My lunch: September 26, 2011

When we got a pumpkin in our CSA, I was excited to make my own pumpkin puree. I'd meant to do it last year, and I just never got around to it. This time, I did it right, and it turned out so well! I halved the pumpkin and scooped out the seeds and pulp. I baked the two pieces for almost an hour. When it was done, I just scooped out the flesh and tossed it in the food processor. It turned out lighter in color and it smelled less strongly than the stuff from a can, but it tasted divine. I used it in this pumpkin bread and froze the rest (to be used in another tasty pumpkin recipe next week).



Pineapple cashew quinoa with organic quinoa, organic edamame, organic local red bell pepper, and organic broccoli, organic kiwi, organic Cajun cashews, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, and an apple from our CSA

Chip's lunch: September 26, 2011

I hate apologizing for my crap camera, but here I go again. It takes really unfortunate pictures indoors, but I didn't have daylight to take this photo!

This stir fry was really good, and it got me to break out the quinoa, which I had sort of forgotten about. A little bit of blog browsing the other day brought me to this recipe: Pineapple Cashew Quinoa. I discovered over Christmas last year that not only am I no longer allergic to pineapple, but it is DELICIOUS! I am so in love with pineapple now! I love sweet and salty things too (thank you, Jeni's salty caramel ice cream), and this seemed like the perfect way to do it. We both liked it a lot, and it was a nice, summery, packed-with-protein meal.



Pineapple cashew quinoa with organic quinoa, organic edamame, organic local red bell pepper, and organic broccoli, banana, organic macadamia nuts, organic Sultana golden raisins, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, and an apple from our CSA.

My lunch: June 13, 2011

A lunch for Katie? On a weekday? What is this? Oh yes, it's the other big news I mentioned in my last post. And that news is (sorry for those of you who were hoping for a pregnancy or something more exciting than this): I GOT A JOB! I don't need to go into detail here, but let's just say that it's been brutal, it's been a very long search, it's been emotional, and it's been very, very difficult. I am so excited to begin this job, and can't believe it's finally happened. I've been doing some shopping for work clothes (my last job had an extremely casual dress code), I got myself a lunch box, and I've been making plans like crazy. I'm almost as excited to eat this lunch as I am about the job :)



Homemade fried rice with organic local broccoli and organic tofu, red pear, grape fruit leather, raw almonds, homemade vegan coffee cake, and a salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic mushrooms, organic carrot, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: June 13, 2011

Sometimes, I think my lunches are really pretty. This is one of those times. It's so colorful, and the picture turned out great (I have a crappy regular camera, and approximately zero photography skills). It looks tasty and healthy, and when Chip sneaked a peek, he was excited to get to eat it.

We have a few pieces of non-lunch-related news here. The more fun news is that our foster cat, Naomi, finally gave birth this weekend. She saw a vet in mid-May who estimated she was due June 1. When June 10 rolled around, we took her to a vet, who did an X-ray. The vet told us that she saw the most kittens she'd ever seen on an X-ray: 9 to 11. Average litter size is 5! We were shocked, and very upset, but hopeful that things would turn out OK. Naomi began labor this Saturday morning, and as of now, we have 7 kittens and she seems to be done. Whew! We are so glad the vet was mistaken, and all the little ones are healthy and strong. There's one calico, three orange and whites, and three torbies.

Here is one of the torbies, nursing herself into a milk coma:



Here's Naomi with all 7:



Check out my next entry for our other big news!



Homemade fried rice with local organic broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan coffee cake, raw almonds, dried cherries, organic Gala apple, and a salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic mushrooms, organic carrot, and Campari tomato.

Chip's lunch: June 6, 2011

Over the weekend I grilled up some sausages from the Grain Meat Co. We love their Italian sausages: they're fairly authentic and nice and spicy, with plenty of salt. With some sauteed peppers and onions on a whole wheat roll, it's a nice complete meal that tastes like something you'd get at a ballpark or a backyard barbecue.



Grain Meat Co. Italian sausage with sauteed onions and organic bell pepper, steamed broccoli, raw almonds, dried cherries, locally produced pesto with homemade whole wheat herb focaccia, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: May 5, 2011

I have been on a Mandarin orange kick lately, and thought I'd have Chip give them one more shot. And...they came back home with him after work. I don't get what's not to like! They're sweet, a little sour, bite-sized, and mild. I love them. Chip is just not a fan, and I guess it's time to accept it.

He did, however, enjoy the vegan Snickerdoodles I packed. I've been making lots of sweets, and while I'm not sure what's prompting it, Chip sure isn't complaining. I used this recipe, and while I followed it exactly, it didn't turn out quite like I'd hoped. They were tasty, but they were a tad on the salty side, and did have that floury, chewy texture like my mom's Snickerdoodles. I mean, it's not like we didn't eat them; they're long gone now :)



Homemade fried rice with organic broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan Snickerdoodles, pecans, dried cranberries, Mandarin oranges, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: February 18, 2011

It's fried rice day again! I confess that I always make it same way: Trader Joe's fried rice with sauteed tofu and steamed broccoli. We were running low on broccoli, so I *gasp* threw in some green beans! Don't worry; it tasted just fine. We're still very much enjoying our Twin Oaks tofu, and are so glad it's available in Ohio now.



Homemade fried rice with organic tofu, broccoli, and green beans, homemade vegan peanut butter cookies, pecans, watermelon, and an organic Jonagold apple.

Chip's lunch: February 10, 2011

We had leftovers for dinner last night, which means...nothing exciting or new for lunch. Somehow we've amassed quite the collection of veggies though, so I was able to slice them and steam them up with some quinoa for a nice balanced lunch.

We've been getting some of our produce at Costco. While we do have access to a fair amount of organic and local produce at the co-op up the street, well...it gets expensive. So if it's not on the Dirty Dozen list, we get it at Costco. So far, so good! We were also buying organic dried cranberries at the co-op, and they were far more expensive than was prudent. So the ones you see here are Craisins from Costco! Whenever we can find unsalted nuts, we get those at Costco too. Can you tell how much I love Costco?



Organic quinoa with mixed veggies (organic yellow bell pepper, green beans, asparagus, organic peas, and broccoli) organic blood orange, dried cranberries, raw almonds, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: February 8, 2011

A friend of mine posts photos of amazing vegan food on her facebook page, and I was browsing yesterday to get some inspiration. She posted a photo of a meal she had at a local vegan restaurant, and it looked so good that I had to try to replicate it. So, I basically made vegan Thanksgiving dinner, including seitan en croute, mashed potatoes with vegan gravy, and lemon garlic broccoli. Chip loved it all; I was just OK with the seitan. It wasn't the seitan itself, it was the way it had been prepared. I'll try seitan again, but probably made a different way.



Homemade seitan en croute,steamed broccoli, homemade trail mix, organic Ambrosia apple, and organic mashed potatoes with vegan gravy.

Chip's lunch: February 3, 2011

Oh, fried rice, how we love you. Fried rice has turned into a once a week thing in our house. Fortunately, it seems that neither of us will ever tire of it, and it's a super easy and complete meal, with plenty of vegan protein, carbs, and veggies.

I forgot to mention yesterday the recipe I used for the blondies. I'd never made blondies before, let alone vegan ones, so I was a bit nervous. This recipe turned out pretty well, and I think I'll try it again in the future. I'll probably make regular cookies instead of blondies though; I don't have any idea how to modify cooking time for blondies vs. cookies, so I was checking these every five minutes for almost an hour, trying to figure out if they were done or not!



Homemade fried rice with broccoli and organic tofu, homemade vegan blondies, pecans, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: January 25, 2011

While I was home in Maryland, I grabbed lunch with a friend at an awesome vegan restaurant, Great Sage. Afterward, we walked over to Roots for a little bit of shopping. I picked up some Twin Oaks tofu upon a very enthusiastic recommendation from my friend. She was right: it's great! It's organic, non-GMO, very firm (hardly any water to press out), and made by a co-op in Virginia (so it's local to the grocery store where I bought it). I love this stuff and wish it were available here in Ohio. I used it in yesterday's soup, and in this fried rice.

The potatoes are left over from the previous night's dinner. I made breakfast for dinner and made up these "country potatoes." Just organic potato, chopped organic onion, a few spices, and some margarine in a saute pan. Yum!



Organic Honeycrisp apple, homemade country potatoes, organic Sultana golden raisins, banana, and homemade fried rice with broccoli and organic tofu.

Chip's lunch: January 6, 2011

This one was thrown together quickly in the morning with leftovers. Like our fried rice, this pad thai recipe usually makes about three servings: one for each of us for dinner, and one more for Chip's lunch.



Homemade pad thai with organic broccoli and organic tofu, Kashi whole grain crackers, organic Sultana golden raisins, banana, organic Honeycrisp apple.

Chip's lunch: January 5, 2011

Reason number 45839472897 that we love Hawaii: macadamia nuts. I know you can get them everywhere, but it was neat to buy them where they're grown. They're a lot less expensive in Hawaii, too! We brought home a big canister of them. Yum!



Organic honeycrisp apple, steamed organic broccoli, raw almonds, organic Sultana golden raisins, macadamia nuts, homemade banana bread, and whole wheat rollups with Boca black bean burger, organic salsa, Tillamook Cheddar cheese, and organic Boston lettuce.

Chip's lunch: November 18, 2010

When I went on my Gardein-buying binge a few weeks ago, I must've inadvertently picked up some of the Gardein Beefless Tips. They're not my favorite, so I made them for dinner on Wednesday, a night on which I wasn't terribly hungry. I looked up a recipe for brown sauce that didn't include oyster sauce (not easy to find), and I had dinner on the table in a few short minutes. The brown sauce was not my cup of tea, though Chip loved it. It's not often that we get to eat Chinese food, since it so frequently contains non-vegetarian ingredients (oyster sauce, beef broth, pork, pork fat, fish, etc). Chip was happy to take these leftovers and he enjoyed them again at lunch.



Gardein beefless tips with organic broccoli, organic cauliflower, and steamed organic brown rice in homemade brown sauce, banana, organic Thompson raisins, and half of an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: November 11, 2010

Oh, how we love Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice. It's become a once-a-week staple in our house. It's so easy and so inexpensive (dinner for both of us, plus lunch for both of us the next day is about $6 for the rice, tofu, and broccoli).

We bought these cherries at Costco. They're Montmorency dried cherries. The bag had all sorts of claims on it, including that these cherries have the highest antioxidant content of any fruit. Being all kinds of skeptical, I did a bit more research on this, and found that these cherries do have remarkable levels of anthocyanins, which are antioxidants that can help reduce inflammation and pain. In fact, cyanidin (found in sour cherries) was more effective than aspirin at controlling inflammation. You can read more here.

While I don't usually choose foods for homeopathic purposes, it's neat to know more about what we put in our bodies each day. Chip has really come to love his dried fruit, and this makes me even happier to pack it for him!



Homemade fried rice with organic tofu and organic broccoli, banana, dried cherries, Kashi wheat crackers, natural peanut butter, and an organic Gala apple.

Chip's lunch: November 8, 2010

This is the first time that Chip packed his whole lunch himself, and took the photo. Of course, he packed up leftovers from the dinner that I prepared, but he still did it himself. This rice is Chip's favorite. It has surpassed his childhood memories of chicken flavored Rice-a-Roni, which I never thought possible. Fried rice with lots of salt and butter...it's hard to beat that!

I breaded the tofu with this seasoning. We don't have it often, and it's a really special treat for Chip. He usually doesn't like peanut flavored stuff, or spicy stuff, and this is both. Tofu has to bake for a really long time to get that nice chewy texture, but it's definitely worth it.

Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce our latest greyhound foster, Gabe Cuda ("Cuda"). He is a baby by retired racer standards, as he broke his leg at 17 months old. Greyhounds typically begin their careers at 18 months, so he has never officially raced (though he did schooling races). He's in some pain from a surgically repaired fracture in his right hock, but we are working on scheduling him to get some of his hardware removed. In the meantime, he is enjoying the fluffy beds in our house, and the companionship of our dog Cal.





And lunch:



Brown rice pilaf, CSA Gold Rush apple, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate chips, organic dried cranberries, steamed organic broccoli with sea salt, black pepper, and lime, more broccoli, and baked organic spicy peanut tofu.

Chip's lunch: October 28, 2010

Chip called me from work while he was eating this to tell me that it was possibly his favorite lunch ever. I made it for dinner on Wednesday night, and made sure to have enough leftovers for the next day. This VegeUSA vegan pepper steak is kind of expensive, so it's a once in a while treat. It's so easy and requires no forethought or real preparation...awesome for a busy evening!



Organic steamed broccoli, VegeUSA vegan pepper steak, brown rice pilaf, organic blackberry applesauce, Kashi granola bar, and a banana.

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: September 24, 2010

Chip and I got a Fudha for Basil, a new Thai restaurant in town. My parents took me in May when they were here visiting, and the experience was unfortunate. We decided to give it a second chance, and while the food was great, the service was still a mess. But...at least we've got delicious leftovers!



CSA Golden Delicious Apple, homemade vegan pumpkin bread, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic macadamias, banana, and leftover tofu and rice with vegetables in brown sauce.

Chip's lunch: September 10, 2010

Mmmm...restaurant leftovers! We haven't had those in a really long time! My wonderful friend Lori took me out to lunch at Kogen's yesterday, and I had plenty of sesame tofu left over for Chip to have it in his lunch. And look! No banana! I'm sure they'll be back next week though. This is partly because, well, it's Chip, and bananas are what he eats, as well as the fact that there are no fewer than eleven bananas in our fruit bowl right now.



CSA watermelon, 1/2 sandwich on local organic 10-grain bread with guacamole, organic spinach, Roma tomatoes from our garden, and CSA red pepper, organic dark chocolate, organic Thompson raisins, organic macadamias, organic applesauce, and leftover sesame tofu with broccoli, water chestnuts, and fried rice.