it was Mother's Day

Can't let another day go by without sharing last Sunday's Mother's Day meals!
Clockwise from top left: broccoli cheddar crescent rolls; asparagus mushroom tofu quiche; honeydew melon & strawberries; homefries.





















I got a new Mosquito Magnet and poison ivy spray, LOL, and cards and a marigold. And Ryan carved a stamp for me...












Cauliflower and chick
pea curry over basmati
rice with my favourite
extra hot pickled mango
relish.

Hot Dogs & Curry

Ryan's lunch: strawberries; Yves Good Dog hot dogs w/ketchup & mustard; a Tirosh sandwich biscuit; marinated mushrooms; balsamic zucchini.

AJ's snack: biscuit
& hot dog.

Yep, out of time this
morning!



Since my instructor at the
Y was on vacation, I used
the time to pick up groceries
at Asinayo, the local asian
market in town. They were
out of the teensy gel cups I
usually buy for Ryan for a
treat in his lunches, but they
had this huge bucket super
cheap so I thought I'd give
them a try; there are four
flavours: strawberry, mango,
lychee & grape. Ryan is dying to try them but I'm making him wait for lunch!

This afternoon this blog hit 2,000 hits per month. Yahoo!

And in other fun, there's still time to enter the giveaway over at Lunch In A Box for a Kids Konserve lunch set. Kewl! There are many great places online to buy stainless steel lunch products now.

And here's Nate playing
with his castle while I
cooked dinner...when he
wasn't busy trying to
remove outlet covers to
plug in a LiteBrite or
ransack his brothers'
Bionicle collection.


Along with basmati rice
& a chick pea curry, I
wanted to use up some
potatoes...so I created
this recipe...


Lemon Curry Potatoes

3 medium potatoes, peeled,
cubed
2 cloves garlic, peeled & roughly chopped
1 T. olive oil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
a pinch of ground red pepper
1 T. lemon juice

In a small saucepan, boil potatoes until soft, about 15 minutes. Add garlic, cook another 2 minutes, remove from heat. Drain. Allow to cool somewhat.
Add olive oil & cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.

Leftover Pumpkin

Sunday:
Mmmm...pumpkin curry
from Low Cholesterol, Low
Fat, Low Salt Recipes
cookbook. I'm going to make
it spicier next time though
with a homemade hotsauce
I made from hot peppers at
the farm last season.


I can't resist photos
of AJ's spontaneous
afternoon naps!
He always looks so
cozy.




Monday:AJ and Ryan's snacks: watermelon, rice ball, spinach, edamame. Ryan's rice looks like a Pokeball thanks to some added tomato, nori and a small soy paper circle.

In the afternoon, Ryan went to
his kindergarten orientation. We
live almost next door to an
elementary school, so we're
going to give the local public
schools a try, at least for the
early years.





Tuesday:












The school year is almost at an end. Ryan had his last turn bringing home the class bear "Buddy". Every visit we write about what Ryan and Buddy did at our house in his class journal.

Ryan's snack: dried apricots; cucumber & Tofutti cream cheese sandwiches; baby carrots; cantaloupe & honeydew melon.

Dinner was a quick
pumpkin lasagna (yes,
I STILL have pumpkin
in the freezer from last
fall). I use an easy tofu
filling I invented in place
of the usual ricotta.


Tofu Spinach "Ricotta"

1 lb. firm tofu
1 cup leaf spinach, frozen or thawed
1/2-1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2-1 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a food processor and puree.
(If you'd like it more viscous, add a little olive oil.)

I use this in many recipes: lasagna, stuffed pasta shells, manicotti, etc. It's quite versatile.

Wednesday:
Ryan & AJ's snacks: watermelon; leftover lasagna squares; popcorn.

Thursday:
Ryan and Dada went off to work at the farm, despite the light rain. Ryan planted cucumber seeds and thinned basil seedlings in the greenhouse, while Dada transplanted brussels sprouts. It's nice to be able to pack something with nuts for a change!
Ryan's snack: pbj 1/2 sandwich; baby carrots; snow peas; almonds.

Friday:
And here's what happens when you let a 4 year old choose his own snacks...Ryan was sick today, so AJ chose: banana piece; sesame tofu; 2 mini pumpkin-carrot-apple muffins; 2 chocolate sandwich cookies.