Chip's lunch: October 27, 2010

When Chip goes away on business trips (the most recent one was 12 days), I almost never cook, and I find it really difficult to eat healthfully. It's easy for me to munch on an apple or banana, but I never feel like cooking or eating vegetables. So once he got home, I was ready for some serious rabbit food. I was browsing Tasha's blog, and saw all her mouthwatering photos of salads. The woman eats a salad EVERY day for lunch! I was totally inspired, so I ran to the grocery store to get some lettuce. I threw in a few other veggies, and made it into sort of a Southwestern thing. I threw some BBQ Fritos on Chip's salad (for Tuesday's dinner), and he thought it was the best thing ever!



Salad with redleaf lettuce, CSA corn, organic black beans, organic avocado, and Roma tomato from our garden, pita chips, organic Thompson raisins, organic raw cashews, and organic blackberry applesauce.

Chip's lunch: October 26, 2010

So I'm no gardener, and I have no idea whether this is normal or not, but our Roma tomato plant gave us 20 tomatoes on Sunday. I gave a few to the neighbors, and I've been trying to throw tomatoes into everything we eat. So...pasta with tomatoes it is!



Organic whole wheat tri-color cavatappi with pesto and Roma tomato from our garden, baked breaded mushrooms, organic Thompson raisins, CSA corn and organic peas, and a CSA Northern Spy apple

Chip's lunch: October 25, 2010

We're back in action here, now that Chip has returned from the Netherlands after two weeks. While he was gone, I decided that since I don't know anything about canning, I would make some food that I could freeze instead. Since this was our first year with our garden, I spent a lot of time on just keeping things alive. I think that by next summer I'll be able to keep things alive and also produce enough veggies to be able to can. So I made some chili, some soup, and a few other things that we've been defrosting when we don't feel like cooking. This chili is one of those things. It's our usual recipe, and I was able to use a few things that had been lingering from our garden and the last CSA haul.

The watermelon is from our garden. Yes, I am still getting watermelons in October. I don't know how normal that is, but I don't care, because this watermelon is delicious! It's also fun to eat watermelon with real seeds in it! I can't remember the last time I bought a seeded watermelon at the grocery store...it's like they no longer exist!



And the pumpkin muffin is from some friends of ours. We watched their dog while they were out of town last weekend for a wedding, and we were paid in pumpkin muffins! Cal and Moly had pretty much the most fun ever, and kept each other occupied and out of my hair, which was delightful since Chip was away and I was a single pet parent for the moment.



And lunch:



Homemade vegan chili with bell pepper from our garden and from our CSA, Ellyn's pumpkin muffin, pretzel M&Ms, Cheddar/jack cheese stick, watermelon from our garden, and a CSA Northern Spy apple.

Chip's lunch: October 11, 2010

This was Chip's last lunch before leaving on his business trip. For reasons I can't fathom, I bought a bunch of cheese the day before his departure. I don't really eat cheese. I have no idea what I was thinking. So I cut up a bunch of it and put it in Chip's lunch.

I was also able to include some leftover potstickers that I made with this recipe. I'd never made potstickers before, and I love them so much. I decided to just go for it, and spent an hour researching recipes to find one that sounded tasty and didn't require a food processor (I don't have one). They turned out really well, and tasted like they were from a restaurant! We were able to freeze the leftovers and they make a quick, easy, healthy snack. I steamed them instead of frying them, to reduce the fat content. Also, I did fry the first batch and they all stuck to the bottom of the pot, so...I decided not to do that again! You'd think I'd have realized that they're called potstickers for a reason.



Kashi whole wheat crackers, local pepper jack cheese, local Cheddar cheese, homemade vegan potstickers, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dried cranberries, organic chocolate chips, organic dried cherries, banana, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: October 8, 2010

Aaaaaannnnnd...we're back! Chip took a two-week business trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, and I wasn't making lunches. So, he's back, and we're back to the blog, and back to making some tasty lunches!

Here's one from before he left. I found this amazing ravioli at the grocery store here. It's all super wholesome ingredients, nothing artificial, and it's made in Italy. It was really expensive, but man, was it delicious! I also got to use up the last of my homemade marinara sauce.



Spinach ravioli with homemade marinara sauce, banana, Kashi granola bar, organic applesauce, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, Roma tomato from our garden, organic pine nuts, and organic mushrooms.

Chip's lunch: October 7, 2010

Who doesn't love some good pad thai? We keep it simple, with just noodles, sauce, broccoli, and tofu. To be authentic, we should probably add some peanuts, among other things, but we like our American pad thai!

We used Tofu Plus for this recipe, which is tofu that has added vitamins, specifically those that vegetarians and vegans can lack (like B12). I'm not usually one for fads or gimmicks, but since it was on sale, I decided to try it. It tastes and cooks just like regular tofu. We enjoyed it, and if it's ever cheaper than our regular tofu again, we'll definitely buy it.



Homemade pad thai with organic broccoli, organic tofu, and organic sesame seeds, banana, organic dried cherries, organic Sultana golden raisins, natural peanut butter, whole wheat graham crackers, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: October 6, 2010

These mushrooms have been sitting in the fridge for a while, being neglected and overlooked. A cool rainy fall day was the perfect time to roast them with some bell peppers and make Clean Eating Magazine's Chicken & Portobello Focaccia...minus the chicken. It's quick and easy, and we had the tomatoes and basil growing in the garden. I have to say that even though our garden wasn't a huge success, I've really enjoyed having it, and I hope next year's garden is even better.



Organic locally made whole wheat bun with roasted organic portobellos, CSA green peppers, and red peppers from Lori's garden, plus Roma tomato from our garden, basil from our garden, mozzarella, and organic pine nuts, CSA corn, organic dried cherries, organic chocolate chips, organic Sultana golden raisins, banana, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: October 5, 2010

W got some blueberries in our CSA share this week, so I decided to make some blueberry pancakes. Except once I'd mixed up the batter, I took the blueberries out of the fridge and realized...they're grapes! They are so delicious too. But they're definitely not interchangeable with blueberries for pancake purposes. So I mixed in some cranberries instead. Chip was so excited to see these in his lunch until he realized the cranberries weren't chocolate chips. Apparently we don't know our foods too well! He enjoyed this lunch just the same, and especially liked the scrambled egg...no surprise there.



100% pure maple syrup, homemade oatmeal pancakes with cranberries, banana, Kashi granola bar, pastured eggs with CSA Swiss chard, CSA corn, organic mushrooms, and peppers from my friend Lori's garden, and a CSA Melrose apple.

Chip's lunch: October 4, 2010

Once again, we had dinner with some awesome friends of ours, and they were wonderful enough to leave us with some leftover homemade lasagna. Laura made us an amazing dinner, and apparently lasagna is her specialty. She loves lasagna so much that she throws lasagna parties. For one of her birthdays, she made three different kinds of lasagna, and invited a bunch of friends over to eat it with her. I think that is awesome! Lasagna is something I haven't yet mastered, but I'm hoping Laura will teach me. This stuff was incredible. As Chip would say, it was really "restaurant-y."



CSA Melrose apple, whole wheat graham crackers, raw almonds, steamed asparagus, and Laura's homemade roasted vegetable lasagna (with red pepper and eggplant).

Chip's lunch: October 1, 2010

OK, I'm not gonna lie...sometimes, when I buy things and don't like them, they end up in Chip's lunch. Exhibit A: this bagel. It was kind of sweet, even though it's supposed to be just whole grain. I don't do sweet bagels. Chip doesn't care though...even though he can be picky, I often feel like I can just throw anything into his lunch. He loves eggs, and loves breakfast sandwiches even more. This lunch was a huge hit!



Whole grain bagel with pastured eggs, organic mushrooms, CSA kale, and peppers from my friend Lori's garden, local early Jonagold apple from the farmers' market, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dark chocolate chips, organic dried cranberries, and grilled veggies (zucchini from our garden, purple bell pepper from our garden, CSA green bell pepper, red onion, and organic mushrooms).

Chip's lunch: September 30, 2010

This is another one I was able to make in the morning. Much to Chip's chagrin, there was no cheese around for his hot dog...but that also means that this lunch is vegan! Also, we've been enjoying all the different apples we've been getting from the farmers' market and through our CSA. This one is a Golden Delicious from the CSA...yum!



Vegan hot dog on whole wheat bun, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic chocolate chips, raw almonds, CSA Golden Delicious apple, and steamed asparagus.