Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Twenty (Dinner Fare)

We did a 5 hour one way trip (with a quick overnight) with two travel weary children, a quiet Grandma, and car packed with luggage and Spelt Right bagels.

We journeyed to Bennington, Vermont in order to attend a celebration to top all others honoring our friends the Goodriches, who lost their son, Peter, in 9/11, and took this horrific event as an opportunity to change the world working toward peace. They are inspiring beyond words as they work to educate the world on the roots of misunderstanding and hatred and personally "adopt" children from Afghanistan in an effort to create a peaceful world. http://www.goodrichfoundation.org/ (If you are able, this organization is worth a donation. Real people! Real results!)

I am one of the lucky beneficiaries of the Goodriches' passion and compassion long before the tragic events of 9/11 revealed to the world Don and Sal's beauty and benevolence. They were my guardian angels who encouraged me to go to college and then to law school. With my own parents very unfamiliar with the college application process, Don and Sally guided me along as they drove me through New England, with their young sons Peter and Foster in tow, visiting college after college, until I landed at Bates, where Peter also eventually attended. Bates now is also a beneficiary of their good works.

Arrived home Sunday with no plan for dinner, an unthawed turkey, little ambition, and a hungry family. Although I was quite touched by the weekend, I was quite exhausted by the trip and dinner was not what I would have chosen as my first deed. But, the kids were hungry....

Thank goodness I learned how to sweat vegetables the other day.

Dinner: Brown rice (first sauteed the rice with garlic and EVOO and then added the water), eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms (sweated -see earlier post for details on "how to", and then topped with EVOO mixed with garlic and salt paste), potatoes diced into small cubes and roasted in oven with EVOO, salt and pepper, homemade yogurt from Live Well Cafe in Kennebunk, salad made with chopped tomatoes, a rinsed can of organic garbanzo beans, chopped parsley, mint (optiona;), fresh lemon, EVOO, salt and pepper to taste. Fried eggs.

Lots of EVOO today.

See picture for way to serve. It worked, family went to bed satisfied. My plans tomorrow? Grocery shopping. My creativity for near empty cupboards and fridge is waning.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day Eighteen (Eggplant, Zucchini, Goat Cheese, Tomato Triangles)

Tonight we created a complete feast with varieties of pizzettes and fitayas. Recipe for tonight: Eggplant, zucchini, mushroom, tomato, mozzarella, herbed goat cheese fitaya.

Well, I learned something new today. Sweating vegetables. A friend from England visited and showed me how to sweat eggplant, zucchini (known as Courgette in England), and mushrooms. (Thank you, Natalie, or Nellie as they say in some parts)

Directions for sweating vegetables: slice eggplant, zucchini, and mushroom (all separately), place in dry hot pan on stove top, brown on one side and on the other until soft, drizzle with olive oil (not too much), add garlic, salt, spices to taste. (Set aside)

Ingredients: Two Spelt Right pizza doughs, double in size (you know the drill, one egg plant, two small zucchinis, 5-6 mushrooms, goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes.

Sweat vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms), one type at a time. Set aside. Cut tomato into small chunks, set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 F

Divide dough, make 12-16 rounds, stretch or roll to 1/4 inch thick, place on lightly oiled baking pan. About 4-6 will fit on pan. Place veggies of choice (I recommend 1-3 varieties of sweated veggies plus a little bit of tomato for moisture) in center of dough, add desired cheese, make triangle with dough. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

All guests gave this a two thumbs up. Olivia wouldn't try it (she went for the plain pizza), Spencer liked it, especially the eggplant. Still my favorite are the pepper pies (earlier post).

Definitely for a dinner party, not lunch because needs to be reheated.