Eat in, Eat Out

Lots of great meals this
week--almost too much to
post! We ate well at home
and were out for dinner 3
times this week. Wow.

Saturday: whole grain pasta
with spinach, broccoli &
lemon pepper sauce; meat-
less meatballs; tomato slices;
beets w/Goddess dressing;
green grapes; blueberries.

Sunday: salad w/tomato &
balsamic vinegar; orange
slices; banana walnut bread;
spinach rice pilaf; red &
green bell pepper strips;
teriyaki tofu; peas & corn.

Monday:
Canadian "Bacon" Quiche

1 lb. firm water-packed tofu
1 T. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. turmeric
1 T. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1 T. olive oil
4 rounds veggie Canadian
bacon
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/4 cup bell pepper, diced
2 scallions, diced
4 oz. vegan "cheese", grated
thinly slices tomato for garnish (optional)

In a food processor, puree first 5 ingredients until smooth.
In a saute pan, heat olive oil and briefly cook veggie Canadian bacon over medium heat until it just begins to brown. Remove it from the pan and cool on a paper towel. Add onion to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Add bell pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Add scallions and cook for 1 more minute.
Cut veggie Canadian bacon into 1/2 inch squares.
Grate the "cheese".
In a bowl, combine tofu mixture, "bacon", onion, peppers & scallions, & "cheese". Mix with a fork. Spread in an oiled round glass baking dish, smoothing top with a spatula. Add tomato slices on top for a garnish.
Bake in a 375 degree over 35-40 minutes.

Ryan's lunch: slice of tofu quiche; steamed broccoli; strawberries & kiwi; slice of banana walnut bread; spinach rice pilaf.

AJ's snack: saltine crackers;
pumpkin miso muffin;
grapes; broccoli; apple
slices; a carrot.





Husband's lunch: slice of
tofu quiche; broccoli;
strawberries & kiwi;
pretzels; 1/2 an avocado.




I veganized an appetizer from
a Pillsbury appetizer magazine
I got at the supermarket to
make these stuffed tomatoes:
avocado, cucumber, lime, salt,
cilantro...topped with Tofutti
sour creme mixed with a tad
of plain soy yogurt & a little
more salt & lime, garnished
with cilantro.

Tuesday:
Ryan's Mardi Gras lunch: rice; nori mask w/cucumber feathers; broccoli; "beads" made of peas, corn & purple grapes; a Thermos of pasta & bean soup.
AJ's snack (in his new coveted "pet" bento box): rice triangle w/black sesame; broccoli; mini banana blueberry muffin; soy cheese cubes; grapes; pretzels.

Nate's lunch: mini banana
blueberry muffin; rice ball
w/black sesame seeds;
peas & corn; broccoli.




We went out for haircuts
after school, then to Hana
Sushi for dinner as usual.
Nate loved "sleeping" on
their satin pillows and
watching the new water-
fall display.

The boys scarfed down
some oshitashi, 2 bowls
of edamame, inari, and
lots of sushi. Maia had
avocado from the
nigiri sushi.

One of the waiters just
dotes on the kids every
time we're there. He
made each of them
training-chopsticks out
of the chopstick wrapper
and a rubberband. Nate
became quite handy with
his for the first time...
until now he'd just stabbed
the sushi or used his hands.

Our sushi order usually
includes kappa (cucumber),
oshinko (takuan), and a
variety of permutations of
avocado.





Wednesday:
Garden Tofu Spring Rolls

12 spring roll wrappers
a few cups of salad greens
4 oz. Westsoy Garden Herb
tofu, sliced
1/4 of a red bell pepper, sliced
1/4 of an english cucumber,
sliced
1 scallion, sliced in half and
lengthwise

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 some greens, followed by the tofu, bell pepper, cucumber & 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.

Ryan's
lunch:
spring
roll;
"cat"
rice
balls;
grape
halves;
orange
gel cup;
blood
orange
slices.





AJ's snack: grape halves;
rice balls; cucumber
slices; cubed garden herb
tofu.





Thursday:

Ryan's
Lorax
lunch:
rice;
broccoli;
salad
greens
(hiding
3 meat-
less
meatballs;
carrot &
takuan
Lorax;
takuan
& nori
tree
trunk;
red bell pepper tree; soy cheese letters. Not shown: side of strawberry applesauce.

I was running low on frozen rice...I actually reheated a rice heart that I didn't end up using for Valentine's week and spread it on the bottom of the bento, filling in the rest of it with the meatless meatballs and covering it with greenery. Since it wasn't as full as usual, I added a side of applesauce to make sure Ryan had enough to eat!

AJ's snack & Nate's lunch:
mini pumpkin miso muffin;
grapes or strawberries;
broccoli; a pickle; meatless
meatballs.

Nate was very excited to
choose what picks to put
in his lunch. He made sure
that both his meatballs had
an apple fork.

In the evening we all went to
the elementary school's birthday
celebration for Dr. Seuss. The
boys all signed their names on
a poster that was going to be made
into a giant birthday card.






After that they listened to stories read by the staff. Ryan was excited that his teacher was one of the people reading. The Cat In The Hat and Thing 1 and Thing 2 were also there.

Friday:
Ryan's lunch: pbj burger sandwich; Lake Champlain dark chocolate; a carrot; green beans; fruit salad.

Busy, busy

The weekend:
Ryan harvested the
first beans from the
pole beans he planted
at preschool in the
spring.







Dinner included this
miso tofu from Vegan
Yum Yum, minus the
liquid smoke flavour.
The kids and I really
enjoyed it.

I also roasted some
turnips, summer
squash, & eggplant
in the oven. Steamed
broccoli & watermelon
slices completed the
meal.

Monday:
The meals are pretty
simple these days when
Dada is at work. Lunch:
mini pumpkin muffin;
fresh pineapple chunks;
cold tofu w/soy sauce;
udon noodles with green
beans; Animal Parade
calcium vitamin.

For the grownup:
spicy vegetable satay
over udon noodles;
pineapple chunks.




Tuesday:

CSA farm pick-up day:
- 1 head lettuce
- 3 bell peppers
- 1 hot pepper
- 1 bunch scallions
- 1 lb. carrots
- 4 cucumbers + 3 from the seconds table
- 2 eggplants
- 1 giant pattypan squash
- 2 zucchini
- 1 pint orange cherry tomatoes
- 1 quart blueberries

We saved most of the
pick-your-own items
until later in the week.

Here's AJ showing off
the pattypan squash he
chose because it looked
like a big "star".


Ryan munched on a
cucumber on the way
home. He managed to
eat half of it, then saved
the rest for the next day.






Dinner: tofu spinach
ricotta stuffed pasta
shells.
This another family
favourite at our house.
I really need to make
a bigger batch because
they disappear so
quickly.

Corn on the cob and
a salad accompanied
the stuffed shells.





Wednesday:AJ's lunch for preschool camp: 2 pbj sandwich quarters; raisins; orange sections; lettuce & cucumber salad; 2 leftover stuffed pasta shells; broccoli florets. Not shown: lemonade; water; Luna bar for morning snack.

Thursday:
Back to the farm
for pick-your-own:
- bouquets of flowers
- string beans
- swiss chard
- a huge bag of basil
for pesto

And from the farmer's
market: bread, tomatoes, popcorn, corn on the cob.

Later in the day my MIL cam to visit the new baby. She brought us more corn, green & yellow beans, & lettuce from her boyfriend's garden in upstate NY.

Friday:

I never found time for
my usual friday blog post
because it was Nate's
2nd birthday! He opened
presents in the morning.
In the evening relatives
came over for a party.
One of his favourite gifts
was this book Food For
Thought.



I didn't want to break the
bank feeding everyone,
nor did I have a lot of time
to spend cooking. So we
served chips & dips and
watermelon, and then had
a pasta bar & garlic bread;
I figured pasta wouldn't
be rejected by any of the
kids. So I made 3 kinds of
pasta and 3 sauces: a red sauce with Nate's meatless meatballs, a mushroom sauce with red wine, and a pesto with all that basil from the farm.
AJ--my picky eater with the big appetite--enjoyed the buffet of food.

And don't forget the cupcakes! The basic chocolate cupcakes with a vegan buttercream frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World always impresses people.