Thai Spring Rolls

I finally, FINALLY came across vegan spring roll wrappers in a local grocery store! All the wrappers I had seen before contained egg; these contain flour, coconut oil, and salt -- that's it. Time to whip out the Fry Daddy!

I had never made fried spring rolls before, but back when I was 17 I cut out a recipe from our local newspaper, and I still had that yellowing slip of paper in my recipe binder. I swore one day I would get around to making them, and today it was finally time to get on a roll (doh)!

The filling is a mix of blanched cabbage, carrot, and mung bean sprouts mixed with fried onion and cellophane noodles. The wrappers were easy to work with and needed just a nudge to stay sealed when they first went in the fryer.

The dipping sauce is a mix of sugar, vinegar, and sweet chile sauce from the Asian market.

Below the spring rolls we have my other recent discovery at the grocery store: enoki mushrooms, roasted in olive oil and tied with green onion stems. I placed the enoki bundles (they look like sheaves of wheat to me, wouldn't that be cute in a harvest-themed lunch box?) on a bed of brown rice. A serving of Japanese Spinach (from Vegan Lunch Box) is along the base.

Verdict: My husband was thrilled with the sudden appearance of a deep fryer in our kitchen this morning (it's just on loan from mom, so don't get used to it). He ate at least four rolls for breakfast at 6:00am before heading out for work. At lunchtime, he showed off his lunch and reports the rolls and sundry were fantastic. The mushrooms, however, were a bit chewy. 4 stars.

Japanese Curry

Two lunches again today, one for my son and one for my husband. This time, surprisingly, they both chose the same thing.

Japanese Curry is a dish my aunt introduced me to and I haven't been able to stop dreaming about it ever since. She cooks potatoes and carrots in water until tender (I added peas at the end) then throws in a bar of S&B Golden Curry. The warm, rich curry is served over white sticky rice, making it something of a Japanese Comfort Food.

My aunt mentioned that she usually has to add a lot more water than the package calls for, and I agree. I started with about 2 cups of water and still had to add more. This curry gets very thick very fast!

I wanted to make sure my husband had enough to eat, so I packed his rice and curry in separate containers in our 2-tier To-Go Ware. An orange in one of my fruit cozies is alongside.

I packed shmoo's curry and rice together in a smaller Thermos, and he chose an apple instead of an orange.

Verdict: From hubby: "Lunch was excellent. There was more than I could eat so I will save the leftovers for later. The curry was drier than I usually like it but the flavor was very good. The orange looked very cozy wrapped up in its little comforter. All it needed to be perfect was a piece of fresh-baked naan. Four stars." Hmm, Japanese naan?

From shmoo: "That curry was good! Is there any more?" Four stars.

Greg's Great Greek Lunch

Not one but two lunch boxes today -- one for shmoo and one for daddy shmoo. I figured I was up and cooking anyway, so why not? It's interesting to contrast a grown-up lunch like this one with the kid-friendly version coming up. They're very different!

Our bumper crop of tomatoes and all the local cucumbers inspired me to think Greek Salad, and Greek Salad made me think Big Fat Greek Lunch Box!

So there's the Greek Salad at bottom right, filled with fresh-picked tomatoes, cucumbers, kalamata olives, sweet onion, and a sprinkle of Greek oregano. Oil and vinegar dressing is in the little container.

Next I wanted to make the Spinach Phyllo Triangles from Vegan Lunch Box, but my husband doesn't usually care for tofu. So I used the recipe anyway and substituted fresh button mushrooms for the tofu. Instead of using raw filo dough and baking them, I spooned the filling into premade frozen filo cups and put them right into the lunch box. So easy!

At top right are tangy potatoes roasted in lemon juice and olive oil and two dolmas (rice-stuffed grape leaves). Finally, for dessert, a donut peach fresh from the farmer's market. I love these donut peaches -- they're so sweet, and the perfect size for packing in a lunch box.

By the way, this lunch was packed in a new 2-tier Gel-Cool Bento Box from I Love Obento, our second attempt to find a bigger-sized lunch box to fit my husband. The lids are filled with freezer gel and act as little ice packs to keep the lunch cool. How neat is that?

Verdict: This email just in from daddy shmoo: "Hi - lunch was great! Everything was wonderful and all the dishes blended well together. I only wish there was enough to share with everyone in the office. Five stars." (Special thanks to I Love Obento for the awesome box!)

Swimming the Somen Sea

As promised, here's the first lunch in Daddy Shmoo's new bento box.

A grilled portabello mushroom fish with baby cucumber scales and snow pea eyes is set adrift on a bed of somen noodles with blanched snow peas and parsley "seaweed".

I really wanted to include a Lotus Root Salad next to the somen -- wouldn't that have looked lovely? But alas, I can't find fresh or even canned lotus root here, so I settled on roasting a red pepper and cutting it into sand dollars and little fish shapes, with fresh basil tucked here and there.

A squeeze bottle of somen dipping sauce (konbu stock with soy sauce and mirin) and garbanzo beans fill in the rest of the space in the box. I packed an orange alongside the lunch box for a sweet ending.

Verdict: "That was almost too cute to eat!" he said. "I was hoping someone would stop by my desk so I could show it off." But was it enough? "I didn't think it would be until I started eating the noodles; they were dense." So it seems it will hold enough if you focus on a filling starch like noodles or rice.

I asked him to rate the lunch on a scale of 1-5, and he thought for a minute. "I was going to say 4 stars, but I can't imagine any way it could have been better. So I guess that's 5 stars!"

A "Manly Man" Lunch Box

I'm not the only one going off to work nowadays. Daddy Shmoo has quit his at-home job and is working in an office now, heading out each day with a paper bag lunch tucked under his arm.

I wanted to celebrate his new job by getting him his very own Men's Lunch Box from JBOX in Japan. I wanted something bigger and not as cutesy as the Laptop Lunch System, something made for a Hearty Man but still bento-stylish. This looked perfect.

Now, I know some of you are thinking, "Didn't you read the dimensions, dipnoodle?" Well, I've always been spatially challenged, and with a description like "...perfect for big eaters! This is a large-sized bento box...this will hold a good portion of food..." I figured this would be plenty big.

But look at it! It's much smaller than I had imagined. In fact, it's so small you can almost fit it inside the Laptop Lunch Box. No wonder Americans are getting bigger by the day; apparently even our children are eating more than a full-grown adult in Japan!

Wow, what a disappointment. But still, I love the color, the built-in chopsticks holder and chopsticks, and the fact that it's basically one large container (with removable divider) so you can eat a big serving of one dish instead of coming up with four smaller servings of different foods.

I wonder if it really will hold enough food for a hungry adult office worker. Later this week or next I'll pack it up for my husband and report back with a verdict. Stay tuned...

P.S. My husband just pointed out that the label "Stylish Metallic Color For Men" on the lid is not removable and is, in his words, "pretty embarrassing".

Now THAT'S a Lunch Box!

Although I dearly love the kid-friendly Laptop Lunch System I use for shmoo, I still like to keep my eye out for larger, plastic-free lunch boxes that fit us big people and our big, plant-based appetites. Yes, sometimes even my To Go Ware doesn't hold enough salad to satisfy my veggie-lovin' tummy. It's time to Super Size It!

My latest is this 3-tier Food Carrier. It stands about 10 inches high including the handle, which means I can fit it into my insulated cooler for longer trips. With three containers I should be able to pack a nice variety of foods or a set of matching snacks for the three of us. (And hey, if that's still not big enough for you, how about this 4-tier version?)

For its maiden voyage I packed my new food carrier with a hearty lunch for two for shmoo and his Dad, who took off together on a day-long Field Trip of Science. Two white bean hummus and grated carrot sandwiches are packed in the first tier alongside a few radishes. I jammed as many fresh tangerine segments as I could into the second container (shmoo has been known to eat that many all by himself, so I hope he remembers to share!) In the bottom tier are tortilla chips and salsa and a few "seedy fudge balls" made from ground sesame, sunflower, and flax seeds mashed together with tahini, cashew butter, dates, raisins, and a splash of tangerine juice. I rolled them in cocoa so they look like little truffles.

Verdict: Shmoo is quite taken with these stainless steel containers, and is getting old enough to take them apart and put them together by himself. But is he old enough to carry one to school without swinging and denting it, and possibly someone's head in the process? I don't think so. He's sticking with the plastic lunch box.

Shmoo enjoyed the fruit and the fudge balls and ate all but the crusts of his sandwich. My husband took one small bite of his sandwich and ate all the chips and salsa. Guess who's the picky eater in this family? 4 stars.

Tofu Apple Spring Rolls

Here's a lunch I created and photographed especially for the cookbook (which is on the way to the printers, eek!). A rice paper wrapper enfolds a mixture of gingery baked tofu, fresh apple slices, Napa cabbage, and cilantro. On the side is a small container of peanut sauce for dipping and some of my stepdad's Asian-style asparagus (he's thrilled that a recipe of his is actually going in the cookbook). For dessert, a nectarine and a dish of luscious black rice pudding. This is our favorite treat when we eat at a local Thai restaurant -- chewy black rice topped with a mixture of sugar and coconut milk.

Verdict: Big thumbs up from the photographer and testers -- my husband even said this spring roll was worth the cost of the entire book! Shmoo doesn't care for rice paper, so he stuck with tofu and apple slices and a big, piping bowl of black rice pudding. He says to pack the pudding in a thermos and eat it warm, but I think it's also nice at room temperature if you don't want the added weight of a thermos. 5 stars.

Just Eatin' in the Rain

As promised, I'm back with the first installment of our summer picnics! We're having a great, if somewhat damp, summer so far. Despite the rain, I decided to pack us up a picnic lunch this week and take it to the park. I used my spiffy new stainless steel food carrier to pack enough for the both of us.

For the past few weeks I've been following Dr. Fuhrman's nutrient dense "Eat To Live" program. For the picnic, I wanted to find a lunch that was both Fuhrman- and shmoo-friendly so we could share. The large food jar holds Creamy Asparagus Soup, while the top portion of the tiffin holds a mixed fruit salad (pineapple, banana, apple, and fresh local cherries), and the larger bottom portion holds a giant tossed salad (romaine, spinach, cabbage, garbanzos, carrot, raisins, and sunflower seeds) with, of course, some Asian Miracle Dressing for shmoo (yes, the little container has a lid, too).

And here it is all packed up and ready to go. I love the way everything fits together with a nifty handle and a stainless steel plate in the middle. I tucked everything in a picnic basket with water, napkins, utensils, and an umbrella.

Verdict: Even though the rain cancelled our planned play date, we still had such a good time! We visited the art gallery next to the park, played tennis in the rain, and walked by the river. I set up lunch in the gazebo next to the river. "Sometimes I like spending time with just you," shmoo said.

"Yes, it's nice sometimes," I replied.

"Yep, especially when there's lunch in a gazebo!" he said.

I served shmoo's salad on the plate with the dressing and most of the raisins. Next time I'll pack a sugar-free dressing for me, too. We both took turns eating the fruit and soup, and even with two of us it was more food than we could eat! Shmoo isn't used to salt-free dining, and wished the soup had salt, although I'm surprised to find that I'm not missing salt at all. 4 Fuhrman-Friendly stars.