Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Sixty-Six (You've Got to Try Spelt Right Dough Grilled - The possibilities are endless!!) (VEGETARIAN!!! with the potential to be vegan)

Tonight's dinner was fun.  Tim and I were busy doing business stuff (what's new).  Spencer (almost 13) came upstairs and asked what he could do to help.  "Start slicing the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, and other veggies for grilling, wouldja. And marinate them in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper"  "OK, mom"   How cool is that having your 13 year old start dinner?  Then Emma (18) showed up with her two friends Emily and Shannon (Wow, unexpected playmates for Olivia (age 8)).  We somehow got all of the kids, guests included, involved in making dinner.   And, we gained a new hand model too (thanks, Emily, we dig the black nail polish).
Menu:  Gourmet Sandwiches made with grilled vegetables, goat cheese, baby spinach, hummus (thank you Emma)-recipe for another day, on grilled bread made with Spelt Right dough (thank you Charlie at Portland Whole Foods for explaining how this is made with our wonderful dough). Salad from the garden with homemade balsamic olive oil dressing.Check out Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Fifty-One for Salad Dressing Recipe

We are so psyched to have discovered a new way to use Spelt Right dough.....ohhh, the possibilities!

Ingredients:
1 Eggplant - sliced in rounds
1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash - sliced in lengths
1 -2 onion cut in quarters
1 large red pepper - sliced in rounds
3-4 TBL extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon (optional)
2-3 gloves of fresh garlic mashed with about 1 teaspoon salt in mortar and pestle
pepper to taste
1-2 Spelt Right Pizza Doughs (each dough cut in fours, made into rounds about 1/4-1/2 inch thick (not rolled out like pizza dough).  Let rise again.  Place on grill, both sides until done.  May need to finish bake in the toaster over.
Marinate all vegetables in olive oil mixture.  Place on grill until done.  Make sandwich with herb goat cheese, vegetables, hummus (I put this on the side).   Enjoy!!!

The kids loved the food.  Emily was psyched because she became vegetarian after seeing Food, Inc.  Shannon was not even hungry after just having dinner at home, but we convinced her to indulge in a half of sandwich.  Our kids, perfectly happy and satisfied.  Parents....relaxed.   The evening and dinner?  Two Thumbs up.

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 Chronicle Day Thirty-Three Perfect Pleasant St. Pizza!!! (Vegetarian Day 6):Guest Chronicler Elaine

This is the BEST recipe EVER, compliments of my sister Elaine (Warning!! It is very rich and I would recommend having just one piece, though you might be tempted, like I did, to have three)

1 pkg of spelt right dough fully thawed and doubled in size

Lightly olive oil a large cookie sheet

Spread dough out on cookie sheet - very thin (see picture)

Place in pre heated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes to pre-cook the crust (Elaine likes crusty crust)

While it's pre-baking slice up 4 large tomatoes (back yard beauties)

Slice 6 portabella mushrooms

Slice 6 white button mushrooms

Slice one large white organic onion

In a large frying pan caramelize onions, then add mushrooms

Wilt 5 0z of fresh organic spinach by placing it in the microwave for 1 minute

Throw the spinach in with the caramelized vegetables granulated garlic and sea salt

After removing the pre-cooked crust from the oven lie the sliced tomato's down so they cover the crust

Sprinkle the caramelized vegetables on top of the tomatoes

Then add 6 oz of crumbled feta

Then add 6 oz of crumbled goat cheese

Sprinkle Romano cheese on top

Then add 8 oz of Cabot mozzarella cheese on top

Pre heated oven to 500 degrees

Cook for 10-15 minutes!

Let sit for five minutes before serving!

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Thirty-Two (Cinnamon rolls) Vegetarian Day 5

Thank you Emma and Nate for being the thumb models!

Here's is an easy recipe sure to please those with a sweet tooth. Do I hear Olivia?

Ingredients: One Spelt Right Pizza Dough (fully thawed and risen in bag), organic cane sugar, organic Ceylon cinnamon (amazing type of cinnamon, but you can use any type), butter or natural vegetable oil.

Cut dough into 6 even balls. Roll each ball really really thin on corn meal or floured board. Lightly spread with melted butter or vegetable oil (if you want to go vegan), sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mix. Roll tightly. Place on baking pan with edges (butter or oil will drip).

Bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes or until looks ready. Let cool slightly. Cut into pieces. I tried to get a picture of these, but the kids ate them too quickly. Here's a photo of the empty plate!

http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html

BTW, cinnamon is an amazing food. Eat as much as you can! TIDBIT FOR TODAY: Cinnamon has many health benefits. One quality is as an anti-bacterial...that's why cinnamon is swirled in bread and bagels and not mixed in. It will counter-act the yeast!

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Twenty-Eight (ok this it, we are going to try to go VEGAN for the next 7 recipes)

I have heard much from our readers and have read so much about the benefits of a vegetarian diet (if done right) and I have never taken the time to make it really work for my family. The next seven days are going to be vegan recipes - no eggs, no milk, no meat, no processed sugar. I received a vegetarian cookbook for Mother's Day and just looked at the Vegetarian Times website which provides a primer for becoming vegetarian. Let's see how it goes! http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2007/pdf/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf Recipe will be posted later today. I will be going to the So.Me.Vegan blog for ideas. Here we go!

Oh my goodness, I am arguing with myself! I'm just NOT ready to go vegan. I'll do lacto ovo vegetarian, meaning I will make recipes with eggs and cheese, but no meat.

OK, that has taken some of the stress out of it....I can now look at the chevre without too much guilt. Give me a few months, I might ease my way to veganism.....

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Five (Black Bean and Mango Spelt Stuffer)

Black Bean & Mango Spelt Stuffer

Dad and our two youngest, 12 and 8, made this new version of the classic fitayer (see earlier posts). We took a poll over breakfast and decided to go with a vegetarian Latin theme today. So, after a day of errands and exercise, we got down to work.

Starting with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil, we sauteed some garlic and finely chopped onions with salt and pepper. Then, we added some rinsed organic black beans, sauteed a bit more and put aside. We made six balls out of our thawed spelt pizza dough. After flattening into round disc-shaped circles, we put some beans on each, chopped chunks of Australian cheddar cheese, and a few small slivers of mango. For good measure, we put a dollop of Salpica all-natural cilantro green olive salsa. Yum! Getting everything satueed, cut and opened ahead of time made the preparation really quick. Be careful not to overfill (it's tempting) because you won't be able to make your triangle folds. We also found that the warm beans made the dough really soft and a little harder to handle.

Kids gave it a rousing two thumbs up!