Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifty-Eight (Tuna Salad on Grilled Spelt Bread - Whole Foods Style)

Thank you Whole Foods, Portland (Maine, that is)!   I was on my way home but decided to take a quick detour to Whole Foods.  There was something wildly magnetic pulling me there.  Perhaps, my credit card?

I was getting some sliced turkey and the woman helping me asked me if I had a sister in Seattle.  "Nope, I said, but I betcha she is Lebanese."  There is a strong ethnic resemblance among many of us - relative or not.  Her co-worker then began assisting me and I said, "So, do I look like someone you know too?"  "Nope," he said, "but you do look familiar.  Do you work here?"  I explained that I am around a lot because I am "THE SPELT LADY".  "Ohhhh, the Spelt Lady?"  Well, he said, "I've got something to show you.  Check out these great sandwiches that we make with your Spelt Right pizza dough.  We take balls of the dough and grill them and make these great sandwiches."   The spelt sandwich of the day was tuna salad, baby spinach and tomato.  

Despite not needing dinner (Spencer was working on some tofu creation at home), I bought one for a photo op.  Glad I did.   One word?  Delicious!  One piece of advice?  Head out to Whole Foods - Portland, Maine and get yourself a sandwich made with grilled SPELT dough.  Second piece of advice?  Just buy a Spelt Right dough and try it at home - you might need a panini maker.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Forty-One (Guest Chronicler: Jim F.)

Thank goodness for Guest Chroniclers, and one of my all time favorite vendors, Jim at PackEdge! This looks like a great recipe, but I haven't tried it. Look how nice that dough shines brushed with egg white.

My feet, though, have seen better days. They are complaining after a weekend of demos West Hartford and Glastonbury CT. Even, Emma, my star athlete and new demo recruit is complaining of sore feet. Those little toes are tingling!

And, this is where my feet thank today's Guest Chronicler, Jim, because now all I need to do is sit and type, rather than stand and create (or blaab, if I were at a demo).

Ingredients:
One Spelt Right Pizza Dough, thawed and fully risen
Pre-cooked chicken (either from Hannaford or Whole Foods)
Mayo
Dill
Red peppers
Cheddar cheese - (I like Cabot)

Divide the dough in
Rolled in Spelt Right Pizza Dough and brushed with egg white
Bake 20 min. @ 400F

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Forty (Double crust stuffed pizza)

This chronicle is by Tim, as Beth and Emma were in Connecticut all weekend doing 'training' demos so Emma can prepare for her summer job.

"Piano recitals today. The kids did a great job. We thought about going out to eat afterward to celebrate, but we had this dough exploding in the refrigerator. So we came home and put together a simple stuffed-crust pizza "pie" with two crusts.

We rolled out 1/2 the dough and put a ring of mozzarella cheese around the edge. Folded the dough over to cover the ring of cheese, creating a "stuffed crust" with a good high ridge. Spread a light coating of sauce on the bottom of the pizza, added chunks of mozzarella (could use shredded) and went with what we had around the kitchen: broccoli (lightly sauteed in olive oil and garlic), raw mushrooms, and Parmesan cheese. Could've added much more if we had planned ahead! We added a few dollops of sauce for good measure and put the pizza aside.


Then we rolled out the other 1/2 of the dough really thin and placed it over the top of the pizza, creating a pie. Just like an apple pie, we cut some slits in the top.

We slid the creation into a hot 390 degree oven onto a pizza stone and baked for about 25 minutes. We probably didn't wait long enough for it to cool, so it oozed a bit when cut. Maybe a little more cheese and less sauce would have been good. Didn't bother the kids - they gobbled the whole thing in minutes.
Yum."

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Thirty-Five (Vegan Spiced Turnip Wraps)

This recipe was pieced together from a handful of random recipes by Tim. It has a pretty distinctive Indian/African flavor and it is a little more involved than most of our recipes, but it's not really that hard. It needs a little work on the flavors (I think I overdid the turmeric) and I'll bet someone would have a suggestion on how to give it just the right twist to be really delicious.

I made this for my kids as a kind of thick stew over rice and used the leftovers (no rice) in the spelt wraps.

Ingredients:
3 small turnips, cut into small cubes
3 medium leeks, use the white part, cut into small rounds
3 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
1 small eggplant, cut into small cubes
1 medium onion
1 tsp ginger root, minced
1 can chickpeas (rinsed) - I didn't have time to soak dried beans
4 - 5 cups, vegetable broth
1 Tbs ground cardamom
1 Tbs ground coriander
1 Tbs ground allspice
1 Tbs ground cloves
1 Tbs fenugreek
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs cinnamon
1 Tbs black pepper
1 Tsp cayenne
1 Tbs sea salt
1/2 cup plain soy milk

Notes: I took all the peels from the vegetables and added to about 5 cups of water and boiled to make the vegetable broth. Pretty good!

Also, I didn't have all these spices, so I just picked up small amounts at the bulk section of our local natural foods store. Looks like alot, but it was pretty easy. Just blend them together in a small bowl with the salt and pepper.

How to prepare: Sautee the onions in olive oil until golden brown. Added ginger root and the spice mix. Then throw in all the other ingredients, except the soy milk. Cook for about 30 minutes on a medium heat - you want the turnips to cook all the way through. I had to add a little bit more veggy stock to keep it from drying out. Once everything is tender, take out about half the mixture and blend in a food processor. Throw it back in the pan with the soy milk.

This makes quite a bit, so have this as a meal with a spelt pita bread (see last post) or try it in a spelt pouch.

Stay tuned for a special treat from Emma and Adam, coming up soon!

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Twelve (Spelt Right Pita Rounds and Mediterranean Salad)

Pita Rounds (with a Mediterranean Salad)

The spelt pita is a great way to add something special to a meal or to use as a "pocket" for a cold sandwich.

Take one package of Spelt Right pizza dough. Let double in size in the bag. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Make 6-7 rounds, roll to 1/8 to 1/4 inch on board with finely ground corn meal (to keep it from sticking). Slide onto lightly oiled pan.

Bake until puffed and lightly browned! Here's how it looks through the oven window:

The beginning

Starting to puff

Puffed!


We made a Mediterranean Salad to go with the bread. This would be good in a small container in a lunch box or as a refreshing summer side salad. Yum!

Mediterranean Salad Recipe
Chop 3 small cucumbers, 2 fresh tomatoes (we used Backyard Farms), 1/4 c. Calamata olives. Combine.
Add juice from 2 fresh lemons, 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, salt & pepper to taste. Mix. Eat it up!

Mediterranean Salad with Spelt Pita

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)