dark & rainy

It was a morning of downpours & thunder, dark enough to see lightning, despite it being breakfast time. By the time I needed to pack up lunches it had let up to a light rain, but still dark, and nothing I wanted to go out in to take pictures. So it was time for the "balance the bento on the edge of the porch" trick, getting as much natural light as possible without soaking the food in the process. Oh what I would give for a big well-lit kitchen and a lightbox!

Ryan
and
AJ's
lunches:
soba
noodles;
eda-
mame;
gherkin
pickles;
mini
zucc-
hini
muffin;
rasp-
berries.

AJ
asked
for
exactly
six
berries,
he's very particular, LOL.

Here is my rainy day
balancing act. Fun.
Time to pack up the
lunchboxes and send
the boys out into the
rain!

And here is my one-bowl
mini zucchini muffin recipe...
Zucchini Maple Muffins

1 medium zucchini (or 2
small)
3 tsp. egg replacer + 3 T.
warm water
2 T. olive or canola oil (optional)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
spray olive oil for pan

In a medium mixing bowl,
grate 1 1/2 cups zucchini.
Add next 3 ingredients.
Stir. Add remaining 3 dry
ingredients. Stir.
Spray a non-stick mini muffin(s) tin with oil (I use a 24 count mini muffin pan).
Fill and bake at 375F for ~25 minutes.

I used to use this recipe when I taught preschool. It was simple for the kids to follow, though the preschool provided eggs to use, so I this is one of the few times I used egg-replacer powder. Just mix the egg-replacer powder well 'til frothy with a fork or whisk. You can experiment with other egg-replacers of your preference of course.
Also, I have used combos of agave nectar and brown rice syrup, but I really like the results of the maple syrup best, and the kids prefer the taste. I know not everyone lives where maple syrup is readily available and affordable though! So any sweet syrup con be substituted, but it's consistency may affect cooking time and moistness.

Magic lunch

I can't believe that in the past 2 and a half years I have never made a Magic: The Gathering bento! I'm sure this will be the first of many, since it is the majority of our income. If it weren't for Magic we would likely not be a family today.

Ryan
and
AJ's
lunches:
sand-
wiches
of mixed
greens,
smoked
Tofurky,
soy
cheese,
mustard,
and
Vegan-
aise;
cucu-
mber
sliced;
steamed
broccoli;
dried
fruit
(apricots for Ryan, raisins for AJ), and a chewy peach candy.

Cucumbers, broccoli & sandwich greens are all from our CSA.
These Goody Good Stuff
chewy candies were new
at our supermarket this
past week. It's not often
you see gelatin-free
candy in a mainstream
supermarket. So, hooray!
Maybe not good for their
teeth, but I bought two
flavours to sample for
Halloween treats. They
are definitely not like
their hyper-sweet artifically coloured counterparts.

We had a relaxed weekend, hope you did too.









We ate a lot of casual picnic
lunches outside.

stuffed tomatoes

We're just over the peak of the tomato season here, but we've still got some big beautiful red fruits rolling in with our CSA share. I like to use the most perfect ones for slicing, tomato salads, or for stuffing. This recipe is best used with large tomatoes that aren't TOO ripe yet, so they don't fall apart while baking.

Stuffed Tomatoes

4 large round tomatoes
with flat bottoms
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 shallots, diced
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup orzo pasta (or other
small pasta)
1 3/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 cup grated Daiya
mozzarella

Cut the tops off the
tomatoes, in a circular
motion wide enough for
scooping and stuffing.
Then scoop out the
middles of the tomatoes
with a spoon (you can save
it for soup or sauce if you'd
like).

Sprinkle the kosher salt
into thebottom and sides of each tomato. Allow them to sit for a few minutes. Then turn them all upside down and let them drain for 10-15 minutes while you prepare the stuffing and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium pot, heat olive oil, onions, shallots & salt over low heat. Cook until soft. Add orzo pasta, vegetable broth & oregano. Stir, bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Allow to cook about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. If you need to add any extra liquid, do so in very small amounts, like 1/4 cup at a time (kind of like making a risotto).

Turn off heat. Stir in 1/2
cup of the Daiya mozzarella
to the orzo mixture. Spoon
into the tomatoes. Place the
tomatoes in a deep baking
dish. Top with remaining
Daiya cheese. Cover and
bake for 20 minutes.

Remove
cover
and
bake
for
ano-
ther
five
minutes
then
remove
from
the
oven
and
allow
to
cool
for
a few
minutes
before
serving.

You can also stuff the tomatoes with a rice pilaf mixture, or some cous cous. Or to make it gluten-free, use quinoa or rice. This recipe is also soy-free.

lunch with a twist

It's fun to turn an old favourite into something new. Just add a twist! Roll, wrap, or cut your food into a new shape. It's all in the presentation.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: pbj sandwich twists; apple rounds & soy cheese; dark chocolate w/almonds; dried fruit (apricots for Ryan, raisins for AJ); pickles; carrot; green olive.

I hadn't bought any soy cheese since some time during the last school year. Ryan has been asking and asking for it, so here it is. His favourite is Vegan Gourmet's Monterey Jack.

leftovers rule

Before I even serve dinner, I'll often put aside enough of whatever I'm making for the next days' bentos. Some leftover vegetables, rice kept warm in the rice cooker, frozen mini muffins...all I had to do was slice the orange and season the rice!Ryan & AJ's lunches: rice; asparagus, carrot & onion stirfry w/chik'n strips; mini banana apple blueberry muffin; orange slices.

Mario

It seems that Mario and Nintendo characters are popular on many back to school bento blogs right now! We're no exception. Boys and video game characters usually go hand in hand.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: tofu salad sandwich w/celery, chives & lettuce on a wheat bun; mini zucchini muffin; strawberry gel cup; carrots; cucumber slices.

It's interesting making two pretty much identical lunches now. Ryan and AJ are only 15 months apart, and AJ has always had a pretty big appetite (he was 9lbs 5oz. when he was born and has always lived up to that!). I'm sure there will be days when I'll have to substitute some ingredients for him though as he is also my pickiest eater. There are a few things that Ryan doesn't like too, like raisins for instance. But AJ has more textural issues with certain foods, so I work with that.
AJ enjoyed his lunch and reportedly pretended he was Mario and played with his food like all good boys should. Tee hee. But he ate it all. And Ryan said he turned the eyes on the star into evil eyes by moving them a bit...ah yes, you can tell he's almost 8.

Plan B

First day of school. Done this many times. You'd think I'd know better.
What do the boys want for lunch?? Sushi. I knew that two weeks ago. Fine. I ALWAYS have such ingredients on hand.
Or do I...AJ and Ryan's lunches: rolled smoked Tofurky slice; carrot; rice triangle; 2 peanut butter cookies; striped apple slices; sesame tofu; steamed asparagus.
As you can see, this is NOT sushi. It's rather difficult to make sushi when you have one half strip of nori left, no cucumber, and a brown avocado (it looked good from the outside!). But the sushi rice was ready and cooled, so I whipped out the onigiri shapers and made rice triangles. And extra triangles and rice balls to freeze. Because you never know when you might need to resort to plan B!

As if a change in plans wasn't enough...Ryan's angst about the first day of school (though he said he was very excited) translated into incessant whining about EVERYTHING. AJ was waiting patiently by the door for me to pack his lunch, but I still needed to zip outside to snap a few photos of their bentos.
I asked AJ to move. I reached for the doorknob.
And then came another wounded seal cry from the floor as Ryan complained with renewed fervor about not being about to tie his shoelaces right.
I turned.
And it happened.
His bento slid right off the board I was carrying it on and upside down onto the kitchen floor.
Crap.
In 5 minutes they needed to be at school. So I did what I had to do...
I scooped up the food from the floor and stuffed it back into the bento. It looked clean enough. Ten second rule, right??? And it still looked nice. Whew. Quick, take a couple of pictures, shove it in the lunchbox with a cold pack and a drink. And get them the heck out the door asap.













So here they are, refusing to crack smiles, waiting to go in to school on their first days of 1st and 2nd grade.