Since I spent all of last Sunday meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking, we have dinner and lunch nearly pre-made for us all week. I made this pizza dough on Sunday, and made a double recipe so I could freeze one half, and use the other half right away. The soup had been in the freezer, and was part of the great purge I did last week.
Homemade Margherita pizza with whole wheat crust, Campari tomatoes, and buffalo milk mozzarella, white bean and kale soup, raw almonds, organic Sultana Golden raisins, homemade vegan coffee cake, and a salad with organic local red leaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic carrots, organic mushrooms, Campari tomatoes, and a local pastured egg.
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.
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.
Since the Snickerdoodles didn't really do it for me, I decided to try some vegan coffee cake. I've always loved coffee cake because...well, what's not to love? Cake, plus sweet, buttery, cinnamon-y, crumbly goodness on top. I used topping from one recipe and cake from another because I just had a hunch that it would be better. And it was amazing. Chip insisted that he doesn't like coffee cake, but then he tried a bite of this. It was gone within 2 days (though, to be fair, we shared some with our friends).
Sandwich on homemade whole wheat focaccia with hummus, organic redleaf lettuce, and tomato, homemade vegan coffee cake, organic raw cashews, dried cherries, and a banana.
While we were in Hawaii, we ate at restaurants every day. It was frequently hard for me to find protein in a meal, since most of the menus were focused on fish and meat. I mostly ate salads, and found that a lot of places had hard boiled eggs to top them with. For some reason, I've never really been into hard boiled eggs. I remember that at the salad bar in the dining hall when I was in college, I would get to the hard boiled eggs, and only yolks would be left. College girls watch their fat intake...I guess because they're drinking so much beer. At least I was! Anyway...I'd never made them at home, but after having them for a week, I decided to make a few. I put them on salads, though Chip will eat them alone (which I think is weird).
We get our eggs from the co-op up the street from us. They are local, and produced by Manchester Hill Farm. The hens are pastured and vegetarian-fed...this is all very important to us. They're more expensive than grocery store eggs, but they are healthier for us, and definitely healthier for the hens.
Oh, and the babka? Delicious! We get it at Whole Foods, but it's a really special treat. Chip's aunt and uncle sent us a gift card for Christmas, and as soon as I saw it, I knew what I was getting!
Salad with organic Boston lettuce, organic grape tomatoes, organic carrot, and pastured egg, organic Gala apple, nuts (organic cashews, macadamias, raw almonds, pecans, cinnamon babka, and homemade spinach and white bean soup.
I'm finally caught up! Yay!
Somehow today we didn't have any apples or bananas in the house (those are my go-to fruits for lunches). So to round out the lunch, I threw together a bunch of veggies in a pot and sauteed. I think Chip will like it. It includes roma tomato, new potato, broccoli, red onion, crushed garlic, lots of spices, and some Parmesan cheese. Chip doesn't like the texture of Parm, but when it's used in small quantities and gives flavor, he's OK with it.
Oh, and happy birthday to me! I turned 27 and Chip made me a birthday cake (as he does every year). Funfetti vanilla cake with Funfetti vanilla frosting...as always. Cake is my favorite food.
Vegetable saute with Parm, birthday cake, couscous with flaxseed and soy (10 grams of protein per serving!), and a sandwich on local organic whole wheat bread with avocado, red onion, red leaf lettuce, roma tomato, and local pepper jack cheese.
