Stone fruits are in season and they seem to be incredibly juice right now. I had to incorporate some into today's lunch:
I think this lunch was somehow inspired by Tuesday's schoolyard barbeque. If Cheetos or some less offensive facsimile, like Pirate's Booty, appear here this week it may be time for an intervention.
The recipe for these pancakes came from the Tassajara Bread Book. The last sentence simply stating "May also be eaten cold on the beach." Beach fare. What could be better for a lunchbox?
Last week we went strawberry picking at Pacific Star Farms (an organic farm in Woodland, CA) and used the sweet fresh berries to make and can jam for the winter. Naturally, we had to open one jar to make sure that it was good:
Our Full Belly Farm CSA Box arrived today and was met with so much enthusiasm by my children that my eyes were brimmed with tears of joy. Aidan spied the carrots as I hauled the box to the car and within moments they were all screaming for one. Pretty soon I was slinging carrots into the backseat with such vigor I'm lucky no one lost an eye. At home, they all clamored around the box, digging their hands into the paper bags looking for strawberries or any other goody that might have been hiding in there. What they did find was sugar snap peas, and the whole bag was dragged by my youngest to the back patio where it was consumed in less than 10 minutes (I saved the ones pictured here by stealthily rolling them up into the bottom of my shirt). For them, it was a snack. For me, it was cathartic. 
Honey tangerine; brook cherries from Joe Gotelli and Sons Farm (brook cherries are a bit more crisp and tart than bing or sweet cherries); organic Old World Portugese cheese from Spring Hill Cheese Co. ; red and yellow bell pepper slices from "the cucumber lady" - - someday I'll have a conversation with the ubiquitious cucumber lady (known as such because she always has the earliest and best cucumbers at the market) and find out her real name; organic red leaf lettuce from a new vendor I'm just checking out; and organic raw almonds from Full Belly Farm. White cloth napkin placed under food for presentation and to give it some stability during transport.
Organic asparagus and mushroom quiche with Spring Hill Cheese Co. pepperjack cheese and whole wheat crust; organic spinach; organic turnip flowers (I think these are white tokyo turnips and they are sweet enough to eat as is and unpeeled - -of course, my kids prefer them in cute shapes); papaya cubes. Asparagus, spinach, turnips, and onion (in the quiche) all from this week's Full Belly CSA box.
Sesame rice noodles (rice noodles with tahini sauce, shredded carrots and snap peas); organic pickling cucumber from the Farmer's Market, organic grape tomatoes (that have seen better days); vegan snack mix (pretzel, raisins and vegan carob chips).
I know that local is a relative term, especially when I live in California and the coastline is an expansive 840 miles long. However, the food shown here is all from less than 200 miles away, which is local enough for me.
Homemade whole wheat hamburger bun with boiled and sliced Organic Valley, cage free, vegetarian fed etc. etc. eggs (note the vibrant yellow yolks, makes me almost believe all the hype on the package); small packet of salt; organic cucumbers from the Farmer's Market; organic Kiwi (also from the Farmer's Market); and tiny sweet organic grape tomatoes (eh hem, from Mexico - - I just couldn't wait . . . . and they looked so pretty, like little jewels).
The only way I can get my kids to try something this scary looking is to put something enticing in the vicinity, say a cupcake, then, make them close their eyes and give them a bite (I hope it is obvious that I am not pretending the ugly food is the cupcake, the cupcake is - against the advice of possibly ALL child psychologists - the reward). 
Organic whole wheat, oat raisin pumpkin bread slices (I threw in a third slice at the last minute because the lunch looked a bit skimpy); pirate sword skewers of organic smoked jack (from Spring Hill Farm) with chunks of organic pear (dipped in watered down lemon juice to keep from browning); organic plain Silk soymilk in the SIGG bottle.
If you have not yet tried Quark, you are missing out an a truly fabulous eating experience. Quark is delectable. So delectable that the only reason there is any left for this lunch is because I hid it in my super secret hiding fridge. To translate - - in my house, any food that is not in the front row and precisely at eye level remains unseen, and effectively, hidden. This is great when I want to hide something, like, for instance, a giant birthday cake. This is not so great, when I realize that more containers of milk have been opened in one day than a family of five can drink in a week. 
Whole wheat mini bagels with Organic Valley cream cheese and sliced strawberries from the Framer's Market; celery (conventional, my kids and husband reject the organic variety saying it is too stringy and hard to chew) and pistachios.
So this is what was suppose to go in Friday's lunchbox. As of Thursday at 4:45pm, this meal was prepped - - the asparagus was washed and chopped into 1/2 inch dice, the smoked jack and raw cheddar were grated, spinach washed and dressing made and waiting in the fridge. Then, my husband walked in the door and said "Hey, aren't you suppose to be working at the snack shack in 5 minutes?" (my son is in T-ball and we are all required to take on a snack shack shift once a season). So, my delicious meal was left lingering in the fridge - no dinner, no leftovers for lunch - while I slathered bright orange cheese on industrial tortilla chips, slapped canned chili on Costco bulk hotdogs, slung skittles and fundip across a metal counter and lectured small children on the wastefulness of using a plastic spoon to eat a snowcone. A reluctant but captive audience, I refused to hand over the cone until they'd heard me out. My husband and I enjoyed the Frittata the next evening, along with a bottle of chardonnay. Yum.
Orzo pasta with flaxseed (for Omega 3's,6's and 9's), olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt; smoked jack cheese from Spring Hill Farm; and a halved organic kiwi fruit.
On Sunday morning, after promises of pastries and cheese samples, I dragged my two oldest children away from their cartoons and to the Farmer's Market. As suspected, and in spite of their early morning complaints, they loved it. This lunch was inspired by that visit.
Homemade organic whole wheat crust pizza with organic tomato pulp and Full Belly Farm oregano, fresh organic mozzarella, Full Belly Farm carrot sticks and strawberries from the Farmer's market.
Fettuccini noodles cooked in tumeric enhanced water with organic kale in a savory broth (vegetable broth, leeks, apple cider vinegar, and brown sugar - kale and leeks from Fully Belly CSA); organic Fuji apple; Annies whole wheat cheddar bunnies and shredded spicy monterrey jack cheese.
Leftover St. Paddy's day bread reinvented with organic salt free peanut butter and sliced organic strawberries (first of the year, and not as tasty as they appear) - both in the sandwich and in the container; chocolate soy milk.
