There's a secret special ingredient snuck in with the Greenmarket fare in today's peek into Amanda's kids' lunchboxes. Here's what they're having, straight from Amanda herself: "Smoked ham topped with sautéed turnip greens, kale, and fresh garlic. I think a few asparagus spears are snuck in there as well. The local strawberries are nice this year so I've been putting them in every lunch -- sometimes whole, sometimes sliced and mixed with yogurt, and sometimes on top of stewed rhubarb. My kids went to a birthday party where there was a piñata, thus the lollipop and Hershey's Chocolate. I let our kids have commercial candy now and then, but I draw the line at fast food!"
Today's lunchboxes reveal a Middle Eastern influence for Walker's and Addie's lunches. There's stuck-pot rice (it's simple: basmati, yogurt, curry powder, and lime juice), a celery and Israeli cucumber salad (remember, Walker loves cucumbers!), and Fage yogurt with honey. What are you having for lunch?
"When I don't have much inspiration or if I have a more challenging ingredient, cream cheese is my secret weapon. Kids love cream cheese so it can help soften the blow of flavors like radish or pickled ramps. That's just what I packed here, along with fresh strawberries from the Union Square Greenmarket." - Amanda We hope Walker and Addie packed enough to share, because their lunch looks fantastic. What are you having?
This week's peek into Walker's and Addie's lunchboxes is as easy as 1, 2, 3: liverwurst over ricotta on one slice of bread, another slice sprinkled with garlic oil to top them, and container of clementine sections for dessert. Raise your hand if you're having a liverwurst sandwich for lunch, too. Nobody?
I happened to have a conversation with Addie after she and Walker took this to school for lunch, and I can report that she really enjoyed it! Virginia ham, cucumbers, and MissGinsu's recipe for Sweet and Spicy Pickled Ramps make a wonderful sandwich on brioche bound together with a swipe of mayo, plus a Cara Cara orange for dessert. The pickles were leftovers from Amanda's Friday night dinner party, but it was more than just efficiency that prompted her to put them in the sandwiches. She says, "My kids love pickles and cucumbers so I try to find ways to tuck them into their lunches." What's in your lunchbox?
It looks like both Amanda and Merrill are fans of lemon vinaigrette these days (A for her kids and M for weeknight meals with her husband -- Clara's still too small for such things). Here, Amanda explains how she actually prefers salads to sandwiches for Walker's and Addie's lunch: "I'm trying to make my kids more all-in-one salads like this tuna couscous salad. They're easy for my kids to eat -- actually easier than a sandwich -- and you can pile in lots of good flavors. Here, I blended oil-packed tuna, Israeli couscous, haricots verts, olives, capers, sliced baby garlic, and a lemon vinaigrette. Then for some crunch, I packed a few carrot sticks. And for a treat, a slice of City Bakery's mammoth chocolate chip cookies." What's in your lunchbox?
Lots of green in Walker and Addie's lunches these days. Amanda describes one of her warm-weather standards: My springtime cheat: artichokes, asparagus, and peas. I use frozen artichoke hearts and peas, mix them in a saucepan with lots of olive oil, thyme, a smashed garlic clove, and salt, then cook them, covered, over medium high heat, just until heated through and any liquid is cooked off. Then I take the lid off, let them cool until just warm, and fold in thinly sliced asparagus. It stays a little crunchy, which I like. I make a bunch and keep this in the fridge all week, adding lemon juice or sherry vinegar, plus more oil, when serving. Here, I paired it with Moonlight Chaource from The Amazing Real Live Food Co., and triple chocolate espresso cookies for dessert.
What's in the twins' lunchboxes this week? Take it away, Amanda: Roasted asparagus and haricots verts, chopped, and topped with wide shavings of pecorino and diced smoked ham. I like to cut things into small bits so they can scoop it up with a spoon, and then use the same spoon for the Fage (whole milk!) yogurt with honey. Oh, and whole grain bread on the side, cut into kid-size triangles. Looks delicious!
What are Walker and Addie having for lunch today? Today there's a Mediterranean theme: lentils and bulgur with caramelized onions, a stuffed grape leaf, cucumber salad, and labne. Dessert is Champagne mango -- those sunny yellow cousins of the larger red-and-orange mangoes you're used to -- cut into cubes. A great early spring lunch!
What's for lunch in the twins' lunchboxes today? Looks like a really good one! The grain salad you see is couscous with citrus, thyme, and raisins -- a riff on this contest runner up from the first FOOD52 cookbook -- and it's topped with good-quality oil-packed tuna. A kale salad (looks like Lacinato) rounds out the meal, and for dessert it's chocolate cake. Specifically, it's the Community Pick Chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon Italian Cake. It was made with pinot noir, but yes, the wine is cooked! What's for lunch today? Anyone else have chocolate cake in their plans?
It's finally lunchtime here in the office and we're ready to dig in. I have a slice of the pumpernickel loaf I baked yesterday (I snuck a bite before the photo was taken) plus a salad of black and white beans, diced carrots, kale stems, and radishes. Our associate editor Kristy has a kale salad with avocado and kabocha sqash, and a sandwich of porchetta and whole-grain mustard. What's in your lunchbox?
What are Walker and Addie having for lunch? Today it's Chicken Cutlets Grilled in Charmoula with Quick-Cured Lemon Confit, a Community Pick from the Your Best Citrus contest, sandwich-ified on sliced bread with kale salad. Apricot rosemary bars from Baked and crisp Macoun apples from the Greenmarket round out dessert. An enviable meal for early spring! What are you having for lunch today?
Walker and Addie are two lucky FOOD52ers -- this week's round of testing for our canned fish Community Picks left them flush with options for lunchtime. Here they're having Sagegreen's Herbed Ricotta and Anchovy Crostini and Halfpint's Lemony Sardine Pate with multigrain bread, Tricuits, and knäckebröd from IKEA. What about after their meal? Says Amanda, "Because it seemed like a vaguely Swedish menu, Swedish fish for dessert!" Which of our Community Picks would you make for a weekday lunch?
In our lunch post earlier today, we neglected to mention the lunches of two smaller FOOD52ers...Walker and Addie! Read more to see what they had at school while we were eating at our desks.
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