Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Asparagus and Watercress

There are refreshing signs of spring in my latest lunch box: two beautiful vegetables from my first trip to the local Farmer's Market.

It was exciting to be back at the market after a long, cold winter, and I was especially thrilled to find bags of fresh, green watercress there for the first time ever. Raw watercress greens are much, much too bitter for my taste, like trying to eat paint chips. But stir-fried in a touch of toasted sesame oil and drizzled with miso dressing and almonds? Heaven and a half! I found this luscious recipe at watercress.com (click on recipes, then on "Stir fried Watercress with Ginger and Almonds in Miso Dressing").

Next to the cup of watercress is lightly steamed asparagus, another springtime favorite from the market.

The triangle of rice underneath is a musubi (aka onigiri, see Vegan Lunch Boxfor the recipe). The rice is topped with a sprinkle of nori komi furikake (a seasoned mixture of nori flakes and sesame seeds).

Tucked alongside are bright cherry tomatoes, lightly steamed cauliflower, and edamame skewers. I packed it all in my "Let's Do Lunch" bag and I was ready to go.

Go where, you ask? To work! That's right, I finally made good and got a real job. I'm still homeschooling James during the day, but on evenings and weekends I work at a little shop that sells smoothies (the real kind, made with fruit and 100% juice, not powdered sugar gunk). So of course I filled out my little lunch with one of my favorite smoothies: 1 cup grape juice, 2/3 cup frozen blueberries, 1/3 cup frozen pineapple, and a scoop of ice.

Verdict: It was all delicious!

P.S. Not only am I working at a job, I'm also working on an entire series of posts for this summer, starting next week. So stay tuned!

22 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oooh, what a heavenly lunch!! Love all the fresh produce (I'm smitten with asparagus, cherry tomatoes, cauliflower...)

Congratulations on the new job!! I with you the best of luck :0)

Oh my goodness, I cannot WAIT for more posts!! I'm so elated to read that you'll be posting more often again!! :0)

Phyllis Sommer said...

you're back? you're back!!!! hooray.

that lunch looks super-yummy. can't wait to read more. congrats on the job!

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

WOO! You're back! And just in time. I was sitting here tonight wondering what posessed me to buy watercress at our Farmer's Market this past weekend. I love the stuff in sandwiches but really, a person can only eat SO MANY sandwiches before guiltily tossing the wilted leftovers that have finally gone bad...

Err... so where was I? Oh, yes, SOOO glad to hear you're posting more! (Yay for Washington Asparagus too, by the way!!)

Unknown said...

YAY new posts!

Julie said...

Congrats on the job!

Looking forward to future posts :]

Unknown said...

Congratulations on the new job! Glad to hear that you'll be posting again too. :)

HeatherK said...

I kept checking because I knew you'd be back, I just knew it! Congrats on the job, and the lunches!

MCH said...

Hooray! I was happy to see you show up in my Google Reader this morning!

myrtle said...

yay! New posts!

Congrats on the new job.

Nicole said...

Congrats and welcome back!

Erin said...

Nice to see you back! Your lunch looks really good, I love springtime veggies too. Looking forward to more posts.

Sheree' said...

I love spring and all the goodies it blesses us with. Congrats on your new job and what a delicious place to work. I am really excited for your upcoming posts. Yahoooooo!!!!!!!

Janet said...

I'm sooo looking forward to more of your posts, I've been going through lunchbox withdrawl!

:o) said...

Ditto what Janet said!!!

Annie said...

I am so glad you are going to be posting again and congratulations on the job.

Nachos said...

AWESOME! Thanks for the watercress link - I'm in love with miso and love new ways of using it.

I'm normally a silent reader of your blog but thought I'd pop my head in and say hello, congrats on the job and your bento creations are STUNNING!!!

Nicola said...

Yay, I'm so glad you are back!

Question: Where did you get the hinged stainless container?

M.C.T. said...

Congrats, Jennifer, on the job, and I raise an edamame skewer in salute to your return for th summer! :-) Looking forward to it!

Jennifershmoo said...

Thanks, everyone! Although I really enjoyed the break, it's fun to be back. I'm working on today's post right now...

Nicola, I found the rectangular stainless steel lunch box at Pearl River:

http://www.pearlriver.com/v2/FramesCat.asp?iGroup=333

Look on page 2.

BTW, aren't the kid size lunch boxes on page 1 adorable??

Jennifershmoo said...

>>I raise an edamame skewer in salute

Hee hee. I love it. :-)

i'll close my eyes said...

I spy a little soy sauce container. That is the cutest and smartest thing! I want that

DJ said...

I'm so glad you're back for the summer - and working in a smoothie shop sounds heaven!