Food, Farm, Fun

Hi, I'm Ruby. Child floral arranger extraordinaire!

Yeah, I'm her mom, so I know I'm bragging. But please look at this gorgeous flower arrangement she made from what she found in our yard! The girl is an artist, I tell you. Watch out world.

fern, maple leaf, bleeding heart, stones....

Let's talk about FOOD! My oh my, there has been a LOT of food going on lately. Between cooking at home, working on recipes for my book and cooking and arranging recipes, etc. for the school lunch program, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night thinking, "I can use the walnuts with the quinoa!" or some such nonsense like that. It's splendid, I tell you!

Some highlights from the lunch program the past two weeks, for those that are interested:

1. The lentil veggie soup and garlic bread meal was a hit!
2. I got the freezer fixed that wasn't freezing. Thanks to Chad at Food Fight! and Lisa at Sweetpea for the refrigeration reference. We were able to get three refrigerators and one freezer in perfect order.
3. Texas Caviar & Tortillas - a big hit with the upper school kids! Next time I'll mash some and roll burritos for the lower school kids.
4. Tofurky, the most generous company ON THE PLANET -- in addition to the donated pizza for our last day of school party, donated Tofurky roasts and deli slices galore. Now we can freeze them & have TLT sammies all fall long! Seriously, go buy some Tofurky products because they are good and the people who work there are amazing.
5. Trillium kids love hummus, cucumbers and salad. Woo!

For fun, here's this week's menu!
Monday: Texas Caviar, tortillas, salad, fruit
Tuesday: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, bread, tomato & cucumber salad, fruit
Wednesday: Fruity Quinoa Pilaf, salad, fruit
Thursday: Tofurky, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwiches, PB & J, fruit, veggies

I am going to leave a camera at the school so I can have pics of everything to share with you! It's all super simple with minimal cooking, but this summer we are having a FOOD SUMMIT and the program will be more sophisticated and varied.

This was a post-run meal for me. Leftover seitan sausage, sweet potato & mache.

I feel like I need to show you what I'm eating. This was something I whipped up from whatever was in the fridge the other day after a run. I'm always looking for green, protein and veggie all together post-run and this totally hit the spot. I probably also ate some peanut butter toast while this was cooking up, and then some fruit for dessert. I'm kind of simple that way.

We went on a whirlwind trip to CA last weekend to Farm Sanctuary, for the annual Hoe Down. I love the animals, the people, and usually the sun that is there. This time, it was rainy as Portland. Ick. We still had a blast. I only have a few pics here, and none of animals...Josh was armed with his camera so I'll share some of those when he gets 'em to me!

Me & my pal Melissa. That's Cupid behind us, he is a lovely bovine

.

We spent some time with the cattle herd in the rain on Saturday. Then, we took a break from the wet in the barn. The two newest members of the herd, Oliver and Elliott, were in there. They could not have cared less about any of us. Ruby & her buddy were desperately trying to get their attention, but it didn't work....

Will you look at that smile? Somebody loves Farm Sanctuary.

SO - I saw a recipe on a friends FB page that I knew needed veganizing. I also felt like I needed to share the recipe and method because it was so dang delicious and easy! Just a bit of chopping and slicing, the typical vegan duties. Heh heh.

Yukon Gold & Zucchini Gratin. OH YES.

Just a bit of Teese or Daiya cheese & you're golden!

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup grated vegan mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons flour (I use white whole wheat)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper
4-6 medium sized yukon gold potatoes
2 large yellow crookneck squash or regular yellow or green summer squash, cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
olive oil spray

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Spray a 12 inch cast iron skillet or an 8" square baking dish. Set aside 1/4 cup sliced green onions. Toss remaining green onions, cheese, flour, thyme, salt and pepper in medium bowl to blend.

Layer 1/2 of the potatoes in concentric circles in bottom of prepared pan, overlapping slightly. Spray lightly with oil. Layer 1/2 of the squash in concentric circles over potatoes. Spray lightly with oil. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Repeat with rest of potatoes, spray lightly with oil. Then finish with rest of squash and spray lightly with oil. Sprinkle remaining cheese mixture on top. Spray lightly with oil.

Cover pan with foil. Bake until potatoes are almost tender, about 40 minutes. Remove foil; bake uncovered until potatoes begin to brown and are tender, about 25 minutes longer.


This is adapted from Smitten Kitchen, who adapted it from Gourmet Magazine. Such is life! Enjoy! This version is BEST!