Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Sixteen (Saturday Night Boredom Fever)

The snow is unending this winter.  I can't believe I complained about the hot weather this summer....if only I could turn back the clock!

Venturing outside, unless you are a polar bear, simply isn't fun.  The kids have been going a little stir crazy so we have been trying to entertain them.  Unfortunately, the cheap craft from Target didn't work ..... and a ride to LLBean can take you only so far....and t.v. is getting boring....

The kids were mulling over some ideas...."What can we DO???? We are SOOOO Bored!!"  Well, I wasn't feeling particularly creative as I have been in the throws of planning my whirlwind trip to NYC, praying that there will not be flight delays.

I have been promising my friend Frank that I would make him fitayers, but have broken my many promises to ship some, so I said I would make them for the trip.  The problem is that it is Sunday night,  the trip is Monday morning, and there not a fitayer was in sight.  I decided to get to work. 

As I started to prep for the culinary quest, Spencer and Olivia both chimed in "Can we help?"  Wow, I thought, how awesome is that?  I've trained these kids right.  They think cooking is fun!  The 8 year old Olivia got to work chopping onions with only a tear or two shed, and Spencer de-stemmed and chopped the spinach.  Olivia then went to work on squeezing the fresh lemons and Spencer to crushing the fresh garlic.

Not sure if it was the good will and love flowing through the preparation, but we made the best tasting fitayers yet.  Tim's response, "Wow, these are so light and tasty."

Recipes: Spinach, Onion, and Feta Cheese Fitayers and Grass Fed Beef, Onion, and Mint Fitayers.

Ingredients for Spinach Fitayers: One Fully Thawed and Risen (in bag) Spelt Right Pizza Dough, one package fresh spinach, one onion, 2 large lemons, 2-4 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1-2 TBL dried mint, salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients for Beef Fitayers: One Fully Thawed and Risen Spelt Right Pizza Dough, one pound grass fed ground beef from Cold Spring Ranch one onion, 3-4 cloves garlic, 2-3 TBL extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 TBL dried mint, salt and pepper to taste.

If you don't have an 8 year old and a 13 year old on hand to help, you will need to do the following:

SPINACH FITAYERS:  rinse, spin, de-stem, and chop spinach, chop onions very finely, place in bowl with squeezed lemon, olive oil, and spices, toss together.  Shape 8-10 rounds on lightly oiled stainless steel baking pan (preferably with edges), place dollop of spinach mix in center, add crumbled feta cheese if desired, shape into triangles.  Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until bottoms are golden brown.

GROUND BEEF FITAYERS: chop onions and garlic finely, saute in EVOO over medium heat until onions are soft, add ground beef, add spices to taste (the mint adds a really nice flavor).  Cook until meat is done.  Set aside.  Shape 8-10 rounds on lightly oiled stainless steel baking pan (preferably with edges), place dollop of meat in center, shape into triangles.  Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes until bottoms are golden brown.

I'm not sure why these tasted extra special, but I think it had to do with the extra special help I received in preparing them.

Try cooking with your kids....it's more rewarding than you might think, and it provides lessons that they will be able to use for a life time.

bil-hanā' wa ash-shifā' (Bon Appetit!)

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifteen (Spinach, Egg, Cheese Fitayas)

Spinach, Egg and Cheese Stuffers.

Olivia was very skeptical about this offering, but after taking a bite she said "they taste better than they look" Olivia gave it a one thumb up and one thumb sideways, Spencer two thumbs up, Dad's quote "superb". My sense, good but not my favorite...could have to do with the lousy day I had dealing with federal bureaucracy.

Ingredients: One to two Spelt Right pizza doughs, fully thawed and risen. Check earlier blogs for pictures, 4-5 eggs, 1/8-1/4 cup of milk, 1/2 onion finely chopped, 1-2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or sliced, 1 package frozen chopped spinach, cheese of your choice (we used grated cheddar and chunks of mozzarella goat cheese), salt and pepper to taste.

Directions: In a bowl beat eggs and milk, set aside. In pan, saute onions and garlic on stove top with about 1-2 TBL olive oil, add spinach, continue to saute, once thawed, add in egg and milk mixture, mix until starts to solidify, add cheeses, continue to toss at low heat. Salt and pepper to taste.

Make 6 good size rounds per pizza dough. Stretch or roll out pizza dough to about 1/4 inch thick on a lightly oiled baking sheet, add a dollop of spinach mixture. Make triangle. Repeat until all doughs are filled.

Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes or until light brown. Contains dark green leafy vegetables, cheese, and spelt bread. For more protein and greens, make a salad topped with beans on the side. Vegetarian, but not vegan.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Three (Spinach Fitayas with Spelt Right dough)

HERE IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE RECIPES that I've posted before. It always gets two thumbs up from everyone, but they are best reheated either microwaved or toasted (my preference).

Arabic spinach pies (fatayer)
(Makes ten 5- inch triangle fatayer-perfect for meals or parties)

Ingredients:
· 2 one-pound Spelt Right pizza doughs - let thaw in fridge and then double in size on the counter (keep in plastic bag). If you are in New England, you can find Spelt Right pizza dough in select Whole Foods or independent health food stores. If you can't find Spelt Right dough in your local store, ask them for it or substitute another dough (boo hoo!)
· 10 ounces fresh spinach (a typical bag) (rinsed, de-stemmed, and chopped finely)
· One medium onion (chopped finely)
· Juice from 2 whole lemons
· ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
· ½ teaspoon of salt
· ¼ teaspoon of pepper
· Feta or other cheese (optional)
· Pine nuts (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.

Mix the chopped spinach, chopped onions, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside.

· Cut 5 even sized dough balls for each one pound dough ball for a total of 10 dough balls. You can make 6 per ball if you like.
· Stretch or roll the dough to about a ¼ inch thick (more or less) rounds and place on oiled pan.
· Place about 2 tablespoons of spinach onion mix in the center of a five-inch round
· Fold the three sides of the dough over the spinach to form a triangle. Secure the dough by overlapping the dough when forming the triangle and pinching each side together.
· Bake in 450 - 475 oven for about 20 minutes. They are done when the dough becomes slightly golden.
· As a variation, you can add a dollop of cheese and a few pine nuts on the spinach before making the triangle
· ENJOY!

(These freeze well)