ah, ah, ah, "H"-choo!

Gesundheit! Thanks. Sorry, I just sneezed on your lunch.
Eeew.
Really, what can you do phonetically with an H? I couldn't stop thinking of the british sci-fi comedy Red Dwarf, because one of the main characters, Arnold Rimmer, is a hologram. He has a shiny "H" applied to his forehead at all times (except during flashbacks to when he was a "livie"). During many of his spasmic overreactions, Lister would tell him, "Keep your H on!" instead of calm down. Really, that's what I wanted to title this, but it wouldn't have made any sense to 99.8% of the population.

Coming up with "H" food was actually the easy part today...

Ryan's "H" lunch: honeydew melon; haricots verts; home fries; hot dog.

Ryan loves winter...












Apparently there was also
a lot of snow down south
this weekend...well, a lot
for the south, like 6 inches.
I can't imagine everything
grinding to a halt when it
snows. A friend who lives in North Carolina said that even restaurants were closed a day or two after the snowstorm; the only reason she was at work is because she's a nurse. We're lucky if school gets cancelled for a foot of white stuff. Nevertheless, I always look forward to spring. Skiing is too expensive, though I do want to teach the kids to ski when they're a little bit older. I was spoiled with season's passes as a teenager, and free skiing as an instructor later. I wonder how much a weekend of skiing for six would cost now!?!

Welcome 2010!

May the new year bring you lots of opportunities to enjoy a bento meal wherever you may be!
Ryan's lunch: steamed broccoli; mini zucchini muffin; chocolate chip bunny cookies; baby carrots; gherkin pickles; black olives; chik'n salad; strawberries.

I only made one small
snack bento over the
holiday school break,
for a playdate that Ryan
had at a friend's house.

Just some pumpkin nut
bread, carrots, and meat-
less meatballs.

Despite the weather, we had many opportunities to get outside and hike...although hiking with the boys can be more like cross-country running, or snowboarding without the board, or snowball dodging snowy-tree-shaking see-who-can-get-there-first races.
























New England is a great
place for exploring the
outdoors, an old building,
or a creepy graveyard.
But it can be colllldddd!
My kitchen is continuously
strewn with wet snowpants
and outdoor clothing,
enough for 6 people of
course. I need a separate
room with a big heater!

Eventually they do tire...
And stone walls are pretty
sturdy in the winter, the
large rocks frozen into
place. What better place
for a quick rest?

Apple for the Teacher

Our town seems to pride itself on NOT declaring a snow day even when ALL of the surrounding towns have done so. The white glare of clouds and snow made getting a good photo tricky this morning...
Ryan's lunch: sesame tofu; fresh pineapple; somen noodles; spring rolls; steamed broccoli.

Off they go into the
snow!

AJ said to me this
morning, "You know,
some people bring an
apple for their teacher."
Not sure where he'd
seen or heard about
this traditional, but of
course I let him.

And for the school food
drive, AJ brought a box
of cous cous, and Ryan
brought a box of cinn-
amon quick bread mix.

300

I don't usually take much notice of the post count in my archives, but earlier this week I realized I was nearing the big 300.

Ryan's
lunch:
blue-
berries
with
"300"
made
of
apple;
black
olives;
flax
lavash
wrap
with
Vegan-
aise,
smoked
Tof-
urky,
soy
cheese,
avocado, lettuce; a pickle.

Don't forget--if you haven't already commented on my Cans For Comments post, please do! I will be donating a canned good at the end of the month for each comment I receive.

One more week of food
drive items for school...
ramen noodles for AJ,
gingerbread cookie mix
for Ryan.

Woke up to this yesterday...
view of the yard from
the porch...

It only
looked
to be
about
3 inches,
but that
was
plenty
to send
the
boys
into
crazy
mode.
Ryan
had
grand
dreams
of snow-
boarding
but
couldn't
get the hang of it yet.





















Probably the handiest
sled we have is the
hand-me-down baby
sled from the neighbors.
The boys love pulling
Maia around the yard
in it. Nate used to sit
happily in it for what
seemed like hours.

And knowing me, I
couldn't resist a snowy
hike in the woods,
especially after it
turned into such a
bright sunny day.
The trails were
actually quite well
trav-
eled.
Lots
of
dogs,
fam-
ilies,
and
a
lone
snow-
ball...

Knock On Wood

Sigh. Of course I had to go and jinx the weather yesterday by talking about sunshine, hikes, and playing in the woods. Now look what we get... poor daffodils...

Compound the snowy,
slushy weather with the
time change, and I had
to bag my artistic bento
plans and go with quick
and easy...we're talkin'
5 minutes max...

AJ's snack: snap pea
crisps; leftover zucchini
brownie; Tofutti cream
cheese & jelly sandwich
on a burger bun; baby
carrot.
He has decided he doesn't
like the snap pea crisps
now, so those came back
uneaten. Blargh.
Ryan's lunch: strawberries; baby carrots; Tofutti cream cheese & jelly sandwich on a burger bun made into a "clock" using edible ink markers & two slivers of strawberry; snap pea crisps; leftover zucchini brownie; peanuts. The clock reads 12:10pm, which is lunchtime for his class.

Snowy Days

Using local winter
cabbage from the
farm couldn't be
easier. I made rice
in the rice cooker
and topped it with
some sesame
cabbage.

Sesame Cabbage

1 large head cabbage (or 2 small), chopped
1 T. peanut oil (or other light oil)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T. minced ginger
1 T. soy sauce
1 tsp. mirin (or 1 tsp. sugar)
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds

In a large pot, pan or wok, heat oil, garlic, ginger & cabbage over med-high heat. Stir-fry until cabbage just starts to wilt. Add soy sauce and mirin. When cabbage is just tender, add sesame oil. Toss in sesame seeds and remove from heat.













We had a few days of snow. Ryan enjoyed playing outside with the neighborhood kids a lot.

Monday:
Ryan's lunch: Hanukkah cookies; almonds; homemade chocolate peanut butter cup; rice "wreath" covered in spinach and decorated with cucumber "trees", red bell pepper & snowflake sprinkles; corn; clementine segments; baby carrots.

Tuesday:
Ryan's lunch: broccoli "Xmas tree"; chocolate peanut butter sandwich rolls; green gel cup; bell pepper Pikachu and rice pokeball inari.

Xmas Eve eve dinner:
potato leek soup;
seaweed rice crackers;
chocolate chips;
gingerbread cookies;
veggie chili.


Wednesday:
We brought a sushi snack to share Xmas Eve with relatives. Everyone seemed to like it except the teenage boys, LOL. I was finally able to use my new 3-tier bento I had gotten for my birthday this fall.