Don't be en"V"ous...

Today's bento was rather easy. I wish it was mine! As I was putting the lunch together, Ryan came into the kitchen and asked what letter today was. When I told him he said, "V...vanilla! Vanilla...ice cream!" Welllll, being the nice mama, I quickly tossed the Thermos into the freezer, hoping 10 minutes was enough to chill it sufficiently, then scooped in some Trader Joe's vanilla soy ice cream.

Ryan's
"V"
lunch:
side of
Veggie
Booty;
Thermos
of vanilla
ice
cream;
Valencia
oranges;
Viennese
carrots;
vegetable
fried
rice.

Sticking
strictly
to the
letter
of the day hasn't always yielded the prettiest food combinations, but today's looked really nice I think.
Tomorrow is friday, so I'll take a break before next week's final alphabet installment, the tricky last letters of W, X, Y & Z!

7:30am- smoothie: 2 strawberries, 1/4 cup black raspberries, 1/2 mango, 1/2 banana, liquid DHA, water.
10am- 1/2 an avocado.
12pm- carrot "chips" w/sprouted chick pea hummus; 10 olives.
2pm- 6 strawberries w/
walnut-cashew creme.
6pm- salad: romaine &
bib lettuces, tomato, red
onion, yellow bell pepper,
snow peas sprouts, shoyu.

Ryan had a friend over
after school, so I made
cupcakes and let them all decorate their own. I didn't want to be too jealous, so I put 6 frozen strawberries into a bowl and allowed them to thaw partially, then topped them with walnut-cashew creme. Delish.

Dinner was just a salad,
par for the course. I'll
admit that I'm already
imagining what pasta
awaits me when the 40
days are up!

raw

I've done the raw thing from time to time in my life, but I'm doin' it again for 40 days with a friend.
So instead of the usual raw blogging featuring the best meal of the day, or unique smoothie recipes and such, I'm just gonna list what I eat for the entire day for anyone who's curious...and throw a pic in here or there...

7:30am- smoothie: 1 banana, 4 frozen cherries, 1/3 cup frozen mango, 2 T. sunflower seeds, liquid DHA, water.
9:30am- small bowl of cantaloupe chunks.
11:30am- 1 orange; 12 mini baby carrots; 6 celery sticks (2 stalks).
1:30pm- smoothie: 1 banana, 1/2 a pear, handful of spinach, 1 tsp. tahini, pinch of mint, water.
4pm- 1 blood orange.
5:30pm- salad: romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, 1/2 a red bell pepper, a little chopped onion, balsamic vinegar.

Aside from my food, I did make a travel meal for my husband before he left this morning...no toothpicks 'cause ya know he might hijack the entire flight crew with a wooden toothpick. ;-)
Husband's lunch: Dr. Praeger's Tex Mex veggie burger on wheat bread w/mustard and onion; moro blood orange segments; pickle slices; baby carrots.

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.

cookbook challenge

So a bunch of online friends of mine are doing the cookbook challenge where you vow to make at least one recipe per week from one of your lesser-used cookbooks. I've read Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings, by Edward Espe Brown cover to cover, but made maybe one recipe. It's a great read, but now time to taste it! I vow to make one recipe per week through the end of the summer.

My first recipe is: Beet Salad with Watercress

I was feeding this to the kids too, so I opted to use some mixed greens from the farm instead of the watercress. Ryan especially loved the beets, which I was pleasantly surprised about, considering they're seasoned heavily with balsamic vinegar and allspice...

So what are you waiting
for??! You know you've
got a pile of cookbooks
just waiting to be used.
Join the challenge! What
new meal will you be
trying this week?

a prelude to summer

Nate's lunch: Tofurky, lettuce, soy cheese, Vegannaise rollups; carrots; a pickle; watermelon; bean salad; chocolate bears.
Ryan's lunch: same as Nate's, in larger quantities of course!

Purple Crunchy Cabbage

1 small head cabbage
2 scallions, chopped
1 T. miso
1 T. lime juice
2 T. Vegannaise
2. T. rice vinegar
1 tsp. grated ginger
2 T. cilantro

Slice or grate the cabbage. Add scallions.
Mix together next 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Add to cabbage and toss.
Sprinkle on cilantro. Serve!

I'm not a big fan of raw cabbage or cole slaw, but this dressed in this creamy tangy sauce I'm all over it. And it looks so darned pretty too.

Wii Cute

Did you
know
that
today is
National
Blueberry
Pie Day?
Well, it is.
I'm not a
big fruit
dessert
person,
though
my
husband
loooves
pie. I
only
made
three of these mini blueberry pies to honor the day. My mother's foster mother used to have a house on the coast of Maine and in the summer she'd bake blueberry pies...that's the only time I can remember ever enjoying pie...drowned like cold soup in melted vanilla ice cream.

Ryan's lunch: carrot sticks w/Genji miso ginger dressing for dipping; mini whole wheat crust blueberry pie; mini farfalle pasta w/peas & corn; Good Dog bites w/broccoli.

Nate's lunch:
mini farfalle w/peas; a pickle;
a carrot; snap pea crisps; mini
blueberry pie; Good Dog bites
with broccoli.

Nate has been very interested
lately when I'm making lunches,
hovering next to me on the stool
asking a billion questions.

Maia plays Wii...
























It was in the 90s here today,
quite hot for April in New
England. Maia & Nate
enjoyed some cloudspotting
with Dada...




...on top of the
picnic table.







Too hot to cook...
big salad for dinner,
shared with Maia...






...and a plate of food for
the boys, also shared with
Maia...she enjoys Sunshine
Burgers and she got a few
bites of the potato sticks
too!



Craving even more cute??












And AJ...Mr. "Boys Named
AJ Don't Get Chicken Pox"...
not! Maia doesn't care, she
still admires her big brother,
and he wasn't too sick to go
out and play in the pool in the
afternoon and swing on the
swing, after having a brief
playdate. What a guy.

Valentine fun

Monday:
Ryan's lunch: mini cinnamon raisin bagel w/Tofutti cream cheese; Macabee kosher eggplant sticks & ketchup for dipping; a pickle; a carrot; strawberry applesauce.

AJ's snack:
mini cinnamon
raisin bagel w/
Tofutti cream
cheese; a pickle;
a carrot.


Tuesday:
Ryan's lunch: blueberry Whole Soy yogurt w/snowflake sprinkles; avocado, lettuce & tomato sandwiches; carrots; a pickle; a strawberry.

Nate's lunch: avocado,
lettuce & tomato
sandwich; strawberries;
a carrot; a pickle;
chicken-free nuggets.

AJ didn't need a snack
bento since Dada was
parent helper. They brought pretzel rods, carrots & cranberry apple cider for the class.

Wednesday:
Ryan's "Twisted" lunch: portobello spring rolls; pbj sandwich rolls; spinach roll; Tofurky, soy cheese & tomato roll; cucumber twirls; carrot twirls; flax lavash roll-up with Tofurky, raw spinach & Tofutti cream cheese; spicy spiral fries.

This was my submission to Jewelmaker's 1st bento contest! She's giving away a fabulous stainless steel bento lunch set.

Portobello Salad Spring Rolls

12 spring roll wrappers
bag of mache or other greens
2 portobello mushroom caps
2 T. olive oil
1 T. balsamic vinegar
pinch of salt
small tub The Bridge Tofu
Salad*
1/4 red bell pepper, julienned
1 scallion, julienned

Wash or wipe portobello
mushrooms and slice into
thin strips. Heat olive oil &
balsamic vinegar over
medium-low heat, add
mushrooms, sprinkle with
a pinch of salt, and saute
until soft but not mushy.

Rinse spring roll wrappers
one at a time under
lukewarm water until soft
& pliable...you want them
rollable, but not so soggy
that they'll stick to your work surface like plastic wrap. Rinse one and use it right away, finish a roll, then rinse the next, etc.

Place a little mache, followed by the mushrooms, tofu salad, bell pepper, scallion, and top off with a few more greens.
Roll starting on one side (like a burrito), fold over the top & bottom, then continue rolling the rest.

FYI, mache is an heirloom green with a unique taste. It's is worth it if you can find it, but if you can't, some baby greens/mesclun or even regular lettuce will suffice.
Another nice addition to these spring rolls is radish sprouts. They are often available at asian markets, or you can buy seeds and grow your own.

*I buy The Bridge tofu salad at Whole Foods. It is made here in New England (Middletown, CT) so I'm not sure it's available nationally. I like the tart vinegary taste it has along with a nice crunch from some onion, carrot & celery. A complete list of ingredients is available on their website.

It was also Ryan's 100th
Day of Kindergarten. His
class was having a party,
but I wasn't sure what was
going to be served (his
teacher's father passed away
the previous day so there
was a substitute teacher
all week), so I sent an array
of junk with him for the afternoon...a dutch pretzel, fruit roll, lollipop, chocolate sandwich cookies. He ate the cookies & fruit roll but brought the rest home.

And here's AJ and
his Maia as he likes
to call her.






Thursday:

Just as big brother Ryan
did last year, AJ got to make
a special "Valentine Party In
A Box" for a friend in his
preschool class. He did a great
job decorating with stickers
and writing his friend's name.

Even though his friends aren't
vegan, all the treats in the box
are, so we tried to picked things
that are well-liked by most
kids...a Glenny's chocolate
marshmallow crispy bar, a
Dum-Dum lollipop, a dutch
pretzel, a Lake Champlain
dark chocolate heart, a cherry
fruit strip, a small juice box,
a Play-Doh display globe, &
a Valentine stamp set.

AJ ate most of the treats
from his gift box at school,
but he told me he received
an apple juice, some chips,
a lollipop, & a bar, along with
3 Maisto cars.

I included a small heart
sandwich & chocolate just
in case, but he saved them
to eat when he got home.
Nate's lunch: 3 mini heart sandwiches, strawberries, Veggie Booty.

Nate's class also had a
Valentine celebration.
I included a vanilla
cupcake for him with
pink frosting & heart
sprinkles. Here it is
before transport in a
Cup-A-Cake container.

Ryan's lunch: pickles; sunflower butter & raspberry jam heart sandwich (propped up by 2 mini ones underneath); carrots; strawberries; grape tomato; mini pumpkin muffin; mini banana Craisin walnut muffin; Lake Champlain dark chocolate square.

While Ryan was at school still,
we went to do some shopping
at Whole Foods. I usually shop
on fridays & the weekend, but
I needed a few extra things for
the preschool Valentine party
in the evening...plus it's got to
be easier to shop with 3 kids
instead of 4, right??












At home, Nate opened all
of his Valentines from his
friends and teachers. He
was very proud before
school to be able to tell
me all of his friends'
names in his class.


Here's Maia having a break
in AJ's classroom during the
evening Valentine party.
We had a family photo
taken in a giant heart, ate
pizza (that I made for us) &
cookies, did crafts, and
donated food to the local
food pantry. Maia got to
wear her "Kisses" shirt given
to her by her great aunt.
Maia is 7 months old today!

Friday:
Ryan's lunch: a strawberry; blueberries; a Lake Champlain dark chocolate heart; grilled chreez sandwich with tic-tac-toe made of ketchup, soy cheese & black olives; broccoli; peanuts.
I thought this was a cute boy-ish theme for a Valentine lunch for a kindergartener.

Salad Resolutions

I am not a big salad eater (yeah, I know most omnis think vegans eat nothing but rabbit food), at least not the traditional house salad served aside so many entrees in the average restaurant. But if you're trying to boost your greens consumption or increase your raw food intake, a salad is probably a familiar start.
So here are a few I do enjoy...

The first is my take on a
favourite of both myself &
my husband. A caribbean
fusion restaurant named
Ortanique located in the
Paris hotel & casino in Las
Vegas recently closed, much
to our dismay. The restaurant
had become one of our
destination locations strictly because of a simple salad, so that's saying something!!

Tropical Salad a la Ortanique

a few cups fresh mesclun (baby salad greens)
1/2 of a ripe mango, julienned
1 heart of palm (I use the jarred variety), julienned (easy to do as they act like string cheese)
candied pecans or walnuts (you can buy them at stores like Trader Joes, or make your own by toasted nuts in a dry pan, then adding a little sugar to carmelize, but don't let them burn!)
1-2 tsp. citrus-infused grapeseed oil

Pile a plate with greens, top with remaining ingredients in a visually appealing fashion, drizzling the oil over everything at the end.

Chunky Guac Salad

1/8-1/4 of a red onion
1 T. lime juice
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe tomato
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
a pinch of salt

Slice the red onion into a wedges and separate pieces. Drizzle with lime juice. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.
Slice avocado & tomato. Toss with onion & lime juice.
Top with cilantro and a pinch of salt.

(If you don't care for raw onion, feel free to roast it tossed in olive oil first, or you might prefer a smaller amount of very thinly sliced onion instead.)

Roasted Vegetable Salad

1 head broccoli
2 cups large button
mushrooms
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 cups salad greens
1-2 T. balsamic vinegar
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash broccoli & cut into bite-size florets.
Brush or wash mushrooms & cut into quarters.
Wash cherry tomatoes.
Place all 3 vegetables on a baking sheet and drizzle/toss with olive oil. Bake in a 400F oven until broccoli begins to brown and tomatoes burst, 10-20 minutes.
Place greens in a large salad bowl. Top with warm roasted vegetables & drizzle with balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper.

This next salad I ordered in
a Korean BBQ restaurant
in Tokyo...I mean, what else
is a vegetarian to do with a
bunch of omnis in a BBQ
joint? As it turns out, there
was also a large selection of
mushrooms brought to me
to grill adjacent to my meat-
eating friends...I kept my shrooms well away from their steak & pork though. The original salad was made with only baby spinach, but I make it often with a variety of fresh greens from our CSA share...

Korean Cold Tofu Salad

2 cups baby greens
1-2 slices firm cold tofu, cubed (the asceptic pack kind)
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1-2 scallions (green onions), sliced
1 T. soy sauce

Plate the greens, top with remaining ingredients.