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 17, 2011

For the past few days, I've been trying to plan our garden for the summer. I know what worked (tomatoes) what didn't (not a single strawberry grew), and what failed miserably (zucchini + squash bugs = disaster), and am hoping to bring some experience and effort this year to make our garden really awesome. All this thinking about veggies made me really want some summery produce! I picked up some watermelon, plus some beautiful lettuce and bell pepper. This looks like a really summery lunch, no? The weather has been teasing us lately (it's supposed to be 65* today, and not one week ago we were seeing 3* overnight), and I'm so ready for summer now!



Salad with organic Boston lettuce, organic corn, organic black beans, Campari tomato, organic red bell pepper, and organic avocado, homemade vegan peanut butter cookies (Tasha's recipe), raw almonds, dried cranberries, and watermelon.

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: 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.

Chip's lunch: September 9, 2010

Mr. Chip himself took this photo tonight! I packed lunch though, of course. I made dinner (veggie burgers on the grill) at the same time as this lunch and as I set the table, he took care of the photography. He has an awesome camera, and this photo turned out so well...I love the bright colors.



Salad with organic Boston lettuce, organic carrot, organic pine nuts, and Roma tomato from our garden, CSA watermelon, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate, organic dried cranberries, banana, and organic whole wheat tri-color rotini with sauteed organic portobellos and homemade marinara sauce (with CSA carrots, CSA onion, Roma tomatoes from our garden, and basil from our garden).

Chip's lunch: August 25, 2010

I bought these spelt pretzels over the weekend and kept forgetting to include them in a lunch. Honestly, I'm not huge into spelt, but I really like the idea of diversifying the grains that we eat. It helps that these pretzels are organic too! A serving (20 pretzels) also includes 4 grams of protein, and every little bit helps.



Homemade fried rice with organic tofu, organic broccoli, and organic cauliflower, watermelon, organic Thompson raisins, organic dark chocolate, organic spelt pretzels, natural peanut butter, and a CSA apple (not sure what variety).

Chip's lunch: August 6, 2010

I am too tired to write much; this has been a really busy day! I got in late this evening after running the Dublin Irish Festival 5K with Lori. And then eating some amazing cherry lambic sorbet from Jeni's.



I threw lunch together in just a few minutes, and now it's time for bed! Oh, and a few people have asked why I don't usually photograph salad dressing. One reason is because it doesn't usually fit into the lunch box. Another reason, as you'll see below, is that it doesn't photograph well. Oil looks all icky in the flash of a camera.



Salad with organic greenleaf lettuce, organic spinach, organic carrot, Roma tomato from our garden, organic red pepper, organic scallions, and organic sesame seeds, little love note, watermelon, organic dried cranberries, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic raw cashews, banana, salad dressing (Newman's Own Sesame Ginger), and Newman's Own cheese pizza.

Chip's lunch: August 4, 2010

I got the most recent Clean Eating Magazine a few days ago, but I didn't crack it open til today. Sometimes I just need to be in the right mood to look at food porn, you know? So of course, on the cover, was a dish involving noodles and Alfredo sauce. My two loves. The most comforting comfort food. Since I had everything on hand, I very excitedly whipped this up for dinner tonight. Chip enjoyed it, even though there's a decent amount of yogurt in it. Shhh! Do not tell him! He'll never eat it again.

The recipe is linked here, but in the magazine it didn't include the vegetables that are listed on this link. I just winged it with the broccoli, asparagus, and portobellos that we had on hand. I can't wait to try some of the other sauces in this issue, especially the saffron sauce. Saffron is one of Chip's favorite flavors ever, and I have a feeling he'll really like it.



Clean Alfredo sauce with organic whole wheat tri-color rotini/cavatappi, organic portobellos, asparagus, and broccoli, watermelon, organic raw cashews, raw almonds, milk chocolate from Holland, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic dried cranberries, and an organic Fuji apple.

Chip's lunch: August 3, 2010

So we got a new fridge today. It's pretty much the most exciting (house-related) thing that's happened to us this year. Our house is 102 years old, so we've done a lot of preventative maintenance, as well as repairs. None of this has been particularly fun. And while we'd prefer to continue using our 20-some-year-old refrigerator, it is time to part ways with it. The repairman says it's on its last legs, and our home warranty helped us buy a new one. And it is beautiful. Everything in our kitchen is fairly old (though functional), and it's really exciting to have something so new and pretty. We've really agonized over our kitchen, and we never hesitate to make fun of the people on HGTV who are all, "oh, this kitchen is a gut job," just because there's no stainless steel or granite. Do laminate counter tops not hold your stuff as well as granite does? Does a stainless steel fridge make your food taste better? (In all fairness, though, we did go with stainless steel. Not our first choice, but since we're not staying in this house for more than five years or so, we figured we should go with what others prefer.)

Anyway...in taking items out of Old Fridge, I attempted to use up whatever I could so it wouldn't take up space in New Fridge. Hence the soup, applesauce, and guac. I realized once lunch was done that it's vegan, which is a nice bonus.

Goodbye, Old Fridge. You had a nice, multi-decade run. We will not miss you. We also will not miss covering the floor around you with rags to soak up all the water you leaked.



Hello, New Fridge. You are beautiful and new, and we love you already.









Whole wheat rollups with guacamole, organic greenleaf lettuce, organic spinach, organic grape tomatoes, and Newman's Own salsa, organic applesauce, raw almonds, organic dark chocolate, homemade lentil soup, and watermelon.

Chip's lunch: July 26, 2010

Chip let me go grocery shopping and to Costco this weekend, while he went to the farmers' market. I came back with tons of fruit, and he came back with tons of veggies. It worked out pretty nicely...our fridge and kitchen are filled with beautiful produce, as are our bellies (and our lunches)! We are still really enjoying the little tomatoes, and it's been great to have so much awesome produce on hand. I'm going to miss summer when it's over!



Watermelon, local cherry tomatoes with basil from our garden and shaved Parmesan, organic dried cranberries, organic Sultana golden raisins, pretzel snaps, natural peanut butter, and a sandwich on sprouted grain bread with hummus, organic spinach, CSA cucumber, Cheddar, and red onion.

Chip's lunch: June 24, 2010

Here we go again. Chip leaves tomorrow afternoon for Holland, so this is the last lunch I'll pack for a while. I might be able to pack him some snacks for the plane, but I'm not sure yet if I'll do that. If not, I'll see you in two weeks! I'm hoping that Chip will come back with some treats that may make appearances in some lunches...or in my belly. Last year he brought back chocolate and waffles from Belgium, and on a different trip he brought back butter cookies from Holland. And after a trip to Spain he brought me back some regaliz. Oh man...Spanish licorice. One kind is red licorice filled with vanilla stuff, and the other kind is vanilla stuff wrapped around red licorice. I ate it all and then realized it's made with gelatin. I felt terrible. But it's so delicious.


OK anyway...back to lunch...



Salad with CSA lettuce, organic baby spinach, organic cucumber, organic red pepper, and Roma tomato from our garden, watermelon, organic Sultana golden raisins, locally made organic whole wheat bagel with natural peanut butter, and local green beans/green beans from our garden (steamed with Smart Balance, sea salt, and black pepper).

Chip's lunch: June 23, 2010

I am so glad I decided to subscribe to Clean Eating Magazine. There are lots of great ideas in it, and though they're not all vegetarian, they can often be tweaked. This recipe was full of flavor, and even Chip liked it! He's not too big on carrots (though he has come a LONG way from his days of removing even a molecule of carrot from his foods) and he hates vinegar, but the asparagus primavera got great reviews from him.




Whole wheat rollups with Boca black bean burger, organic spinach, CSA lettuce, organic red pepper, salsa, and local Cheddar jack cheese, pretzels, natural peanut butter, organic Sultana golden raisins, organic fair trade milk chocolate with hazelnuts, asparagus primavera with organic quinoa (asparagus, organic corn, CSA peas, organic carrot), and watermelon.

Chip's lunch: June 16, 2010

I know this lunch looks a bit light. I realized after I threw it together that it wasn't very substantial. I added a container of brown rice to add some more bulk to this lunch after I took this photo. It's a good thing, too: poor Chip had to stay late at work unexpectedly. It's almost 8 and he hasn't left yet! Poor guy. I got him a special treat today for tomorrow's lunch...I hope it makes him smile!



Watermelon, organic trail mix (organic fair trade milk chocolate, organic Sultana golden raisins, raw almonds, organic roasted and salted sunflower seeds), Kashi apple cereal bar, homemade banana bread, and local organic steamed green beans.

Chip's lunch: May 5, 2010

For this lunch, I decided not to mess with success. I made the same rollups as were in Monday's lunch, but this time I added a little bit of carrot. The soup is one of my faves: Whole Foods tomato bisque. A few months ago, we discovered that Whole Foods does weekly specials. On Tuesdays, they sell their homemade pizzas 2 for 1. And on Mondays, they sell their homemade soups 2 for 1. So I picked up a bunch of tomato bisque for $7. This serving probably cost about $.30.



Seedless watermelon, organic Gala apple with natural peanut butter, organic Thompson raisins, organic fair trade milk chocolate, raw almonds, Whole Foods tomato bisque, and whole wheat rollups with vegan turkey, local organic hummus, local cheddar/jack cheese, organic spring mix, and organic carrot.

Chip's lunch: May 3, 2010

I can't believe it's May already! May here has been rainy so far, but I imagine some really beautiful weather is just around the corner. I knock Ohio for a lot of reasons, but the weather here is pretty awesome, I think. And I can't complain too much about the rain right now either: we got our rain barrel set up, and now it's full, plus we only have one dog in the house at the moment, so only one set of muddy paws.

This lunch includes something I haven't bought in years: vegan lunch "meat." Lunch meat never really did it for me when I was a carnivore. But I went through a phase the summer I was 21 in which my roommate and I frequently made subs with tons of lunch meat (usually ham, chicken, and turkey), provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Beano's sub dressing. They were heaven. Yesterday I decided I had to have a sandwich like this, so I bought some lunch "meat." I made some sandwich dressing myself out of a few tablespoons of olive oil, a teaspoon of red wine vinegar, and tons of parsley, basil, oregano, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper. It was amazing. The dressing made the sandwich, for sure. Chip is NOT a fan of this type of sandwich, so I had to make the lunch "meat" into something he would eat.

Also, the countdown has started until Chip leaves for almost 3 weeks. He'll be in California at his work's corporate office, as well as traveling throughout the state for the Tour of California. He leaves May 8 and will return on the 26th. I have to fill him with tasty healthy food now, because who knows what he'll end up eating on this trip!



Whole wheat rollup with Tofurky hickory smoked deli slices, locally made organic hummus, local cheddar/jack cheese, and organic spring mix, organic Michigan applesauce, peanut M&Ms, raw almonds, banana, and seedless watermelon.

Chip's lunch: April 30, 2010

Happy Friday! This Friday lunch has tons of fruits and veggies, so I decided to add in a special treat. Teddy Grahams have been a Chip favorite for years. We never buy them, and I'm not really sure why. But I picked some up the other day and Chip had a huge smile on his face when I pulled them out of the grocery bag.

In other news, Roxie went back home to her family today. She was SO excited to see her dad when he arrived. She was jumping all over him, which I have absolutely never seen her do. It was adorable. And our little Heidi went to her forever home tonight. Her family is super excited about adopting her, and they are wonderful people. And how could they resist this face?



Cal is mystified as to where his buddies have gone, and he's been curled up on the couch in a little ball all evening.



And lunch. I squeezed a little bit of lemon juice onto the apple because it started to turn brown as soon as I cut it.



Sandwich on local whole wheat bread with roasted portobello, Cheddar, organic spring mix, and spices, watermelon, Teddy Grahams, banana, and an organic Rainier apple.

Chip's lunch: August 27, 2009

Another colorful lunch! I must be getting better at this whole "well-rounded lunch" thing.



Homemade fried rice with tofu and broccoli, farmers' market Gala apple with peanut butter, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, and local seedless watermelon.

Chip's lunch: August 26, 2009

Another local lunch! This time THREE things were locally-produced. While I definitely don't consider us locavores, there's a lot to be said for eating close to home. We were lucky when we lived in California that pretty much all the produce at the grocery store was locally grown (especially the strawberries...take a look at the next container of strawberries you buy; I bet they're from Watsonville, CA). It was fun to live in an area that was so proud of its agriculture. Though we never attended the Gilroy Garlic Festival (um, garlic ice cream? Gross.) or the Morgan Hill Mushroom Mardi Gras, we definitely appreciated the enthusiasm with which local food was approached.

So without further ado...another delightfully local summer lunch.



Local seedless watermelon, farmers' market Gala apple, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, local cheddar jack cheese, and quinoa (with vegetable bouillon, garlic, cumin, and chili powder).

Chip's lunch: August 12, 2009

Another poor-quality picture; it's a bit dark, but I think you can make out what's in this lunch. I think the shiny lid of the applesauce threw the lighting off. Anyway, I got really into watermelon this summer; I was eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Chip actually liked it too, especially since it's seedless. Chip has problems with seeds. He says they get stuck in his teeth. He refuses to eat strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries for this very reason. He also refuses to eat grapes, but not because they're seedless, but rather because he says they feel like eyeballs. Whatever.



Seedless watermelon, Morningstar chik'n nuggets, Quaker reduced sugar granola bar, Mott's no sugar added applesauce, and leftover Papa John's thin crust pizza (with mushrooms).