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