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.
I was really excited to make lunch for myself. Not so I could eat it (though it does look tasty), but so I could get some new stuff on the old blog. You know...yogurt, blueberries, carrots, etc. We got a great haul from the CSA this weekend, and I am glad I was able to use some things in my lunch here.
I don't think we'll be packing lunches while we're home in Maryland, so this will be it for this week. Catch you next Monday!
Organic raspberry soy yogurt with wheat germ and CSA blueberries, CSA carrots (white and orange!!), Kashi strawberry cereal bar, Yummy Earth organic lollipop, organic crispy almonds, organic raw cashews, organic Sultana golden raisins, and natural peanut butter on local organic whole wheat bread.
Happy summer! Summer is definitely apparent in this lunch; it includes basil and tomatoes from our backyard garden! The garden is still a work in progress, but we're seeing lots of lettuce (Bibb and Wildfire Mix), some green beans, and a few Roma tomatoes.
Chip and I were laughing tonight about all the money we've put into this garden. I decided that if we were going to do it, we'd do it right! We bought a bunch of organic dirt (and our awesome next door neighbor gave us several bags too), and I spent money on good seeds and some seedlings. All in all, we've spent at least $100 getting this garden started, and considering that we've so far only picked three tomatoes, that means that the two that are in this lunch cost us about $66. I know it'll even out as we get more veggies, and we can use the same dirt next year, but still...these are the most expensive tomatoes we've ever eaten! Chip thinks this is hilarious.
Organic whole wheat spinach ravioli with half marinara sauce and half pesto sauce, organic Michigan applesauce, organic fair trade milk chocolate with hazelnuts, organic lollipop, homemade banana bread, Caprese salad with Roma tomatoes from our garden, basil from our garden, and local mozzarella
It's finally Friday! To celebrate, I have included a *very* special treat in today's lunch. It's something we get extremely rarely, so that makes this lunch at least 50% more awesome than it already was. It was already awesome because it's all finger foods; no utensils required! This is Chip's favorite kind of lunch.
As usual, it's been a long work week and I hope that this lunch brightens his workday so he can make it to the weekend. Though also as usual, we have a weekend full of greyhound plans (picking up a new foster early Saturday morning, a parade later that morning, and a meet and greet that afternoon). Though I'm sure we'll miss an hour of sleep on Sunday, we will definitely enjoy the extra hour of sunlight on Sunday evening. Looks like the weekend will be warm, and not a moment too soon!
Tonight marked my first foray into preparing Indian food. I came across this recipe the other day and decided it wouldn't be too hard to make. In true Katie fashion, I added all kinds of stuff (1/2 cup chopped carrots, 1/2 cup chopped celery, a dash of cinnamon) and made it vegan (I made the mashed potatoes with Smart Balance and soymilk) and organic (organic peas, carrots, potatoes, soymilk, and curry powder). Chip even tried (and liked!) the spicy mango chutney. I was floored! I did buy the pie crusts at the store; I think next time I'll make the crust myself. Overall, I was really pleased with the results; the potatoes and crust have carbs, the peas have protein, and the celery, carrots, and peas are veggies.
Homemade vegan samosas, spicy mango chutney, organic honey nut O's, dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and half of a Jonagold apple.
Chip finally made it home from Spain! I'll spare you the details, save to say that he arrived here in Ohio about 27 hours later than scheduled. Tomorrow is back to work for him!
While he was gone, I spent a lot of time looking up recipes and cooking. The soup shown below is from this recipe. I absolutely love it. It's thick and hearty, and has a great sweetness to it. I added some crushed red pepper for a touch of heat, and some garlic. I like that it's a really flexible recipe; you can add anything you want, really! I also like that it includes beans and soy milk, for plenty of protein. It also includes carrots, but I made sure to slice them really small. It looks kind of gray in the photo, but I promise it's more of a golden color. The sweet potatoes are made from this recipe. We're not huge sweet potato eaters (neither of us grew up eating them), but I'm trying to buy them on occasion so I can stop being scared of them. This recipe turned out really well; the sweetness of the potatoes is a nice contrast with the salt, pepper, garlic, and rosemary.
Homemade vegan vegetable chowder, half of a honeycrisp apple, dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, roasted sweet potatoes, and a peanut butter and banana sandwich with honey on local organic 10-grain bread.
In this lunch, I was able to use the other half of the avocado I used in yesterday's lunch. I needed to make sure I used it before it turned brown and went bad. I also included some leftover pizza from the previous night's dinner, which made this lunch very quick and easy to make.
Salad with avocado, red leaf lettuce, and roma tomato, Heather's molasses cookies, dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, reduced fat Triscuits, cubed local pepper jack cheese, and leftover pizza (I put the mushrooms on).
We finally got to the grocery store, so I was able to include in this lunch some avocado. Yum! I know it's not local or in season...but sometimes we just need to have some avocado.
Homemade pad thai with organic tofu and broccoli, whole wheat wrap with avocado, salsa, and local cheddar, dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Heather's molasses cookies, and a honeycrisp apple.
Happy new year! I'm looking forward to a fantastic 2010!
This was a difficult lunch to make. We went home to Maryland over the holidays (we were gone for ten days!!!) and returned late on January 2nd. On the 3rd, we woke up to a frozen hot water pipe that took all day to handle (we got it thawed, and then Chip insulated the crap out of all the pipes near the outdoors so they won't freeze again). We didn't go grocery shopping until the 4th, which means that when I made this lunch on the 3rd, I had to use whatever was still in the fridge from before our trip. Which was pretty much nothing. I had to get creative, and I think I pulled it off.
Honeycrisp apple, Chip's mom's molasses cookies, dark chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (from our Christmas stockings), reduced fat Triscuits, cubed local pepper jack cheese, and a whole wheat wrap with hummus, carrot, organic spinach, local cheddar jack cheese, and mushrooms.
In between the last lunch and this one, Chip went on a crazy business trip. To be very brief, this trip involved an overnight in London, four days in the Canary Islands, and another overnight in London. It was a whirlwind of a trip, and when he got back, he was ready for some tasty American food. So we went to Betty's. We first went to Betty's in March, 2009, when we were in Columbus for the weekend looking at houses to buy. It was recommended to us by the concierge at our hotel, and she was spot on. Not only was it kitschy and weird inside (like one of our Baltimore faves, Nacho Mama's), but the food was inventive and very vegetarian friendly. Since moving to Columbus, we've been back several times. Chip usually gets the chipotle cream rotini pictured below. It's warm and creamy, with a decent amount of heat.
Betty's chipotle cream rotini with tofu, farmers' market winesap apple, Snickers (very special treat), cinnamon grahams with peanut butter, and steamed broccoli with sharp cheddar (another very special treat...what a lucky guy).
