Good Intentions Bento

Last weekend I made a lot of bento picks for R's lunches, and I made some Mary Poppins ones since she loves that movie. This was supposed to be a Mary Poppins bento. Umbrellas, kites, a "practically perfect" pick. She finished her waffle this morning and came to see what I was doing.

"Where are the animals? Can I pick a Mary Poppins animal one?"

"I don't really have any Mary Poppins animals. Wait, I have the penguins. Do you want the Mary Poppins penguins?"

She was discouraged and drifted away.

I put her lunch on the table and went to get dressed. When I came back to take a picture, she told me, "I added some dogs, I thought this lunch needed dogs playing in the grass. Spinach is the grass." I had been fiddling with floppy asparagus umbrellas and threading fruit onto a fragile soba noodle and worrying about getting to school on time on the snowy streets, and feeling ridiculous for spending so much time on lunch. The thought that it was ruined before I could take a picture was not a happy one. Then I looked at what she did, and I loved it. She loved it, and she might even eat it. So I don't really know what to call this bento. But we made it to school in plenty of time.

On the way to school, she asked me if you could get in trouble for telling a lie when you were talking in your sleep.

Lacy Snow

Yesterday it started snowing late in the afternoon. There were only a few inches, but it was a beautiful, lacy snow that stuck to the bare branches.

Charlie with his beloved Snakey.

R helped her dad bring in firewood. Look at her heavy load!

Our next door neighbors gave us a huge pile of firewood last summer, because they don't like all the bother of using the fireplace any more. We are so grateful to have it.

She loves to turn off all the lights and sit in front of the fire. I often wonder what she'll remember of these days, when she's grown.

And this was dinner. (I took the picture this morning of the leftovers, in better light. It made a great breakfast too.)

Lent is a good time for meatless dinners, even if it's not Friday. I thought these were really good, and Dan and R liked them too.

Italian Tofu Cutlets

This recipe is adapted from I Can't Believe It's Vegan. I changed it quite a bit, and of course adding egg makes it not vegan. They're like a veggie burger, but lighter, less heavy-grain and bean-y, and more flavorful.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 medium red or yellow onions, sliced thinly
2 bell peppers cut into strips (green, colored, or a mixture)
4 cloves garlic
2 T olive oil
2 T Italian Seasoning
2 14-oz. blocks firm tofu
1 t. fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 T nutritional yeast
1 T garlic powder
1 cup vegetable broth, water or white wine
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced in strips (optional)
2 T tamari or soy sauce
1 cup of unsalted raw or roasted sunflower seeds
2 cups bread crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
fresh lemon juice
olive oil

Preheat oven to 375, and oil a baking sheet.

1. Saute onions and garlic until golden. Add peppers and saute until softened. Stir in Italian seasoning.
2. Crumble tofu into a mixing bowl, and parsley, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together and add half of the sauteed onion, garlic & peppers.
3. Deglaze the pan with the broth, wine or water, and add tamari. Turn off the heat, and let the sundried tomatoes soak in this liquid for a few minutes.
4. Add the sundried tomatoes and their liquid, the beaten egg, and 1 cup of unsalted raw or roasted sunflower seeds to the tofu mixture, and transfer it to a food processor.
5. Pulse until the mixture starts to come together. Add 1 cup of bread crumbs*, and pulse until the mixture comes together and is a bit sticky.
6. Season the remaining 1 cup of bread crumbs with salt, lemon pepper and red pepper flakes, if desired, and put them on a plate. Form the tofu mixture into cutlet-size rectangles, and flatten each one about 1/2 inch thick. Pat it in the bread crumbs to coat on both sides, and place on the oiled sheet. Squeeze fresh lemon juice lightly over each cutlet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake for 12 minutes.
7. Serve on a bed of salad greens, topped with sliced avocado and sunflower seeds and the remainder of the sauteed peppers and onions. Or serve in a sandwich roll, topped with the peppers and onions.

The original recipe calls for melting (vegan) mozzarella on top, but we like it without cheese.

*I keep the whole wheat bread crusts I cut off of sandwiches in a bag in the freezer, and make crumbs in the food processor as I need them.

Barnyard Bento

I found some cheapie cupcake picks online that make great bento decorations.

Squash, Sweet Potatoes, and Seitan

Ash Wedesday is a good day to spend cooking something healthy, after all the Valentine's food coloring and sugar. From left to right: whole grain and flax butternut squash muffins; homemade seitan; baked sweet potato falafel. R loves this pepperoni-flavored seitan. It's a great high-protein vegetarian option to have up your sleeve. And much fresher and cheaper than the grocery store versions. I put mini chocolate chips in the muffins to entice her, because they aren't the prettiest color. But they are low fat, full of beta carotene and vitamin A and C and fiber.

And here is the beginning of the salad garden. Cress is so much fun. R and I seeded it on Sunday, and here's what it looks like four days later. I have a few more flats under lights: Bloomsdale spinach; tatsoi; Salad Bowl lettuce; arugula; mizuna; chives, summer savory & thyme.

Valentine's Day Deliveries

More Valentine cookies, for neighbors this time.

Packages all ready to go.

R put together a special outfit to make her deliveries on foot.

D was off today for President's Day and we got some house projects done. Most importantly, we got some trays of indoor seedlings started. I love this time of year. The smell of the seed starting soil when it gets wet, shaking the tiny seeds out and planting them with toothpicks. Instant time travel back to previous springs since we've been married. I'm only starting some salad greens that can go outside in early March, some herbs I can keep on a windowsill until it warms up, and a few things that take a long time to germinate. I ordered my heirloom tomato seeds online yesterday.