Monday, June 14, 2010

06.14.10 Adventures in Homemade Mayonnaise

I'm splitting a CSA share from Featherstone Farm with a couple of co-workers. Weekly deliveries began this month, we received the second one last week. Week one went well. Not a scrap of the mixed greens, red butter lettuce, spinach, asparagus, cilantro or radishes went to waste. The current delivery yielded mixed greens, red oakleaf lettuce, spinach, asparagus, green garlic, garlic scapes, dill, kohlrabi, rhubarb and strawberries. I traded my share of rhubarb for extra dill and ended up with extra asparagus in trade for the kohlrabi. The strawberries we ate on the spot.

With three days to go before the next delivery, I've finished off all the asparagus, most of the mixed greens, some of the red oakleaf lettuce, dill and garlic scapes. The mixed greens, dill and garlic scape showed up in today's lunch.



Most of today's lunch is pretty self-explanatory: Tuna salad, strawberries, blueberries, grape tomatoes, English cucumber. The bread is olive dill from Mel-o-glaze bakery. Less obvious is the onion, celery, capers, garlic scape and fresh dill in the tuna salad, the little bottle of Lunds' chipotle ranch dressing, and the thick layer of mixed greens under everything.

The tuna salad utilized my first attempt at making mayonnaise. Which, using a food processor, is dead easy. The mayo looks and smells great, but is a little bland. I wanted to check it out in its most basic form, so I didn't add any seasonings. Truthfully, it's kind of grossing me out with its flavor void and super thick consistency. Next time , I'll use a single whole egg instead of two yolks, and vinegar instead of lemon juice. (I'd also like to try a batch with no egg yolks at all!) And I'm thinking that a handful of fresh herbs will go in the Cuisinart as well. The current batch is due for an infusion of roasted garlic, which makes everything better.

In theory, today's lunch sounded fantastic. Sadly, it was less than satisfying. The cool, wet weather calls for something warm. With rain continuing in the forecast, the mission for tomorrow is something warm to bust through the gloom outdoors.

Thus ends the boring bento update for the day.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

04.13.09 Lunch


04.13.09 Lunch, originally uploaded by Leopard Girl.

Happy Easter Everyone!

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

The Aloo Gobi Empañada Experiment turned out okay. I'm a better cook than baker and no where is that more evident than when I'm dealing with any kind of pie-crust-like pastry. I make a mess in the kitchen and generally end up with food that's not so pretty. And while a little bit on the homely side, the empañadas are pretty tasty. Especially when dipped in a little tamarind/Sriracha sauce blend.



Top Tier: Pig-shaped bottle of tamarind/Sriracha sauce, Messy yet tasty empañada filled with Aloo Gobi.
Bottom Tier: Garlic-sautéed spinach topped w/sliced almonds, Clementine tangerine, Dried plums & apricots.

Monday, January 12, 2009

01.13.09 Lunch

We have snow. Lots of snow. Like half a foot of new snow today. And temperatures below zero. So a spicy broccoli-tofu stir fry seemed right for Monday night dinner/Tuesday bento lunch. That and the fact that I had a head of broccoli languishing in the crisper drawer counting down its last days, and a package of tofu just past its expiration date. Tomorrow the plan is to further clean out the fridge by attempting a little Indian-Latino fusion cooking: Aloo Gobi Empañadas. Stay tuned.



Top Tier: Clementine Tangerine, Almonds, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Dried Plums, Cranberries and Apricots
Bottom Tier: Basmati Rice, Tofu-Broccoli Stir fry

Sunday, January 11, 2009

01.12.09 Lunch

I sometimes forget that I'm back on the omnivore train and find myself searching for the vegetarian options on restaurant menus or at parties. Sixteen years of not eating meat kind of conditions you to do such things.

On Saturday night I was at a party where the host graciously pointed out the vegetarian offerings at the buffet. It was terribly sweet of him. My friends and family have been amazingly tolerant and accommodating of my recently ended sixteen year vegetarian streak. I appreciate all of their efforts to include me in their feasts, snacks, and all other foodie occasions. Nonetheless, on Saturday night I headed straight for the venison.



Top Tier: Cottage cheese w/sunflower seeds, grape tomatoes, and ground flaxseed, Dried plums and apricots, Clementine Tangerine, Edamame
Bottom Tier: Veggie "meatballs", Whole wheat rotini w/tomato sauce, mushrooms and parmesan cheese.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

01.09.09 Lunch or Why My Apartment Still Smells Like Curry

Last night I made a batch of aloo gobi. The fact of which I was reminded this morning when I got to work, took off my coat and smelled the waves of curry emanating from my clothing. So pretty much all of my belongings currently smell like last night's dinner. Which really isn't so bad, since I did use my own home-ground spice blend. And was actually kind of nice to come home to; The fragranced apartment as well as the left-overs.



Top Tier: Chikuwa (Steamed fish cake) filled w/pecans, Sharp cheddar cheese, Clementine, Dried plums, Still-frozen edamame.
Bottom Tier: Aloo Gobi. But you already knew that.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

01.07.09 Lunch

Today is the first day in recent memory during which I have not suffered a self-inflicted injury due to complete clumsiness. No twisted ankle tripping on the stairs, no bumped knee slipping on the ice, no smashing of pinkie toe on the molding while tearing around the corner. And thankfully no burned fingers, broken glasses to step on or other kitchen catastrophes. Not only did I emerge from the day unscathed, but the quesadilla that I was certain had burned turned out to be nigh perfectly browned and crispy. I should buy a lottery ticket.



Top Tier: Dried plums & apricots, Clementine tangerine, Grape tomatoes filled with chive cream cheese.
Bottom Tier: Perfectly toasty chicken & spinach quesadilla on whole wheat tortilla.