Jack 'O Lantern sandwiches

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.

Boo

Boo.
Ryan's lunch: tofu salad roll w/"BOO" rice cheese letters; Sweet & Sara toasted coconut marshmallow; orange bell pepper & olive "pumpkin"; underneath the pumpkin is a layer of carrot sticks, and under that a layer of gherkin pickles; blanched baby greens (spinach, tat soi, beet greens) dressed w/soy sauce.

Maia loves to dress up, so she should be all set to go on Halloween!

countdown to Halloween

Fall weekends full of playdates and leaf raking necessitate some cool Halloween munchies...

Jack O' Lantern carrot platter with black olives & celery stem.

Pumpkin Curry Hummus

2 cans (15.5 oz.) chick peas, rinsed & drained
1 T. tahini
2/3 cup pumpkin (or other orange/red winter squash)
1 tsp. garlic powder, or ~1 T. chopped garlic
1/4 cup or 1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. olive oil
1/3 cup water
paprika for garnish

Steam cubed pumpkin, or thaw and drain frozen pumpkin. I love using red kuri squash for its colour, but butternut squash is also a good choice.
Put everything in a food processor, adding water slowly as hummus mixes. Garnish with paprika.

I'm gonna call these muffins because I started baking them at 6:45am and served them with breakfast. And they are thicker and less sweet than cupcakes, so I'm just gonna keep on pretending, haha...

Chocolate Chili Mini Muffins

2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup vegan sugar
3 tsp. Ener-G Egg Replacer Powder + 3 T. water, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped (optional)

Mix all ingredients together. Scoop into non-stick mini muffin tin. Bake at 350F degrees 18-20 minutes.

We gave Fashion Peace's Absolutely Fabulous Vegetable Pasta with Marinara Sauce a try. Super yummy! I lightly steamed the zucchini ribbons though, and left out the agave nectar simply because I was out of it--we served it alongside a baked potato. My husband really enjoyed this combo and we have enough sauce leftover for another use soon!

And finally, when you have lots of beans in the pantry, fall is perfect weather for chili. We usually eat a fresh bowl piping hot, then serve leftovers with bread, a baked potato, cous cous or other similar small grain.

3 Bean Chili

2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3-4 large garlic cloves, finely diced
1/2-1 tsp. hot pepper sauce (I use homemade but store bought is fine too)
1/4-1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 T. dried oregano
1 chile in adobo sauce, chopped (optional)
1 15.5 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 15.5 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15.5 oz. can chick peas, drained
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. ground cumin
2 T. chili powder
1 cup soy crumbles (optional)

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until just soft. Add garlic and hot sauce and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover. Simmer at least 30 minutes, preferably 45 minutes.

Don't turn into a pumpkin!

First off, a school lunch
using Happy Herbivore's
Fat-Free Vegan Tuna
Salad recipe... I called it a
"chick pea salad sandwich"
for Ryan because I knew it
would be more likely well-
received that way!

Ryan's lunch: Thermos of
leftover potato pumpkin
celeriac soup; chick pea
salad sandwich w/lettuce
on wheat english muffin
decorated with a vegan rice
cheese pumpkin w/nori
face; mini orange gel cup; a
strawberry; pickles.

This is the time of year that I like to cook with abandon, and I notice our portions start to grow out of control. In an effort not to turn into holiday pumpkins ourselves, I set out a 1/2 cup measuring cup to remind us of what a single serving looks like. Sigh!

I also prepare a large
plate full of vegetables
early in the day to munch
on in between and during
meals. My husband really
likes this, often dipping
his in mustard or hummus,
or sprinkling a little salt on
the radishes. I enjoy this
in the evening with a
handful of nuts and a
tomato juice (with or
without vodka, LOL).




The kids also enjoy
extra veggies this
way. Here's AJ eating
a plate of veggies with
some homemade sun-
dried tomato hummus
in the middle for dipping.


Another challenging part of the autumn/winter holiday season is the end of our weekly CSA farm share. We are once again purchasing a winter vegetable share, but that is only a monthly pickup, with fewer fresh greens and more starchy storage vegetables. Still, we do what we can to eat as locally as possible, visiting various farmer's markets that sell more greenhouse grown items, and looking for local produce at the supermarket.

Here are a few pics from yesterday's farm pickup:

Halloween week

Monday:
Ryan's lunch: soy cheese cubes; a strawberry; pineapple tidbits; a pickle; rice cube Jack O' Lanterns; spinach.
AJ didn't need a packed snack. Dada was parent helper; they brought popcorn, raisins, and VitaJuice to share with his class.

Tuesday:
Nate's lunch: grilled
nutritional yeast cheese
sandwich w/ a soy
cheese crocodile;
strawberries; a carrot
Jack O' Lantern; spinach.




AJ's snack: spinach;
pumpkin apple muffin;
a pickle; grilled cheeze
sandwich w/ soy cheese
Jack O' Lantern.




Ryan's lunch: grilled cheeze sandwich w/soy cheese ghost; a strawberry; cashews & Craisins; a pumpkin apple muffin; spinach; carrot Jack O' Lantern.

Wednesday:
AJ's snack: edamame;
tamari flax crackers;
spider rice ball; broccoli.






Ryan's lunch: a Thermos of lentil soup; broccoli; rice "candy corn"; a strawberry; orange gel cup (hidden behind the spider); edamame.

Thursday:
Nate's lunch: green beans; pumpkin apple muffin; dried apricots; "pumpkin" sushi; vegetable "bird's nest".
AJ's snack: pumpkin apple
muffin; green beans; a
pickle; raisins.






Ryan's lunch: "pumpkin" sushi; soy sauce; vegetable "bird's nest"; banana walnut muffin; a pickle; green beans.
We made sugar cookies
the various school
celebrations: leaves,
ghosts, & pumpkins.





Friday:

Chocolate covered strawberries
for Ryan's kindergarten snack.







Ryan's
lunch:
black
rice;
soy
cheese
moon
with
nori
bat;
broccoli
"tree";
Tofurky
graves;
shiitake
mushroom
ground;
black
bean "rocks".


And
here's
a
closeup!

Happy
Halloween!

Firsts & Lasts

It was a week of many firsts and lasts.

First farm pickup of the season, first hot weather, first popsicles of the year, Nate's first time playing in the pool, opening of the local farmer's market, first time I've had a kid officially "graduate" from something.

Last day of preschool, last preschool snack bentos of the school year, last month of pregnancy (I hope), last of our frozen stash of pumpkin & pesto from last year.

Sunday:













Popsicles in the pool. It was in the 90's for a few days.

Monday:Ryan called this his "spring scene" snack: blue-tinted rice; dried apricot & carrot for the sun; cucumber grass; green bean stems; red & yellow bell pepper flowers; marinated mushroom halves.












AJ's snack: pumpkin-carrot-apple mini muffin; rice ball; green beans; banana piece.
Ryan's lunch for grandma's house: pbj sandwich; banana piece; orange slices; carrots; chocolate sandwich cookie; Animal Parade vanilla calcium vitamin.

Dinner was some simple sushi: cucumber & sesame; asparagus; oshinko (pickled daikon); avocado. And some inari, cold tofu, & watermelon. Perfect for a hot evening.










Tuesday:
Ryan's snack of leftovers: watermelon; maki & inari sushi; small squeeze bottle of soy sauce.

First CSA farm share
of the season:
- 1 bag mixed baby greens
- 1 head red leaf lettuce
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 2 baby bok choy
- big bag of pea shoots
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 bunch red radishes
- 3 stalks rhubarb
- 1 bunch chives
- 1 marigold plant

We immediately used the
kale for dinner with a whole
wheat spaghetti with the
Barbara's Kale Cream Sauce
Over Pasta recipe from
Debra Wasserman's cookbook
Simply Vegan. A salad of
romaine & mixed baby greens, chives, & local greenhouse-grown tomatoes completed the meal.

Wednesday:

AJ's snack: bunny onigiri; mini corn muffin; cold tofu; baby carrot; chocolate moon.
Ryan's Indiana Jones snack: cucumber slices; chocolate moon; "crystal skull" onigiri; mini corn muffin; cold tofu, nori & black sesame seed "map"; baby carrots. (No, he hasn't seen the new Indiana Jones movie, but grandma got him a small Indiana Jones Lego set.)

Dinner: curried tempeh
salad in rice wraps with
mixed baby greens &
pea shoots.






Thursday:

boys' lunch: tofu salad
sandwich on whole
wheat roll; orange slices;
baby carrots.




Ryan watering some flowers.









With only 1/2 a dozen
vendors, the first local
farmer's market of the
season in our town is
small, but it was still
nice to visit. I picked
up some local red potatoes
dug that morning, along
with an animal-free soap
from a local artisan.


I arrived home to a wonderful surprise: a package in the mail with gifts for the new baby and I. Two and half years ago, when I was pregnant with Nate, I became friendly with a group of mothers from an online due date club on Mothering. Since then many of us have stayed close, met in real life, and some of us are expecting another baby.
Recently I discovered that my favourite sling and mei tei had been ruined in the back of my car over the winter due to a leak in the trunk and had become covered in mold. One of the items in the package was a brand new Babyhawk mei tei, along with other gifts from Little Willow which is a natural baby products store owned by one of the mamas in our group. I was so touched!

Dinner: spaghetti & broccoli
with marinated mushrooms
and the last of our frozen
pesto from last season.





Friday:
I made some mini loaves of pumpkin bread with the last of our frozen pumpkin to give to Ryan & AJ's preschool teachers on their last day. Ryan also picked some wild roses from our yard.
Here is Ryan getting a graduation certificate from his preschool, along with a collection of his artwork from the year, a photo album, a small tree to plant, and the book Be A Friend To Trees.
Then his class enjoyed some popsicles together.

AJ also received a portfolio
of his artwork and a small
gift from his teacher. His
class had an ice cream
sundae party (which we
brought along vegan ice
cream, sprinkles, whipped
cream & chocolate sauce for
of course).

Nate enjoyed checking out
the train table and toys in
the classroom where he will
be in the fall.