You can't hurry lunch
No you'll just have to wait
She said lunch don't come easy so...
Grab a bag of cracker jacks
You can't hurry lunch
No you'll just have to wait
Just trust that in good time,
no matter even if you swoon and faint

But how many 'mmercials
Must see I today
I grow impatient for some food
But when I feel I can't, can't go on
These precious words keep me hanging on...

You can't hurry lunch
No you'll just have to wait
She said lunch don't come easy so...
Grab a bag of cracker jacks
You can't hurry lunch
No you'll just have to wait
Just trust that in good time,
no matter even if you swoon and faint

Let's eat!
Lunch love, don't come easy
But I keep on waiting, anticipating
For that soft bread, to cut with my knife
to pair with butter, and eat tonight!

Waiters were passing along tray after tray of beautifully arranged taste samples. The only thing was, that we had joined the party a bit late (three kids will do that to you: no matter how you play it, you are never at the right party time - arrive too early, leave too early kinda thing!) and that everyone was already getting into trying out the desserts. This kid next to us however, kept running out and coming back with plates full of salty snacks such as piggies in a blanket, and some fabulous looking bacon-wrapped dates. I was really jealous (seriously, I CANNOT miss out on food. It makes me cranky!) so I made after him only to find myself in front of yet another empty tray. I must have looked really disappointed, because after I explained to the waiter that, while figs w/mascarpone and honey (delicious) and mousse au chocolat were great, I really wanted those piggies, he kept coming to the spot where I was standing with my friend. And every single time, he was bearing a fresh tray loaded with salty goodness. The pout never fails to deliver (or so I like to think!).

Amongst some of the foods I sampled were a fabulous creamy porcini soup, potato salad w/ smoked salmon and caviar, piggies in a blanket (YAY!) and medjool dates filled w/parmesan wrapped in bacon and roasted. Those were just insanely good. I mean, in a way anything w/ parmesan that is subsequently wrapped in bacon and roasted is bound to come out perfect, but those dates were just really really perfect. The secret as C.Barcomi said herself, is to use the medjool dates by the way, and not any ole' date found at the supermarket.

Apart from talking about the food, the other thing we discussed were kitchens, specifically, how to organise them. And this is a topic dear to my heart since it turns out we are moving and will have to buy an entirely new kitchen of our own liking (I know, right? Poor us!)!
This is as much fun as it is totally grueling, because everything happened really fast and we have to get our act together in the next 6 weeks. AAK! So, if you ever had a brilliant piece of advice about what to do and what not to do in a kitchen, now's the time to bring it! And yes, I am asking the internet's opinion, watch it not answer me!

Because all this is very complicated and my head seems to routinely explode when faced with the realisation of the task at hand (Because from now until christmas is also the busiest time at my work. And I will be travelling. A lot. While packing. Watch me spontaneously combust!), I am craving something simple foodwise, namely a pre-meal snack that only requires a quick peeling, chopping and dipping.

Yes, this is a Kohlrabi, a boring old Kohlrabi, a food dear to many a german heart which found it's way to mine just a few years ago. And somewhere in Switzerland, my sister just dropped from her chair from sheer incredulity and the might of assocations she doubtless has from it. I used to associate it with smelly wurst and prepackaged bread on the dining table for Abendbrot*, alongside the little invidual cutting boards known as Frühstückbrett.

I take back all these associations however, when Kohlrabi is peeled, chopped and paired with a food snobs simplest tools: "a sprinkling of fleur de sel and some really good olive oil!" And as much as this whole "fleur de sel and good olive oil" thing annoys me, it does often turn something boring, into something really great. It's also good for me, since it means all I need to do now, is post photos and bow out!

*Germans often eat an early dinner of cold cuts, cheese and sliced vegetables along with bread. The whole thing having been totally inconceivable to my 7 year old french self.

He lives a life-style that I not only envy but in a good way, but he has a happy family that donates time and monies to his church and his community. He is respected and I have never met a person that does not like him or at least respect him here in NW Indiana.

I wanted to know what he does on a daily basis! What he looks for in deal and how he goes about getting the business that he gets? I had so many questions and he dutiful answered them all. I made to find out how he did it?

I asked him about the mistakes and if he has made any? This is where I learned the most out of all of the dinner. He went into great detail the pitfalls he fell into and the hangers on that willingly and unwillingly try to distract him. I really was amazed at the groups that tried to slow him down.

But, the best part of the night is when I showed him my idea and plans to get his input. He pointed out some areas that I should look at and it was places that I had missed. He has volunteered his time to help me and my team.

So, let me conclude what to do:
1. ask them how they did it?
2. ask what mistakes they made?
3. show them your plan or your idea

Dave Woodson
Mad Mortgage Machine

Okay, I didn't actually watch the game, but I checked out the highlights later.

I feel SOOOO good today. But I have to blog about yesterday. Time to transport myself back to yesterday's mental state.

Transporting....complete.

Okay! Well, that wasn't hard, because yesterday wasn't bad. I used the last of my butternut squash to make cottage cheese oatmeal for breakfast.

Kinda looks like a creamsicle! Just the colors, I mean. I used 1/2 cup ff cc and 1/2 cup squash. And 1/2 cup oats.

After I got ready, I threw all my stuff together and went down to work and work out. I am SO glad I took a shower and stuff first because when I went to work out later, it was already closed because of the $*#(&^ game. NO!

I had to keep it together!

I wasn't hungry for lunch until 12. I ate breakfast at 6 so I'm not sure what that was about! Usually I'd have a snack or something but I was all distraught over missing two days at the gym and I guess I lost my appetite.

I told you I bring the drama!

Lunch was good, though. A little salad with some new chemically tasting spray-on dressing. Nice alternative to vinegar.

My ensalada consisted of carrot and broc slaw, 1/4 cup edamame, a couple ounces of tofu, and half an apple. I know I eat a lot of salads for lunch. I think it's because I just want to make sure I get my veggies in that day. I always end up having them with dinner, too, but it just makes me feel calm. :)

I did my thing for awhile and then had a snack. A plum and a chocolate peanut butter Pure Protein bar. It was good! I ate it in about a minute. I love the texture. CHEWY.

I also had an All-Bran pink lemonade. I've been having these a lot lately but keep forgetting to tell you guys.

I called Robbie around 4 just to say what's up and he was home already! There was no way I was staying at work when I found that out! I sped home and chilled with the hub for awhile while we contemplated dinner. I bought a roll of polenta (this week's Blogger Secret Ingredient) on Friday night and still didn't know what to do with it. (Sabrina, I hope it's okay that I didn't make it from scratch! I looked in two places at the store and couldn't find it!)

So I just made something easy!

Grilled Polenta with Tomato Cheese Topping

Ingredients:

• 17 oz. roll Polenta (I used half for two people)
• sun-dried tomatoes, reconstituted in warm water
• 1/4 cup rf feta
• basil

To make:

Preheat broiler. Slice polenta into 1/2" discs. Spray a grill pan with Pam and grill the polenta on med-hi for several minutes. (It was hard to get grill marks on these babies!)

While the polenta is grilling, dice up the basil and SD tomatoes. Mix together with the feta in a small bowl.

Place polenta on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spoon an even amount of the topping on each slice. Put in the oven and keep an eye on it. Remove when the feta is starting to turn brown.

I loved this! The polenta has such a unique flavor and texture. The chicken Rob grilled on Friday had our favorite Greek seasoning on it, so I chopped up some of that and served it with spinach, the last of the grated carrot, some yellow pepper, and a T raisins.

Polenta was an awesome choice. Thanks Sabrina!

I started cleaning the house before dinner and finished after. I usually do it on Sunday so it felt like heaven to get it out of the way. YAY!

I had my usual dessert, then watched Entourage before I went to bed at 9:30.

It was a really nice night.

Are you a sports fan? What teams do you follow? I LOVE basketball and of course I watch any PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS game that I can.

Have a great Sunday!

crusty bread with cranberry sauce and "chicken" sticks

salad

tortilla chips

chocolate wheaties (the last ones) and fruit - pear,apple and plum I think

juice

Again he didn't eat the tortilla chips even though he made me put them in!!!

I thought I would let you see my lunch again :)

crusty bread with cranberry sauce

potato squares with pot of french dressing

fruit

"chicken" salad

peach yogurt and soya milk

I did eat everything :)

There was no lunch box on Friday because Wuffy came home at lunchtime as we all went to the dentist in the afternoon. Afterwards we went round to visit some friends and had a meal with them.  I took dessert but they cooked the starter and main courses. It's nice having friends who accept our choices and always go out of their way to cook vegan food :) We didn't get home until almost 11pm Wuffy did sleep in the car but he was so tired when we got home and just fell into bed

Breakfast today was one of the yummy muffins that were given to me yesterday, heated up with a bit of butter, and some organic strawberry yogurt. No juice still - my family only buys orange juice with pulp, and I refuse to drink something with floaties in it. I can't stand pulp in my juice. Ugh. But back to the muffin - it was apple cinnamon, and really good. It was pretty crumbly, but I think it's because I reheated it. I'm sure it was not good for me in anyway, but that seems to be the theme for this weekend.

I had a piece of leftover pizza that I took with me to the dock, which was totally unsatisfying, but it was easy to take to munch on until I got home, which wasn't til almost 2 pm. I was of course hungry, so I had a bit of leftover chinese food. Mostly relaxed, catched up on some blog reading and email this afternoon.

Then my sister and I headed off to my aunt's for an early Thanksgiving dinner. Both my parents stayed home, because my mom was sick, and my dad didn't think he should go and leave her here all alone, plus he was worried he was also getting sick. We brought over the traditional 5-Cup salad, or as my mom has always called it, Sister Acey's Salad (not really sure why, but that's what we've always called it!). My sister made it this year, and she's really not the cooking type, so I did take some photos of her and her masterpiece. HA!

Dinner was pretty good - my aunt normally puts on a good spread when cooking a turkey. I was a little disappointed there were no carrots - just corn, potatoes, and brussel sprouts. I don't normally partake in the sprouts, but thought I would put a couple on the plate for something green. They were...more than a bit overcooked. But I don't hate brussel sprouts like I always thought I used to, so perhaps I'll have to try cooking some up myself and see how they go. The stuffing seemed a bit off too - again, my aunt usually makes a good stuffing, and I'm a stuffing snob, but the seasoning seemed not quite right. Oh well, it was still edible.

Dessert included either pumpkin pie or a pumpkin chocolate cheesecake. It's unfortunate that both were pumpkin desserts - when I do dessert, I always make sure there are 2 distinct options so that if you don't like one thing, you have another choice. I went with the "sampler dessert plate", which seemed like the choice of all the attendees - a small slice of each. The pie crust on the pumpkin pie was very good (I'm also a pie crust snob). The cheesecake was super creamy, but I don't know if I'm sold on the pumpkin/chocolate combo. Pumpkin doesn't scream "pair with chocolate" to me. Maybe I just haven't found the best combo of the two.

And I would just like to add - I did not overeat! Go me! I had my one plate of food - turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, corn, 2 brussel sprouts, a roll, and gravy. I did have an extra bun, because they were just sooo fresh. And I had my 2 mini slices of dessert, and one glass of white wine this evening. Sure, I walked away feeling fuller than a normal dinner, but not so stuffed that I didn't want to move.

Now I had 2 whole days off here in Vancouver to get stuff done, do some shopping, and hang with the family before I head back. At least I still get a real weekend out of the whole thing! I hope for the rest of you in Canada that your Thanksgiving dinner's go well. :DOnl

There's something similar about the tensions of a twelve o'clock lunch crowd, and a row of closed daisies, waiting to bloom. You can see that both are queuing for something; there is a restlessness in their still focus on the present.

Then, when the diners have their meals and sit at the groups of tables outside, there is a rhythm to the eating, the drinking and the pausing. Just as the first rays of sun start to warm the outsides of the petals, each bit of nourishment soaks their insides; the hydraulic-like depression pulls the tensions away, and blooms ensue.

The diners sit back in their chairs and begin to carry on conversations again, their quirks and distinguishing marks making them individuals. The flowers, too, are suddenly unique characters, where they were once simply a mark in a carpet of flower beds. The bees take time with each one.

... 2 types of veges and 1 egg.

Rating: 5.5/10

As usual, the mixed gravies were awesome. The veges were ok but the kangkung was a bit wet, it made my plate watery. The egg was not pleasant, the yolk kinda stink. It's rare to find stinking yolk in hard boiled egg and this was it.

We didn't get too crazy at the party last night (I had a mojito and 2 beers) and were home by midnight.  We woke up pretty early, but didn't get out of bed until 9:30.  It felt good to just lay there and not have to get up to do anything.  But, we finally got up because we were hungry - so we made omelets.

I had defrosted some soy chorizo I bought a few weeks ago.  I was disappointed to find that when you take it out of the casing it just crumbles - it's not solid like real chorizo sausage at all.  I mixed that with some onion, mushrooms, and red pepper for my omelet.

The chorizo tasted just okay.  It tasted just like overly seasoned Morningstar crumbles.  I won't be getting these again.  Although, I did see yesterday at New Seasons a different brand of soy chorizo.  Maybe I will try that.

We headed to the Skybox bar in Sellwood to watch the game.  I decided when we got there that I didn't want to drink and I'm proud to say that I didn't!  I was a little bit "naughty" and ordered a Diet Pepsi and clam chowder for lunch.

They had a few vegetarian items on the menu, but it was either veggie burgers, salad, or fried stuff.  I really wanted the chowder so I went ahead and got it after the waitress assured me that it didn't have bacon in it.  Thankfully, it was good - nothing is worse than bad clam chowder.  I would have been really disappointed to have ordered a non-vegetarian dish and not like it.  I also snacked on a couple of the hubby's fries.

After coming home and watching a couple more football games, I had a snack.

I really wanted to try the dark chocolate PB I picked up at Target last week and a Jonagold apple was the perfect accompaniment.  The PB was pretty good, but not necessarily very chocolatey.

Continuing my lazy day, I didn't feel like cooking dinner, so I decided on Trader Joe's Indian food.  I had a saffron cashew rice dish, also from Target, that I thought would go well with the beans and lentils, so I heated that up too.

I love that Naan from Trader Joe's.  It's in the freezer section and sooo much better than the naan you can get in the bread section.  It's pretty calorie dense so I don't get it very often.  I've had this one last piece in the freezer for months, so it was due to be eaten.

As I was making dinner, Chris suggested going to Cold Stone.  He NEVER wants to go there because he doesn't like getting the mix-ins and thinks the ice cream is too gummy.  It 50% sounded good to me, but knew if I went, that Erin would be proud of me!  Plus, I hadn't been there in years, so I thought, what the hell.  I didn't finish my dinner so that I would have room for ice cream and packaged the rest up to bring for lunch sometime this week.

I ordered a "like-it" (the smallest) sinless sweet cream (with Splenda - the horror!) and mixed in brownies and Heath bars.

I could only eat half of it before it became too much for me, so I brought it back home and stuck it in the freezer for another day.  Five years ago when I lived with my friend Bridget, we used to go to Cold Stone all the time.  I would order a chocolate dipped waffle bowl brownie sundae, with mix-ins and eat the WHOLE thing.  My, how things have changed - most definitely for the better!

It's 9 p.m. and I've been watching football all day.  It's exhausting!  I actually think I might head to bed.  I didn't get in a run like I wanted, so I'll have to do that tomorrow.  Chris is going on a photography day-trip with his Dad tomorrow to the Mt. St. Helens area, so I'll have most of the day to myself.  Yea!

this lady, who looked as if she'd seen QUITE A FEW buffets in her years, stormed up to the check out counter.

"now i don't know who our server was," she said in a loud, well practiced, angry mother voice, "but she got us our drinks and then we waited for TEN MINUTES! i eventually had to go and get my plate by myself!"

my jaw dropped as i tried to figure out where she thought she was and what she thought a server at a buffet was supposed to do.

i waited for a minute, hoping that the man behind the counter would says something like, "well... looking at you, it seems the only exercise you ever get is walking between the buffet and your chair, so the server was actually doing you a favor." but he just mumbled some half-hearted apology under his breath and we went home.

the end.

scott

When I got home we headed out to Pino's for pizza, I had a plain slice.

We went into the city to see the construction/memorial site at the World Trade Center because A's brother had never been.  After that we spent about 3.5hours walking around that area of the city.  Some of the interesting sites:

 We also got "nuts for nuts."

I shared a mixed bag with the boys, I ate about a 1/3 of this.

After that we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge! 

Lots of walking.  Even with an aching foot long walking days are seriously my favorite thing in the world.

We took a sit down break though, and saw Quarantine.  Unimpressive.  I really don't like scary movies, I'm not sure why I went for this.  I had Muddy Bears and a ginormous diet coke.

Seriously, why is this soda so big?  I was a bit annoyed that the guy running the stand didn't warn me, a small would have been fine!

We walked around Borem Hill a bit more and ended up eating dinner at a Mexican place, Pacifico.

The atmosphere here was wonderful, good music and light strings everywhere!  There were way too many good looking choices on the menu but I ended up getting a vegetarian mole poblano.

(Sorry for the fuzzy picture)  It came with chipolte tortillas and a soft Mexican cheese and had yellow squash, zuccini, asparagus, portobellas, cherry tomatos, and asparagus.  Unfortunatly this wasn't the best choice.  The sauce was overwhelming, I ended up having to stop eating before I was actually full.  I ate about half of the veggies, one tortilla, and one bit of cheese. 

A's brother (who thinks food blogs are silly) wanted his dinner featured, so here is a shot of his steak fajitas:

Once we were back in our neighborhood we had the best experience of the day - two wonderful guys were out with telescopes.  On one side of the street we saw a close up of the Moon and on the other side Jupiter and it's moons!  It was pretty amazing.

I'll probably have some sort of snack before the end of tonight, but my foot is really bothering me so I won't post until the morning.  Tomorrow's a busy day; I hope everyone else had an equally exciting Saturday!

Yesterday I had coffee with a guy - it might have been a date but I'm not sure.  He invited me for dinner in a few weeks, that might be a date, too, but I'm not sure.  What I am sure of is I need to get better at saying "no, thank you".  I ran into this guy a few days ago at the grocery store, he's a friend of a friend so it was no big deal that we got to chatting.  It was late though, and I was tired.  When I'm tired my chatting gets pretty punchy, and my punchy may well come across as flirty.  All I know is that when he asked me out for coffee I said "sure, that would be great".  What I wanted to say was "no, thank you".  Three little words.  No big deal.  Apparently it is a big deal 'cause I can't seem to say those words.  With guys, with business, with friends, with family...  I always say yes on the spot and then spend the next hours and days plotting how to get out of it.  I have got to build some "no, thank you" muscle.  I truly believe if I can learn to do this I'll be radically transformed.  I'll be an amazingly powerful woman.  I've heard that if you can say "no" to the things you don't want to do, you'll get really clear about saying "yes" to the things you do want to do.  Doesn't that sound divine?

Meanwhile, I showed up for the coffee date with a guy I wasn't interested in.  Being yet inexperienced in using my "no, thank you" skills, his offer for dinner next weekend was accepted with a "that sounds lovely".  Good gawd.  Next step, figure out how to get out of it, right?  Maybe.  Here's the thing - this guy has offered to cook dinner for me.  I haven't had a man cook for me since I dated a chef in '95.  I'm intrigued.  He said he'd make fajitas.  And fresh guacamole with serranos.  And chicken enchiladas and frijoles.  Dessert was discussed, but I had glazed over by then.  This guy knows how to cook, wants to cook, and is excited about it.  His excitement is contagious, I kid you not.  And for as often as I've been told the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I've come to realize that if you want the attention of this health counselor and former chef, just offer to cook for me.  I'm going for that dinner, damn it.  Hopefully I can have some integrity and be upfront that I'm not looking for a relationship.  Hopefully given the chance I'll say "no, thank you".  Hopefully he'll make that chocolate souffle he was talking about.

www.HoweToEat.com

BREAKFAST-

I woke up craving oatmeal, so I made myself a delicious bowl of with the special addition of carob! Today's add-ins were- carob powder, soy milk, a sliced banana, wheat germ, flax meal, crushed walnuts, and cinnamon. I topped the whole thing with some almond slivers. This bowl was incredible. I haven't used carob too much in the past, but maybe I should start using it more! Loved it.

After breakfast, I spent most of my morning outside relishing this unseasonal yet perfect weather. Sunny and 74 degrees?! I'll take it!! Soon after, I got a call on my cell from my dad asking if I needed any groceries at Whole Foods. Now I technically could've done without getting more food considering my fridge and cabinets are brimming with food, but when can I say no to a WF trip? Of course I accepted, and of course I managed to come home with quite a bit of stuff. No matter what, I can always find things that I need! When I walked in the door with my WF packages, my mom just laughed at me. Lets just say that in case of a food shortage, I wouldn't have to worry about anything for a good 3 months! Haha. Pretty soon I'm going to be banned from WF! Onto the purchases-

dates, black cherry jam, almond butter, annie's thousand island, sugar, ww pastry flour, wild rice blend, slivered almonds, more acai packets, mini eli zabar's health loaf, semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chunks, sauerkraut, 2 golden supreme apples, 2 red delicious apples, bananas, tomatoes, acorn squash(!!!), rainbow chard, kale, baby carrots, PB cookie, banana bread, and apple pie larabars.

LUNCH-

As soon as I packed away all of my groceries, I made lunch! I had my predictable PB & raspberry preserves on sprouted wheat with a golden supreme apple and a yellow bell pepper that needed to be eaten. PB&J never gets tiresome to me! I'm just slightly obsessed!!

more PB porn! mmmmm.

SNACK-

Considering I got very little sleep last night, I decided to take a nap not too long after I ate my lunch. I originally planned on watching "The Black Dahlia" which was on HBO, but my sleepiness took over. I got a good hour's worth of sleep in, and when I woke up I had a banana bread Larabar. Mmm,mm good!

DINNER-

I apologize in advance, but I don't have a picture of my dinner! My camera battery died on me just as I was going to take my first picture.. bummer! I guess good old description and imagination will have to substitute here! I finally got around to trying this ever-so-interesting combo of whole wheat pasta with hummus and sundried tomatoes! Ever since I saw Heather whip up this combo, I've been intrigued. I never imagined hummus to be used to dress up pasta, but what's not to love about combining two of my favorite foods? It certainly did not disappoint! The addition of the sundried tomatoes (aka my heart and soul) made it even better! Such a unique yet amazingly delicious meal. Not to mention the hardy, "stuck to your ribs" sort of feeling it left me with.. I was too stuffed to even consider a real dessert which is very rare for me! Alongside the pasta, I had a big salad with a romaine heart, cucumber, red onion, tomatoes, corn, and annie's goddess. Perfecto!

DESSERT-

Because I wanted a little something sweet without having an actual dessert, I just had a single cinnamon graham cracker. Took care of my sweet tooth!

Tomorrow like I had mentioned in a previous entry, my uncle and grandfather are coming to my house to visit me for my birthday. Little do they know that they have some delicious homemade cookies waiting for them! Alright guys, I'm off.. see you all tomorrow!

BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN= 3 DAYS!!!! I forgot to mention some exciting news: I'll be getting a Canon SLR Digital Rebel XTi along with a macro lens from my dad for my birthday!! I can't wait for the new and improved pictures I'll be able to take for the blog! So exciting!

1 cup dried white beans, soaked for 6 hours or overnight in 1 quart water

A bouquet garni made with 1 bay leaf, a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, and a Parmesan rind, tied together with kitchen string

Salt/Spike

1 generous bunch red chard (3/4 to 1 pound)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), sliced

1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Freshly ground pepper

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

1. Drain the beans and combine with 1 quart of fresh water in a casserole or Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer. Skim off any foam, then add the bouquet garni. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Add 1 teaspoon salt or Spike.

2. Meanwhile, stem and clean the red chard leaves in 2 changes of water. Rinse the stems and dice. Set aside. Cut the leaves in ribbons, or coarsely chop, and set aside.

3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat and add the onion and chard stems. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the potatoes and stir together, then transfer to the pot with the beans. Bring back to a simmer, cover and simmer 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and beans are tender. Salt to taste(probably doesn’t need this).

4. Add the chard and thyme leaves to the pot, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. The chard should be very tender. Stir in freshly ground pepper to taste and the parsley. Taste, adjust seasonings and serve, passing the Parmesan to sprinkle on the top.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Advance preparation: The dish will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. If you are making it ahead, make it through Step 3 and proceed with Step 4 shortly before serving, so that the color of the chard doesn’t fade too much.

The New York Times
October 10, 2008
By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/10/health/nutrition/10recipehealth.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=health&pagewanted=print

Clockwise from the upper left: Mashed apricot-orange sweet potatoes (with a green cabbage leaf), honey mustard pork cubes, snap peas, pomegranate, marcona almonds. Boiled egg in the center.

Now I'm hooked! I bought a couple of "real" bento boxes and I think I'll be making more of this sort of lunch from now on. I like the variety in food types and how I get to be creative with my food. Blame it on my toddler, I like to play with my food!! LOL.

4 dl Yoghurt Naturell  
200 g svarta vinbär eller annan typ av bär
2 st ägg
5 dl Mjölkdryck (valfri)
1 dl grahamsmjöl
1,5 dl vetemjöl 
½ tsk salt
½ tsk kanel
l½ dl svarta vinbär eller annan typ av bär (garnering)
½ tsk florsocker

Ungefärligt energiinnehåll/port: 250 kcal

Gör så här:

Värm ugnen till 225 grader. Ställ in 4 dl yoghurt i frysen så att den nästan blir fryst och frys bären om de är färska. Vispa upp ägg och tillsätt lite av mjölken. Rör i mjöl, salt och resten av mjölken. Lägg bären i en ugnsfast form och häll över smeten, pudra över lite kanel. Grädda i ugnen i cirka 25-30 minuter. Låt svalna något och pudra därefter florsocker över pannkakan. Strax innan servering så mixar du den halvfrusna yoghurten och bären till pannkakan. Strö gärna över lite hela bär som garnering.

I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO caffinated right now! I only had three cups of tea but I haven't eaten that much yet so if I use a lot of exclamation points, you know why!!!!!

Friday was totes not the best day of the week! I ate good food but felt kinda illin. I don't know why!

Anyways, I had this for breakfast:

Two Kashi H2H waffles, a container of Oikos, and half a naner with cinnamon and sf syrup on top. My fave. I was supposed to go work out yesterday morning, but Rob took the day off (he always, always, always works six days a week) so I ended up getting back in bed and falling asleep for awhile. I didn't even make it to work until 9:00. The horror!

My AM snack was a plum and half an apple Larabar. Hi Obama! I love your face!

Honestly, the rest of the day is kind of a blur! I know I ate stuff, but I can barely remember what I did. I had lots of meetings in the PM and before I knew it, it was time to hang out with Rob and our Little Bro.

For lunch I had this salad, plus the rest of my Larabar.

Salad:

• 4.5 oz baked tofu
• half a cuke
• 3 oz grated carrot
• 3 oz broc slaw
• T golden raisins
• the rest of that spray French dressing

There was a lot to chew on! After lunch I walked by the main office and there was ALL this leftover food from McAllister's Deli. This happens about once a week. In fact, didn't it happen last week, with a brownie and some pieces of cookie? Anyways, this time I snagged half an oatmeal raisin cookie and half a peanut cookie. I didn't see any napkins so I used a cup lid for a plate.

Those cookies were so good. Very buttery and sugary. I tried to find the nutrition information for them but it wasn't online. Everything else was, just not their cookies. :oops:

Later on, I wasn't hungry but felt totally whack! It was the sugar crash! I always eat dessert at NIGHT, so I miss the crash completely. It's weird when it happens during the day, you know? Didn't exactly do wonders for my productivity! So I reached for my friend.

How funny is that can?! It's got a gangsta lean!

When I got home I just crashed on the bed, facedown with all my work clothes on. I was so out of it and felt sorry for myself for missing my workout. Boo freakin' hoo, right? I can SO bring the drama sometimes. It was one of those days, though. I was just being a baby. :)

When I woke up, Rob was grilling chicken. Yay! My stomach was rumbling so I ate a few pieces of frozen mango.

Then I popped a sweet potato in the micro and had some broc slaw with it and the chicken, which was to die for. SO juicy. Rob is an INCREDIBLE griller.

Look at my cute little pudding pop!

How cute is my Annie? She was sleeping with her paws on that mini frisbee. I love her.

My pouty mood continued well into the evening. I menu planned and made the grocery list and decided to get my bratty presence out of the house. Rob doesn't need to be around that!

I came home with everything for next week, plus a carmel apple for Rob and trail mix and a new bowl for me. :) Yay!

So cute, right? Wal-Mart!

That made me happy again. I forgave myself for missing my workout and eating a cookie and got into bed.

What do you do when you're feeling negative? How do you pick yourself back up? I usually try to talk to someone and think about someone/thing OTHER than myself, or I eat or workout. Or play with my kitties!

Have a lovely Saturday!

VeganMoFo Day 11

Vegan Lunch Box by Jennifer McCann

I'm sure all of you have heard of the amazing Vegan Lunch Box book and the original Vegan Lunch Box blog that started it all.

I started reading about the fantastic meals that Jennifer would make every day for her son before I was interested in blogging and before I was pregnant. I think it was the only blog I used to read back then!

The lunches were amazing, healthy yet fun, nutritious yet fun and best of all vegan yet still fun!

I used to cut and paste all the pictures and recipes I liked into a folder so that when LP was bigger (I was nesting by this stage!!!) I would be able to make her delicious lunches. We even got ourselves a Laptop Lunchbox (ok, it was big time nesting!).

When Jennifer self-published Vegan Lunch Box, I was clicking on the "buy" button as soon as I read her announcement.

And just recently I splashed out on the new edition too, mostly because it has been reorganised to make it easier to get around. The sample lunches are now listed at the start and now all the recipes are grouped into relevant sections, whereas with the original the whole book was divided into lunches, which was nice but a bit harder to browse.

Littlepixie is still too little for a packed lunch, but that hasn't stopped us sampling some of the delights in VLB, the "Massur Dal & Carrot" soup is yum, as is the "Sneaky Momma's Black Bean" soup. The assembled lunches are inspirational, might I point you to the Hallowe'en entry on her blog as a wonderful example of the creativity involved! It's worth noting that the recipes yield reasonably small amounts, presumably as they are intended to be lunches for children not dinners for big heffalumps like me & Mr. HPP!

Jennifer has kindly posted lots of her recipes on her recipe blog shmooed food, including one of our current favourites, Full Meal Muffins.

And she has just added a recipe for homemade maple syrup to her recipe blog, which is wonderful because that stuff is so expensive in Ireland, and it's such a waste when you're just chucking it in a cookie mix to sweeten it! So you can use this "maple syrup" in your cookies and save the real stuff for your pancakes & salad dressings, where it really counts!

Now, I need to send Jennifer a bill for all the bento items I've been accumulating over the past year or so, I've gotten so many ideas from this book & her blog. I now have a box full of exciting lunch accessories and nik-naks just waiting to be used and it's all her fault :)

So my recommendation to you, dear reader, is that whether or not you are raising vegan kiddos, or indeed any kiddos, buy this book, your lunch-time tummy will thank you!

For those of us with the self-published first edition of her book, there is a list of some typos here. And as always, you can find yummy looking photos on Flickr.

So, dear reader, are you a fan of Vegan Lunch Box too? What have your favourite Lunch Boxes been?

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