travel meals I made for the plane, in nestable containers for the kids so they would take up little space when emptied, and the grownup meals were packed in recycled disposable containers. There was sesame tofu, marinated mushrooms, blanched spinach, soba noodles, and pickles.

One thing I don't own is
a crock pot or slow-cooker;
I rely on my rice cooker or
deep Calphalon cookware
for those tasks. But the
Florida house is stocked with
a crock pot, so I used it to
make easy dishes like chili,
so I could spend more time
enjoying the vacation instead
of cooking for the family. I
made sure to plan ahead for the trip, pre-mixing the spices I'd need for various dishes in zip-top snack bags, pre-measured for easy cooking. You don't want to have to go out and purchase half a dozen spices when on vacation just to make a tasty meal!

After spending most of
every day in the pool
(thank goodness it was
heated because the
weather in Florida was
unusually COLD), it
wasn't easy to come back
to New England and want
to jump right into Xmas
and snow.

At least Delta was able
to ease that transition
with free drinks.

Because my husband
travels so much, he is
allowed free upgrades
to business class, which
he graciously passed on
to me for our trip.

Many airlines only serve
non-vegan meals on
domestic flights that must
be purchased onboard
(unlike international
flights where you can order
a vegan meal ahead of time
for no extra charge). But at
least the snacks are often
vegan, like these cookies.

I still had a few more
days of school lunches
to pack before schools
were off for the holidays.
Even if I wasn't in the
mood for fancy face
food, I could still try to
make a simple sandwich
into something festive.

So I got out the holiday
cookie cutters and made
reindeer sandwiches. A
red sprinkle affixed to the
nose completed the face.

For a full sandwich, I just
use a sandwich keeper
from Tupperware or one
from the Target $1 section.
There's usually plenty of
space along one side to add
some crudites.

For a treat for the kids,
and to give away to
family and friends, we
made some sugar cookie
stars. Super yummy as
always, these are one of
my favourite kinds of
cookies ever--slightly
crisp on the outside, but
they stay soft inside for
many days (if they last
that long before being
eaten). I often make sugar cookies for school events because nobody can resist them.

I also made a bunch of
mini loaves of walnut
crusted banana bread.
I must say it's nice to
be able to cook with nuts
when on school holidays,
since almost every school
nowaday is nut-free.

We spent the rest of
the school holiday
visiting with relatives
nearby, playing in the
snow, and even got in
a trip to the local
Danforth Art Museum.

AJ is rather interested
in taking art classes
there some time.

There was an adorable
exhibit from the
children's book
Pocketful of Posies
by Salley Mavor, of
her embroidered
fabric nursery rhyme
scenes.

In between all of the
inevitable holiday
treats I try to infuse
some balance with
healthy snacks. Here
was an entirely green
snack of raw broccoli,
bell pepper, snap peas,
celery sticks, and
cucumber slices.

Shortly after the new
year we celebrate
AJ's birthday. He
requested a chocolate
Mario Bros. cake.
I used raisins for the
eyes, and we served it
with vanilla soy ice
cream.

AJ had a painting party
at Plaster Fun Time.
Again I had to make Mario Bros. themed cupcakes. They were a big hit.

And then came the dreaded stomach virus...slowly making it's way through every family member, my husband twice, and two of the kids THREE times. We were all but quarantined for 3 weeks! We never get flu or strep or many colds, but offer us a tempting stomach bug and apparently we can't say no. Ugh.

And so we passed the rest of January stuck indoors, with near-record snowfall, doing lots of laundry (but little cooking).

I made quite a few
noodle soups, but
mostly we served up
crackers and ginger
ale. At least with
soup I could still
use most of the
vegetables from our
winter farm share.

Otherwise I made
simple dishes like
roasted vegetables,
mashed potatoes,
and muffins. It wasn't
easy to get outside
even when everyone
was feeling better
because of the
extremely
deep snow.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2010-12-22T12:30:00.001-08:00

Yes! We've been away. Instead of holiday travels, we pulled the kids out of school a week early. Three important planets aligned: low airfare, low house rental rates, and no business trips for my husband. Outta here!!!
And what this also meant... short lines at Universal Studios' new Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction. So many people have asked me to review our visit there that I didn't want to delay... so have your wands at the ready and grab that portkey!

As you would expect at a Florida theme park, the wizarding world was very realistic and detailed. Hogsmeade village is located in the northeast corner of Universal Studios.
The Dragon Challenge roller coaster is the most intense ride, not for young children (so we could not ride it due to the height requirement of 54", not to mention I don't think I could have stomached it anyhow). This coaster existed before the installation of the Harry Potter portion of the park, and I believe it used to be called the Dueling Dragons (my husband rode it back when we were there a decade ago, before kids). It is a double inverted coaster, where your legs dangle freely. This is the only dueling inverted coaster designed by the Swiss inverted coaster pioneers, Bolliger & Mabillard. You might want to ride this one before you've had a few butterbeers & bottles of pumpkin juice! If you're not sure (and don't mind the ride spoiler) you can check out the ride via YouTube video here.

And yes, you can indeed try
some butterbeer and pumpkin
juice. Now the butterbeer is
not vegan, or even vegetarian
as far as I know, so I can't tell
you anymore about it. But the
pumpkin juice, although
sweetened with sugar, was
quite delicious! Its primary
ingredients are apple, pumpkin
and apricot juices. It has lovely
subtle spices, but mostly it's the
apricot juice that gives it such a nice flavour in my opinion.

The boys shared a big salty soft pretzel as well. There was a food stall that was heavy on fresh fruit: watermelon wedges, grapes, oranges, etc. But we ate largely the food we'd brought, to save money, since the admission into Universal's Islands of Adventure is already a small fortune.

If you are interested to know what other food options are available, check out PurpleChocolatHome's review here, which includes photos inside The Three Broomsticks restaurant and Honeyduke's candy shoppe, or Mouse Planet's muggles guide to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter here. If you're any variety of vegetarian and you plan to eat at The Three Broomsticks, you'll be ordering a meal full of side dishes. There is also a salad available, and a vegetarian potato leek soup. Another vegetarian blogger reviewed the food here.

The other thing we had going for us was the weather. The cold (for Florida) weather kept people away, plus it was a weekday, plus we were there before schools let out for the winter holidays. Triple win. Instead of wait-times of 2-3 hours for the most popular ride, the official ride times were 30-40 minutes, which actually translated to a 10-15 minute brisk walk through the twisting passages of Hogwarts castle...something you won't want to miss whether you choose to go on the ride or not.The most popular ride is the Forbidden Journey. The height requirement is 48", about the size of the average 7-8 year old. AJ just barely met the requirement at age 6 3/4. The line for the ride takes you through many rooms in Hogwarts, such as Professor Sprout's greenhouse, Dumbledore's office, the portrait gallery, and the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom (with holograms of Harry, Ron & Hermione very convincingly informing you about your impending journey). The animated portraits were exceptional!

AJ pretty much kept his eyes closed through the entire ride...the first time. But Ryan convinced us to go again, and AJ and I were both able to enjoy it more the second time. And then we went a third time! It quickly became everyone's favourite. It's sort of a combo between a roller coaster and motion simulator, with multiple concave IMAX style screens interspersed with animatronics. You might also get spit on by giant spiders, or receive a steam bath in the face from a fire-breathing horn-tailed dragon. The ride seats 4 people in a row--I could reach AJ's hand around the seat-barrier though I couldn't actually see his face due to the restraints that prevent you from falling out or leaning too far forward.
If you have already been on the ride (or don't mind spoilers) there is a YouTube video of The Forbidden Journey at a fan site here... it is shaky and often in the dark since it was clearly taken with a cell phone (which is actually not permitted during the ride, though there are small compartments in the back of each seat to store small items like cell phones, glasses & hats during the ride).

The
ride
spits
you
out
into
Filch's
Empor-
ium of
Confis-
cated
Goods,
a dark
and
crowded
gift
shoppe
where
you
can
view
(and
purch-
ase) the on-ride photo of yourself if you'd like. Gryffindor scarves were very popular attire the day we were there. From there you can return to the school locker rooms (if you have a bag or backpack with you, you have to leave it in the free lockers for the ride).

From there you may as well
head just across the way to
the tamer Flight of the
Hippogriff roller coaster. A
shorter more family-friendly
coaster, we rode this ride so
many times we lost count!
The roller coaster cars seat
2 people, and the height
requirement is only 36".

The queue leads you past a
beautiful rendition of Hagrid's hut, and the coaster's initial ascent affords an otherwise hidden view of Buckbeak's nest. Once again, the wait time was listed as 10-15 minutes, but in reality it was no more than 5 minutes. If you have a smartphone you can also download the Universal Studios wait-times app so you don't have to trek around the park only to find out your favourite ride's line exceeds your patience. Unlike Disney theme parks, Universal Studios charges extra for its equivalent of the Disney "fast pass".
The one attraction we did not want to wait in line for was Ollivander's wand shoppe. The line was outdoors and Ryan had already purchased a wand at the stall just outside of Filch's. Apparently Ollivander's stages a recreation of the wand choosing the wizard scene in the Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone film. But during peak hours only about 1 in 20 kids will be chosen to participate, so don't count on it being an interactive experience.

Other shoppes include Dervish & Banges (for magical items), Zonko's (for you pranksters out there), or have a postcard canceled at the Owl Post post office.

Be prepared to window shop, unless you have a hefty bank account! There are so many irresistible magical items to choose from. But you can always buy online later.
You can save a bit of money on accommodations by renting a house in the Orlando/Kissimmee area like we do, especially if you have a large family or are getting a bunch of friends together to go as a group. Renting a house not only saves money and gives you privacy, but you can save money on food and eat healthier home-cooked meals. And you are always allowed to bring packed lunches into the parks with you! Here's one last review I found that has some good videos & info.

school lunches

2010-12-13T04:39:00.000-08:00

There are plenty of times when rushing through the morning chaos with 4 kids that I wish there were healthy plant-based meal options available in the public schools. Goodness knows most American kids could use more vegetables in their diets, and less junk. But seeing as the obesity epidemic in this country is essentially being subsidized by the government, I choose the easy way out and pack my kids' food.

However, there are many ways to get involved in trying to bring healthier food to school and the community at large. For us, belonging to our CSA, Stearns Farm, is our biggest contribution--over 10K in organic produce is donated annually to food pantries and soup kitchens in our town. And while I was at the farm volunteering a few weeks ago, I met two women from the metrowest Jewish Family Services who came by to harvest some excess root vegetables--they were to be added to grocery bags given to families in need. I suggested adding a few recipes, since the largely Brazilian population in the southern half of our town wouldn't necessarily be familiar with celeriac and parsnips. It is my feeling that many folks WANT to include healthier foods in their family's diet, but don't know what to do with the raw ingredients, or don't know how to make them appealing to kids (or adults with child-like palates ;-) ).

While I am an abolitionist vegan at heart, I don't think that methodology is really the best way to change the general public's eating habits and outlook on food ethics. I think modeling good eating is #1, but since the majority of kids are surrounded most of the day by their peers, offering exclusively healthy meal options in schools is key. There are some good programs attempting to do this, such as the Great American Salad Bar Project, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, or the Farm Aid school programs. Even something as simple as redesigning lunch lines in cafeterias can have an impact on the food choices that kids make for themselves.

While these programs are not always focusing on plant-based diets, parents, school staff and community members can get involved to influence the foods and recipes that will be purchased.

Meanwhile, I continue to pack vegan lunches, which also have less impact on the environment...

Maia's preschool lunch: rice flower with nori bunny; monterey jack soy cheese squares; smoked Tofurky flower; honeydew melon chunks; a pickle; cucumber slices.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
broc-
coli &
Tofu-
rky
Italian
saus-
age
lasa-
gna;
mini
banana
muffin;
mini
S'mores
Luna
bar;
carrots;
honey-
dew
melon.

past week

2010-12-10T14:07:00.000-08:00

Catching up with lunches...

Ryan & AJ's lunches: Tofutti cream cheese & jelly mini pitas; blanched spinach; carrots; meatless meatballs; mini banana muffin.

Maia's lunch for preschool:
blanched spinach; carrots;
raisins; Tofutti cream
cheese & jelly mini pita.

Rice;
spin-
ach;
cucu-
mber
slices;
spring
roll.

Peanut butter & agave
nectar sandwiches; seed
crackers; cucumber slices;
grape gel cup; carrots.
Raisins for AJ, dried apricots
for Ryan.

Hummus & spinach sandwich;
carrots; baked blue corn chips;
mini banana muffins; Tofurky
slice.

Mini banana muffin; cucumber slices; steamed broccoli; Sunshine breakfast rice.

double the excitement

2010-12-01T06:56:00.001-08:00

Oh boy did I totally drop the ball for the last day of VeganMofo 2010. I didn't even get to posting...I was off doing what I like to do on overcast autumn afternoons. So a day late, here are yesterday's lunches...

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
grilled
nutri-
tional
yeast
cheez
sand-
wiches;
apple
slices;
Tofu-
rky
slice;
spinach;
cucu-
mber
slices.

And
at
pre-
school...
Maia's lunch: spinach; grilled nutritional yeast sandwich; apple slices; Tofurky slice; cucumber slices; dried apricots.

Today...

Ryan's
lunch:
whole
wheat
pasta
shells
w/nutri-
tional
yeast
cheez
sauce
& aru-
gula
in a
Ther-
mos;
veggie
crack-
ers;
multi-
seed
crack-
ers; Tofurky slice; cucumber slices; meatless meatballs; baby carrots.
AJ's lunch was the same as Ryan's above.

And if you must know what distracts me from posting in a timely manner, it's usually a long run/walk/hike in the woods... I eventually come back when it's too dark, time for me to make dinner, or my phone's battery runs out...

sunny monday lunches

2010-11-29T06:51:00.000-08:00

Reluctantly we all oozed back into the weekday after a fairly lazy Thanksgiving weekend...

Ryan & AJ's lunches: whole wheat mini pitas stuffed with tofu salad; Trader Joe's maple sandwich cookie; baby carrots; peanuts; cucumber slices; raisins for AJ, dried apricots for Ryan; green beans dressed with soy sauce.
I hope
the
boys
don't
feel
they're
getting
too
old
for
the
mini
giraffe
forks!
I have
not
seen
any
cool
super
hero
mini
forks,
only toothpicks and cupcake liners. Maybe I should invest in some plainer items...do they even make plain mini bento items?!

We had a few warm days
before Thanksgiving to
spend outside.

Thanksgiving Eve we had
sushi in Cambridge. It's
nice no longer requesting
a booster seat or highchair
for anyone! Of course Maia and Nate still require help popping out their edamame.

Thanksgiving Day was considerably colder, but we still went out for a hike before I cooked the big meal.And finally, the dinner feast...
This
year's
menu:
spicy
baked
tofu;
mashed
potato
celeriac;
roasted
sweet
potatoes;
steamed
aspar-
agus;
stuffing;
rolls;
pumpkin
walnut
bread;
cran-
berry
sauce;
roasted squash seeds; pea shoots with garlic & white wine; corn; and lentil mushrooms loaves. The lentil mushroom loaves were the new item this year...and I was quite looking forward to them. But we found them to be very dry and I didn't care too much for the mushroom lentil combination.

And pumpkin pie with
a chocolate crust, with
butter pecan ice cream
for dessert!

before the feast

2010-11-23T10:51:00.000-08:00

With my husband finally back from weeks of business travel, I can begin thinking about the coming holiday. But to be honest, I just want a break!

Maia's lunch: oyster crackers; Tofurky slice; pea shoots; pickle; steamed asparagus; carrots; cherry tomato.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
mini
cinn-
amon
raisin
bagel
with
tofu
cream
cheese;
cucu-
mber
slices;
Tof-
urky
slice;
carrots;
steamed
aspar-
agus.

Today was the Thanksgiving feast in Nate's preschool class. The parents walking around asking if kids would like some "delicious chicken" brought him to tears at first, but I encouraged him to try the pumpkin muffins & stuffing we'd brought (he had two helpings) made with farm vegetables (sadly the celery leaves in the stuffing were the only green vegetable among the dozen plus food items). He
eventually decided to have
some cider and a clemen-
tine as well, and I'd given
him some animal crackers
to replace all of the other
cookies.
But he looked cute wearing
his painted pasta necklace
and vegetable print vest.
Maia's class made mini pumpkin pies...hers made with tofu instead.

I never did get 'round to posting fridays lunches...I was at the end of my rope then!

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
steamed
broc-
coli;
pickle;
peanuts;
apri-
cots
for
Ryan;
miso
chive
hummus
& spin-
ach
sand-
wiches;
mini
gel cup;
mini
pumpkin
muffin.

And here's Maia grazing on pea shoots at the farm yesterday...

...while Nate managed to find
probably the last fluffy dandelion
to make wishes with.

waiting for winter share

2010-11-19T12:59:00.000-08:00

It's friday! Hooray! Now I'm not usually excited about fridays because my husband usually works on the weekend, in fact he's been gone this month more days than he's been at home. But this friday is the first winter farm share pickup! I've been stubbornly refusing to purchase lettuce or other greens, subsisting on pea shoots from the cover crops and whatever extras were available. I even had to resort to pulling the leaves off the pea tendrils to put in the boys' wraps for lunch this morning...

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
banana
walnut
bread;
veggie
crack-
ers for
AJ,
dried
apri-
cots
for
Ryan;
Tof-
urky,
soy
cheese
& pea
shoot
leaves
roll-ups
on flax lavash bread; carrot; pickle; steamed broccoli; peanuts & raisins for AJ, peanuts & almonds for Ryan.

And Nate needed a lunch to eat at Grandma's house...
Nate's lunch: carrots; pickle; cherry tomato; pea shoots; peanuts, almonds & raisins; broccoli; banana walnut bread.

As soon as 1 o'clock
arrived, Maia & I were
off to the farm. We
brought home 3 big
bags of food: potatoes,
celeriac, carrots, sweet
potatoes, kale (2 kinds),
collard greens, parsley, sage,
chives, leeks, onions (red
& yellow), bok choy, butternut
squash, mixed salad greens,
spinach, cabbage, & 4 heads
of lettuce! The only thing I was surprised not to see was parsnips, which means I'll have to alter out Thanksgiving menu slightly, but that's fine.

Hello Wednesday

2010-11-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

Hello lunch...
Maia's lunch: 1/4 english muffin; carrots; broccoli; red grapes; pickle; Tofurky slice.

Here's Maia just before
leaving for preschool. I
dressed her in her Hello
Kitty jumper & tights to match her Hello Kitty shoes...her last day wearing them as she is clearly outgrowing them.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
home-
made
pizza;
broc-
coli;
grapes.

Oh the
pizza...
last
night I
thought
I had a
brill-
iant
idea:
butter-
nut
squash
grated
onto pizza. Ya know, it would camoflage itself like shredded cheesy stuff, taste sweet & savory, and be well-received by all. Little did I know it would cause double tantrums...from the older boys of all people! Luckily two of the four pizzas I made had alternate toppings. So the boys had leftover spinach & black olive pizzas for lunch. ...And I had quite a lot of pizza to eat myself!
Above is the delicious looking squash pizza that only Nate & I enjoyed.
I even put crumbled sage in the crust mixture to compliment the squash. I made one pizza intended for just me (Dada is in Texas again)... butternut squash, caramelized onions & kalamata olives. It was superb.

in my dreams

2010-11-17T16:28:00.000-08:00

It was a good thing I had leftovers ready to go and frozen items prepped in the freezer...this morning was pouring rain and conducive to sleeping and coffee. It stopped by 9am then proceeded to get really windy. But I didn't even glance in the fridge til after 8am to start making lunches...

Luckily I'd made twice-baked potatoes the night before for dinner. The kids loved them, especially the older boys. They'd never had them before, since I hadn't made them in years and years. It wasn't Ryan's heritage research for homework about Ireland that put me in a potato mood, nor the big bag of potatoes sitting in the cabinet, not even the cold windy weather. It was a dream. Over the weekend I woke up from a most delicious dream where I was pulling a big tray full of these yummies out of the oven...

Ryan & AJ's lunches: mini pumpkin muffin; twice-baked potato; red grapes; green beans; clementine on the side.

I didn't try to make these remotely healthy... I just went for completely scrumptious. They've got chives, Daiya mozzarella and Tofutti Sour Supreme in the filling. And they're topped with Daiya cheddar and paprika. So pretty! Even in our poorly lit kitchen at night I just want to bite the screen.

let it roll

2010-11-16T10:01:00.001-08:00

We're all about games in our family. Here's a simple lunch for the easy to please. The sandwich happens to be one of the kids' cousins' faves...which to them makes it even cooler.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
peanut
butter
& agave
nectar
sand-
wich
squares;
carrots;
cucu-
mber
slices;
grapes.

Cutting
carrots
into
shapes
takes
only a
minute,
and
punching out a few nori
dots with a hole punches
is almost too easy. But it
makes what would otherwise
be a very boring looking
meal into a fun kid-friendly
lunch perfect for an elementary
school lunchbox.

On to the preschool lunch...
Maia's lunch: mini pumpkin muffin; cucumber slices; red grapes; carrots; cherry tomato; pickle.

unintentional long weekend

2010-11-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

When my husband travels I'm often less inclined to make an impressive meal. I end up skipping a lot of meals myself and just making simple food for the kids. Not great for VeganMofo, but what are you gonna do...he's away a lot this month. But he'll be back for a day and a half, so I made some sushi rice this morning--bento filling for the boys, an afternoon snack for my husband when he returns...and breakfast for me. :-)

Ryan & AJ's lunches: dried apricots for Ryan, raisins for AJ; cold sesame spinach; maki sushi: cucumber, green beans, & avocado; soy sauce; sesame tofu.

Now if you had any doubts about friday's absent sub-par lunches, here they are...

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
1/2 Amy's
rice &
bean
burrito;
apricots
for
Ryan,
raisins
for AJ;
soy
cheese
slices;
cucu-
mber
slices;
mini
pump-
kin
muffin;
cold spinach.

Don't Mess

2010-11-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

...With Texas. It may have been a holiday, but Dada was off on back to back trips to Texas. So I made this snack for his flight.
Husband's snack: clementine on the side; spinach salad w/tomato slices, kalamata olives & chives w/Goddess dressing on the side; mini pumpkin muffin.

The tomatoes and chives are still from our CSA share last month! But there's only one more ripe tomato in the fruit bowl. Luckily the boys were happy to have more green tomato salsa with their lunch...
Top clockwise: sauteed Tofurky sausage & collard greens; pita chips; spinach & chive hummus; tortilla strips; green tomato salsa; waffle pretzels; baby carrots & cucumber slices.

a new low

2010-11-10T14:38:00.000-08:00

Not only are my lunch pics more horrible than the badest worstest pics ever thanks to another soggy morning and an iPhone, but I let the boys leave for school wearing a Mario mustache and spiked hair. I'm awesome, hahahaha.Ryan & AJ's lunches: pickles; carrots; Tofurky slice; cinnamon apples; leftover mushroom spinach black olive pizza.
And here are the dudes...

Terrific Tuesday

2010-11-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

I had lunches all but ready to go by 6:45am this morning. Then I took off to north central Mass for some hiking in the Pioneer Valley.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
tofu
salad
on
wheat
buns;
straw-
berry
gel
cup;
green
beans;
carrot
rounds;
pickle.

Appar-
ently
Ryan's
friends
think
the little gel cups are really cool and ask him when he'll bring them again. Who woulda thought.

Maia's lunch: pickles; carrots; green beans; soy cheese; Tofurky; pea shoot.

I hiked from 9am-4pm
and the rain held off
pretty much the entire
time which was great.
I saw NO ONE on the
trails, and only two
people around the state
forest headquarters.
Very quiet day in the
woods! Of course I was
looking at a nice view
wondering what peak I
was seeing in the distance and what an idiot I feel like now, realizing I should've been using my Peak.ar app on my phone. But I'm guessing it was Monadnock.
I eat sooo much less when I'm off hiking all day...just a clementine, a banana, and a Luna bar. For dinner I had a cold package of Tasty Bite curry. It's amazing the habitual eating that occurs around the kids, sigh. Of course they bribed Dada to order pizza for dinner, LOL.

worst picture award

2010-11-08T15:34:00.000-08:00

Wow. All my pics were terrible this morning! Maybe it had something to do with the sleet and rain and dark clouds? And no flash? And the iPhone camera? Possibly. No recipes either today. Such is life...Ryan & AJ's lunches: clementines; rice & beans garnished w/carrot flower & steamed broccoli; vegan rice krispie square; pickle; peanuts & smoked almonds; baby carrot; checkered apple.

That's all I got! Tomorrow I'll be off hiking, so I'll be packing up most of the lunches tonight before bed.

green tomatoes

2010-11-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

There were a lot of nice looking green tomatoes left over at the farm, and most likely many of them wouldn't ripen before they rotted. So I brought home a flat of them and now I have to use them.

Tonight I made my rice cooker rice & beans, picked up a couple of bags of chips, and made salsa.

Green Tomato Salsa

6 small-medium green tomatoes, chopped (about 2-3 cups)
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 small hot pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon or lime juice
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.

This
salsa
was so
good
I am
tempt-
ed to
make
and
eat
nothing
else
but
this
for a
week...
well,
along
with
a marg
arita!
But I
supp-
ose that's too many chips, so I'd better come up with some other ideas too. But this is one of my favourite salsas ever. I love chunky crunchy salsa that isn't a bowl of homogeneous mush. Even the older boys loved it.

making Stone Soup

2010-11-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

I volunteered to make the Stone Soup at Stearns Farm today. This meant I would be preparing food mostly outdoors in 40 degree overcast weather with only cold water available from an outdoor faucet and only a
small plug-in electric
burner. And I had to get
most of the ingredients
from the seconds and left-
overs in the farm's root
cellar. But I came prepared
with a bag of red lentils, a
can of black beans, and my
bottle of liquid hickory smoke to add just a touch of something different for the farm staff.

All the soups at the farm
are vegetarian, usually
vegan, so this was a piece
of cake for me. What wasn't
a piece of cake was the fact
that I wanted to bring a
little something extra to
accompany the soup...which was a good thing, because they were out of bread. BUT the farmer has recently switched to a gluten-free diet, AND I didn't want to exclude anyone that might happen to be anti-soy. SO whatever I made had to be vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free.

So before I left for the farm
in the morning I whipped
up what I hoped would be
a decent batch of muffins.
No wheat flour. No Earth
Balance margarine. None of
my usual crutches.

I had just broken down
most of our jack o' lantern
pumpkins, including one
pie pumpkin from the
farm. It was already in
the fridge cut, steamed,
and ready for use. So
pumpkin muffins they
would be!

I sub-
bed
coco-
nut
oil &
maple
syrup
for my
usual
melted
marg-
arine.
This
res-
ulted
in a
slightly
greasy
exteri-
ior to
the
muffins,
but the flavour was absolutely fantastic, so I think it's worth posting the recipe of my crazy concoction. The kids and my husband tested them first and absolutely loved them. They commented on the different texture (since they're used to wheat) but kept asking for more since they tasted so good.

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Muffins

2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 T. Ener-G egg replacer powder + 4 T. warm water
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups pumpkin or other winter squash, peeled, cut & steamed
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 cup glutinous rice flour (otherwise known as "mochiko", or sweet rice flour, available at most asian markets)
1/4 cup organic cornmeal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1 T. vegan cane sugar for garnish
spray olive oil for muffins tins

In a large bowl, mix first 3 ingredients. Then prepare egg replacer, whisking with a fork until frothy, and add to bowl along with the vanilla. Stir well.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Puree the steamed pumpkin (or mash very well) and add to bowl, stirring to combine. Add the next 9 (dry) ingredients. Mix well. Add the walnuts (or your nut of choice).
Spray mini muffin tins with olive oil. This recipe made 30 mini-muffins so plan accordingly.
Fill muffin tins with batter just up to the top. Sprinkle a little sugar over each. Bake for 18 minutes.

soup at sunset

2010-11-05T14:09:00.000-07:00

Talk about photographically challenged--morning pics in the dark rain, dinner pics as the sun was setting. Plus we were low on groceries...

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
honey-
dew
melon;
mixed
nuts;
apple-
sauce
cook-
ies;
rice
w/goma
shio;
broc-
coli.

Tonight
is movie
night
at the
elem-
entary school. The boys have a choice of Toy Story 3 or the Karate Kid.

Dinner
was a
yummy
soup
full of
farm
veg-
gies
and
beans.
On the
side I
made
some
rose-
mary
bread-
sticks
and
pepper-
oni
bread
twists.

White Bean, Cabbage & Celery Soup

2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup celeriac (celery root), peeled & chopped
1 large potato, peeled & chopped
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup cabbage, roughly chopped in bite-sized wedges
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1 can (15.5 oz.) cannellini beans (or other white beans)
1/2 cup celery leaves
1/2 tsp. marjoram
water to fill pot

Add first 6 ingredients to a soup pot. Saute over medium-low heat until veggies are tender. Add next 4 ingredients plus water to fill the pot three-quarters full. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 20 minutes. Add cabbage & liquid smoke. Cook another 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook another 10-20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes. Remove about 2 cups of the soup and puree (or use an immersion blender briefly) and return to pot. Stir and serve.

Pepperoni Bread Twists

1 batch of my pizza dough
for dummies
1/2 a package of veggie
pepperoni
kosher salt
garlic powder
dried oregano
olive oil

First make the pizza dough and allow to rise. (I like to let it rise for an hour, knead it for 1 minute and cover again, let it rise for another hour, then use.)
Break dough into 8 pieces. Flour your work surface or use your hands to roll and stretch the dough into long thin pieces about 1 foot long each. Two at a time, place the ropes of dough down next to each other. Place 2 pieces of veggie pepperoni on the dough every 2-3 inches, twisting the other piece of dough around and over the top of the pepperoni. Repeat 3 times for each foot-long pair of dough. Then cut into 3 equal sections and place on a baking sheet. Repeat until you have 12 bread twists. Brush tops with olive oil, then sprinkle with a little salt, garlic powder & dried oregano. Bake at 350 degrees 15 minutes for scrumptious soft bread twists.

You can also use this same exact process to make rosemary breadsticks. Just create 8 long dough ropes, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with a little garlic powder and some chopped rosemary & kosher salt. Then bake 15-20 minutes. Yum!

lots of

2010-11-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Every season brings its bounty. Apples are done, and cool weather greens are thriving. Up at the CSA, I can still pick plenty even though our summer share is officially over. Many herbs don't mind the dropping temps, and cover crops often produce their own treat. Dada worked at the farm yesterday harvesting carrots & leeks for the upcoming winter shares...

Maia and Nate ate a few
dozen raw pea shoots
from the cover crops.
Then we joined the day's
farm staff for soup and
sides. I brought along
extras for the kids. And
we made applesauce
oatmeal cookies from our
dwindling local apple supply.

I had made a whole lot
of applesauce, and I
needed to do something
else with it. It just felt
like a cookie day. And
my recipe created 3-4
dozen cookies, enough
to share at the farm as
well as pack for snacks and lunches the next day.Ryan & AJ's lunches: Toy Story pasta & broccoli w/Daiya cheese; honeydew melon; applesauce oatmeal cookie; baby carrots; cucumber slices.

Maia's lunch: Toy Story pasta w/broccoli & Daiya cheese; applesauce oatmeal cookie; honeydew melon.

Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies

1 stick Earth Balance, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup applesauce (if it's fresh and hot it creates a caramel texture when mixed with the sugars)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups quick oats

Melt margarine and mix well with the sugars. Add applesauce & vanilla and mix again. Add the next 6 (dry) ingredients and mix well. Add the oats last, stirring to combine.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees (actually just between 325 and 350 would be ideal...depends on how accurate your oven is).
Lightly spray/grease 2 cookie sheets. Drop a dozen blobs of dough on each sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes. Remove with a spatula to cool on a wire rack. Repeat once more with remaining dough.

sweet potatoes!

2010-11-03T15:14:00.000-07:00

The day started with frost and leaves falling like snow, but ended sunny and crisp. I turned local apple slices into "leaves" for the boys...
Ryan & AJ's lunches: Tofurky & vegetable rollups on flax lavash wraps; apple slices; peanuts.

We had lots of sweet potatoes from our last farm share, so I used them in two recipes tonight...sweet potato fries, and in burgers. I had leftover rice in the rice cooker so it all just came together with whatever I had...Sweet Potato & Bean Burgers

1 1/4 cups chopped raw sweet potato
1 small onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1 small poblano pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 tsp. salt
1 can (15.5 oz.) black beans, rinsed & drained
3/4 cup cooked rice
2 T. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
1-2 sage leaves, chopped (about 1 tsp.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, finely chop sweet potatoes, onion, garlic & poblano pepper. Add remaining ingredients and process until well combined.
Spray a baking sheet with olive oil. Plop a handful of burger mix into your palm and form it loosely in a burger shape, then schlep it onto the baking sheet! Bake 35 minutes, carefully flip over with spatula, then bake another 15-20 minutes until crisp on the outside.

Pea Tendrils & Carrots

1-2 T. olive or canola oil
1/3 of a vegetable bouillon cube (or use vegetable broth instead of water below)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled & shaved into thin strips
4 cups (a few large handfuls) pea tendrils
1/3 cup water
2-3 T. white wine
1 T. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

In a large pot or saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic & bouillon. Mash bouillon & cook for about 30 seconds. Add carrots, pea tendrils & water. Stir and cover for about 2 minutes. Remove cover, add wine & parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat & serve.

almost a holiday

2010-11-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

This year the public schools in our town declared Election Day a school holiday, mostly to avoid tip-toeing around the voters at the schools. But the younger kids go to preschool in an adjacent town where schools were open, so it was sort of a half holiday here. Maia was the only one needing a packed lunch.

Maia's lunch: honeydew melon flowers; grilled nutritional yeast cheez sandwich circles; gherkin pickles; carrot matchsticks wrapped in cucumber; roasted butternut squash seeds; steamed broccoli.

Last night at sunset I went up to the CSA to pick pea tendrils from the cover crops. There were two deer watching me from a distance, but you can't really see them in the picture unless you know they're there.
A third mobile greenhouse
has been added this fall to
increase and lengthen the
winter share production.
Instead of weekly pickups,
the winter shares are monthly
from November through
March. Only two months of
the year now that we won't
be receiving local produce!
Hopefully what I dry or freeze
will take us through until June.

Today's lunch...
Pea Tendril & Sausage Pasta

1 T. Earth Balance
1 T. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, sliced
4 cups pea tendrils (a few heaping handfuls)
1/2 cup vegetable broth (or water + 1/2 a bouillon cube)
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup white wine
pasta, cooked and drained

In a large skillet or pot, heat Earth Balance and olive oil and add garlic & sausage. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium-low heat until sausage has browned. Add pea tendrils and broth, salt & pepper. When pea tendrils have wilted, add white wine. Cook for a couple more minutes, adding more broth or pasta cooking water if necessary so the sauce isn't dry. Toss with cooked pasta.

Hayride

2010-11-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Whether you're in apple country or not, this drink really hits the spot after some outdoor fun or a cold autumn evening. No, this is NOT for the kids!! Send them to bed or something first!

(So
tell
me,
hon-
estly,
this
is an
iPhone
pic...
can
you
put
up
with
it 'til
I can
get a
new
camera?
How
about
if I
prom-
ise to post plenty of yummy recipes during Vegan Mofo this month?)
Here's my recipe for this amazing drink...

Hayride
1 cup warm apple cider
1/2 oz. cranberry juice (NOT juice cocktail!! I buy the R.W.Knudsen Just Cranberry at Trader Joe's for this)
1/2 oz. Goldschlagger
1 oz. vodka

Stir. Enjoy responsibly.
My husband drinks what I refer to as "girl drinks", and I'm the half Russian vodka expert. But he will drink this happily and calls it dangerous because he can hardly taste the alcohol. Really, this is so yummy. But you can always cut the amount of vodka in half if you are so inclined.
I garnished this with a striped apple slice. If you're going to serve these to guests and need to prep the apples ahead of time, make sure to bathe them in lemon water for a few minutes to prevent them from browning.

You can also dust them with
a little cinnamon if you'd like.
(Goldschlagger is a cinnamon
liqueur with flecks of gold in
it, imparting a lovely warm
cinnamon taste to the drink.)

Don't worry if you don't have
any fancy drink-making
paraphernalia, you could just
nuke a mug of cider and stir
in the rest of the ingredients.
I love this handy "mini measure" cup that's the size of a shot glass. Perfect for measuring and mixing small amounts, especially liquids. You can buy these at most kitchen stores.

But is this liquor vegan, you ask? Well yes, and I know because there's an app for that! I love the "Is Your Liquor Vegan?" app for my phone...along with two similar apps for beer and wine. Add the "Mixology" app and you have everything you need for vegan happy hour. Right?

Now of course I had to make
one of these for lunch in order
to get good light for the picture,
so I had some local roasted
butternut squash, parsnips,
sweet potatoes & leeks with
thyme to accompany it, along
with a local apple from Autumn
Hills Orchard and some
peanut butter.

Now that's a proper Vegan Mofo
kickoff!

Halloween leftovers

2010-11-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

So I didn't post lunches at the end of last week. Why? Because I broke my camera. Well, that's the short story.
Long story is...friday AJ brought home some sort of slime in a bag from a Halloween party. He made a whoopie cushion out of this slime and repetitively demanded that Dada come see it. Dada was playing Magic online. Therefore no one was coming to look at his whoopie cushion, and he was going to repeat his request until I lost my hearing. So with wet hands from loading the dishwasher I grabbed my camera and went into the other room to take a picture of it so he would move on to something else. And I slipped, dropped the camera, and it bounced a few times with the lense exposed before coming to rest under the dining room table. I picked it up. I took a picture. And it was a blurry mess. The lense was ruined, and would probably cost more than the price of the camera to fix. I wrestled the lense closed and dejectedly went back to the dishes, knowing that...

TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF VEGAN MOFO 2010!!!#%@!!

What to do. First I said a bunch of nasty words. Then I moped. Then I managed to successfully unload the pictures that were still on the camera. I contemplated dropping from Vegan Mofo. But no, I don't give up. Even if I had to post the entire month using embarrassing photos from my iPhone, typing on a screen
the size of my palm or syncing
my phone nightly, I would still
post. But regardless, my grand November welcome would be postponed while I figured out how to proceed.

So I may post twice today while I play with crappy 3G iPhone photographs, but this first post is just the leftovers, which always taste better the next day (or three), right??

Ryan
& AJ's
lunch:
steamed
broc-
coli;
owl
face
eng-
lish
muffin
pizzas;
roasted
pump-
kin
seeds;
peach
slices;
mini
Luna
bars.

And thursday's lunches...
Ryan & AJ's lunches: mashed potato/turnip/celeriac "eyeballs" w/black olives; meatless meatballs; carrot sticks; gherkin pickle; cucumber wedges.

Maia's lunch: mashed potato/turnip/celeriac; snap peas; meatless meatball; carrot sticks; sliced black olives.

And friday's hummus dippables lunches...
Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
waffle
pret-
zels;
hummus;
cucu-
mber
slices;
pickle;
mixed
nuts;
baby
carrots;
pita
chips.

And October is not complete without the obligatory Halloween pics...

Maia the kangaroo "rabbit".

Trying to get 4 kids to stand together and pose for a picture is like trying to teach a cat to fetch...but anyhow, here they are in costume...
Much better luck with the jack o' lanterns sitting still for a photo last night...

crunchy or smooth?

2010-10-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

No, no, not the ghosts. The peanut butter! I was raised on natural smooth peanut butter, usually homemade. But I admit it, I'm a fan of sweetened crunchy peanut butter. Or plain cashew butter.AJ's lunch: green beans; cucumber slices; Boo apple; raisins; pbj ghost sandwich.

Nate's lunch for grandma's house: cucumber slices; striped apple slices; green beans; pbj ghost sandwich.

It's
look-
ing
like
fall
finally!
This is
the
view
from
the
back
of our
house
up-
stairs.
Our
trees
tend
to be
very
yellow,
less
reds this year than usual thanks to the wonky precipitation pattern.

Who's on first...

2010-10-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

I can't decide which lunch should be in the spotlight today. Hmmm... I guess I'll go with ladies first, LOL.

Maia's
lunch:
snap
peas;
rice
trian-
gle;
broc-
coli;
car-
rots;
pickle;
vege-
table
gyoza;
Tofu-
rky
slices.

Maia also had 20 pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies tagging along with her today for her class and wednesday's class to decorate. But of course I was too busy taking pics of all the lunches and getting Ryan ready for his field trip to even remember to take a pic. Maybe someone will get a photo of them decorating the cookies at school.

Ryan was off to the
Museum of Science in
Boston today with the
Sage gifted program.
The M.C. Escher exhibit
is one of a handful they
have been looking forward
to. I contemplated cutting
some simple geometric
pattern out of nori and piecing it together to look like an Escher drawing, but ultimately I decided to stamp an image on soy paper with edible ink markers. Of course that meant I needed a stamp of an image...so I just had to carve one myself.

Ryan's lunch: mango gel cup; Escher rice triangle; vegetable gyoza; broccoli; Tofurky flowers; carrots; pickle.

Here's a closeup...And here's the stamp...
And AJ needed a lunch too. Nothing fancy, but I did manage to fit a bit of last night's apple crisp in for him.
AJ's lunch: rice triangle; vegetable gyoza; pickle; carrots; Tofurky flower; mini apple banana muffin; leftover apple crisp; broccoli.

And I didn't want to leave Nate feeling left out, so he got a nicer snack than usual for preschool...
Nate's snack: snap peas; vegetable gyoza; rice triangle; carrot; broccoli; pickle.

nothing to see here

2010-10-25T18:53:00.001-07:00

No, you didn't miss a post. Last friday's lunches were just too boring to warrant an entire post. And the weekend was pretty dull too. Monday was barely an improvement, except for Dada returning home from Germany in time for dinner after a week away.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
steamed
broc-
coli;
a side
of
ketchup;
baked
spicy
waffle
fries;
1/2 an
english
muffin
sand-
wich.

The weekend was spent doing a lot of this:

It's hard to say no when
a kid WANTS to use the
potty...but it sure makes
it hard to get anything
else done because you
don't want to leave them,
because of course that's
when they get up and
do their business elsewhere.

Here's one of the weekend's
successes however...purple
applesauce. Tasted like
candy. Local apples & concord
grapes. The grapes give any-
thing that hyper purple
colour. Only a dozen went into
the pot, but that's all it needed.
And wow do ripe concord
grapes make everything smell good! What a treat.

And today's lunches...

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
left-
over
pizza
with
veggie
pepper-
oni;
apri-
cots
for
Ryan,
raisins
for AJ;
mini
apple
banana
muffin;
baby
carrots;
gherkin
pickle.

lunch fit for a princess

2010-10-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

I was sure this bento would be too big for little Maia, but she wanted to use it. Surprisingly she ate almost everything!

Maia's
lunch:
grapes;
corn
on the
cob;
cucu-
mber
slices;
carrots;
steamed
broc-
coli;
mini
apple
banana
muffin;
snap
peas.

It was
just
too
busy a
morn-
ing to
do any-
thing
fancy
for the
boys...

Their
lunches
are on
the
small
side
today
because
they're
coming
home
at 1pm due to parent-teacher conferences.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: leftover eggplant lasagna; grapes; steamed broccoli; Nutter Butter cookie; cucumber slices.

There are two vegetables
I have not been able to
get my husband to enjoy:
beets & eggplant. So when
he's away I will often cook
those items for myself.

This broiled eggplant
lasagna ought to last
a few days at least!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

I just happened to pick some pea shoots growing as a cover crop at the farm yesterday, perfect for pumpkin vines...

Ryan's
lunch:
veggie
fried
rice
(with
onion,
carrots,
aspar-
agus,
broc-
coli,
snap
peas);
rice
cheese
moon;
carrot
pump-
kins
with
nori
and
pea tendrils; meatless meatballs.

AJ stayed home with a stuffy nose today, so I only had to make one bento. Ryan noticed the difference, saying "you make nicer lunches when you only have to make one! I like it when my lunch looks like an actual place." It's true...it's much easier to make just one bento.

The boys have been asking to get pumpkins for Halloween. We only have one pie pumpkin from the farm this year. The winter squash crop didn't do so well. I suppose I'll have to find a place to buy a couple of decent carving pumpkins, preferably locally grown that don't cost a fortune.

What's a ghoul anyways??

2010-10-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Being an avid reader of the fantasy genre and fan of similarly themed games, I am quite familiar with goblins, orc, trolls, zombies, vampires, and other monsters. But what the heck are ghouls? Kinda like zombies? Well, whatever they are, maybe they look like this...

Ryan & AJ's lunches: steamed asparagus; apple burrito; Tofurky flower; orange slices; crescent roll stuffed with broccoli & Daiya cheddar cheese, adorned with a veggie pepperoni mouth and autumn olives for eyes (I was lucky to find some autumn olives still fruiting yesterday, perfectly ripe).

I don't know quite how other people with multiple kids manage to take such lovely staged photos of their lunches every day. If I can manage to toss something down for a background I'm doing well, otherwise I just place it on the porch or on the walk or in the grass and hope for the best.
Seriously, by 8:50am on tuesdays & thurdays I am dizzy...4 breakfasts, 4 snacks, at least 1 diaper change and/or potty assistance, 4 people to dress, 4 snacks for later, 3 lunches to pack, teeth to be brushed before school...forget me getting time to sit and eat.
I know some people criticize those parents who show up still in their pajamas to drop off their kids at school...but that would be me most of the time, and I'm proud of it (and probably a heck of a lot more comfortable!). Maybe they have nannies or husbands who get up early to help? Handcuff the kids to the tv? Dunno. Or maybe they're like me, running in circles, trying not to trip.
Wait...I think I've figured out the secret: make duplicates of everything and take the nice photos AFTER the kids are at school...and then eat the extra bento oneself!!
This 2 1/2 hours twice a week with no kids in the house is really new to me. If I do sit down, I keep expecting to be interrupted...like I turn around sure someone is behind me who I might step on, and no one is there. Weird indeed!

Maia's lunch: orange pieces; Tofurky flower; snap peas; gherkin pickle; crescent roll stuffed with broccoli & Daiya cheddar cheese.

The
older
boys
were
excited
to use
their
new
Tupper-
ware
Sponge-
bob
Square-
pants
snack
cont-
ainers.
And
Nate
request-
ed a
roll like
his
brothers, so I packed him a nicer snack.

Still on the day's agenda: dropping husband off at the airport bus, final fall CSA share pickup, coming up with a name for our new favourite fall beverage!

Jack 'O Lantern sandwiches

2010-10-18T17:40:00.001-07:00

I can't wait 'til November...for the time change! I'm desperate for another hour's worth of sunlight for taking food photos in the morning. The sun has barely gotten high enough to give any good lighting before I need to pack up it all up.
Regardless, it's time to start making some Halloween themed lunches!

Ryan & AJ's lunches: snap peas; meatless meatballs; carrot coins; zucchini brownies; Jack O' Lantern sandwiches; grapes; broccoli.

now or never

2010-10-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Tomato season is almost at an end. The quantity quickly dropped off with the arrival of the cooler weather. Instead of the 5 pounds of tomatoes we were still getting two weeks ago, we got 1 pound, and they are mostly still green. And there are always some that begin to rot immediately, ripe or not, so I have to remain vigilant and use them as soon as possible. So when a tomato isn't quite ripe but needs to be used NOW, a puttanesca pasta sauce is delish. While you are preparing the sauce, put another pot on for your pasta.

Puttanesca

1-2 T. olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 hot pepper, seeded & chopped
1 tomato, diced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
6-8 olives, sliced
1-2 T. capers, drained
1 cup tomato sauce (or 1 small can tomato paste + a few T. water)

Put olive oil in a saute
pan over low heat. Add
garlic & hot pepper. Cook
less then a minute, then
add diced tomato & salt.
Cook 1-2 minutes. Add
olives & capers. Cook for
another minute. Then
add tomato sauce (I thawed
the oldest batch of sauce I'd
made during the peak of
tomato season two months
ago). Cook over medium-low
heat until reduced to desired
consistency. Toss with hot
pasta. I also added a cup of
frozen spinach when the

pasta was almost done
cooking to add some
leafy greens to the meal.

Pasta Puttanesca

Ryan worked in Boston this weekend with his father. I sent him off Saturday morning with enough food to get him through the day, though he also scored some veg sushi at the convention and some chips & salsa.
Ryan's food for the day: peanut butter pretzel Mojo bar; white chocolate macadamia Luna bar; baby carrots; a pickle; snap peas; smoked Tofurky, lettuce, soy cheese, Veganaise sandwich on Italian bread; an apple; grapes.

fun friday

2010-10-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

This week--okay, this MONTH--has been so busy with work stuff for my husband. So there haven't been many "cute" lunches. Just regular stuff. So I try to include a treat once in a while.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: steamed broccoli; sesame tofu; pineapple (for Ryan); rice; soy pudding on the side.

This weekend is a Wizard World convention in Boston. President Obama will be holding a rally for the current Massachusetts governor at the Hynes Convention Center, where my husband is running a Magic: The Gathering tournament. I'm sure there will be lots of added security, and parking issues, and tons
of fun costumes at New
England Comic Con. There
will also be a booth where
you can demo Ascension, a
new game my husband
has just helped produce.

And my lunch... cold soba
noodles with greens, kizami
nori, scallions & cold tofu.

not pot pie

2010-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

When I made a pot pie last night, I'd expected there to be leftovers for lunches today. Not so! Ryan complained because he has decided recently to complain more about certain foods, annoyingly, so there looked like there would be extra...but both AJ and Nate wanted seconds, and my husband came back for thirds. So despite Ryan's whining about the mushrooms and onions that were "too big", I'm definitely going to share this recipe I made! But first, today's lunches...

Maia's lunch: dried apricots; mini banana apple muffin; carrot; pizza sandwich bites; a pickle; cucumber slices.
She ate everything but the sandwiches...the girl just hates bread! She almost never eats a sandwich, and won't touch toast. I wish I had that problem.

Ryan & AJ's lunches: mini banana apple muffin; Sweet & Sara vanilla marshmallow; square of Endangered Species dark chocolate; cucumber slices; baby carrots; peanuts; a pickle; pizza sandwiches.

The reason for the marsh-
mallows was the s'mores
I made for the boys. Talk
about a messy treat! It had
been quite a few years
since I'd had them, and the
boys had never tried them.
Again, Ryan had to complain,
saying the chocolate over-
powered the flavour of the marshmallow. He'd rather jut eat the marshmallows. Doh.

Veggie Pot Pie

1 9x9 piece of frozen
puff pastry, thawed 45 mins.
2 T. margarine
2 T. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 large carrots,
peeled & chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart flat green beans, cut
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper
2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup water
1 vegetable bouillon cube, crumbled
2-3 dried sage leaves, crumbled
2/3 cup plain almond milk
1/2 T melted margarine + 1 tsp. almond milk (for basting)

In a large pot, heat margarine (I use Earth Balance) & olive oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrots & garlic. Stir & cook for 2 minutes. Add green beans, salt & pepper. Stir & cook another 2 minutes. Add potatoes & mushrooms. Stir & cook another 2 minutes or so.
Add flour and stir until vegetables are well coated.
Add water, vegetable bouillon, sage & almond milk. Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
Pour vegetable mixture into a square baking dish.
Place puff pastry sheet over the top, tucking in the edges to fit inside the baking dish.
Brush on the mixture of margarine & almond milk. Poke a few holes in the top of the pastry with a knife.
Bake in a preheated 375
degree oven for 30-35
minutes until golden
brown. Allow to cool
10 minutes before serving.

You can substitute other
vegetables if you like. AJ
won't eat peas, so I used
green beans instead. A vegetable pot pie is a wonderful way to utilize many local fall veggies. The onions, carrots, garlic, runner beans, potatoes & sage were all from our CSA share. I think cubed winter squash would also be a delicious addition, especially with the sage & potato flavours.

wednesday

2010-10-13T10:54:00.000-07:00

Nope, no clever title. It's just wednesday, what can I say. Only AJ needed a lunch today.

AJ's lunch: rice triangle w/goma shio; Tofurky slice; honeydew melon; a pickle; blanched spinach w/toasted sesame seeds.

When the cool fall mornings arrive, I really shy away from the typical american breakfasts.
My breakfast of ramen noodles with miso shoyu sauce, shaved salad turnips, turnip greens, kombu & scallion. Total yumminess! I don't always use the same greens of course. Whatever is available from the farm or the yard or nearby trails will suffice: dandelion greens, radish tops, spinach, tat soi, mizuna, mustard greens, carrot tops, beet greens, etc. A variety of seaweed options round out the meal, usually about one tablespoon dried seaweed crushed, ripped or chopped goes in with the noodles. In place of the salad turnips I have substituted radishes, bok choy, leeks & mushrooms. This is an easy way to make a quick, cheap, hearty breakfast.

Apparently I'm not the only person who feels noodle soups make an excellent breakfast (well, besides the country of Japan!). Check out Chez Cayenne's thai tofu noodle soup! Looks delish.

back to the grind

2010-10-12T11:24:00.000-07:00

After a long holiday weekend of Ryan's birthday sleepover (they were up til 1am), work, hiking, letterboxing by the Hopkinton Reservoir, and Ryan riding his skateboard for the first time (without falling!), it's back to busy weekday business.

Ryan
had
some
left-
over
burrito
from
eating
out
with
grandma
over
the
week-
end,
so he
wanted
that
in his
lunch
today.

Ryan's lunch: honeydew melon; cucumber slices; baby carrots; a pickle; veggie rice & bean burrito.

AJ's lunch: honeydew melon; cucumber slices; baby carrots; a pickle; mini cinnamon raisin bagel; rolled up Tofurky slice; carrot cake cookie w/lemon icing.

Maia's preschool lunch: honeydew melon; cucumber slices; baby carrot; rolled up Tofurky slice; a pickle; 1/4 of a mini cinnamon raisin bagel; striped apple slice.

It's more challenging making a bento for a child under age 3. I try to avoid the tiny food picks that might be deemed choking hazards by the staff. This giraffe fork is about the smallest I'll put into the 2 year old's lunches.

let the weekend begin!

2010-10-09T06:47:00.001-07:00

Friday was the beginning of a long weekend here. And hooray for a good weather forecast!

I had every intention of making little nori pawprints walking along the sandwiches, but I simply ran out of time...
Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
cheesy
spread
on bread
from the
farmer's
market;
a mini
dark
choco-
late;
check-
ered
apple
slice;
vegan
chik'n
salad;
green
beans
w/shoyu;
baby carrots.

Then it was time for
Ryan's friends to
arrive for a sleepover.
With a warm evening,
the kids all played
outside with glow
sticks, glasses, neck-
laces, bracelets.

The boys liked to pretend
they were Harry Potter.
They took apart some of
necklaces to make enough wands for everyone.

Care for Collards?

2010-10-07T13:49:00.000-07:00

Rain or shine, we still
have to pick up our
CSA share at the farm.
Nate loves going to
help with the pick-your-
own items. The collard
greens were looking
lovely all speckled with
raindrops.

The kale was taller than Nate, almost up to my shoulders!
Collards with a Kick

12 large collard green leaves, washed, stems removed, thinly sliced
2 T. Earth Balance buttery spread
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. liquid smoke
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Prepare collard greens.
In a medium pot melt
margarine over low heat.
Add collards & salt. Stir.
Cover & cook about 2
minutes.
Add liquid smoke &
cayenne pepper. Stir. Cover.
Cook another 5 minutes over
low heat until collards are tender.

Maia's lunch: meatless meatball; green bell pepper; heart sandwich of hummus & lettuce; chocolate chip bunny cookies; carrot flowers.

AJ's lunch: spaghetti w/tomato, carrot, kale, onion sauce & meatless meatballs; mini zucchini muffin baby carrots; cashews; raisins.

Ryan's lunch: spaghetti & meatless meatballs; 2 heart sandwiches of hummus & lettuce; baby carrots; dried apricots.

Birthday Blahs?

2010-10-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

With the conclusion of the stomach bug, with me, while my husband was still in NYC, there was no point posting for a few days. Really, who would want to see kid-made pbj sandwiches and granola bars thrown into lunchboxes. Not so fun.

But since Ryan was the one to bring home the lovely virus from another friend's party the week before, he of course felt fine first, very ready to celebrate his own birthday.

I keep tweaking this cake
recipe. I love it. I suppose
I should post it some time.
Ryan and his dad both
like vanilla cakes with
fruit though. So VCTOTW
frosting and fresh berries
are their favourite
topping.
I also managed to toss
a cupcake into Ryan's
lunchbox. His requested
flavour lately has been
vanilla cocount almond.
And I cut an eight out
of a Goody Good Stuff
gummy candy.

And the rain continued, making outdoor photography miserable. To top it off, my camera battery died before I managed to get any good pics, and my phone was full and needed unloading. So I had to use whatever I got...
Ryan & AJ's lunches: soba noodles w/tatsoi; carrots; baby corn; edamame; peanuts (& raisins for AJ); mini zucchini muffin for AJ; dried aprictos for Ryan; 1/2 a strawberry.
These lunches were smaller than normal because their appetites were not as yet as hefty after a couple of days of being sick.

Maia's lunch: soba noodles w/tatsoi; edamame; baby corn; a strawberry.

And today's lunch was only for AJ. Ryan had a dentist appointment. His next set of molars are cramming his other teeth so tightly the dentist can barely even floss them, so they're already getting cavities. Poor kid will definitely need braces. Some of his adult teeth can't even fit into his mouth so they're coming in totally out of line. Luckily AJ has very well-spaced teeth. Ryan got some unlucky genes. At least he'll earn himself a trip to the movies this afternoon to see the Owls of Ga'hoole.
AJ's lunch: striped apples; peanut butter sandwich squares; green beans w/shoyu; green stuffed olive; carrots.

bring it on October!

2010-10-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

I could pretend to wish everyone a happy October, but I think I'll wait 'til this stomach virus has left the house! The younger two kids have it now, and with Dada working a long weekend in NYC, I kept lunch pretty simple for the older boys.

Ryan
& AJ's
lunches:
mini
pumpkin
muffin;
mini
banana
blue-
berry
muffin;
tofu
salad
sand-
wiches;
1/2 of
a tang-
erine;
a pickle;
carrots.

Last night before I went to bed I flipped the calendar in the office to October. And that suddenly jogged my memory. October! Mofo! And I proceeded to Google "vegan Mofo 2010". I came up with conflicting sources, some saying it was in October again, some saying it had reverted back to the original November. But given that the official Vegan Mofo blog on Wordpress contains nothing but a test link to a participant survey--which by the way you can access by Googling it directly, which I found first, and therefore filled in the survey before reading the message not to do so--I'm guessing Vegan Mofo isn't happening until November. Does anyone else out there have more definitive info?

I like the idea of having Vegan Mofo alternate among the months over time. It allows for more variety. Imagine a June Mofo with all the local berries, or an August Mofo full of tomato recipes! How about a February Mofo overflowing with posts about vegan chocolates and spicy desserts and Valentine dinners. Yeah, it could be really interesting shaking Mofo up a bit! Not that I don't adore Halloween, 'cause I do, it's our favourite holiday! And the kids absolutely go nuts planning for the annual Thanksgiving feast. I'm drooling already!