Showing posts with label walnuts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label walnuts. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Lunch Box Chronicles (Day One-Hundred Eighty)(Spelt Right Toast, Chevre, Pomegranates, Oh My!)


Well, I officially went the entire summer without a blog post.  Life sometimes is THAT busy.  Well, here is an easy and incredibly delicious appetizer for those of you who love good food but are busy, busy, busy.

Thanks to Olivia's burgeoning talent as a photographer and overall mega social networker, as well as a tough food critic, I have a great picture and an honest, critical review of this new recipe.  "Yumm"

Spelt Right toast with goat cheese, pomegranate molasses, and chopped walnuts.

Easy! Easy!

Toast up some Spelt Right bread.  Smear with your favorite chevre (either plain or herbed), top with chopped walnuts, and drizzle with pomegranate molasses.  Enjoy!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Ninety-Four (Enjoying the Last of Summer Bliss - Homegrown Basil, Walnut Pesto on Spelt Right Pizza Dough)

End of the summer bliss, on to too much homework!
School is upon us along with so many other obligations and distractions that this every day blog is becoming more like a once a week blog.

But we are still here.  Still talking about healthful and tasty foods for your kids.  Still sharing our recipes, albeit at a slower pace as the pace around this house kicks in to high gear.

Just to pose a question out there to other parents, do you think your kids are getting too much homework?  Spencer still is befuddled by the idea of being in school for 8 hours and then having 2 to 3 hours of homework piled on after school.  When is there time for a kid to be a kid?   I tend to agree with my kid.  Enough is enough.

For our end of the summer treat, we picked the remaining basil from the garden and made a pesto with walnuts, evoo, garlic, sea salt, and grated parmesan cheese.    We placed the wonderful pesto on Spelt Right pizza dough, along with slices of garden tomatoes, and a bit of grated mozzarella, and baked at 450 for about 10 minutes.   The result was a yum, and a longing for the summer that is soon to be fall.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Forty-Eight (Cranberries, Apples, Walnuts, Oh My! And, TOTALLY VEGAN)


Today we had a nice surprise with a visit from our friend Ana and her daughter Sophia.   Anna, Sophia, Anna's mom, and a friend from Sweden all visited the bakery while Tim, the kids and I endeavored to a get jump start on a busy week.  Lucky for Olivia, Anna brought her to the beach for the day while the rest of us toiled away.  I have to say both Emma and Spencer were incredibly helpful, though Tim reminded me I might have been a bit too grumpy with them.

After several hours, Anna brought the beach weary children back to our house and we had a feast of various pizzas and fitayers.   We made enough for a few days of posts.

We start with dessert first.   I was searching around in the depths of the fridge, freezer, and pantry for something interesting.  What emerged seemed promising.

Ingredients: 
1 Spelt Right Pizza Dough, thawed and fully risen
1 and 1/2 cups frozen cranberries
1 and 1/2 cups walnuts
5 Tablespoons Fig Paste (I love fig paste!)
1 apple chopped in several pieces

Directions:
Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until chopped, but not mushy.   Cut pizza dough into 12 even dough balls.   Stretch out dough in even rounds.   Place a heaping amount (2 TBLs? at least) of mix on dough.  Form triangles.   Bake at 400-450 F degrees until lightly brown.


Result:  YUMM.  Two thumbs up.  Both Anna and I thought the flavors and texture were reminiscent of haroset served at Passover (absent the bread of course).

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Lunch Box Chronicles Day Thirty: Vegetarian Day 3:Lentils Lentils Lentils


I am obsessed with food, recipes to be exact. I used to drive around, thinking about national and world events, thinking perhaps who might be the next Supreme Court Justice (Kagan, who?). I even asserted my views to our lovely Senators. I might as well have been saying "waa, waaa, waaa, waa, waa." Then there was the law practice. On my way to court, I was formulating every constitutional argument I could muster. "Your honor, I respectfully submit that my client's 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendment Rights were violated." And, in fact, they had been. Ultimately, I might just say, "and in the interest of fairness and justice." "waa, waa, waaa, waa"

Now, instead of wrestling with constitutional arguments, I think about such things as "Oooh, I wonder how cooked lentils, walnuts, and onions would be blended together?" "MMM, that might be a good combination, but needs something more."

Where have I gone? I have gone home. I am in my comfort zone (except when I am negotiating with supermarket chains and large distributors for my budding business). I love feeding my kids and my husband, and feeding them well.

This is so tangible, so accessible, so real. Yes, I care about the Supreme Court nominees and some poor individual who has been unfairly treated, but the reality is that I have little control over those worlds.

So here I am controlling every slice, chop, mix, and blend. And in my control today, a recipe formulated on one of those car rides....quite inexact (I apologize) , but quite good.

Ingredients: One Spelt Right Pizza Dough fully thawed and risen. Lentils, walnuts, onions, spinach (I used frozen), one red pepper, 1 cup brown rice, fresh garlic, salt and pepper to taste. A smidge of EVOO just for browning the rice and the lentils:

Instructions: Prepare rice according to bag (I saute the rice first in a little EVOO with garlic and then add the water). Prepare lentils according to bag (you want these to be slightly firm, but fully cooked). Put 1/2 onion in food processor, add about 1 cup walnuts (inexact), add some rice (this is where the precision falls apart), add a cut up red pepper, add some brown rice, add in a few garlic gloves, the spinach (it should be damp), salt and pepper. Blend all together. YUMMM. This stuff is UGLY, but tastes so good.

We ate this two ways: One, we added a few bread crumbs made from Spelt Right bagels, and made paddies and cooked them up on the stove top with a little EVOO. The other is to take the mixture and make a fitaya. Bake at 400 until golden brown. (Check out the photos)

COMPLETELY VEGAN, fully satisfying. Better than last night's meal,

And, if I were the judge, I would say "Attorney George, you have made your case."
And my kids, they just say, "hey this isn't that bad."

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Twenty-Three (Fig and Walnut Mini Triangles)


Today was a busy one. Drove Emma to NH to find the prom dress of her dreams, and thanks to the dress and tuxedo shop OCCASIONS in Portsmouth, NH www.occasionsbridalandtuxedo.com, Emma spotted the perfect dress. Remember the word spotted...as tomorrow you will get a glimpse of this dress that is far too Emma for words. Rushed back to Maine to get O off the bus and deal with a semi-functioning washing machine. Visited a great little sidewalk art sale thanks to Kendra and the kids, and then headed off to my womens' discussion group...(this is a first for me). Somewhere in there, Tim got home and fed the kids dinner.

Needless to say, I had no time to make a lunchbox fitaya tonight so I will provide you with a recipe I made a few weeks back. Only three ingredients: One Spelt Right Pizza Dough fully thawed, double in size, 5 TBL Fig Jam (I used Cortas from Beruit, Lebanon), 1/4 to 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts. Mix jam and walnuts together to make a paste, set aside. Split dough into 12 even balls. Stretch or roll to about 1/4 inch thick, place on lightly greased baking pan. Place a dollop of the fig/walnut paste in center, make triangles, bake at 400 for 8-12 minutes until lightly brown. These are really yummy, but are more for an adult palette. (Note, the photo contains a picture of fig/walnut fitaya and some unidentified fitaya I made a few weeks ago)

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Sixteen (Walnut, Red Pepper Pies)



Before I post this recipe, I have to mention what a topsy turvy day this has been. > met some great people who have been very helpful along the way. Today has restored my faith in people - or at least some people. I will be posting some of my recommendations for doctors, engineers, bankers, etc., when I get through all of this....Will keep you posted. Will tell only the good, not the bad or the ugly.

As for the recipe, this is GOOD. An old time favorite. VERY VEGAN, except has a surprisingly meaty taste! and I believe Kosher too, PS, check out the article in today's Portland Press Herald on Kosher food, spelt right baked goods are mentioned as one of the few products http://www.pressherald.com/life/foodanddining/kosher-certification-can-open-up-new-markets_2010-04-28.html?searchterm=kosher

THERE IS AN ARABIC NAME for these, but I never learned it, so if anyone out there knows, please let us know. I call them Walnut, Red Pepper Pies.

Two Spelt Right Pizza Doughs, fully thawed, double in size (we'll give you a picture this time)
Two cups walnuts (measure and then chop finely)
Two medium red peppers
One onion finely chopped
Juice from two whole lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Mix all ingredients (except dough) in medium bowl
Cut 12-16 even dough balls (from two doughs)
Stretch or roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick (more or less) rounds, place on oiled baking sheet
Place about 2 TBL of pepper, walnut mixture on rounds
Bake at 40-450 for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown.

These are great hot or cold for breakfast, snacks, lunch, dinner, or after dinner. Yum, yum, and yum. Always a two thumbs up.