Parker has three — THREE!! — tests today. Oy. It made for a long evening of studying last night.

Luckily, he had a great attitude about it and did really well. Luckily, I had three glasses of wine to help keep my attitude great, too.

First there was spelling. Flange? Hodgepodge? Fringe? Really? These are third grade spelling words? Parker did great with them, and I’m sure there is some broader academic reason for them being used… But flange?

Then there was math vocabulary. When I was a kid, we had math tests. We had vocabulary tests. I don’t ever recall having math vocabulary tests. Still, he did fine sorting through numerators, denominators, improper fractions, etc. Thank goodness he had written down the definitions. I’d have needed to look them up otherwise.

Then he finished two essays — one on everything he has learned in third grade, the other about a famous wind storm on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington during the 1930s.

By this point, I’d run out of wine. Luckily, he didn’t need to study for his third test, some sort of state standardized reading test. He reads way above grade level anyway, so he’ll be fine there.

So this morning, I tried to keep all this in mind as I prepped his lunch. That boy’s brain will be working hard today. So I wanted to give him a sustaining lunch that would make him happy and power him through it all.

Plus, we’re doing a 5K race tonight for charity, just to top the day. No, we won’t run it. I only run when being chased by somebody. But the weather is nice, so it will be a lovely evening for a 5K walk.

So I started with Parker’s favorite — carpaccio with lemon. For a little carb power, I grabbed a package of whole-wheat cheese tortellini. Many people don’t realize you can cook these in a skillet instead of boiling them. It’s fast and it gives them a great texture. So I did that, then sprinkled them with a little extra cheese.

Add some orange wedges and hopefully that will be enough.

For today’s free lunch gear giveaway, I have a very cool lunch box from Lands End. I love the space design on it. And the wipe-clean interior is something I’ve needed lately. I’m not sure how Parker is capable of making such a mess of the inside of his lunch box, but I’ve needed to hose and scrub it out several times this week.

So as usual, just leave a comment to entrer and Parker will pick a winner in the morning. Good luck.

23 responses

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: epicurious

Steak isn’t exactly the traditional filling for these Asian rolls, but it is the secret to getting my son to embrace them.

And since they are fast and easy to make — and a great way to use all sorts of leftovers — they make a perfect lunch item. Not sure how or why I’ve gone this long without making them for Parker’s lunch before. I used to make them for dinner all the time.

Here’s how it works. Head to the grocer’s international aisle and grab some rice paper wrappers (they look like really thin paper plates). They are cheap. They also come in packs of 20 or so, but don’t worry; they last forever.

While you’re there, grab some thin rice noodles. They look like clear or white angel hair pasta that has been balled up. That’s it. Those are the only special ingredients you need.

You can make the rolls the night before (when putting the leftovers away), but I find them fast and easy enough that I did them as part of my usual morning packing routine today.

Fill one large and one small bowl with hot water. Add about 1 cup of the noodles to the small bow. After 2 or 3 minutes, the noodles should be tender. Drain them and return them to the bowl. The noodles are ready to use.

Place 1 rice wrapper in the large bowl of water and leave it there for 10 seconds. Remove the wrapper and set it flat on the counter. It becomes more pliable within the next 20 seconds or so.

Now grab a bit (no more than about 1/4 cup) of the noodles and mound them in an oblong along the side of the wrapper closest to you. On top of the noodles, pile small amounts of whatever fillings you like. Today, I did thinly sliced leftover steak and strips of cucumber. Shredded carrots, greens, thinly sliced strips of bell pepper, shrimp, even chicken or turkey all are fine choices. Ditto for any variety of leftover salad. A fresh mint or basil leaf is a traditional addition, but I decided not to push my luck with Parker today.

Once your fillings are in place, fold the edge closest to you over the fillings. Then fold the sides up over them. Finally, roll the entire thing away from you, wrapping it up in a tight bundle. Done.

It can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it they really speed along. When packing them, just be sure to leave space between the rolls so they don’t stick together. Or you can do what I did and put strips of parchment paper between them. Because I know a certain 8-year-old won’t be careful when separating rolls that stick together…

For a dipping sauce, I went with a basic spicy peanut sauce. All I do is mix natural peanut butter, a splash of vinegar, a splash of soy sauce, a dollop of hot sauce and enough water to thin the whole thing to a dipping consistency.

For the record, I took the unusual (for us) step of offering Parker a choice of which veg got wrapped in with the steak in his rolls — red peppers, carrots or cucumber. He went with cucumber, which he considers the most benign of veggies.

For the rest of his lunch, I went with a basic parfait — the same one I made him for breakfast. Yogurt, banana slices, blueberries, granola, chocolate chips (just a few) and a drizzle of honey.

6 responses

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: epicurious

I decided to embrace my inner casserole. And you’re going to want the results of this.

I don’t generally do casseroles. Nothing against them. They just tend to take longer than I like. Plus, while I don’t have a problem with my food “touching,” I’m not a huge fan of a big pile of ingredients. I’d rather have the various components on their own.

But I decided to try my hand at casseroles. And if I was going to do it, I wanted it to be worth it. Which means, it needed to be the ultimate comfort food casserole.

So I started with a base of thinly sliced sweet potatoes gently seasoned with cumin and smoked paprika. Those get layered and roasted until tender and slightly crisp at the edges.

Then I pile on a whole mess of barbecue pulled pork. A nice thick layer.

Then I piled on a three-cheese mac and cheese. A nice thick layer.

Then I sprinkle on a nice thick layer of panko breadcrumbs adulterated with Parmesan cheese and butter.

Bake it all up and… Wow!

Parker loved it. Well, he wasn’t thrilled with the sweet potatoes (though he generally doesn’t object to them), but he still ate them. The rest of it, of course, he devoured.

And like all great dinners, it make ample leftovers. So that’s where today’s lunch began.

After that, I packed up some kiwis and blueberries. Then I stuffed a baby bell pepper with some purchased hummus doctored with a bit of finely chopped salami.

8 responses

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: epicurious

Because when it comes to coolness in the cafeteria, it really is hard to beat the combination of raw shrimp and sugar that explodes in your mouth, right?

Or so I tell myself. I’m certain Parker will enlighten me with his usual frank manner when I pick him up this afternoon.

So let’s start with the ceviche. Not my usual choice for Parker’s lunch. But if nothing else, I am a slave to leftovers and tend to let that guide me. And last night I was testing a surf and turf recipe of grilled flank steak topped with salmon and shrimp ceviche.

For anyone not hip to ceviche, it’s a South American dish that typically involves raw seafood marinated in citrus juice (or another acidic liquid). The acid reacts with the protein in the seafood much as heat would, giving it a “cooked” texture and a delicious, fresh flavor.

I made my ceviche by tossing cubes of salmon and whole shrimp with lime juice, minced red chili pepper, garlic, diced cucumber and chopped fresh cilantro. It was delicious, especially paired with the steak.

Parker was a trooper at dinner. He tried but didn’t care for the salmon (apparently we are back off salmon… whatever…), but he gave a tentative thumbs up (albeit a little sideways) to the shrimp. Which was good enough for me to pack him some of those for lunch today (don’t worry, chilled and in a thermos).

For dessert last night, I made mango fools. It’s basically whipped cream mixed with gently stewed fruit. I simmered frozen mango chunks with a sprinkle of sugar until they were tender, then pureed them. I then stirred that into whipped cream. Delicious.

This morning, I had some of the mango puree left over, so I used that as a topping for a blackberry-strawberry-graham cracker-yogurt parfait. Parker had a similar parfait for breakfast (if I’m making one, I might as well make two) and declared it awesome.

A while back I’d bought a package of crepes, not really sure how I’d use them. So today I used two to wrap up slices of banana that I’d topped with a blend of low-fat cream cheese and strawberry jam. Yet another variation on strawberry cheesecake. I’m starting to think I might be craving something…

Now, as for that exploding sugar… Think Pop Rocks, but without the chemical colors and flavors. This stuff, made by Molecule-R, is really fun to play around with. I gave some to Parker the other day without telling him what it was.

As soon as the little pieces of sugar started popping in his mouth, crackling and fizzing audibly, his eyes got huge. I wish I’d thought to take a picture of the expression on his face. It was awesome.

“Can I bring some to school in my lunch? I want to freak out my friends!”

Well, how could I say no to that?

Now for this week’s lunch gear giveaway! I love this duo of bento-style containers. They even have space in the tops for you to clip a fork and knife. As usual, just leave a comment to enter. Since it’s Friday, I’ll give everyone all weekend to enter. Parker will pick a winner Monday morning.

Until then, everyone have an awesome weekend.

58 responses

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: epicurious

Well, kind of.

While I’m not much of a believer in faking things, I love trying to capture the essence of a treat and recreate it in healthier choices.

Strawberry cheesecake, for example. A bit of cream cheese and a dollop of strawberry jam between graham crackers perfectly captures the graham cracker crust, rich cake and sweet berry topping of a slice of strawberry cheesecake.

Likewise, a thermos full of warm, no-sugar applesauce topped with purchased granola isn’t far from warm apple crisp.

So today I decided to go for banana cream pie in the form of a yogurt parfait.

I started with a layer of crumbled graham crackers, then topped it with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and some banana slices. I repeated the layering a second time, then topped the whole thing with a drizzle of honey and a small scattering of chocolate chips.

And if coconut banana cream pie is more your style, you’d just need to add some shredded coconut to the mix.

An indulgent lunch item, but hardly an unhealthy one.

Rounding out today’s lunch are some watermelon and kiwis, as well as a wrap made from a whole-wheat tortilla and the leftovers of Parker’s breakfast — a cheddar and prosciutto omelet.

So since I got off to a late start today, so I’ll delay the usual lunch gear giveaway until tomorrow. I like to give everyone a full day to enter.

7 responses

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: epicurious