bento & recipes

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

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

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













Spicy Asian Eggplant

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

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

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

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










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

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

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

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

Breaded Baked Tomatoes

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













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

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

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

cookbook challenge, week 4

Procrastinating a bit here...only made 2 recipes from Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings last week...

Potato Salad with Corn and Red Pepper

Really tasty, simple, and
most of the kids liked it.
My husband really enjoyed
it and even mentioned it
later, which is saying something!

I served this potato salad
along with some spicy baked
tofu and sauteed pea shoots
with garlic and white wine.

I'm sure I'll be making this
again. It seems to be a good
recipe to empty out the pantry
with!

Drunken Cabbage

A ludicrously simple recipe,
drowning in white wine. Even
cabbage has to taste decent
with wine and salt!

I paired this with a simple
but elegant bowl of mixed
rice with a bit of goma shio
seasoning.

After a month of the cookbook
challenge, I really feel like I
am getting a feel for the style of
food this author has to offer.
I chose it because it would be a
good fit during the bountiful
months of summer, utilizing our farm share food and forcing me to use my usual ingredients differently. I'm looking forward to another cookbook challenge in the fall. I think it's a great way to make use of lesser-used cookbooks and expand our family's everyday menu.

Day of Darkness

Seriously, everyone slept in due to the extremely dark, rainy weather. My photos have dark shadows no matter where I take them (nope, no lightbox, sorry...I'm lucky I can keep track of the camera). Outdoors I could snap lovely photos of giant mushrooms and mold and slugs and mosquito breeding pits. I don't recall "tropical rain forest" in the description of our property when we bought it seven years ago! Soon we'll be able to call it waterfront property if this rain doesn't let up.

Nevertheless, the boys went to farm camp amidst thunder and downpour, spending most of the day on blankets doing projects under the big share pickup tent. They went out briefly in between storm cells to hunt for worms.

They used their new
Wrap-N-Mats for their
sandwiches today. A bit
steep at $5.99 a piece from
Stop & Shop, but a really
neat idea. They're just a
cotton print on one side
with a velcro tab attached,
and a layer of plastic inside.
Just wipe it off if it's just
got a few crumbs, or give it
a rinse if it's messy. And
best of all, when it's unfolded
you have an automatic
placemat for your food. I'm
sure those who sew could
make these in a jiffy.
Ryan & AJ's lunches: smoked Tofurky, soy cheese, lettuce, mustard, Vegannaise sandwiches on 12-grain bread; empty bowls for Stone Soup; red lentils to add to Stone Soup; a sidecar bento for sharing of snap pea crisps, new pickles, & black raspberries.

At home I spent much of the day cooking up farm food. I also made this quick dish for lunch while stuff was cooking. It's a recipe that easy to pull out of the pantry when pressed for time, and a favourite for potlucks...

Black Bean & Corn Salad

2 cans black beans, rinsed
& drained
1 can corn (or 2 cups fresh
or frozen corn), drained
1/2 of a green bell pepper,
diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 a seedless cucumber (or remove seeds), chopped
2 green onions, chopped

1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. sugar
1/2-1 tsp. hot sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.
In a small measuring cup, mix remaining ingredients. Pour into bowl & toss well. Chill.