Lasagna and couscous

A backlog of lunches: that means double post for all you lucky readers.

Unlike most of the horror stories I hear about, most of my family is very accepting of my veganism. On Sunday I attended a family party where there was a ton of food that even I could eat. There were Asian noodles, veggie lasagna, rice, salad, fruit salad, sorbet, and all sorts of snacks (chips, cut vegetables, salsa, etc.). In fact, the only non-vegan parts of the meal were ice cream and a cheese lasagna (which wasn't nearly as popular as the vegan lasagna). I brought home some leftovers and had a ready-made lunch of rice, salad, and lasagna for Monday. The lasagna has tomato sauce, broiled eggplant, and tomatoes in layers in between the noodles. I put the bread on top of the rice before I closed my lunch and it all fit perfectly.

For today's lunch I have some couscous with peas and basil. Couscous is great it cooks in just a few minutes and is good cold. Although I pack my lunches at night, I still don't want to spend a ton of time. Couscous is the perfect way to have some real food without laboring for hours. There's also a little more bread, some red bell pepper, two Twizzlers, and some peanuts.

Pasta salad, French bread

Today was a salad day for sure. I cooked up some ziti, then drained it, and mixed it with diced bell pepper and carrots. Seasoned with basil, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, pepper, and a little salt. I also have some organic mixed greens with sprouts and fruit, as usual.


The credit for this bread does not go to me, but to my mom. You can take my word, however, that it is delicious.

From the cookbook Bread Machine Magic:

Authentic French Bread
Makes one 1 1/2 lb loaf (measurements to make a 1 lb loaf in parentheses)

1 (3/4) cup water
1 1/2 (1) tsp salt
3 (2) cups bread flour
2 1/2 (2 1/2) tsp yeast
cornmeal

Add all ingredients except the cornmeal to the bread machine in order. Select dough setting and start machine. When the dough is done rising in the machine, turn it out onto a floured surface.

For a 1 1/2 lb loaf, shape the dough into either one 12-inch oblong loaf, 1 large round loaf, 2 thin 18-inch thin baguettes, or 8 rolls

For a 1 lb loaf, shape the dough into either one 10-inch oblong loaf, one large loaf, one thing 24-inch baguette, or 6 rolls.

Dust the top(s) with a little flour and rub it in. Place on a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. With a sharp knife or razor, slash the tops about 1/2 inch deep down the center. On an oblong loaf make 3 slashes, on a round loaf make an "X" or "#". Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for until doubled (around 30-45 minutes).

Place a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven (this will make the bread have a crispier crust). Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake the round or oblong loaf about 20 minutes, the baguettes about 15 minutes, and the rolls 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm or cool on a rack.

This bread does go stale quickly so it's best made within a few hours of eating.



If you don't have a bread machine I imagine you could add the warm water into a bowl and then proof the yeast for about 5 minutes. Then add the salt and flour and knead for 10 minutes. Allow to rise until doubled and then follow the above directions.

I've never tried this without a bread machine, but I'm relatively certain that it would work

Quinoa with black beans

What's a girl to do when the cupboards are bare? Make quinoa! I've been in a bit of a rut lately with my lunches (and with cooking in general) so I decided to be a little more interesting today with the meager fixings I found around the kitchen. I sauteed a carrot, some garlic, and bell pepper with some salt and pepper, then added most of a can of black beans, 1/3 cup of quinoa, and 2/3 cup of water. Put a cover on the post and let it simmer for 15 minutes and a meal is ready. This made about twice the amount that you see here in the lunch box.

While the quinoa cooked, I made a potato with black pepper in the microwave and grabbed a carrot raisin muffin. I was a little disappointed with these muffins. They are edible, but I probably won't make them again. I had to cook them about 15 minutes more than the recipe stated and they still didn't all completely cook. I'm not sure what was going on, the recipe was from Vegan with a Vengeance so I was really surprised that it didn't work.

Some fruit on the side, an orange, some grapes, and a not-in-season, not local, not very tasty apple. That'll teach me not to eat grocery store apples.

I'm thinking about finally purchasing a Laptop Lunch Box. They're cute and more convenient than the container I currently use because the sections don't leak into each other. Anyway, if shmoo uses one, I want one, too! According to an email I got today, the new laptop lunch box is improved and will be going up in price soon. I guess I should get on it if I'm really going to order one of these.

Pasta, stir fry

A backlogged lunch; because there really is no better time to update a blog than at 7:30 on the night before a paper you haven't started is due.

This was a failed attempt to imitate the veganlunchbox blog's lo mein lunch. I cooked some spaghetti and then tossed it around in a frying pan with some soy sauce and vinegar. I also stir fried some veggies and tofu. The pasta just ended up really dry and a little salty, not like lo mein, but still not bad. The stir fry was also pretty good. Also pictured are peanuts, blood oranges, plum, sugar snap peas, grapes, and carrots.

Happy Monday!

Spaghetti

I like leftovers, but there never seem to be any in my house. That's probably my fault. You'd never guess it by looking at me, but I, the tiny, barely 5' 2" girl can eat more at one sitting than most people can at two or three. Today, however, I did have leftovers that made it to my lunch.


Featured above, spaghetti with steamed broccoli, a little bit of olive oil to prevent sticking, and some red pepper flakes. Some pistachio nuts and pita chips on the side in addition to cantaloupe, carrots, and an orange.

(i just realized that I've had carrots in every single lunch that I've packed this year. What can I say, I'm a creature of habit!)