cutest lunch box ever!

I saw a lunch box like this in a movie once, but couldn’t remember which movie. On my visit to China last year, I saw a similar lunchbox in many of the shops, but I was holding out for the one in my memory. My friend Jill and I looked all over to find “THE ONE”, but it didn’t appear. A few months after our return, “THE ONE” came in the mail! She had found it at an Indian shop. I did a search for “Indian lunch box” and found a site that sells them. I’m enamored with my gift. On my lunch break the other day, I nearly used up the whole half hour taking pictures of it instead of eating. I even prepared a special Indian meal the night before, as a tribute to the following day’s christening of the lunch box. That food was YUUUUMMY! I borrowed my neighbor Adam’s cookbook, called Madhur Jaffrey Indian Cooking. Only problem was that I actually made the FULL recipe for 4 separate dishes, and was eating it all week. Aaaalllllmost wore out the welcome. The lunch box was perfect for the leftovers though.

Check out the bamboo-ware roll-up from my friend, Michael! Ahhhhh, friends, and their thoughtful gifts…..One day a year and a half ago, I was eating lunch and contemplating the plastic-ware. As I chewed, I thoughtfully studied my utensil, considering how sometimes I use more than 1 package/day. A picture began to form in my mind, of the possible size of a heap of plastic silverware used by the whole world in just one day. The next day I brought my own silverware. It took me a few months to get in the habit of remembering it each day. I had a pile of cloth napkins, and some miscellaneous unmatching silverware and prepared a stack of roll-ups at the beginning of each week. Then I received this lovely bamboo set, which is quite lightweight, and I now carry at all times in my purse.

“Recipes please! Recipes please”—Jill wants to know! I like to make up my own concoctions, but using recipes part of the time is great training for being able to wing it later. It gives me good ideas of what flavors marry well together. If you don’t want the recipes, you can quit reading now! The rest is only recipes for a four item meal. It took me a little over an hour to prepare all of these.

These are all adapted from Madhur Jaffrey–Indian Cooking

Tofu In A Red Sweet Pepper Sauce (adapted from chicken recipe)

Ingredients (T=Tablespoon, t=teaspoon)

• 1 package firm tofu (2 1/4 lb. chicken pieces)
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 T. almonds
• 3/4 lb. red sweet peppers, coarsely chopped
• 1 T. ground cumin
• 2 t. ground coriander
• 1/2 t. ground turmeric
• 1/8-1/2 t. cayenne pepper
• 2 t. salt
• 7 T. oil for sauce, plus more to saute tofu
• 1 cup water
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 1/2 t. coarsely ground black pepper

Combine onion, ginger, garlic, almonds, peppers, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, & salt in food processor or blender until you have a paste.

Put oil in large, wide, preferably nonstick, pot at medium-high heat. When hot, pour in all the paste. Stir and fry for 10-12 minutes or until you see the oil forming tiny bubbles around it.

I sauteed 1/2 inch tofu cubes in a few T. oil until lightly golden. (She used chicken pieces which were to be added to sauce along with water, lemon juice, & pepper and allowed to simmer on low for 25 minutes until tender)

Add to pepper mixture–tofu, water, lemon juice, & black pepper. Simmer another 10 minutes, and there you have it.

Cauliflower with cumin and asafetida

Ingredients

• Head of cauliflower ( I used part cauliflower, part broccoli)
• 3 T. oil
• Generous pinch of asafetida (or a bit of chopped garlic)
• 1/2 t. cumin seeds
• 1/2 medium onion cut into very fine rings
• 1/2-1 fresh, hot green chili, finely chopped
• 1 t. ground cumin
• 1/2 t. ground coriander
• 1/4 t. ground turmeric
• 1/8-1/4 t. cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 3/4 t. salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 T. lemon juice

Break cauliflower into florets about (1 1/2 inches). Stem may be peeled (I didn’t) and cut into 1/4 inch rounds.

Put oil in large frying pan or wok at medium-high heat. When hot, put in asafetida. A second later, put in cumin seeds. Wait about 10 seconds and add onion. Stir & fry about 2 minutes or until onion brown. Now add cauliflower and green chili. Turn heat down to medium and toss. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne & salt. Toss for another minute. Add water & lemon juice, toss, and bring to simmer. Cover, turn heat to low, cook for 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower is just tender.

Aromatic yellow rice

I cooked all these ingredients together in my rice cooker. I don’t know actual measurements for water to rice. I just eyeball it. I’ll let you come up with that on your own.

• 2 cups rice
• water
• 1 1/4 t. salt
• 3/4 t. ground turmeric
• 3/4 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3 bay leaves

Remove whole spices and add butter before serving.

Yogurt with eggplant

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized eggplant cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 2/3 cups plain yogurt
• 3/4 t. salt or to taste
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/8 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 scallion cut into paper-thin rounds all the way up its green section
• 1 T. finely chopped, fresh mint
• A few mint leaves for garnishing

Bring water to boil in steamer in such a way that water stays just below steaming apparatus

Steam eggplant covered over high heat for 10 minutes. (make sure water doesn’t run out)

While eggplant is steaming, put yogurt in bowl & beat lightly with fork until smooth and creamy. Add salt, pepper, cayenne, scallion, and mint and mix with fork.

Remove steamed eggplant from steamer and mash with fork. Spread out on plate to cool somewhat (so yogurt doesn’t curdle)

Fold eggplant into yogurt and garnish with mint leaves.

I can’t stop taking pictures of carrots

They are just so darn cute, and they have character! These carrots are from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Co., and are called “Atomic Red”. They are growing quite happily, and taste great! Uh oh, waaiiit-a-minute, now I am confused. I forgot to label anything in the garden when I planted in December. I am looking through old seed packets to find out the name of these carrots, and I have another package labeled “Purple Haze Carrot”, from Botanical Interests. I just went out to examine my 2 rows of carrots and I think I may have a row of each, but they look similar. Uhhhh… not quite sure….anyway—they’re carrots.

Here is a baby picture of my carrot family.

Here they are as teenagers!

Some people have a real family and they happily pull pictures out of their purse or wallet to share with others, some have pets, and…well….you get where I’m going. Okay, so I don’t have a picture in my wallet. (yet).

We also planted cauliflower for the first time. This one from Botanical Interests is called “Purple of Sicily” from an heirloom mix called “Chef’s Choice Blend”. It turns green when cooked.

I cooked these up the other night as a hot meal, and had leftovers for lunch, which tasted fine eaten at room temperature! I haven’t used a microwave oven for 3 years, so I try to take things for lunch that will taste good cold, or room temperature. I have read of studies that show that the microwave oven can damage the nutritive value of food. In my book, “Healing with Whole Foods” it states,

“Microwave cooking seems to damage the molecular integrity of food, diminishing its subtle qi. Experiments reported in the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet (Dec. 9th, 1989) demonstrate that microwave cooking alters food enough to cause, upon ingestion, “structural, functional and immunological changes” in the body. The report further states that microwaves transform the amino acid L-proline into D-proline, a proven toxin to the nervous system, liver, and kidneys.”

I also read in a couple of magazines about a study that showed the nutrient value of broccoli to be reduced by up to 97% after microwave cooking. I used to think that I couldn’t live without my microwave. I got used to it fast. What’s the point of eating just to satisfy the immediate call of my belly, if I’m not actually going to get any nutrition from it. That’s what makes the body crave even more food in an effort to satisfy it’s nutritional needs, and then we are driven to OVEReat! Okay, enough of that. Moving on–

Here’s what I made:

Quinoa and Steamed Veggies with Dijon Butter Sauce

To cook quinoa, use 1 part grain to 2 parts water. Rinse quinoa in strainer to remove bitter saponin coating. I like to dry roast in pan, stirring and shaking until dry and nutty, then add water, put lid on and turn down heat to cook for about 15 minutes.

Steam carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.

Cream together a little bit of butter, dijon mustard, chopped parsley, chopped green onion, and a tiny dribble of honey or agave. Toss with warm veggies.

Season with salt & pepper.

Food Notes

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is sometimes called “The Mother Grain”. It has been cultivated in the Andes for centuries and has been a primary staple food there for thousands of years. It is very high in vitamins and minerals. It also is a wonderful source of protein, with a balanced amino acid complex. Quinoa is 16-20% protein, in comparison with rice at 7.5% and millet at 9.9%. For more about quinoa check here, or this article by author Karen Railey.

The most common variety that you will see is golden. People’s Coop in Ocean Beach often has bulk red or brown quinoa, which I think is beautiful in plate presentation! Plus, it helps to promote biodiversity! Which is a whole other subject. Probably shouldn’t get started, but okay, just in brief…

There are thousands of varieties of each kind of seed around the world that have evolved to grow particularly well in their specific microclimate, and learned to defend themselves against their local pests and diseases. Limiting crops to monocultures can sometimes mean disaster if disease or pests strike, such as in the irish potatoe famine, the European wine industry collapse in the late 1800s, and the US southern corn leaf blight epidemic of 1970. Efforts to avoid this also increases reliance on pesticides or herbicides, or seeds modified to have all this included within them. The seeds that were so ingeniously crafted by mother nature are lost and forgotten. Besides all of that, different varieties of seeds,for example rice, potatoes, quinoa or corn, will have slightly different micro nutrients, which also have often evolved to provide nutrition that is unique and specifically important to inhabitants of this region. This diversity, by the way, has NOT been forgotten, and is very much nurtured and celebrated with pride in the world of wine and grapes and all the many unique varietals and varieties. Anyway…check here for more on biodiversity

In summary I’d like to say (finally, yeah?), I think it’s fun to mix up my cooking by trying every weird variety that I can get my hands on, and I also like to think that I am getting a more diverse supply of vitamins, minerals and important micronutrients.

Melon or Squash?

The volunteer (squash?) that I mentioned before, came up as a result of enriching the soil from our compost bin. So somebody here must have eaten this last year, but so far nobody recognizes it. The plant has ventured out a good seven feet or so into the yard (ten feet from it’s origin), and the mystery fruit is about the size of a childs head. All will be revealed at a later date!

Ten Minute Anti Inflammatory Meal

Last week I came home from work one day with my back muscles gripping with tension. I reclined on the couch for most of the day with an occasional ice pack, and finally got up long enough to prepare myself a small, comforting anti-inflammatory meal.

Anti Inflammatory Grub

Ingredients:

• Extra firm tofu
• Olive or coconut oil
• Fresh Garlic
• Fresh Ginger
• Fresh or dried turmeric (the turmeric in the photo is the one that looks like ginger but is orange)
• Shitake mushrooms
• Baby bok choy
• Raw or lightly toasted pumpkin seeds
• Sea salt or tamari

Saute tofu cubes in oil until golden.

Add fresh chopped garlic, ginger and turmeric. Saute a couple of minutes until tender.

Add sliced shitake mushrooms first, then baby bok choy stems (chopped on diagonal) for a couple of minutes until slightly tender. It’s best if they still retain a bit of crispness! A little water may be added if needed.

At the very end, add the bok choy leaves and pumpkin seeds and give a couple more stirs.

Season with sea salt or tamari, and a dab of butter or coconut oil.

Healing properties of some of the ingredients I selected:

• Turmeric– An Indian spice. The active ingredient is called curcumin and provides anti inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. Helps improve flexibility and joint mobility. Also helpful for improving protein digestion, and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels
• Ginger– Also helpful for digestion and breaking down protein, a healthy iflammation response, and nausea
• Pumpkin seeds– High in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are very powerful anti inflammatory agents, and helpful in regulating cholesterol levels. Also used for prostate health and nausea. (Best if lightly toasted, as too much heat will destroy the delicate fatty acids)
• Tofu– Recommended as a source of protein to reduce pain and inflammation
• Shitake Mushrooms– contains all eight essential amino acids in better proportions than soy beans, meat, milk, or eggs as well as a good blend of vitamins and minerals including vitamins A, B, B12, C, D and Niacin. Helpful in lowering cholesterol, stimulating immune system, reducing inflammation. Has anti-tumor activity.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil– A mono unsaturated oil that has a long history of safe, healthful use and can be easily extracted at low temperatures (which is good so as not to destroy the nutritive value). Helpful in reducing inflammation. (Many vegetable oils can actually contribute to inflammation)

Here are some groovy sources for information on healthy fats:

1. Book- Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford
2. Book- Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
3. Website- The Weston A. Price Foundation

Space management

Volunteer squash radiating from center of broccoli & cauliflower patch, with summer tomatoes strategically positioned amongst winter cruciferous plants so that they will already have a foothold as the winter crop production winds down and is cleared out

It’s kind of fun, like doing a puzzle! My neighbor Carrie and I get so enthused when we start looking through the seed catalogs (our favorites: Seed Savers and Baker Creek), and pretty soon little packages start arriving in the mail with bundles of seeds that could plant a whole farm! Six kinds of melons, 8 varieties of squash, tomatoes and peppers galore…..and then sometimes when the seasons change and they start selling new seeds at work, I am able to bring home the old seeds for free! Then we sit outside with paper and colored markers, sipping coffee while mapping out the plan for fitting it all in! Good times!

Inquisitive Visitor

I think if I didn’t have to close my door, “Natty” would come in further. I wish I could test that out to see how far she would venture!

Our Little Neighborhood complex paradise

There are four cottages and a duplex in the back

We have tucked vegetables, fruit, herbs and flowers into every nook and cranny. Little by little, we decide we need less and less lawn and more space for food! To see more pics of our gradually diminishing lawn click here, or visit my neighbors site at http://eatingthegarden.wordpress.com/ to see more of our gardening adventures.

Mustard Greens sandwich

Today I prepared my last mustard greens of the season. They are going to seed, and I am about to compost the remains of the winter garden and prepare the soil for the summer season. Tomato & pepper seedlings are awaiting their new home! The mustard greens were plentiful for 2 months, during which time I experimented preparing them in countless ways, consuming them almost every other day! Today I indulged in my favorite concoction. Prepared as follows:

Mustard Greens Sandwich

Toss together

• A bunch of greens. I used greens from mustard, turnips, radishes and baby beets. Blanche, squeeze dry, and chop fine.
• Grated radishes
• Grated Parmesan, Asiago, Romano, or some such cheese
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice (maybe a bit of lemon zest as well)
• Sea salt

Press onto thinly sliced, buttered, dense bread of some sort. My favorites are the breads from French Meadow Bakery, such as hemp, spelt or kamut breads.

Yum!