Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Sixty-Four (NE Clam Chowder and Spelt Right Flat Bread)

I should have learned 15 years ago that I am a semi-ok "at home" mom.   I remember when I first met my friend Christina from Yarmouth 15 years ago at the Yarmouth library.  We both had our 3 year olds in tow as we were participating in pre-school reading hour.   Both of us had this uneasy, not-so-cheery expressions on our faces.  Somehow, we didn't quite fit in with the other cheerful moms.  We made some introduction and "so are you from away?  do you work?  how old is your beautiful child?"  Well, it turns out, we both are "from away."  It doesn't matter if you have lived in Maine for 100 years, if you weren't born and raised here, you are "from away".   We both lived in Mass, NYC, NH, and now Maine.  How cool was that?  And, then came the part of work. "Well....I am taking a little break from my profession, I am a lawyer, but I moved, took the bar and decided to take a break to spend time with my daughter....but, I dunno, I feel like maybe I should go back to work."  Christina's response, "You, too?  I am also trying to take a break from work, but I think I need a break from home."   Needless to say, we both eventually went back to the balancing act and have raised some pretty nice kids.

Fast forward 15 years.  Emma is off to college.  Billy too (the other three year old in the story).   I have an 8 year old (Christina chose not to have the third child).  So, I decided maybe this summer would be a good time to take off a little time (let others help with the bakery), stay home with the eight year old, do "fun stuff".   Well, umm, I realize "fun stuff" can be more easily found at summer camp rather than home where mom is pretending not to work, but where it just keeps sneaking in.   Is it me or is it the work?  We all know, it is me.

After a full day of camp searching with some work thrown in, we finally did some "fun stuff".  We headed down to the beach around 6:30 p.m., tossed a frisbee, played in the pleasantly not so cold Maine waters and didn't get home until 8:30pm.   And realized upon entering the house that we had no dinner.   Thank goodness for the cod in the freezer and the Spelt Right pizza dough thawing in the fridge.

Recipe - New England Clam Chowder
1 1b cod fish or haddock (fresh or frozen)
3 potatoes
1 onion
4-5 carrots
2 cloves of garlic
2-4 TBL extra virgin olive oil
16 ounces frozen organic corn
1 cup of water
4-6 cups of milk (more or less)
2TBL vita spelt flour
4TBL butter
salt, pepper, dried basil, dried tarragon to taste

Finely chop onions and garlic place in large stainless pot on stove top on medium heat with 2-3 TBL of olive oil.  Saute until brown.  Add chopped carrots and potatoes.   Keep sauteing.  Add cubes of fish.  Continue to saute.   Add about a cup of water.  Continue to cook.  As vegetables start to soften, add milk.   Continue to cook.   Add salt, pepper basil and tarragon to taste.   Make a rue in a separate pan with flour and butter (in a separate pan melt butter and flour together, mix to make a paste).  Add rue to mix to thicken.   Add corn all at once.   Continue to cook until done.

Quickly make Spelt Right pita bread or flat bread.  See recipe from Spelt Right pita dough directions Lunch Box Chronicle Day Thirty-Four (Note you can also make these in a 450 oven if you don't want to fire up the grill)

Serve to kids at 10pm in front of one of our favorite movies - "Horton Hears A Who"    Fall asleep on the couch.  Wake up when dad arrives home after an extra long day at work.  Go to sleep satisfied that I still have the ability in me to do some "fun stuff".

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifty-Seven (Reunion Fare-Peach Mango Fitayers)

What a week!  This was graduation week for Scarborough High School, event after event after event all starting at 7pm.  And, then there was that minor detail of Beth's college reunion, and speech to be given on Saturday, and Emma's actual graduation on Sunday.  And, the Farmer's Market we missed AGAIN, but we just couldn't swing it.  There truly are not enough hours in the day.

But, one of my all time favorite people in the world, college roommate, confidant, cheerleader, lifetime friend, and my conscious (do I hear Jiminy Cricket?) Sue P., showed up to join me for reunion.   The family was out and we got to sit down to a rare quiet dinner san food fights, kids clamoring for attention, or glasses of milk being spilled.  It was simply divine!

Dinner:  Lime marinaded chicken, (for recipe, see Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifty Four) Jasmine rice, salad with homemade balsamic vinegar dressing (for recipe, see Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifty-One (Balsamic EVOO dressing) and Fitayers stuffed with Mango and Peaches for dessert (recipe below).

Recipe for Mango and Peach Fitayer:
One Spelt Right Pizza Dough - fully thawed in risen.
One bag frozen peaches (we used Whole Foods 365 brand)
One bag frozen mango (we used Whole Foods 365 brand)
VITA spelt flour
Organic sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 F.   Cut dough into 8 rounds.  Roll so that dough is even.    Mix chunks of fruit with sugar (be generous with the sugar) and a dusting of flour.   Place fruit in center of dough and make triangles.   Bake until brown.  The consensus from all (the peanut gallery did show up for a tasting and comments after the moms enjoyed their quiet dinner) was that the recipe needed MORE SUGAR.

And, the above was our kid-less dinner, cloth napkins, red wine, and all.  (Too bad Tim wasn't around to take the pictures....he does a better job, but if Tim had been there, so would have the kids.....I'll take the washed out photos!)