Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred And Fourteen (The Healing Power of Food)

This mass of hand made food was my response to feeling helpless.   A good friend of mine recently was injured pretty badly.  I wanted to have the power to heal her.  To make the boo boo go away.  To stop the pain.  To start all over again.   But, I don't have that power.  All I have are my words of sympathy and support.  And, my ability to cook and cook and cook.   So, that's what I did.   I cooked, and baked.  I made fillings, all sorts, from vegan to ground beef from to sweet to savory, and I rolled and stuffed them in my favorite Spelt Right dough.

My sense of needing to do something rubbed off a bit on Spencer, who made the lovely round shaped rolls, which are a variation of garlic bread.  He combined crush fresh garlic, Kosher salt, and extra virgin olive oil, and rolled them in the dough.  They were delicious.

My mother looked at the feast and asked if we were having a throng of guests.  "No," I said, "Just making some food for the family and a friend or two."

I brought over the fixins' the next day to my friend and her family.   While the food did not heal the breaks or bruises, I hope they were filled with just the right amount of love to make the pain go away, at least for the moment of the first taste.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred and Thirteen (Upside Down Shepard's Pie)

It's great when you can ask your 13 year old to make dinner, give him a few instructions, and then come home to an almost perfect dinner....a little upside down.  Spencer took his hand at making Shepard's Pie.   As what we now understand as a visual spatial learner (one who needs to see the whole picture), Spencer requested that I just tell him what I would like him to make, and then give him the instructions.  I started with the instructions first, "now chop the onions first"....and he quickly informed me that it was like telling him to identify an animal by taking out one of its organs.  OK, then...here it is.  "We are making Shepard's Pie, that is sauteed beef, frozen corn, and mashed potatoes made in a total of three layers then baked."  "OK," he insisted, "I can do it."  I did write down the order....meat, corn, potatoes.

After Tim and I left the house to do a few errands, Spencer started on his handiwork (with 85 year old Grandma in the background....just in case....)

Spencer first peeled and cut up about 4-5 potatoes and put in a pot to boil.  He then chopped an onion and crushed a few cloves of garlic with salt and pepper, sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, and then added a pound of ground beef (we like to use local grass fed when we can get it), along with spices to taste.  After the potatoes were soft, he drained the water and mashed them with real butter, milk, salt and pepper.

Here is where reading directions from Mom might have helped.  He then put the meat in a long casserole dish, covered it with potatoes, and then added the corn.  Baked at 350 until everything was hot.

It was delicious - great simple flavors - but a little upside down.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred and Twelve (Homemade Spelt Pasta)

Spencer and I were two lucky folks last week to come home to some homemade spelt pasta made by Tim, Grandma Helen, and Olivia. Made with Vita Spelt flour, eggs, water, salt, and Grandma Joan's hand cranked pasta maker which is at least 50 years old.  Here are some photos.  Recipe and instructions to follow.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred and Eleven (Egg and Cheese Fitayers with Spelt Right Pizza Dough)

Our camera is on the blitz so we are resorting to Blackberry photos for this blog.  Please bear with us.  At some point, a quality camera will appear - perhaps a gift from heaven??

In any event, this morning, the family seemed a bit at a loss for breakfast ideas.  I was slow to get out of bed, not really liking to face the cold (which is not good thing if you live in Maine in the winter), and as I dragged myself down the stairs, I heard the familiar mantra...."Maaaaummmm, I'm hungry!"  Soon, it seemed like there was a chorus singing those words even though there were no more than two kids in the house.

"Quick," I said to Spencer "Get out the eggs, milk, Cabot cheddar, salt, pepper, dried dill, and Spelt Right Pizza Dough."  The kid knows the drill, is pretty quick on his feet, and went right to work.  Spencer mixed the eggs, milk, salt, pepper, and dill in bowl, while I cut and shaped the pizza dough(which had been thawing in the fridge for a few days) into eight equal rounds.  In a matter of no time, we had all of the fixins' ready to make egg and cheese fitayars.

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400-450.  Prepare scrambled eggs how you like them prepared.  We mixed eggs, milk, dried dill, salt, and pepper, and then added cheese.   Use a fully thawed and risen Spelt Right Pizza Dough, cut into eight equal pieces, place on lightly oiled stainless steel baking pan, stretch dough to about 1/4 inch thick, put egg and cheese mixture on it.  Fold into triangles.  Here are step-by-step directions for making fitayers. Bake for about 10 minutes.  Watch these carefully, because they are easy to over-bake.   We made two batches, so that we have enough for the week.  We froze the extras and will use them during the week.  They can be microwaved or put in a toaster oven to reheat.

These are great for busy mornings.  You will also see that we made one with just pizza cheese.  That is for an afternoon snack.  YUM.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Ten (A Perfect Lunch with A Perfect View)

View from Spelt Right Baking Co., Yarmouth, Maine

Spelt Right Artisan Bread with Rosemont Market Torta

This is my Yarmouth, Maine bliss.  Relaxing for a moment at the bakery, looking at the serene view as a Nor'easter creates a tapestry on the Royal River, and eating some of the best food on the planet, all created right here in Yarmouth, Maine:  Freshly baked artisan spelt bread from Spelt Right Baking topped with Goat Cheese, Pesto, and Red Pepper Torta from Rosemont Market.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Nine (A Call for Guest Bloggers!!!)

OK, it's not that I am out of recipes, but my creativity is waning a bit.

For any Facebookers, or Bloggers, or Blogger-Wannabes out there, here's your chance to see your work on the little screen.

I need recipes, or at least, ideas -and-PICTURES! for by blog!

If you send me a picture in which you have created something pretty appetizing with a Spelt Right Bagel, Spelt Right Bread, or Spelt Right Pizza Dough along with a recipe or a close approximation of a recipe, I will either ship to you or give you in person a FREE BAG of Spelt Right Bagels.  

This offer is good until February 15, 2011 and his open to the first 15 submissions.   Send your submissions to info@speltrightbaking.com

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Eight (Everything Emma Spelt Right Bagel with herb chevre and fried egg)

Three simple ingredients, one delicious breakfast or lunch or snack!  Spelt Right Everything Emma bagel, toasted to perfection, with herb chevre goat cheese, and a fried egg. Salt and Pepper to taste.  This meal is packed with so much protein (7 grams from the bagel, 4-6 grams from the egg, and 5 grams from the cheese) that you will be satisfied for many hours after eating this.  If you want to add a little green, add some wilted spinach on top.....Oh, yum, simply yum!!!

Everything Emma Spelt Right Bagel Basking in the Sun