Leftover from dinner the night before, I took fresh corn over whole wheat cous cous to work last night along with fresh cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with a balsamic dipping sauce.
Yeah, too bad I forgot I had it in the fridge and bought a chili dog from the crapateria.
But you know what? It worked out in the end. I got too busy to eat so at least I didn't have the heartburn or have to write that one up on my food diary!
I have a new lunchbox article with recipes up at The Daily Tiffin called "Meat? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Meat!".
Also, I'm compiling the Tackiest Gift Stories now...
For the lovely Ruth at Once Upon a Feast's weekly Presto Past Nights blogging event, I made soup. Again. But really, can you ever eat enough soup? It's filling. It's good for you. It's comforting. That's a win-win. This time it's a little difficult to see my pasta so I'll show another pic.
Not only does this soup have split peas and alphabet pasta in it, it also has yellow and brown lentils, wild rice, and barley. Then, when I made it I added onion, carrot, green and red pepper, and celery which makes it vegetarian. I haven't decided to go exactly back to strict vegetaranism but I have decided to make most of my meals non-meat. I have to have a little wiggle room for seafood and the occasional steak. It's like any diet. Once I say "absolutely no more of that food will ever be consumed by me again" is the exact moment when I can think of nothing else and would walk on a bed of nails on my knees to get that, so knowing myself, I'm saying that I will eat much less meat than ever before.
Just FYI, I didn't put all of those peas, lentils, rice, pasta, etc., together but I was glad when I saw it at the Amish Store in Branson and will be buying more. They have several dried bean/pea soup mixes that are just wonderful. With the veggies I can saute at home and herbs I can add myself, it's a full but quick meal to put together.
The mixes can also be ordered directly online from The Amish Country Store. Most of the products are made by Missouri Amish families.
Continue reading "Presto Pasta Nights #45: Split Pea/Alphabet Pasta Soup" »
Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen is celebrating the two year anniversary of everybody's favorite food event: Weekend Herb Blogging. Congratulations, Kalyn! Check with Kalyn's site from Monday on to see the round-up of all the wonderful herby and veggie dishes from around the world.
Her celebration coincided with my personal celebration of 1) having friends in from St. Louis and Woonsocket, RI that I haven't seen in --forever!--and 2) my one day shopping spree. I've really been working on my spending habits this year, as in, trying to reign my spending habits in and I've been pretty successful so far. It feels good to feel more in control of the whole instant gratification thing, if you know what I mean. But I did allow myself one day at one store with my friends to go a little nuts. That one store was The Amish Country Store in Branson where they have my all time favorite aisles of spices. The Amish Country Store is a family owned business that stocks furniture and food products produced by local Missouri Amish families, along with a variety of about 150 fresh spices brought in weekly in bulk and repackaged into smaller containers. Usually I stock up on fresh home-bottled (canned in glass jars) goods and Mrs. Miller's noodles but on this trip I concentrated on refilling my spice cabinet. Here's my haul:
From top left to right: ground annatto, dried celery flakes, dried red and green bell pepper (I like having those on hand for when I need seasoning but the crisper is bare), red popcorn and coconut oil (I was weak), dried lavender, dried chamomile flowers, star anise, Hungarian paprika, cardamom, lentil and pasta soup mix, and Tupelo honey. You'll be seeing a lot of these things in the coming weeks.
My featured spice for today is: Annatto
I think a lot of us have found that taking a lunch saves us from the perils of the cafeteria, both bad food and bad choices. Yesterday was a good proof of that for me. For this last stretch of work, on the days I took my lunch to work I was able to get in my fruits and vegetables and eat good sources of protein while the one day, yesterday, I didn't pack a lunch and ended up with a ham sandwich. Not that that part was bad but a croissant? Why didn't my mouth say "wheat bread, please"? Instead I said "mayo, yes please.". Grrrrr... And then I had macaroni and cheese on top of it. Grrrr...
But on the other days I'm glad to say this is what I ate:
Chicken Finger wrap, bing cherries, sharp cheddar cheese, cucumber sticks, baby carrots.
The wrap looked like this:
Looks like fish sticks, doesn't it? It's chicken fingers. I didn't like using the ones with breading but I was in a hurry and I'd run out of breadless tenders. Next time I'll put the tomato and lettuce in separte baggie and put it together at work. The tomatoes made it a little soggy but other than that it was good. From bottom up, the layers are: light cream cheese, Harry & David onion pepper chutney, lettuce, cherry tomatoes halved, and chicken fingers.
Small tuna, sharp cheddar, melba toast, raisins, zuchini sticks.
Lunchbox contents from top to bottom, left to right: Protein snack bar, Crystal Lite individual pack, Protein shake, Cold Sesame Noodle Salad with Peanuts and Parsley, fresh pitted cherries, zuchinni sticks, baby carrots.
Last night was my first night back at work at the hospital (respiratory therapy) in right at three months. For the two people I haven't whined to I had a knee injury followed by an incredibly long diagnosis journey, followed by surgery exactly five weeks ago. Last night was my first night back on the job and it was a doozy. But such is life. Right now my life revolves around Aspercreme and ice packs.
Since I'm also back to wanting to take good, healthy meals to get me through my shifts rather than go to the cafeteria...I know. You'd think a hospital cafeteria would focus on only extremely nutritious food but the sad fact is no one would buy it. We have a nice salad bar and they do serve a poached fish several times a week but I wasn't consistently seeing or buying what I should be eating so, like a lot of people, I brown bag it. Or in my case, I cute little Japanese bento box it.
IF I can find foods that are fast, satisfying, and pretty in my fridge. Otherwise, it's a challenge.
Last night's lunch fulfilled all three. The cold sesame udon noodle salad was inspired by Sher, at What Did You Eat's Spicy Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Basil. That photo looks so inviting to me that I had to make it even if I didn't have all the ingredients in the cupboard. Real creativity in the kitchen, mine at least, is brought on by cravings, a skimpy pantry, and an unwillingness to go to the grocery for one or two items. So my Sesame Noodle Salad with Peanuts and Parsley sved my day. Or dinner. Depends on how you look at it.
The best part was the entire lunch took less than fifteen minutes to prepare and I was on my way. It's all about a little juggling. While the noodles boiled, I prepared the vegetables for the salad and the rest of the veggies in the lunchbox. By the time the noodles were cooked, everything was packed, the dressing for the salad was made, and all I had to do was toss it all together and scoop it into the bento. You can't beat that with a stick, like my grandmother always said. Have no idea what it means but it feels right for this case.
My lunchbox noodle salad is my entry this week in Ruth of Once Upon a Feast's weekly Presto Pasta Nights event. Check her blog Friday to see all the pasta dishes being served up this week.
Continue reading "First Day Back at Work: Lunch Box Meals are Back Again" »
This is the lunch (dinner) I would have eaten if I'd been able to work last night: 2 oz braunsweiger, 2 oz sharp cheddar (2% milk), 4 melba toasts, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, zucchini sticks, and raisins. I say "would" have because I'm off work a couple more days, have been since I came back from Vegas where I cracked my ankle and twisted my knee. I tried to go in last night but just the walk in from the parking lot (okay, it is a LONG walk) had me nearly in tears and limping. My knee isn't ready. I won't whine anymore here. Not because I'm not a whiner but because I've done so much of it on my personal blog, G's Spot. If the cortizone shot doesn't kick in the next couple of days, I'll skip whining and go straight to stark raving lunatic rants.
This is my new toy for work:
I know that the Glad containers and the brown bags are fine but I splurged. I saw these bento lunchboxes on Lisa's Restaurant Widow food blog and emailed her for the link. The seller we both purchased from ships in from Japan in under 10 days, the ebay strore, Tokyo Gift.
The lunchbox disappointed me a little at first because it seems tiny when you first get it. The whole thing stacked on measures a little over 3"x6 1/2"x3". That's not very big. The largest container holds 1 1/2 cups of food, the small container holds 1 cup of food. But here's the deal: do we really need more? No. That's plenty of room for 4 oz of meat and four 1/2 cup side servings. It holds has much as a heaped dinner plate. I found my own reaction interesting, though, that it might not be big enough. As a culture, we've been so brainwashed by the value meals and upsizing of fast food and the ridiculous portion sizes in all restaurants.
I'm going to show you the first three meals I took to work in this thing and not once did I go home hungry. Actually, it's helping me on my diet. Now that I'm eating food that I like, instead of getting any old thing in our hospital cafeteria and then throwing away half, I'm not as hungry when I get off work at 11pm, so I'm not eating as much late anymore. "Anymore" being the last week. I'm hoping that to stay true forever. The portion of the lunchbox is deceptively filling too. Twice out of the three times I've taken it to work, I've not been able to finish everything I packed in one sitting.
I am excited about making sushi and exploring Japanese cuisine since this is a Japanese lunchbox but I played around with it just for fun (you'll see) to find that it's very versatile.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not shilling for Tokyo Gift or trying to say this lunchbox is the only way to go. I'm just saying that I'm excited and so far it's really working for me. It's easier to carry than paper bags and in the long run it's going to be a lot less expensive than all the "disposable" containers that I've actually thrown away with guilt because they're so expensive. Plus, you have to pack so many for each little thing that the whole enterprise became a pain to me. But if you're interested in getting one, there are several available, just google "bento lunchbox" and you'll get a ton of links. For example, Lunchboxes.com has the one that Rachel Ray has shown on her show, which is also the same on that the Vegan Lunchbox's Little Shmoo carries to school, but from a different purveyor. Or, Tokyo Gift was a great store to both me and Lisa (Restaurant Widow).
So here are my lunches from last week. My inaugural lunch:
Sort of classically Japanese: boiled egg, vegetable fried rice, raw broccoli and carrots, red seedless grapes, a few crackers, and a divine handmade caramel from our Napa Valley trip to visit Sher of What Did You Eat?. I only have a few left. I'm hording them for lunches now.
Boy, if I learn nothing else from this, it's going to be portion size. When I first packed this lunch I was sure I'd be hitting a vending machine or the cafeteria if I got down there in time. What? A measely FIVE crackers? I could eat a half sleeve of them in one sitting without blinking an eye. But yes, it is true, as foreign to us as it sounds, five crackers is a serving. And you know what? They were plenty. I was fine. It was a great lunch and I wasn't hungry when I got home. One, because I actually ate it instead of turning up my nose after a couple of bites and throwing it away like I do so many times in the cafeteria, and two, it was healthy, lots of nice complex carbs in the brown rice and the raw veggies, and good protein in the egg.
Is anybody else a food freak like me in that I have this thing about either eating terrible or eating healthy, eating too much or starving myself, etc. I never can seem to find the middle ground and go with moderation. I know a lot of it is emotional. I eat when I'm happy, upset, bored, you name it, but I also starve myself for most of the negative emotions, just to feel in control. I know. I just said a lot more about myself than what's in those couple of sentences but, really, am I all alone in this? I think this lunchbox is going to help me get back on track and find that middle ground. I'm working full time again, evenings, so this box will contain everything I eat from noon on, five days a week. It's going to be a big part of my life.
Bento dinner #2:
I call this my all American meal: Roast beef, sweet potato with canola butter (only a little!) and brown sugar, cole slaw, and celery sticks.
And then my Italian meal:
Crepe Torte with tofu from my crepe torte post that I sectioned and froze in freezer bags. It freezes beautifully and tasted great. About 1/2 cup pasta with parmesan, fresh broccoli, baby carrots, and celery sticks. And raisins.
Again, all "good" choices, tasted great, and kept me away from the vending machines/hamburger line in the cafeteria. I think this is definitely a win-win choice.
I was thinking about posting once a week or every other week with what I'd been taking for lunch. What do you think? Fun to peek in lunchboxes or boring? You tell me and that will help me decide whether to keep the camera on the kitchen counter all the time.
For now, this post is a part of the "Show Me Your Lunchbox" blogging event created by the nice folks over at The Daily Tiffin. Lunchboxes will be rounded up at after April 20th...
THIS is one of my favorite recipes in the whole world. I first ate it at Dairy Hollow House in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in the 80's. It's the same country inn I worked for owned by cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon. This was a fairly common and very beloved appetizer served at the Inn's six course Prix Fixe dinner. It's called a crepe torte and is designate by how you build it, be it "garden", "Italian", or "Mediterranean" in Crescent's The Dairy Hollow House cookbook, available from DragonZ books.
Now, I have a bit of a funny story to tell. I had no idea until Sher of What Did You Eat? and I were talking about it and she mentioned that it sounded familiar, that this recipe was originally created by Julia Child. With a little research into her Julia cookbooks, Sher found the recipe as Julia created it, after enlisting the help of her assistants, including a young Sara Moulton. The dish was specifically to be vegetarian and Julia was always very generous with giving her assistants credit with its creation.
Now, how to phrase this correctly? I'm not saying Crescent didn't give credit where credit was due most times, but I had a good laugh over this one. Not once do I remember it being mentioned the whole time I worked at DHH that this recipe came from Julia Child. AND, no where in the DHH cookbook is it mentioned that this came from Julia Child, even though the recipe, down to the layers of carrots, mushrooms, and okay, green pea/zucchini instead of Julia's broccoli, are the same. Unlike Julia, Crescent made hers in a cast iron skillet. That's the one difference I can find.
It's not a huge thing, but it amuses me. I always thought that Crescent made this up all by her little lonesome. Hmmm...come to find out the inspiration for this recipe was remarkably well put together...and by someone much more famous than Crescent. Maybe I should be embarrassed that I don't know every one of Julia's recipes by heart but c'est la vie. I admit it bothers me a bit that this was not openly acknowledged to be a Julia Child recipe when Julia herself very openly gave credit to her assistants for helping her creat it. But hey, just one more disappointment in life to find out one of my heroes was made of clay. The story of my life. :-)
On with the show.
The recipe, whether from Julia or Crescent is fabulous. Fab-oh-lust! This recipe is sooo good that when I took it into work, one of the gals looked at it and thought it was pretty. Then I told her it was all vegetables and her comment was that she hates most vegetables. Then she tasted it. She loved it. I happened to have a few extra servings because I'd wanted to share with a couple of foodies at work and she ended up eating one of them. A whole serving. I was so proud of her. That's a big compliment for someone who normally doesn't eat/like many vegetarian or vegetable dishes. Personally, I think I could eat it every day and never get tired of it, for the taste, the prettiness, and because there are so many fresh vegetables in it that it's got to be good for you, vitamin-wise, even if there is quite a bit of cheese (meaning fat) in it.
I've made this three times in the last week. The first time was basically (as much as I can follow a recipe without my inner Glenna tweaking) Crescent's Italian version. That was wonderful and the version I took to work to share. The second version was an experiment lumping all the veggies and binding cream together inside a top and bottom crust made of egg roll wrappers just to see if it would work. It was okay, but just barely average. I'll never make it that way again. The third time was the winner. I still used mostly Julia/Crescent's layers and the idea of how the whole thing together, but I left out a good part of the cheese, subbing light tofu, and subbed skim milk for the whole milk or cream of Crescent's version. The results were very good. The final nutrition counts are a little higher in protein and a lot lower in fat. The protein is important to me, being chronically anemic. I know I've mentioned it before but not being a huge meat eater it's something I constantly must keep on top of so I don't have to go back on the icky iron pills.
Replete with basil, oregano, parsley, and garlic, this is my week's entry in Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen's Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Kate of Thyme for Cooking. Check in next weekend for her roundup of herbed cooking!
Continue reading "Doctor's Kitchen Monday: From Julia Child to Arkansas" »
Dr's Kitchen today is going to be a heads up and a reprint of yesterday's recipe, reworked. When I took my salad into work last night and showed it to my friend, Yung, who is actually Vietnamese, she said it was very similar to salad she's been making her whole life, with one exception. She crinkled her nose at the oil in the dressing. She said that she never uses any oil in the dressing, that the oil is "an American thing". I think she's right. I don't think, in this, it would be missed at all.
So here is a reprint of the recipe, re-engineered a little for those of us on formal diets, and including the nutrition counts:
Continue reading "Dr.'s Kitchen Monday: Heads Up--Vietnamese Cole Slaw" »
Stumble It!
