Hot pocket

April 27, 2010
Test lunch #13
Tasters: Lisa, Mr. H, Will and Kristin

Menu:
Meatball "pocket" sandwich
Roasted cauliflower
Orange
Caramel pudding
Recipes, notes and feedback:
Meatball sandwich: Meatballs and sauce made from an old recipe I found in the newspaper ages ago. The meatballs were a combo of pork and beef which I purchased, ground, at the UC Davis meat lab. It was pretty cool to use local meat as well as vegetables. I halved the already smallish meatballs and put about 3 halves in each pocket along with sauce and a sprinkling of parmesan. The dough for the pocket was Olive Oil Bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I rolled dough circles about 6-7 inches across making a smallish pocket. The sandwiches were a hit. Kristin said she doesn't normally order/like meatball sandwiches but it's primarily because of the mess so she appreciated the pocket that kept the sauce contained. Lisa thought it was just the right portion size.

Roasted Cauliflower: I sliced the cauliflower about 3/8 inches thick and then roasted it in olive oil with salt in a 375 degree oven until tender with brown/crispy edges. I think it was about 30 minutes. Despite cauliflower's status as an unpopular veggie everyone ate theirs and seemed to like it. The roasting brought flavor for those who think cauliflower is boring. It was good cold/cool or warm.
Orange: Navel orange peeled and sectioned (about 3 oranges for 5 servings). Lisa really likes having her fruit peeled for her. I guess it's the small luxuries in life.
Caramel Pudding: This recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Generally considered too sweet and the texture was off. I had never made a cornstarch thickened pudding and should not have cooked it so long. It thickened considerably upon cooling. I would try this again with about 2/3 cup sugar and 5 T cornstarch but only because I love caramel, pudding and sweet stuff so I thought it was fabulous. Not a big hit for lunch although the packaging in little gladwares is fun.

Lessons Learned:
Don't overcook pudding
Adding another tester does make a difference--I ran out of cauliflower--one head barely serves 6.
Hot pockets were well received but a hassle. Could be offered to use up spaghetti sauce if that were on the menu (that's why I made them--we had lots of leftovers)

Goals for next week:
?

Dinner!

April 25, 2010
Test lunch #13
Tasters: Jan, Bob, Mr. H

Menu:
Wheatberry salad

Recipes, notes and feedback:
Wheatberry salad: This was based on a pre-packaged salad I saw at Trader Joes. It included: cooked wheatberries, mixed green lettuce, apple, chicken, toasted almonds and gorgonzola served with balsamic vinaigrette. Wheatberries were boiled with a bit of salt for about 30 min. until quite tender then I let them cool in the cooking water before draining. I cooked about 1 cup of berries which was more than enough for 4.5 salads. That many salads also took: 1 large apple, one large chicken breast (grilled, cooled and chopped), about 1/4 block of gorgonzola, ~1/2 cup of toasted almonds.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the salad and the wheatberries made it extra interesting. If it were part of a lunch, it would need another reasonably hearty item since there was only a bit of chicken. I thought it needed more gorgonzola (I did about 1.5 tbsp, crumbled per salad). Need to see if the almonds would stay crispy and the apple stay white overnight. Craisins would have been a nice apple alternative.

Wow, the chicken looks awfully raw/pink in these photos but I think it was done. Something is off with the photo color (I hope!)

A tribute to George Washington Carver

April 20, 2010
Test lunch #12
Tasters: Lisa and Kristin

Menu:
Peanut noodles
Strawberries
Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Peanut Noodles: A modified version of this recipe. I added some red bell pepper, left out the sesame seeds and made extra sauce. I also shredded the chicken and mixed it in. Sometimes I add carrots but not this time. The salad pretty much covered everything I try to put in a lunch (vegetable, protein (chicken in this case), whole grain carb (whole wheat spaghetti) so it was hard to know what to pair with it to make a complete lunch. I gave each taster a full tupperware (perhaps 3 cups volume?) and it was far too much. Kristin and Lisa both ate only half and had the remainder for lunch the next day.

Strawberries

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies: Recipe from Ina Garten/Barefoot Contessa. I made these smaller than called for and managed to underbake them. Bummer but everyone still ate them.

Lessons Learned:
I need to plan the whole menu rather than just making items that sound good (again!)--it wasn't good to have two peanut dishes.
I am wondering about making single items rather than complete meals. In the case of this salad, it was a complete meal.

Goals for next week:
Remember to take photos (again!)

CoHo inspired (and creamy)

April 13, 2010
Test lunch #11
Tasters: Lisa, Kristin and Mr. H

Menu:
Chicken Tetrazzini
Pea Salad
Banana
Orange Chocolate Chipper Cookie
Recipes, notes and feedback:

Chicken Tet: A highly modified recipe. 1 bag fusilli noodles cooked and combined with: 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 cup sour cream, 10 oz sliced mushrooms sauteed with garlic and salt, ~2 lbs chicken thighs sauteed and chopped, ~1/4 cup fresh parsley. Bake with parmesan on top. This was easy but not that delicious. A bit dry after baking (although too creamy before). I should err on the side of extra creamy since things tend to dry out over night.

Pea Salad: Frozen peas (I didn't even defrost) equal parts mayo and plain yogurt (a few tbsps each), celery, green onion and peanuts. Salt and pepper. Mr. H loved this. It needed more celery and the peanuts got mushy.

Banana:

Orange Chocolate Chipper Cookie: Recipe from Coffee House cookbook. A soft, flavorful cookie.

Lessons Learned:
I need to plan the whole menu rather than just making items that sound good--it wasn't good to have two creamy dishes.
I can realistically make three items for the lunch but four is too many. If I'm going to include four items one needs to be super simple or pre done (like a piece of fruit).

Goals for next week:
??

Easter hangover

April 6, 2010
Test lunch #10
Tasters: Lisa and Mr. H

Menu:
Bowtie pasta salad with ham and peas
Citrus salad
Granola bite
Chocolate
Recipes, notes and feedback:

Salad: I made up the recipe! 1 bag bowtie pasta, cooked, 3 green onions, chopped, 1/2 cup chopped celery, ~8 oz frozen peas blanched in pasta water, 1 1/4 cup chopped ham. Dressing: 1/2 c sour cream, 1/4 c. mayo, 2 T apple cider vinegar 1 clove garlic, pressed, 1/4 c chopped parsley, salt and pepper. Unfortunately this wasn't very good. It tasted very vinegary the night it was made but by the time lunch rolled around it was really, really bland. Some oregano and more lemon juice/vinegar might have helped along with more salt and garlic. Still, it was boring.

Citrus salad: From the farmers' market: pommelo, navel orange, tangerine, Cara Cara navel, ruby red grapefruit all cut away from the membranes. Six pieces of citrus barely made five servings of salad so this was a pain to make. Biscuit and I loved this. Mr. H wasn't a fan of the tart citrus.
Granola bites: Recipe from King Arthur Flour but made in a mini muffin tin. I overbaked them but they were still yummy. Mr. H thought the meal was too carb heavy. A half recipe made about 15 mini bars.

Chocolate: Everyone got 2 chocolate eggs. I'd baked so much for Easter I had a sugar/baking hangover.

Other accomplishments:
Getting better at photographing food
Made the entire meal, start to finish for 5 people (including Biscuit) in 1.5 hours. Including packaging and label making it was about 2 hours but still a record.

Goals for next week:
Figure out if I want to continue this.

Vernal equinox

March 23, 2010
Test lunch #9

Tasters: Lisa, Kristin and Mr. H

Menu:
Orzo and spinach salad with spiced walnuts
Deviled eggs
Kiwi
Lemon roll cakeRecipes, notes and feedback:

Salad: Potluck Blue Ribbon Pecan Spinach Toss. Recipe from Susan Branch's "Autumn" cookbook (p 47). It's a mix of orzo pasta, chopped fresh spinach, feta and spicy/sweet pecans (I used walnuts) with a light lemon dressing. A touch dry even though I already doubled the olive oil. Maybe even more oil if it's sitting over night. I wondered if it needed salt but others said no, they liked the light flavor. Lisa thought this was really only appropriate for nice weather and she's right. A perfect spring/summer salad.

Deviled eggs: used the abundance of hen eggs, mashed the yolks with mayo, mustard S&P then put the egg halves back together like a sandwich so everyone got one full egg. They got a bit watery sitting over night but everyone seemed to like them

Kiwi: One kiwi/person. Peeled and sliced.

Lemon Roll: Susan Branch's "Vineyard Seasons" cookbook (p 123). I love Susan Branch! I used the large cookie sheet which seemed okay although the cake stuck to the towel. Filled with lemon curd from Small Batch Preserving rather than the lemon sauce recipe in the cookbook. This was a big hit with Kristin and Lisa. Mr. H didn't sample.

Other accomplishments:
Did I mention I started using the linen napkins purchased for Lunch Valet?

Goals for next week:
Figure out if I want to continue this.

Preserved

March 16, 2010
Test lunch #8

Tasters: Lisa, Kristin and Mr. H

Menu:
Peanut butter and jelly on homemade bread
Yogurt with strawberries and meyer lemon curd
Sunshine Salad (aka carrot slaw)
Jam Thumbprint Cookie

Recipes, notes and feedback:
PB&J: Jam was a low sugar stone fruit jam I made last summer. Peanut butter was Jif crunchy (the best kind!) and bread was the Simple Whole Wheat, this recipe. It was all okay. Nothing amazing but no major complaints. I found the bread a bit heavy.

Yogurt with strawberries and meyer lemon curd: Homemade plain yogurt, with a few tablespoons of meyer lemon curd and one large, chopped strawberry on top. Lemon curd recipe from Small Batch Preserving (p 111). Yogurt was a total fail. It was gummy--the texture was way off. Oops. The lemon curd and strawberry were great but I should have noted on the menu card that it was "fruit on the bottom" yogurt and should have been stirred. The canning jars worked great but it was a lot of yogurt.

Sunshine Salad: Recipe from Susan Branch's "The Summer Book" (page 72). Subbed about 1/4 part plain yogurt for mayo. This is a basic carrot slaw with mayo, lemon juice, walnuts and raisins. Popular even with Kristin who didn't like raisins. Servings were a bit large.

Jam Thumbprint Cookie: UC Davis Coffee House Cookbook (p 147). Recipe made only about 2 dozen and took more chopped walnuts than were called for. Used stone fruit jam which was perfect. Very tasty cookies.

Other accomplishments:
None, this was a rough week.

Goals for next week:
Do better.

Hot tamale!

March 9, 2010
Test lunch #7

Tasters: Lisa and Mr. H

Menu:
Beef tamales
Green salad with croutons and vinaigrette
Strawberries
Tatros Cookie
Recipes, notes and feedback:

Beef tamales: Shredded beef--tri tip roast cooked on low in crock pot all day with a jar of homemade salsa. Should have added onions and some cumin/spice as it was bland. Masa for tamales: 1 slightly heaped cup of masa, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 t baking powder, 1/8 t cayenne, 1/4 t cumin, 1/4 c veg oil, 1 c juice/broth/fat from crockpot. This was just barely enough for 9 small tamales. Steamed tamales for 1 hour.
Served two tamales per person which was plenty. They were a touch bland to me but Lisa doesn't like spicy food so she liked them and Mr. H didn't complain.

Green salad with croutons and vinaigrette: Used red leaf lettuce from farmers' market and about 1-2T shredded carrot for a simple salad. Vinaigrette was olive oil, garlic, green onion, S&P, dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. A bit tart but okay. Croutons were sourdough loaf in 3/4 inch dice sauteed in olive oil with salt and Italian seasoning.
Folks liked the light salad with the tamales (as opposed to beans and rice) but suggested a more mexican inspired dressing. Perhaps a creamy cilantro? Include a note suggesting that folks add dressing and shake container to distribute.

Strawberries: Two large berries from the farmers' market

Tatros cookie: Recipe from Coffee House Cookbook. SO yummy.

Other accomplishments:
Made menu card!
Bought napkins for Lunch Valet (still need to wash/press them)

Goals for next week:
Start tracking prices
Post a week's worth of menus

Mac'n'cheese

March 2, 2010
Test lunch #6

Tasters: Lisa and Kristin

Menu:
Penne with five cheeses
Broccoli with sesame vinaigrette
Apple
Oatmeal, raisin, walnut cookie

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Penne with five cheeses: Recipe from Barefoot Contessa (Family Style?)
Used half and half rather than cream. Added a slice of kielbasa sausage on top for protein but not sure that was needed. The meal was filling without. If sausage is added, it should be cut into smaller pieces and mixed in.

Broccoli with sesame vinaigrette: I made up this recipe! Lightly steam broccoli. Meanwhile, whisk a tablespoon or so of toasted sesame oil, one chopped clove garlic, salt and pepper and some white wine vinegar. Toss with warm broccoli. Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Serve cold or warm.
Everyone ate this cold (which was good) but wondered if they were supposed to. Kristin appreciated a green vegetable.

Apple: boring but nobody reacted badly to receiving a whole piece of fruit. The apple I had was kind of gross, a reminder to not buy apples in March that have been in storage forever.

Oatmeal, raisin, walnut cookie: Barefoot Contessa recipe for Oatmeal, raisin, pecan with local walnuts instead of pecans. So good! Even the non raisin eaters liked these. Barefoot contessa has the best cookie recipes!

Other accomplishments:
None

Goals for next week:
Same

Shredded

February 23, 2010
Test lunch #5

Tasters: Lisa, Kristin and Mr. H

Menu:
Shrimp Spring Rolls
Carrot and Beet Salad
Orange
Coconut Macaroon

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Spring Rolls: Inspired by this recipe and another one I can't find. Included: vermicelli, chopped shrimp (should have left them whole), shredded carrots, green onions, cilantro, mung bean sprouts, romaine lettuce, pinch of fresh jalapeno, peanut sauce, hoisin, chopped peanuts. Peanut sauce recipe I made up: clove of garlic, pressed, finely grated fresh ginger, dash of red pepper flakes plus approximately equal amounts of peanut butter, toasted sesame oil and seasoned rice vinegar to make about 1/2 cup.
Ladies suggested having a dipping sauce. Mr. H thought it was unnecessary. I thought a bit more sauce inside the roll would have worked. Lisa declared this the best lunch ever.

Orange:
I had planned to include a tangerine but found out they were rotten so made wedges of navel orange. Each person got half an orange which seemed about right.

Carrot and Beet Salad: This recipe modified to use balsamic vinegar, Mediterranean sea salt blend and fresh cilantro. Serving size (about 6-8 oz) was considered too much by female tasters. Need smaller containers.

Coconut macaroon: Recipe from Barefoot Contessa Family Style. SO yummy. I ate the whole batch minus the ones in the lunches.

Other accomplishments:
Started tracking costs of items to figure out pricing (didn't get very far on this)

Goals for next week:
These never change. I need to get back on track.

Steak salad

February 9, 2010
Test lunch #4

Tasters: Kristin and Mr. H

Menu:
Steak salad
Whole wheat roll
Yogurt parfait with granola
Brownie

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Steak salad: Romaine salad with cucumber, carrot, garbanzos and cubed steak (tri tip).
This was a hit. Folks liked the meat and the healthyness of the salad. Served with a dijon/white wine vinegar vinagrette with green onions and garlic. Kristin liked the dressing.

Bread: this recipe
The roll was too large (about 3.5 inches across) and quite dry. Maybe unnecessary?

Yogurt parfait with granola: Homemade yogurt with strawberries layered in. Almond/walnut granola (recipe from this cheat sheet) in a separate container. Very tasty but this was a very filling lunch. Kristin couldn't finish. It was about right for Mr. H.

Brownie: Whole wheat, double chocolate brownie recipe from King Arthur Flour book. Was cut a bit too large. I did add the coffee powder.

Other accomplishments:
Started work on a week's worth of menus

Goals for next week:
Start taking photos of meals
Make cloth napkins to include
Layout menu attachment for binder clip

Mediterranean

February 2, 2010
Test lunch #3

Menu:
Pita bread with hummus
Tabouli
Carrot and celery sticks and cucumber
Strawberries and kiwis
Almond shortbread cookie

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Pita bread and hummus: Both from Trader Joe's.
I've tried and I can't make it better than them but I would like to work on homemade hummus again.

Tabouli: Recipe from Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook
I added cubed feta and bell pepper and left out tomato since it's out of season. The feta was good! Kristin put the tabouli into her pita

Carrot and celery sticks and cucumber: boring but good with the hummus. Cucumber was good in pita bread with hummus.

Strawberries and kiwis from the Farmer's Market.

Almond shortbread cookie: This recipe. I rolled the sides in extra ground almonds and chilled in the freezer.

Comments: Kristin and I both really enjoyed it. I asked her when we were walking back what she thought and she 100% enjoyed it as did I. To be honest when we were walking over, we were both kind of unsure of what to expect regarding the meditterain theme.

I am a fan of the theme lunch idea. I really enjoyed the lunch too because it was not something I would normally make or eat, so it was different.

Other accomplishments:
Themed menus are a good idea!

Goals for next week:
Make cloth napkins to include
Layout menu attachment for binder clip

Eat it with a spoon

January 26, 2010
Test lunch #2

Tasters: Lisa, Mr. H, Kristin and me

Menu:
Minestrone soup with bacon and beans
Whole wheat roll
Hunk of cheese
Applesauce
Pistachio cardamom rice pudding

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Soup: Recipe from January Cooks Illustrated.
Bacon was well received but I thought chunks were too big. Soup needed more salt. Biggest issue was portion size and serving containers. I used wide mouth mason jars for storage/serving. Most folks got 16oz but container was a bit deep. Female tasters found this was way too much soup. Mr. H said it was just right. I had 8oz which seemed about right for me.

Roll: Used same whole wheat bread recipe as last time but made into rolls about 4inch diameter.
Baked for 22 minutes--they were a touch overdone. Put in container with a hunk of cheddar about 1"x4"x.5". Cheese was very popular. Couldn't figure out a way to offer butter...

Applesauce: made/processed in the fall with Apple Hill apples.
One 24 oz jar served 4 (so 6 oz servings I guess). By far the most popular part of the meal. I didn't do a veg since the soup had so many veggies.

Pudding: Pistachio Cardamom Rice Pudding from MS Everyday Foods.
This was a bust. I was the only one who ate it. Rice pudding was a risk on its own and with the cardamom it was a total fail. I still think it's delicious; oh well. Other pudding flavors may do okay.

Other accomplishments:
Found silverware

Goals for next week:
Oops, same as last week.
Make napkins.
Better menu planning
Layout menu attachment for binder clip
Plan a week's worth of menus just to see.

Starting with a sandwich

January 19, 2010
Test lunch #1

Tasters: Lisa and Mr. H

Menu:
Egg salad sandwich on homemade bread
Carrot and celery sticks
Cubed kiwi and mandarin sections
Chocolate Chip Cookie

Recipes, notes and feedback:

Egg Salad: 4 hardboiled eggs from our hens, 2T mayo, 1T chopped green onion, 2T finely chopped celery, 1/2t dijon, 1/2t mustard, 1T lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Egg salad needed more salt and pepper, sandwich needed lettuce/sprouts/excitement, most folks don't like/want egg salad, eggs should be chopped smaller

Bread: this recipe
Large loaf should have cooked 30 rather than 25 minutes, was a touch soggy.

Carrot and celery: boring but acceptable and seemed healthy. Should have used farmers' market carrots. Maybe include dip?

Cubed kiwi and mandarin: very popular

Chocolate chip cookie: Ina's recipe. How could that go wrong? It didn't.

Other accomplishments:
Made my first lunch!
Made two, lined lunch bags.
Purchased some reusable containers

Goals for next week:
Better menu planning (before farmers' market)
Remember to include silverware!
Make cloth napkins to include
Layout menu attachment for binder clip