Saturday, October 24, 2009

Roasted Tomato Soup

Veggie Balls with a light shower of Roasted Tomato Soup
We love Judi and Ron Baretts’ Book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It ranks equally with I will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child  in our Foodie book case. And it has inspired us to make an easy soup/sauce recipe for our lunch box emergency kit. You will need some fresh tomatoes, garlic and onions but the rest is out of the store cupboard. Needless to say fresh basil, rosemary and oregano would go well in this mixture too. Best made the night before to save getting up too early!
Roasted Tomato Soup (or Pasta Sauce)
5-6 large tomatoes
1 onion
2 cloves garlic at least
olive oil
balsmico vinegar
herbs and seasonings
OXO veggie stock cubes or similar
1 can of V8 veggie juice
1 tin of good Italalian tomatoes

Preheat oven to 180 fan. Sprinkle a good dollop of olive oil into a roasting pan. Halve tomatoes and place cut side downwards into pan. Throw in some slices of onion, cloves of garlic, a sprig of rosemary or bay leaves, thyme etc. Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper, salt and a dash of balsamico vinegar. Roast madly for up to 35 minutes or until tomatoes are slightly blackened at the edge. Discard bay leaf and rosemary and remove  tomato and garlic skins when they have cooled. They should slip off easily.
Pour into a large soup pot, add in at least 2 cups of veggie stock (crumble stock cube into mug of hot water), the V8 juice, a can of good tomatoes and blend. Taste to season, add fresh basil. Serve with a dollop of sour cream or a cheese crostini or toast.
Or make some whole wheat spagetti, fry an onion, add in the tomato soup and some veggie or meat balls and hey presto - pasta for the lunch box or for dinner!

roast-tomatoes

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Healing Food

We were hit by the flu this week. It felt as if we would never rise from our beds again, taste again or stop coughing. We also had no choice but to cancel our Love Your Lunch Box Workshop for the BSN in The Hague. Many apologies to all those who registered, we promise to reschedule asap and make it better and even more informative as we continue to learn more and more each day.
One thing we realized as we attempted to eat and cook while suffering from “taste bud numbness”, was that TASTING and being able to titivate flavours is what preparing food is all about. It’s hard to get sickies to eat when they can’t taste but our old favourite “Friday Night Soup” came to the rescue. This recipe requires no fuss, is flavoursome and wholesome and was just what the doctor ordered. Plus, we made loads of lemon and honey drinks, ice tea made with Twinnings Echinacea & Raspberry and kept our fluids high. Now we are in recovery and it is wonderful to have taste buds again! Presentation is all important to tempt jaded palates but do keep at it. We need healing foods to help our system fight back and to keep energy levels when we are sick.

fridaynight
Friday Night Soup
1 large onion chopped finely
1 tsp channa masala spice mix or a blend of your favourite spices (we like Shan’s mix or to make our own)
1 can of Italian Passata or whole tomatoes
2 cans V8 veggie juice
chilli powder (to suit taste)
2 veggie stock cubes in 2 large cups hot water approx
1 cup red lentils

Fry onion in large soup pan, add in spices and fry until fragrant.
Pour in tomatoes, V8, veggie stock and water plus lentils. Simmer until lentils are done, adjust liquid levels with water, V8 or stock, adjust seasonings to suit household tastes. Serve with warm fried tortilla strips, soured cream, fresh herbs, diced chilli peppers, grated cheese as desired. Enjoy and warm up the next day for the lunch box!

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Dipolicious !

Dipolicious
We find that kids like to dip and that dipping is a great way to introduce flavours and textures to untried palates. One dip that my kids love is a simple, herby, olive tapenade - yes, that’s olives and yes, quite a few kids have tried this particular dip and come back for seconds, thirds and more. Give it a go - you may be surprised how easy and yummy it is. Serve it with The Hairy Biker’s delicious homemade bagels which we have been having fun making of late. We are experimenting with adding various flours and flavourings. If there are any left over for the lunch box, fill them with boursin and smoked salmon for a really special lunch.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/dinkychristmasbagels_90632.shtml

Olive Dip

Do play around with these ingredients. They are merely a guide to assist you to formulate your own favourite tapenade. And do be careful that your pitted olives, black or green are not too salty.
1 cup pitted olives, drained
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon or lime juice
good handful of your favourite fresh herbs - we used oregano, basil and flat-leafed parsely
1 large clove glaric
1 teaspooon capers, drained and rinsed
3 tbsps boursin, or cream cheese
freshly ground black pepper
some tomato puree or V8 juice or a fresh chopped tomato to add

Blend and adjust according to taste
Serve with veggie sticks, crostini or bagels
This doesn’t last long in our house, but should keep in the fridge sealed for up to a week.

bagelsmall1

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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Very Simple Blueberry Muffins.

 

Very, very Simple Blueberry muffins
Anna (aged 10) and I made these in 5 minutes flat and they were snapped up before you could “Blueberry”. We managed to save one for the lunchbox the next day!
      
      1 egg
      1/4 cup vegetable oil
      1/2 cup milk/butter milk
      1 1/2 cups flour – I used half plain and half wholemeal flour
      1/2 cup brown sugar (can use less)
      2 tsp baking powder
      1/2 tsp salt
      1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
      a scant tsp of your favourite spices
Preparation:
Spray bottoms of 12 muffin forms Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees C – 190 may be better for a fan oven.
 
It’s easiest to use paper muffin cases.
 
Beat egg until foamy in a small mixing bowl. Beat in oil and milk. In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients.
 
Stir in blueberries. Make a well in the center and pour in liquid ingredients.
 
Mix together with a spatula until dry ingredients are moistened; no more than 25 to 30 strokes. Do expect your mixture to be lumpy! 
Fill each muffin cup slightly more than half full.
 
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from tin at once to prevent further cooking! Best to eat then and there, or hide them for a snack the next day!
Makes 12 muffins

blueberrym

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Thursday, September 17, 2009

Changing the World One Lunchbox At a Time !

Autumn has landed and it’s raining sushi restaurants in The Hague. This is quite a delight to my family who are experts at ordering Kappa Maki and Vegetable Tempura. For me it’s the Sea weed salad and the Udon Noodles everytime. The Lunch box will be reviewing these soon!

It is also harvest time in our small city garden which was  groaning under the weight of James Grieve Cooking Apples. Those sweet sour apples have now been cleverly denuded by a group of enthusiastic and creative kids using fishing nets and brooms!  We then started peeling ( not as easy as it looks kids! ) and made a fab wholemeal hazel-nutty encrusted crumble with lashings of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. It was delicious served with vanilla ice-cream. I have been trying out new recipes and came up with these individual filo pastry tartlets - great for school lunches and coffee time.

I have been researching various healthy eating books all holidays and have written a talk for Power Talk International (Clingendael chapter) which I will deliver next Tuesday called “Falling in Love Again (with food). I will talk about how what we eat and how our way of eating has changed so significantly within generations and cultures and how complex everything has become. Essentially the message will be “Don’t buy your food where you buy your gas”  and eat “real” food, not too much at one time and eat lots more vegetables and fruit. Simple really, but realistic and quite divinely delicious.

Our favourite cooking website - 101cookbooks.com has just alerted us to another great blog/campaign The Great Big Vegetable Challenge in which one gallant parent seeks to change her son Freddie’s attitude to eating veggies! - see it at http://greatbigvegchallenge.blogspot.com

 

Filo Apple Pies

Filo pastry
2-3 medium cooking apples
a mix of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg or use maple syrup/jam to sprinkle and sweeten
1 table spoon of butter melted to brush filo squares
left over blue berries or strawberries

Preheat the oven to 175 fan oven or slightly higher for a conventional oven.

Peel, core and slice apples thinly
Line muffin lines with cup- cake papers
melt some butter or use a very light oil
Cut filo into squares to fit into muffin pans - use three overlapping squares to create a star effect. Place apples slices to create a petal like appearance. If you like you can place a slice of strawberry or a blueberry in the centre. Sprinkle with the sugar or syrup mixture and brush petals and apples with butter or oil.

Bake for approx 8- 12 minutes - enjoy. We did!

applefilo

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Monday, July 13, 2009

Summertime and the livin’ is easy ..

Picnics conjure up all kinds of romantic images of  endless summer days , exotic fruits bursting with flavour  think ice cold watermelon on a hot day, strawberries fragrant with delicious promise .
Fresh bread and sumptious dips , quiches , pies and mouth watering crepes , all very portable and transportable a virtual moving feast .
Here are a few pictures of recent Lunchbox picnics to inspire you

 
Bring a wonderful family picnic

Join us for an unforgettable theatre performance in Aug-Sept 09

Every year The English Theater brings the very best in open air children’s and adults theater to a lovely garden just out of Voorschoten. This year’s performance features stories from one of literature’s most famous man-cubs - Mowgli from The Junglebook. Plus Shakespeares most endearing play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. There is a special early opening of the children’s performance on September 3 at 18.00 for those with smaller childen.

 We will be there with a grand picnic. We will be bringing a twinnings red fruit ice tea (home-made), egg and bacon pies, Sole’s couscous, refried bean wraps, kappa maki sushi with lots of ginger, hummus and lavash bread, fresh fruit salad and maybe a little dark Australian chocolate to finish. We will also be bringing something warm to wear and a fluffy blanket to lie on. See www.theenglishtheatre.nl for tickets, dates and information on getting there. See our blog for recipes and come and share an unforgettable live theatre performance.

Home-made ice tea
Make a strong brew of herbal or Early Grey tea. Use 3-4 tea-bags. Add some maple syrup or sugar while hot but not too much. Mix. Add to this cold water, mint leaves, slices of lemon, lime or orange. Adjust to taste, chill overnight. Delicious on a hot summery day.

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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Quick and Easy Dip !

Quick easy dip - Baba Ghanoush

Everyone loves to dip and it’s a great way to get kids to try something new. Bake a large halved aubergine in some olive oil at 200 degrees fan oven for appox 25 minutes or until soft and blackened. Remove and place in blender with some freshly squeezed lemon juice, garlic cloves and olive oil, pepper, salt and a small pinch of chilli powder. Whizz until pureed, season to taste and serve when cold with strips of warmed tortilla breads, or lavash (Maxima bakery) batons of vegetables, crackers etc. Garnish with finely chopped flat-leafed parsley, sliced lemon/limes if desired.

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Thursday, July 2, 2009

Tex Mex Bean Wraps

Tex Mex Bean Wraps - quick but yummy!

Take a tin black beans or red kidney beans, drain.
1 tin of good tomatoes ( I like the bottled organic tomato passata or the S & W Mexican Beans)

Fry a diced onion with some cummin, channa masala spices and/or some chilli powder. My rule is to use your favourite herbs and spices in an amount that pleases your palate. I also throw in some coriander, dried or fresh, lime juice and thai sweet chilli sauce. When spices become fragrant add the canned or fresh tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes. If using halved fresh tomatoes, remove the skins from the mixture.

This mixture can be blended to make a bean puree or mashed with a potato masher to serve. I often serve it ‘as is’ to make enchiladas, burritos or tacos.

Spread over tortilla wrap. Add grated cheese, lettuce, fresh tomato, carrots, etc. Squeeze over some lime mayo or a some fresh lime juice or wrap sauce - don’t use the Albert Heijn one - too salty!

Cheats Lime mayo - use your favourite store brought mayo - I like the Vetara Bio Mayo from the health food shop, add in fresh lime juice, some chopped chives and a tiny touch of Thai chilli sauce. Store in fridge for up to a week.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Batt-O- Licious !

Tanya Batt, author, actor, master story-teller, and director of the Once Upon an Island Story Centre loves Japanese influences and a macrobiotic style of food. We loved the bright colours and different textures in her lunchbox today. And the peeled raw, grated beetroot with lime- juice, sprouts, white cabbage, sea- weed and a tofu fry was just delicious! What more could a frock-aholic and a storyophile want?
Posted by thelunchbox at 08:58:56 | Permalink | No Comments »

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

A few of our favourite things for Spring & everyday and sometimes foods.

I began cooking in earnest with a series of cookbooks I still treasure for their luscious, yummy pictures and the ease of their recipes - none other than that bastion of the Antipodean kitchen - The Australian Woman’s Weekly Cookbooks. My favourite at the moment is the Mini Bakes Cookbook, featuring mouthwatering quiches, pies, timbales, mini lasagnes, tortillas, friands and other delectables.

The Food Forum adores their Kids Cook Books, the Vegetarian range and the Wok Cook Book. There really is something for everyone and they are guaranteed to get anyone having a go at cooking.  I am also fond of the gorgeous www.101cookbooks.com - her recipes are a delight to read, she is not one for fuss or trouble but beauty and health.  We recently attended a Passionate Parent workshop given by the wonderful Natural Nutritionist, Vardit Kohn, speaking on Top Tips to Change your child’s Diet and was inspired by her colourful website and books - see her website www.forgoodnesss-sake.com

A tip for those who become caught in the more strange linguistic aspects of food. We parents often describe some sweet and salty foods such as cakes, cookies and indeed sweets, or crisps etc as “treats”. Others may describe a Bread and Butter pudding, or a Creme Caramel as a “treat” (like us). But we think this builds these foods up to be something they are often not - that is, these so-called treats are not particularly good for us.

So, it is good to perhaps describe them as “sometimes” foods as opposed to our “everyday” foods being those that are good for us: vegetables, pulses, fruit, some vegetable oils and dairy fats and proteins and carbohydrates.

 A mini quiche that we made from the Mini-Bakes Book !

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