My lunch: October 3, 2011

We got a butternut squash in our CSA, and I'm a little embarrassed to say that I had no idea WTF to do with it. Mom never really made squash when I was growing up, and it's never been one of my favorite things. So I spent over an hour looking up recipes, trying to find something I wouldn't definitely hate. This recipe (Pasta with Butternut Squash, Sage and Pine Nuts) looked really promising, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. Chip said it tasted like something from, "a restaurant. A fancy restaurant. But better, because I can eat it like this." He was slouched on the couch, with the bowl on his chest. No, I guess you can't do that at a restaurant, a fancy restaurant.

I added 10 ounces of organic spinach to the noodles in their last minute of cooking, to add some more color and nutrients.



Whole wheat rotini with CSA butternut squash, organic spinach, organic pine nuts, and Parmesan, strawberries, and grapes.

My lunch: September 30, 2011

On Thursday night, we had what we call "kids' dinner" at our house. It involves fake meat (usually some kind of fake chicken, like vegetarian chicken nuggets), some kind of veggie (often broccoli), and mac and cheese. We got a 15-pack of Annie's organic mac and cheese at Costco (total impulse buy), and I figured we needed to start using it up! I grilled the Quorn cutlet with some spices and yum! I swear it's just like chicken, but I know better than to trust my 8-year-old memory of meat now!



Marinated and grilled Quorn cutlet, Annie's organic mac and cheese, organic Cajun cashews, organic carrots, and a CSA pear.

My lunch: August 22, 2011

My version of this lunch includes some local Feta cheese (very tangy, and very delicious) and strawberries. I've been eating strawberries every morning with breakfast for the past two months. I think I'm about ready to move on, but for a while now, strawberries are one of the only fruits I've felt like eating. We got some great ones while they were in season here in Ohio, but I suppose I should try something else for now.



Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrots, local Feta, CSA heirloom tomatoes, and marinated/grilled Quorn cutlet, organic strawberries, raw almonds, and 1/2 a PB&J on organic whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter and organic strawberry preserves

Chip's lunch: August 22, 2011

I managed to pack one lunch during the entire time we spent renovating the bathroom, and this was it. I don't remember having time to grill these Quorn cutlets, but apparently I did it! Those three weeks of insomnia were such a blur...



Salad with organic redleaf lettuce, organic carrots, Parmesan cheese, San Marzano tomato from our garden, and marinated/grilled Quorn cutlet, organic blackberry applesauce, raw almonds, organic Sultana golden raisins, and 1/2 a PB&J on organic whole wheat bread with natural peanut butter and organic grape jam.

My lunch: June 22, 2011

The farmers' market has been so good to us this summer! While our garden has gotten huge without producing any fruit, the farmers' market is always full of tasty local treats, like this cucumber, the pepper jack cheese, and the raspberries in the scone. In attempting a garden for the second year in a row (and seeming to fail again...but we'll see about that in time), I have such an appreciation for the farmers at our market. I guess next year I will either need to commit and spend some time learning to garden (and actually gardening), or skip it altogether.



Organic Gala apple, CSA cucumber, fruit leather, homemade raspberry scone with lemon icing, local pepper Jack cheese, and whole grain crackers.

Chip's lunch: June 15, 2011

Chip and I had homemade Chipotle-style burritos the night before this lunch, with some spiced black beans (cumin, garlic, lime, and chili powder) in lieu of meat. I couldn't figure out a way to get a burrito in these lunchboxes. It was the first time I'd been really stumped, and I started to get really frustrated! Eventually I gave up and turned it into a sort of southwestern salad. Similar to the original ingredients, with more lettuce, and no tortilla. I whipped up the guac myself for dinner. It turned out really well this time...it's always different since I just throw ingredients together and cross my fingers. As usual, it was just avocado, red onion, tomato, a small amount of garlic, salt, pepper, and lime juice. It got a little brown while waiting for lunch time, but that was to be expected.



Salad with organic local redleaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, spiced black beans, organic corn, and Tillamook Cheddar cheese, banana, Kashi trail mix bar, organic applesauce, homemade guacamole, and salsa.

My lunch: June 14, 2011

My lunch was similar to Chip's, but I got to pack a few things that would just be wasted in a Chip lunch. One is yogurt. I really love soy yogurt. I don't know why, especially since I'm not a fan of dairy yogurt, but soy yogurt is just such a nice, easy, tasty, quick snack. I love it! And I had a beautiful nectarine. Chip has a very short list of acceptable fruits, and some of my faves don't make the cut: kiwi, nectarines, peaches, pears, cherries (fresh ones), raspberries, strawberries, etc. I'm happy to mix things up here with this beautiful white nectarine!



Homemade Margherita pizza with whole wheat crust, Campari tomatoes, and buffalo milk mozzarella, raspberry soy yogurt, white nectarine, and a salad with organic local red leaf lettuce, organic local salad mix, organic carrots, organic mushrooms, Campari tomatoes, and a local pastured egg.

Chip's lunch: June 14, 2011

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.

Chip's lunch: April 27, 2011

So somehow, I made it to 28 years old without ever having stromboli. Chip is always telling me about how he used to eat it in high school, bought from the school cafeteria. I had a frozen homemade pizza dough in the freezer, and decided to find a stromboli recipe online. I actually didn't really know what stromboli was, except that it was kind of like pizza. So once I found this recipe, I was able to adapt it a bit. I filled my half with sauteed mushrooms and spinach, plus some marinara sauce. I added organic mozzarella to Chip's half. He came home from work and it was in the oven and he was so surprised! He's been talking about stromboli for years, so to finally have it was out of the ordinary. We both really liked it, and the leftovers kept really well.



Homemade stromboli with whole wheat crust, organic spinach, organic portobellos, organic mozzarella, and Newman's Own marinara sauce, homemade split pea soup, organic raw cashews, raw almonds, homemade vegan key lime pie, and an organic Fuji apple.

Chip's lunch: April 6, 2011

I was running short on time and ideas this morning, when I remembered that I'd made a trip to Trader Joe's earlier in the week. Chip loves their fake meat, and the "chicken-less stuffed cutlet with black beans and corn" is always a hit. It's an easy way for me to up the protein in his lunch by a lot.



Organic Fuji apple, steamed asparagus with Parmesan cheese, pecans, dried cranberries, Kashi oatmeal dark chocolate chip cookies, and Trader Joe's chicken-less stuffed cutlet with black beans and corn.

Chip's lunch: April 4, 2011

I haven't been doing much cooking lately, but this weekend I got a bee in my bonnet to make pierogies. My dad's family is Slovak, and I grew up eating my Nan's amazing pierogies, halupki, pagachi, haluska, nut roll, poppy seed roll, and sauerkraut soup. OK, maybe I didn't eat the sauerkraut soup, but the rest was always amazing. I decided I could make pierogies...I mean, why not? I found a vegan recipe and ten hours later...pierogies! These things took forever to make, and the whole time, Chip and I were like, "how did this become a thing that people made, when it takes so damn long?" But the results were worth it. I added some chopped chard for some vitamins and such, as well as a touch of garlic, plus some cheese in Chip's pierogies. Chip was impressed, and has been enjoying them a lot.

The onions also make it amazing. These onions turned out great. My family also serves pierogies with onion, but it's more like melted butter with some onion in it. Butter is a condiment to Slovaks. And it's in everything, from soup to dinner to dessert. So this was like a taste of my Slovak roots, minus much of the fat, but still with plenty of flavor.



Homemade harira, organic applesauce, raw cashews, Kashi oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate, caramelized onions, and whole wheat pierogies with organic potato, Tillamook Cheddar, and organic red chard.

Chip's lunch: March 8, 2011

Who doesn't love quesadillas? We had some red onion and green pepper on hand (which we don't usually have; usually I use a whole onion or whole bell pepper when I have one), so I made them into a quesadilla. Some local pepper jack cheese added some spice, and black beans added lean protein. Topped off with some Newman's Own salsa..yum!



Quesadilla on whole grain tortilla with local pepper jack cheese, reduced fat Colby cheese, organic black beans, organic green bell pepper, red onion, Campari tomato, and organic corn, banana, organic flame raisins, homemade vegan tapioca pudding, and salsa.

Chip's lunch: February 15, 2011

Chip really enjoyed his last crackers and cheese lunch. He was able to kind of snack on it all day, and the non-finger foods that were in it didn't actually get eaten because he was too busy to take a few minutes to heat them up and eat them with utensils. That sounds ridiculous when I write it out...but he is a really busy guy! I think he could eat all of this lunch with his hands, except the tofu. Yes, we eat green beans and asparagus spears with our hands...totally normal, right?



Kashi whole grain crackers, local pepper jack cheese, local Colby cheese, banana, dried cherries, organic dark chocolate chips, dried cranberries, tofu scramble, and steamed green beans and asparagus.

Chip's lunch: February 9, 2011

When Chip is really busy at work, he likes to have finger foods that he can snack on quickly, rather than things that need to be warmed up or eaten with utensils. Usually he snacks on whatever he can eat when his hands, and then later, when he has more time, he'll work on the rest. Crackers and cheese usually do the trick for this sort of thing.

As expected, Chip came home and immediately broke out the soup and salad. He hadn't had time to sit down and eat them while working, so they became part of dinner.



Kashi whole grain crackers, local Colby cheese, local pepper Jack cheese, homemade tomato saffron soup, dried cranberries, raw organic cashews, dried cherries, banana, and a salad with organic redleaf lettuce, Campari tomato, organic yellow bell pepper, and a hardboiled local pastured egg.

Chip's lunch: February 4, 2011

I invented this pizza for dinner last night, and kept calling it "Mexican pizza"...until I looked up what Mexican pizza actually is. This isn't it. But it's modeled after the Southwestern Pizza from Whole World Natural Restaurant. I haven't actually been there, but since it's a vegetarian restaurant, and it's so close by, we are hoping to go soon. Chip and I have a deal that every time one of our fosters is adopted, we go out to dinner. So as soon as Hendrix is adopted (I picked him up last night), we'll be headed up the street to Whole World!

I made this crust with the usual recipe, with whole wheat flour. This was the third time I'd made it, and it turned out better than ever! I made a double recipe, and used half right away while freezing the other half for later. I cooked up some black beans with cumin, garlic, and chipotle, then mashed them and used them as the sauce. I topped Chip's half with local pepper jack cheese, and then added some organic corn, Campari tomato, and chopped organic yellow bell pepper. We topped it all off with salsa and avocado and YUM! We both enjoyed it, and are glad that we have plenty of leftovers for both of our lunches.



Homemade southwestern pizza with local pepper jack cheese, spiced organic black beans, organic corn, Campari tomato, and organic yellow bell pepper, banana, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dark chocolate chips, avocado, Newman's Own salsa, and an organic Jonagold 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: December 17, 2010

We're back in action for a few days here. Chip finally returned from his trip to California and the Canary Islands. He left Fuerteventura, where temps were in the low 80s, and returned to the tundra that Ohio has become this month:



Chip's back to work, which means I'm back to the work of making lunches! I made potato gnocchi last night for dinner. I made sure to find a very simple, easy recipe that would be hard for me to screw up. It was fine...not awesome, but not bad. I was hoping it would be absolutely amazing, but it was just kind of regular. Maybe next time will be better!



Salad with organic greenleaf lettuce, organic cherry tomatoes, organic carrots, organic portobello mushrooms, local Parmesan cheese, and pecans, homemade banana bread, macadamia nuts, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic applesauce, and homemade potato gnocchi with pesto.

Chip's lunch: November 17, 2010

It was really gross here on Tuesday: foggy, misty, rainy, icky, chilly. Chip and I both wanted some dinner that would keep us warm and fill us up. I surprised Chip with quesadillas...quesadillas that I attempted to make as healthy as possible. Whole wheat tortillas, reduced fat cheese, black beans, and veggies, plus plenty of salsa and avocado. It hit the spot perfectly, and fortunately, these quesadillas warm up pretty well, so in the lunch they went!



Quesadilla with whole wheat tortilla, reduced fat Cheddar Jack cheese, organic black beans, organic corn, green bell pepper from our garden, and Roma tomato from our garden, Newman's Own salsa, Navel orange, raw organic cashews, and a banana.

Chip's lunch: November 4, 2010

I fired up the grill again for Wednesday's dinner. I had been in the mood for Red Robin (specifically the Whiskey River burger, sans mayo, with a Boca patty), but there isn't one really nearby. Plus, it's expensive. So...I made some homemade burgers that were almost as good. We had one left over for lunch, and I used our last homegrown tomato for this lunch. The nights have been getting below 30* here, and even covering the garden with a plastic sheet has not protected the plants, unfortunately. So...our garden was good to us, but it has now retired. Can't wait for next summer's garden!



Vegan Boca patty with Tillamook Cheddar cheese on a whole wheat roll, Roma tomato from our garden, organic redleaf lettuce, homemade clean oatmeal cookies, banana, and a CSA Gold Rush apple.

Chip's lunch: November 1, 2010

Yep, it's definitely November here. I went for a run this evening and it was cloudy and 43*. The entire time, all I could think of was some warm food for dinner. As soon as I got home, I heated up some lentil soup and baked this asparagus. It was nice and warm and filling and wintry.

I love this easy asparagus recipe that my friend Christina invented while she was here visiting last December. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil (I use my trusty Misto), lay out the asparagus in a single layer on the pan, spray the asparagus with olive oil, and throw on whatever you want. I used organic panko breadcrumbs, Parmesan, sea salt, black pepper, and a touch of paprika.

Oh, and we got a new kind of apple this weekend in our CSA! While I enjoyed trying various kinds of apples that we picked up at the farmers' market last year from Ochs Fruit Farm, it's also neat to try even more kinds via our CSA. Last time, we got Northern Spy apples, and this time it's Gold Rush apples. The Northern Spies are very firm and fairly sweet, while the Gold Rushes are crispy and tangy, almost like a Granny Smith. Yum!

And finally, I made some clean oatmeal cookies tonight. I didn't have any eggs on hand, and wanted to see if I could veganize the recipe (the only non-vegan part is the egg). I used a flax egg instead of egg white (thank you for the idea, Sarah!), and used 1/4 cup applesauce and 1/4 cup oil instead of 1/2 cup oil, to reduce the fat. It turned out surprisingly well! Now that I know I can do this recipe vegan and lower fat, I think it'll be making a few more appearances.



Baked asparagus with Parmesan and bread crumbs, homemade clean vegan oatmeal cookies, organic dried cherries, CSA Gold Rush apple, and homemade vegan lentil soup.