Mediterranean Deliciousness as My Lunches This Week (#12)

First note: I have the hardest time spelling Mediterranean. Every single time, I over-think it and add in an extra syllable. One would *think* I'd come up with some mental clues as to how to do it, but thanks to the miracle of spell-check, I guess and red squiggly line it to get the correct spelling. #FirstWorldProblems

<clears throat>

This week's lunch was inspired by last Friday's lunch, which was eaten at one of my fave local joints, Mazah Mediterranean Eatery, with a particularly lovely colleague, Meg. I love Mazah and discovered them via another particularly lovely friend, Angela, in 2010. The restaurant recently moved to a slightly larger location, basically around the corner from where it's been since it opened and just YUM. 

The food is fresh, homemade in so very many cases, service is friendly and I'm not only supporting a local business, but a locally owned family business. Total score. 

I will say, the new & larger location is awesome and the food was delicious, but I will say, I think they are experiencing some growing pains. The new location is easily twice the size, and so the service on this visit was pretty slow and not that attentive. It was also lunch, although a bit later than rush, and still busy - everyone seemed to be really busy and a touch flustered. 

Also, if you have a sensitive nose to smells - the tables were all made for the restaurant by one of the owners and stained recently. They are gorgeous, but still off-gassing, so either wait or try to snag one of their sidewalk tables. 

Ok, so my favorite thing to get at Mazah is their vegetarian grape leaves. They are simply delicious - flavorful, tender and just delicious. I don't ever see myself undertaking making them because I just don't think I'd ever be able to do them justice. Plus, with Mazah not terribly far away from home or work, why would I? 

A few weeks' ago, I stopped into Trader Joe's to pick up the two things we only buy from them (as opposed to the many items I always impulse buy there). I had quickly picked up the bag of shredded parmesan cheese, and was headed to get their green chilies, when a few shelves below, I noticed Trader Joe's had vegetarian grape leaves in a tin. 

First, I find it odd to buy entree-like-items in cans. It smacks of Spam or beef stew. Second, MAZAH! But curiosity got the better of me, especially after reading the label and not finding anything horrible in it. 

I'll be honest, I've looked at the tins in my pantry the last few weeks.....but gone past them, due to nervousness. 

I am a 

Connecting story to my canned vegetarian grape leaves: Last week was our bi-monthly (as in every two months, not twice a month) work gathering for my floor. Work hasn't exactly been *challenging* of late, so with full disclosure to my bosses, I've started a group dedicated to fun in the workplace. It's maybe 6-ish people and I email them my hare-brained ideas, they say yay or nay, and we go about making stuff happen. I have titled us the Renegade Fun Group. 

We meet in the communal area on our floor, everyone brings in whatever they want to share, we stand around, chat, make up a reason to be gathering, and generally have a fun time with our colleagues. Last week was our third gathering, and the first with a theme, which was Healthy Snacks. 

Another colleague, Leslie, made and shared a delicious concoction of Greek yogurt, cucumber, avocado, tomato with dill, salt and pepper and garlic powder. She had taken part of the avocado and smashed it into the yogurt so that it was the pretty green color of the avocado meat, then chunked the rest of the avocado, as well as the chopping the cukes and maters. It was pretty scrumptious. 

Put all of this stuff together and you basically have my Lunches This Week. 

Had a small head of Bibb lettuce and a larger head of romaine. After washing and spinning it dry, chopped it up and put 2 cups of the lettuces into 3 lunch containers. 

Cracked open the delectable veggie grape leaves and put 6 on top of each container with the lettuces. 

Took my Homemade Greek Yogurt, and did what Leslie did, only in lieu of maters (The Chez was out), added thinly sliced carrots (after I peeled them o'course). I also added some lemon juice, as well as some of the marinade that was in the tins with the grape leaves. It was scrumptious!!!!

 

For my lunches, I'm taking a 1/2 cup of the yogurt/avocado/cuke/carrot mixture to plop on top of the salad, essentially so there's no other dressing. The total calorie count is 311 calories. 

So freaking tasty!!!

Just had today's lunch and I'm already lamenting that tomorrow will be the last. We need to pop over to Trader Joe's in the next few weeks, so their Dolmas tins are now added to the regularly shopped items list I keep. 

Sorry, long-winded, but STORIES!

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 2 cups lettuces, 6 vegetarian grape leaves, 1/2 cup of avocado yogurt dip + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and 6 oz organic blueberries. 

Thursday - a section of my freezer friendly quinoa/wild rice/spinach/kale casserole + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and 6 oz. organic blueberries.

Friday - a section of my freezer friendly quinoa/wild rice/spinach/kale casserole + 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt and some sort of fruit from the freezer (kiwi? peaches? strawberries?). I really need to do an inventory this weekend. 

Have you discovered an unexpected food in a tin/can/container of late? 

Share your favorite find!!

Lunches This Week (#11) - Kitchen Sink Stir-Fry

Saturday was all about gallivanting about town, so Sunday was a chillax day at the Chez. Spouse did a butt load of laundry (seriously, I am one.spoiled.lady), and I spent a good deal of it in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. It was pretty awesome. 

I had gotten my veggie bin on Tuesday, and had customized it so there'd be tasty stuff for a stir-fry. My favorite kind of stir-fry is what I affectionately call, Kitchen Sink Stir-fry, because I basically throw in whatever veg I have in the house, plus chicken (or shrimp) and a tasty sauce. 

Lunch today, at my desk. 

Fails in Baking.

Back in July, 2013, when I started this blog, I said I'd post things, even if they are epic fails. Today is your lucky day, reader, because you get not just one epic fail but TWO. And both in apple tarts. Not sure if the universe is sending me a signal, or I'm just that big of a dork but here goes. 

Lunches This Week - #10

Man, we had a fast weekend. Good thing I've been cooking ahead, otherwise, lunches this week would cause me much sorrow - and potentially coin. 

Monday - today was a defrosted section of my recent casserole hack, 1 cup of homemade whole milk yogurt with 1 cup organic raspberries, and a Slim Cake, which really hits a sweet spot for me. 

Tuesday - serious splurge, as I'm taking myself either to Chipotle or a local joint called Yabo's Tacos. It'll be a game day decision. 

Wednesday - repeat of Monday, except that I'll use defrosted peaches instead of raspberries in my yogurt.

Thursday - Monday's menu but with strawberries, instead of peaches or raspberries.

Friday - unless I get cooking this week, as in a week night, Monday's menu, but with strawberries again. 

Short post but never forget that:

Have a fabulous week!!!

Lunches The Last Two Weeks - Oops

Bad Yennifer. I have excellent reasons for my tardiness though, I swear! 

Last week, I had an event (honestly, the very best part of my job), so there was the mad rush to get it all together, then the event, then the mad rush to clean up, thank, collate, etc. 

I'm going to gush a bit about it, so bear with me, I will get to the recipes, etc. I promise! There was a luncheon and then also a panel, in which I partnered with The Office of Military and Veterans Services at my university. The events last week were actually the second time in seven months in which we've partnered with them, so I think part of my enjoyment of the planning portion was, we recreated certain elements from an event in September, and with most of the same people on board, there wasn't a lot of rushing before hand. 

Anyhoo, our special guest speaker is one of the most amazing young women I've ever met (and brag, I've met some really incredible young people in my time in Higher Education....). Captain Jenna Grassbaugh is finishing her Juris Doctorate, and will join JAG after she graduates next month. She is also a Captain in the U.S. Army, and sadly, for being so young, a Gold Star wife. 

Here's the kicker: Jenna took the insurance money she received from her husband's death, and started an endowment fund, which provides legal assistance to veterans. They don't have to be affiliated with my university in any way to receive the assistance and/or don't have to be combat veterans - simply have served their country in any possible way, and need help. And the law school here is working to match her original endowment amount. 

WOW. Talk about impact. Talk about a perspective moment.
And holy flarking follow-up: she enjoyed it enough to write about it herself. I.am.speechless.

Recipe Hack: Jen's Lunches This Week (#5)

Quick post because I have event in six days (for work), and need to get back to tweaking a PowerPoint, confirming registrations, etc. Or being awesome, however you wish to phrase it. 

Lunches This Week features a recipe hack to my fave casserole: the Spinach and Feta Casserole with Quinoa and Wild Rice. The hack was essentially a happy accident, as I had received some baby spinach and lacinato kale in my Green B.E.A.N. Delivery veggie bin, which I had wilted together - but realized that it wasn't quite enough for the recipe. 

So....in the interest of ingenuity, and the fact that I had also received a lovely bunch of fine looking asparagus, I supplemented in order to get to the required 2 cups of veggies for the casserole. 

Turned out to be a pretty good hack as it was a great addition, both in texture and in flavor - if I do say so myself. And amuses me greatly that it was a hack of a hack. 

I followed the recipe from November to the letter except for the veggies:
- chopped the spinach and lacinato kale into decent sized pieces, threw it into a pan with a few inches of water, popped on a lid and let is steam until completely wilted through. Drained it, let it cool, then squeezed all of the liquid out. 
- chopped the stalks of asparagus into bite-sized pieces, created a foil packet with about 1/2 cup of water, sealed the packet, placed it on a tray and put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. I drained the water and tried a piece, which was perfectly steamed. 

The spinach and kale mounted to about 1.5 cups, so I supplemented the remaining 1/2 cup needed with the asparagus pieces. 

Baked the casserole in a 9" x 9" pan, and it made 7 servings, of which, I threw 1 in the frig and the rest in the freezer. 

Oh I do lie a little - I added a nice healthy squirt of sriracha, because everything is better with sriracha!

Since I didn't use all of the asparagus, I plan to make another casserole (since it is incredibly freezer friendly), and use 1/2 spinach or kale and 1/2 asparagus this weekend. I'm curious how it will effect the density and hold-together factor of the casserole. 

Jen's Lunches This Week #5

Monday: I had one container of the Marcella Hazan's best pasta sauce ever + polenta, so had that with 1 cup of my homemade Greek yogurt and 1 cup of sliced organic strawberries. 

Tuesday: 1 serving of the spinach-kale-asparagus-quinoa-wild rice-feta casserole, 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt with 1/8 c. of Love Grown Simply Oats Gluten-Free Granola. (We were totally out of fresh fruit, but veggie bin arrived Tuesday afternoon!)

Wednesday: 1 serving of the spinach-kale-asparagus-quinoa-wild rice-feta casserole, 1 cup of homemade Greek yogurt with 1 cup of sliced organic strawberries.

Thursday and Friday: planning same meal as Wednesday, although Friday may be 1 cup of diced organic pear.  

I gotta jam and get back to being Event Planner Extraordinaire. Have a fabulous week, peeps!

Four Burner plus Oven Kinda Weekend.

Jen's Lunches This Week (#4)
I was a cookin' fiend this weekend, folks. Had all four burners plus the oven going yesterday - WOOT!! Apparently to make up for being an über slacker the last two weeks. Felt really good, to be active in the kitchen and making things. It's cheap-ish therapy - for me, anyway. 

Here's a quick list of what occurred in my kitchen between Saturday and Sunday:
- New batch of Greek yogurt, with whole milk.
- Batch of Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce, which I combined with Food Merchants Organic Polenta, for quick and tasty lunches this week. 
- Cooked 1 lb. of lacinato kale and 1/2 lb. baby spinach, cooled it and squeezed all the water out.
- Steamed a bunch of asparagus (as in one bunch, not like so much that I'm generalizing as "a bunch").
- Cooked up 2 cups of red quinoa and 1 1/2 cups of wild rice.

 

The only things I didn't do, but need to to in short order, were prepare a gorgeous head of leaf lettuce for salads; roast 8 large and lovely brussel sprouts; deal with a large head of broccoli. 

Lá Fhéile Pádraig and Sláinte.

Oh, St. Patrick's Day. What a split personality you have! I'm old enough now that I do not remember it being such a drunk fest, keg & eggs, kind of culture when I was younger. It was a day to wear all the green you had, go to Mass, eat funny foods, and be thankful that there are no snakes in Ireland. 

Green stone and Trinity knot earrings - present from Bratty Sister;
Crochet flower pin, by Edel MacBride, purchased in Oct, 2013 at Mourne Antiques in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal;
Celtic Cross necklace, a confirmation present (I only wear it on St. Patrick's Day for my Grandma Nash).

My family has a strange relationship with the day as well, which is that my dad's parents passed away on days very close to (or in the case of my grandma, ON) St. Patrick's Day. So for me, it's a bit melancholy. More so this year, than in recent years past.

I'm baaaaack. Finally.

I'm sticking with my solid D+ for 2014 so far, as February was of similar ilk to January, only one less death. But I have adjusted my brain that MARCH WILL BE NOTHING BUT AWESOMENESS. So far, I give it a C+. But I digress. 

Because I'm still a wee bit addled from this month*, going to begin a series called "My Lunches This Week" where every Sunday(-ish), I'll post what I'll be eating for lunch in the coming week.

So.......<drum roll please>........<fitting since the Oscars are tonight, eh?>..........

The award for Jen's Lunch This Week is........

Creamy Polenta with Tomato Ragout. 

Holy Hosting, Batman.

In the last two weeks of the year, the Chez will have hosted 4 gatherings. The smallest a group of 7, the largest a group of <approximately> 36. We love to host gatherings and house guests, and are really lucky to have a home large enough to accommodate both with relative ease. But wuf. 

To date, three gatherings have happened: two were potluck, which was super fun, and by virtue, fairly stress free. The one for my family's holiday gathering was the simplest of them all though. I have a smallish nuclear family, and with Mi Madre living out of state, it was the 5 Nashes + my brother-in-law (Spouse's lil bro), who was visiting from out West, and his sweetie, who arrived on Christmas Eve.

This year, keeping in mind food preferences, and my family, I went with a menu of two soups, a delicious artisan made bread loaf, and butter. 

For the meat eaters, our friend's fantastic Green Chile Chicken Noodle soup and for the vegetarians, a very easy Red Lentil soup, recommended by a friend at work. 

Spouse and his brother hit up the North Market on Christmas Eve Eve Day and bought a fabulous light sourdough loaf from Omega Artisan Baking that turned out to be perfect. Crusty (but not hard) on the outside, and wonderfully chewy and dense (but not too dense) on the inside. Held up super well to the soups, a great companion to the Kerrygold (unsalted) butter we had decided on, and poof, by the end of the dinner, was gone, baby, gone. 

I had previously made the Green Chile Chicken Noodle soup, as Reverend Al swears by it for when one feels icky, but had never made the Red Lentil. Both are simple and really flavorful, esp with hacks. And I have to say, quick to make. 

The Doctor *is* always right.

I have met an incredible number of dedicated, passionate students studying medicine in the last 7 years. One of my absolute favorites from The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Dr. HB, also had a master's degree in nutrition, so in addition to being an incredible doctor, she is also an amazing cook and baker. 

I remember the time she gifted me with homemade marshmallows. 

To this child of the 70's and 80's, marshmallows were the puffy, uber white creations you got in a plastic bag - more often than not for either hot cocoa (in the winter) or s'mores (in the summer). I naturally assumed there were 86 ingredients, 3 hours of time and a legion of baking utensils and such needed, and said so to Dr. HB at the time - marveling that she went to all that trouble. She said very matter-of-factly, is my recollection, that no, they were not really hard to make, and I should try it sometime. 

That was 2008, possible 2009. 

This being the year of 95% home-made & heart-felt gifts, I started pondering handmade prezzies, mainly for the aunts, uncles, and cousins on Spouse's side, as we'll see most everyone during the end of December. The ladies are not difficult, but as a fairly girlie girl, what could I make for the uncles to enjoy? Homemade marshmallows, because who doesn't love marshmallows? NOBODY, that's who.

Happy Accidents in Roasted Veg Lasagna.

Way back in July, when I first began this blog, in my first post even, I promised to post missteps, in addition to posting my successes - knowing eventually I would have a misstep. Guess what? 

I am in that contingent of folk who are gluten-sensitive, meaning I can eat gluten, but sparingly. I'm always experimenting with ways to cut the gluten out, but without making me feel like I'm missing something. 

With an over-abundance of squash and zucchini in this summer's market bag, I began to experiment with using the squash in recipes and one that has worked well, in a few iterations, is Roasted Veg Lasagna. 

Roasting veggies is basically the easiest thing on the planet. And the right combo of veg leads to a great pasta substitute. 

Here's some little brownies for your soul.

Bratty Sister was the first of us to get hitched, and due to hilarious connections with her hubby's family <back story to come>, and the fact that our family was also small, we have spent many a holiday co-celebrating with them. 

While every single one of their respective members are super lovely and delightful people, my sister's father-in-law is/was one of my favorite people. He was in a rock band with his buddies, called NOS (Not Otherwise Specified), loved The Big Lebowski so much his grand-kids call(ed) him Grandpa Dude, and was one of the most loving, authentic, alive people I've ever met. 

Unfortunately, cancer got him. Effin' cancer. 

Where I discover I am a baking genius.

Last week, in my workplace, something like 26 people moved to new cubes/office - including me. In the last six months, most of the building has moved, basically - at least three whole departments + one department moving to a different building and one department being blown up <ugh>. 

Today, we're having a little event called "The People in Your Neighborhood" so we can roam about, and figure out where everyone is living now. We were asked to bring in a dessert or dip to share. 

This weekend also happens to be the official 40th birthday party for Bratty Sister and I am making the desserts. Her brother-in-law (her Spouse's brother) is vegan + I know a number of people attending are gluten-free + I had some canned pumpkin that I thought would make a tasty dessert. Enter my gluten-free, vegan punkin' cookies. And where I discover I am a baking genius. <not really>

Side note: how in the heel <deliberate typo> am I old enough for Bratty Baby Sister to be 40? Egads. 

Us, circa 1977-ish

Back into the Groove.

The last few weeks have been a lovely return to our pre-trip groove, and while it might seem boring, it's honestly nice. The return to the groove has coincided with a flurry of house guests, which we love. So there is the practical side (gotta get the house mostly clean, change sheets, wash towels, etc.) and the zen part of cooking and baking. 

The trick with an extended trip is I didn't want to leave a lot in the frig or kitchen, since there wouldn't be a lot being eaten or made. And it bugs me to have food go bad. 

Then, since I like to eat fresh and whatnot, takes some time to get the larder back up. I have made some really yummy items which I'll be including soon: vegetable melange with polenta (aka using up all the random veggies in the frig); shrimp and veg spicy stir-fry; zucchini feta pie; squash/eggplant lasagna. And all just in time for casserole weather too! WOOT!

Also have some veggies at home that need roasting so I can keep up the experimentation .....but first:

Spinach and Feta Casserole with Brown Rice and Parmesan

(Makes 6-8 servings; recipe inspired by one found in The Big Book of Casseroles, with quite a few healthy changes by Kalyn.)

Never Allow My Sister To Be Unsupervised Near A Label Maker.

My sister, her spouse and some friends crashed at Chez Nash Humphrey one night while we were on The Very Special Adventure. All was completely well, but there was a small carton of whipping cream left in the frig upon our return (which is no big deal). I noticed though that she had added this small label to the carton, since I'd left my label maker on the end of the island counter, i.e. completely accessible. I am wondering where else in my house I may come upon labels on things......she's a mite predictable, that one.

Her friend, Amber, is not, in fact, a goober.

There was just enough whipping cream for me to put it to good use with further experimentation with Toffee Saltines. So thanks to our houseguests for the whipping cream - it was used!

Autumn, Part Deux

Color me weird (der) but there's something really therapeutic about squishing through gourd guts to get the yumminess that is the seeds. Well, eventually the roasted seeds. Right out of the gourd, they are kind of gross. 

Since I had to de-pulp the butternut squash to make my soup, I knew there would be a lot of seeds so it was an excellent excuse. Spouse and I are going on a Very Special Adventure soon and originally, I thought, the seeds will make an excellent snack on our Very Special Long Flight. But, well, they are almost gone. <The Best Laid Plans, etc. etc.>

After I had dealt with the squash/soup, I took the pulp and seeds and separated them as best as I could. The pulp is pretty sneaky though, so despite my best efforts, still some guts left on them. 

Next, I took my find mesh sieve and threw in a few tablespoons of seeds, etc. at a time and rinsed them well. The water helped rinse off the seeds and also dislodge any pulp holding on for dear life. After each batch felt relatively rinsed, I set them on paper towels to drain a little bit, until I had rinsed all of the seeds. 

While I finished the soup, I let them dry a bit, which also helped get the very last little bits of pulp from the seeds. I also moved them, on the paper towel, to a cooling rack, so they were elevated to help with the drying. 

Once they were dry, I took them off of the paper towels and moved them to a mixing bowl. I added a glop of olive oil and stirred them around. Just enough to coat all of them without extra pooling in the bottom of the bowl. 

On a recent sojourn to the North Market, I stopped and talked with my spice nerds at North Market Spices, who recommended a delightful blend of italian herbs with some kick. I thought they would be an excellent companion so threw in a pinch of the blend. I am totally blanking on the name (and not where I can check it out) but it's powerful enough that I really only sprinkled in a little, then did a quick taste to make sure it was good. And it was. The heat is a a slow burn but delightful. 

Once they seeds were all spiced up, and the oven was pre-heated to 350 degrees, I turned them onto a baking sheet and spread them around. You want to try and get them separated as much as possible. Seeds are not good in clumps, when roasting - but oiled and spiced, not as easy as it sounds because they'll stick to your fingers or a spoon, so just do your best. 

Pop the baking sheet in the oven for 10 minutes, stir, check to make sure they aren't burning and pop back in for 5 minutes. Keep doing that until you get your peak roasting. I find roasting seeds is a very personal choice. I like mine roasted but still sort of chewy, so 15 minutes in my crappy oven, seems to be just right. 

I ended up with enough to fill a recycled garlic jar. Technically enough for 2-3 snack sessions. I'm not saying that's how many snack sessions I got out of this batch, but theoretically speaking, were one to exercise more restraint and portion control. <cough, cough>

Do you have any favorite Autumnal treats?
Any short cuts or special seasonings you add, to enhance the flavor?

I.Love.Autumn.

I adore autumn. Between it and Spring is nano-points. Between it and winter is 10 points. Between it and summer is 50 points, unless the summer turns out to *not* be hazy, hot and hellish, then we'll say, just 20 points. 

Autumn features my favorite color palette: burnished reds, deep oranges, blazing golds, flashes of bright green (generally when and where you least expect it) and all fading into rusted reds, deep browns and golds that make you want to drown in them. 

Autumn is also the season when I married Spouse, first moved to The 'Shire, and have met many of my oldest and dearest friends. 

Autumn is also my favorite FOOD season. Being that apples seem to come to the height of crispness, gourds of all varieties are everywhere (PUMPKIN, WHAT?), and soups are in vogue yet again (I've never mastered being able to eat soup in summer. It's just not right.). 

It seems odd to me, since I've been writing so infrequently of late, to skip the latter portion of summer [one more beer fest, garden updates, etc.] but today I made butternut squash soup. It rained. Football dominated my television viewing. It was just really autumn......

Oh and Spouse & I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday but y'know, minor details. [It was awesome].

What's good for Gilgamesh, Pliny the Elder and Charlamagne is good enough for me.

I'm a woman of a certain age, which I can clarify by saying, at this point in my life, the list of fruits and veggies I do *not* like is a lot shorter than the list of fruits and veggies I *do* like. 

When I was a younger lass, I really didn't like cucumber much. The texture is strange, I find it difficult to describe the flavor using words and they are rather watery. 

But as a slightly older lass now, I appreciate all that it brings to the table with it's delicate and subtle flavors and freshness. 

And yet, I still run out of ideas when it comes to the bounty that is the many cylindrical presents in my farm bag shares and gifts from the delightfully verdant gardens of my friends & colleagues. 

So there is Tzatziki. 

Veggies, veggies and more veggies.

There is something to be said for a weekly market bag and bi-weekly veggie bin from local folks. Mainly that it takes a lot of time to process said veggies. Phew! The avenue of crazy veggie and fruit time has intersected with avenue of crazy work time and thus, Tired Jen is tired at the end of her day. 

Spouse has about had it with my stocking the freezer as at this point, to get to anything, requires an archaeological expedition and/or a degree in engineering so that you aren't avalanched by frozen cherries or corn. 

To not feel like a complete slacker, I'll post my new favorite method for fresh green beans. Found a recipe for garlic green beans, which I "hacked" by using olive oil instead of butter. I probably also added extra garlic because that's how I roll. 

It's a great and also a really, super, easy peasy way to process a bunch of green beans.