The Comfort Of A School Lunch

This upcoming school year is going to be fraught with all sorts of anxiety. A comforting school lunch can help ease some of those fears and stresses. Classic sandwiches, hot meals and snacks may bring a smile to those worried faces.

Fun lunches and riffs on cafeteria classics can easily be recreated at home. This is great if the kids are returning to classrooms right away and need to bring a lunch. Egg and tuna salad sandwiches are staples in any school and even college cafeterias. For the egg salad spike it up with some parsley or paprika for color. Tuna salad can be crunched up with the addition of celery which also gives it a shot of green too.Of course kids love bologna and turkey too.Many love the squish of both mayo and mustard. Combine these for a new condiment with the addition of toasted mustard seeds. The last  are easy to toast. It's just five minutes in a 350 degree Farenheit oven. Of course there is the loved for generations peanut butter and jelly . Vary it with crunchy peanut butte or all natural kinds. Change it up with either cashew or almond butter if the little ones are OK with that. (Keep in mind that some will freak out if you replace one kind of peanut butter with another). Get sandwich cutters to give them a festive look. what's good about these is that the cutters also seal in the filling so it doesn't squish all over the place. These will also come in handy when the little and not so little ones return to the classroom.

Some kids may not be returning to their classrooms until October or November. This means a hot or more substantial lunch. This is where your crockpot can come in handy. Make a big pot of chili for dinner one night and lunch the next (also remember that it can be used to top hot dogs too). Think about making crockpot tomato sauce which can be used over such kid favorites as spaghetti and ravioli. Kids love a good steamy bowl of tomato soup. Sure you can open a can but homemade is better - and much more flavorful. It's just taking plum tomatoes and cooking it with either chicken or vegetable broth. There's also diced onions, seasonings and garlic to round out the flavors. It's all stirred and cooked in the crockpot for six to eight hours.Grilled cheese is another kid favorite. Add a slice of ham for a croque monsieur vibe. Older kids may like it the French bistro version with a bechamel sauce on top. Bechamel is an easy blend of milk,butter and flour. Salt, pepper and nutmeg are the seasonings that elevate it. You could serve it with bistro fries or shoe string potatoes for a really fun lunch.

Start this  unprecedented school year off with familiar foods for lunch.It can be a hot soup or a cold PB & J sandwich. Whatever they like as long as it's a comfort to them.

Parcels Of Love

There are still many who are alone during this pandemic. They remain inside or yard bound . sometimes they're alone , eating and drinking by themselves.It's time to reach out  with parcels. These will bring a smile to anyone's face.

Food parcels are easy and fun to create. What's great about them right now is using the bounty of the season, Those voluntarily shut in would appreciate fresh tomatoes for sandwiches along with squash and eggplant, perfect for frying or ratatouille. Also an extra treat would be bags of fresh picked basil and dill along with other herbs. You could also create a barbecue themed parcel, with hamburgers or hot dogs along with rolls and ready made salads. If you can, stay and join them for the cook out. A shared meal, especially a barbecue is always welcome and can be turned into an entertaining night, even if it is just for two.Include graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate for s'more later on. Sandwiches are also a great bring over. Buy or make heroes and bring along chips or cherry tomatoes. Join the person (or people) for some talk and company. This will go a long way and buoy their spirits. Another idea is  ordering from the person's favorite restaurant. You could just order appetizers or a full meal along with a dessert for each.

A question that may be asked is should you bring alcohol? The pandemic has made many feel hopeless and anxious, stressed about all aspects of their futures. A bottle or can helps to relax and unfortunately a few have been emptying a bottle or two a night. I would say go with soda or sparkling water to accompany a meal. There's nothing wrong with bringing some iced coffees or teas that you can sip. As the weather gets cooler, then bring pumpkin spice lattes or hot cocoa. These are better. No one gets drunk or even sick. You may want to address the wine or beer indulgence if you're worried about the person. Just go easy and be subtle.Another way is introducing mocktails. These can be made at home and brought over in a container or thermos or made fresh at the person's house. Have Virgin Marys' with a breakfast sandwich or a Virgin Pina Colada with ribs or tacos. Bring the ingredients which are juices, different herbs and seltzer.If you're celebrating a birthday or just want a fun fizzy drink then think a non alcoholic champagne. Pair it with  something lush to eat like a shrimp cocktail or a small tin of caviar.

There are many shut ins these days. They are eating, and at times drinking alone. Bring them something tasty and fun to alleviate the loneliness, Stay for their company and food.

A Slice Of Watermelon Ham

Americans are slowly but surely embracing the vegan lifestyle. Barbecues now include Beyond and Impossible Burgers. Not Chick-N Broth is being used in soups and gravies. Cabbage and cauliflower steaks are now desired main dishes, Now there's watermelon ham. Yes, you can take the classic fruit and turn it into a tasty meat substitute.

It was the subject of an article in yesterday's New York Times Food section . Once again the host of PBS's Project Smoke,  Steven Raichlen wrote about this interesting phenomena and how it's taking over the culinary world.It's not just watermelon ham that's taking the world by storm, but also radish prosciutto and burdock root jerky sticks. as with meats, these dishes are also cured and smoked, served as charcuterie. The clever Will Horowitz, chef and co-owner of the famed Ducks Eatery in Manhattan has created these new spins with all the ancient techniques. They're salted, cured, dried , fermented and smoked.He claims that its just finding the right cocktail of these will do the trick of preserving fruits and vegetables. Seaweed is also getting the treatment as it's turned into kelp jerky, thanks to Chef Horowitz's other company, Cured. This was developed for Akua City Greens , a company that also offers kelp pasta.

As for that watermelon "ham" , Chef Raichlen does offer a recipe for it along for recipes for crispy smoked shiitake and smoked carrots with roasted yeast, the last coming from Larder, a popular foodie hangout in Cleveland. Vegans and vegetarians will want to try all of these. Keep in mind to create a ham look alike , there is a lot of work, namely in paring off the rind. You have to be meticulous about it.It's then putting the peeled fruit into a bucket or container as you prepare the brine. This is a mix of different spices from peppercorns to juniper berries along with wood ash, salt and oregano.There's also creating "Juices" with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. Then there's smoking it for two hours and finally roasting. The easier recipes are definitely the mushrooms and carrots. The mushroom recipe comes from Chef Rich Landau a co -owner with his wife Kate of the famed vegan eatery, The Fancy Radish. It's just frying and then smoking them for a smoky bacon crunch and flavor.  The carrots are also an easy fix. They're smoked first before being rubbed with a dry yeast rub that also has cocoa powder and ground pepper along with cumin and caraway seeds .Crushed juniper berries give them zing. The carrots are then glazed with a mix of maple syrup and olive oil.

Vegan meats are making big waves this season. Try the watermelon ham for something different or the shiitake mushrooms and carrots for a different spin on a main meal. Will they replace meat? From their popularity and flavor, yes.

Happiness Is A Pizza Farm

Eating  out at a farm may not be everyone's first choice for a dinner. Add pizza and then the idea becomes intriguing and definitely appealing. It's not a new concept but it's gaining a tremendous amount of popularity, especially during this time of social distancing. It's a fun concept and a healthy one too, with the ingredients grown right there.

Regular contributor Julia Moskin, wrote about them in today's New York Times Food section.Pizza farms are mostly a Midwestern concept.It started along the Wisconsin-Iowa border two decades ago. The  credit goes to  Ted Fisher and Robbi Bannen of the A  To Z Farm in Stockholm, Wisconsin who create the first pizza farm.(sadly they shut it down due to the pandemic) Other farms started to build wood fired ovens along with studying the basics of crust, sauce and cheese. Before long they were serving pizzas on summer nights.The pies are usually the only items on the menu. They don't offer garlic knots or calzones as other pizzerias do however there is a variety of season toppings. Spring brings baby onions and red peppers while August gives zucchini, fried eggplant and red pepper. Thanks to the other ingredients such as wheat and tomatoes, the farms are also a model of sustainability. This idea is spreading to other parts of the country too. The only problem is the season ends in September. Some farms could extend the season if the weather remains warm along with having enough stores for more flour and sauce.

There are farmers who are determined to do such. The pandemic has led to blockbuster bookings and many are not deterred by falling temps. Also the farmers are also expanding their culinary skills. Many are  raising cattle for cheese and pigs for meat toppings too The popular Iowa Margherita pie at Luna Valley Farm in Decoarah Iowa has farm made Italian sausage that the owners Tom and Maren Beard made themselves along with the homemade cheese and sauce. The basil also is grown there. The only imports are the alcohol and soda which come from local makers, Many pizza farmers see themselves as activists and teachers too. There are educational sites at Katchkie Farms the Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley California and the Yale Farm at Yale University, New Haven Connecticut. They have taught not only about making pizza but also about diverse, local and sustainable agriculture. Other farms such as Amber Waves in Amangansett, New York, by the Hamptons, teaches kids the value of nutrition when they teach pie making. Kids make their dough balls and then wander out in the garden to look for fresh picked toppings. As one of the owners  , Katie Baldwin who owns the farm with Amanda Merrow, puts it "Once a cherry tomato is on a pizza it's no longer a vegetable but a topping."

Pizza farms are a great way of enjoying America's favorite food along in a fresh air environment. It's freshly picked and  hand made ingredients served in a beautiful setting. It's an idea that should catch on across the country.

Parties Separate But Apart

There are parties and gathering but they're different. We are celebrating but six feet apart. Does it work?  Sort of, for now anyway.

I recently went to a neighbor's twin granddaughters twelfth birthday party. An ice cream truck provided the treats and that was it. Everyone had the choice of whatever ice or ice cream along with going back for seconds. It was only one hundred dollars for their mom to rent plus the price of all the ice cream eaten. Neighbors were invited which was sweet and nice. There was a covered gazebo in the backyard where there was enough room for social distancing and eating. The girls had pizza earlier for their friends and saved the ice cream as the "cake. There was no Happy Birthday's sung, no games to win prizes. There were, however,  loosely clustered groups, all with masks and respecting social distancing. It seems this is common from what I heard from others.Many of their kids went to various ice cream or other food truck parties in the last months. Kids ate fun and tasty food while enjoying sorely missed company.  As for the twins' get together, neighbors caught up on gossip, masking up after they had their ice cream or ices. It worked. We all kept our distance and respected each other's new personal spaces.

Friends are also talking about socially distanced parties and get togethers. Of course, they'll be nothing grand. No one will be sharing salads and we definitely won't all be digging into one plate of dessert. We may just even bring our own prepared dishes , a kind of brown bag party. This wouldn't be a bad idea. Guests could bring their own sandwiches  and refreshments. After all it's the company not the food that matters.It's just a chance of being together and having some semblance of our former lives. If any host wants to supply food, then maybe brown bagging is the way to go. Subway and many grocery stores such as Acme have already made heroes, Serve these with individual bags of chips or sandwich bags of cherry tomatoes , broccoli and cauliflower florets and individual dip cups. Mini ice buckets filled with water and soda can be placed by chairs that are set six to seven feet apart. There should also be mini hand sanitizers and wipes too. As for dessert let people make their own s'mores. Have a little bag full of chocolate bars, graham crackers and marshmallows.

Parties are meant to be fun. In this new era, they still can be with guidelines and respect. There is still a time and a place for good food and good company,

A Light Lemony Sauce

Lightness is all important when it comes to cooking in a heat wave. It keeps food from being too heavy both in taste and on the stomach. Luckily there's a classic lemon sauce from The New York Times Food that caught my attention. It was from the great chef Pierre Franey so it's more French than Italian. I decided to give it a vegan spin.

First of all , I didn't use the recommended linguine but zucchini spirals. from Green Giant.

This is just a quick cook up in a skillet for ten to eleven minutes. Chef Franey's recipe calls for making the sauce first and adding the pasta. I did the opposite.

Lemons and lemon zest are the stars of this recipe. I zested about one tablespoon of the lemon and squeezed about half a lemon

I tried with my hasp. It didn't work I used my Mom's grater for a better result.

It was then four tablespoons of almond milk

Along with two tablespoons of Earth Balance non butter spread.

Some sea salt and a few rinds of fresh pepper were added for more flavor.

The result?

A really delicious and light dinner with an airy sauce. This would be perfect with meat or fish if you want a more substantial dish.I  will probably make this in the fall and winter too, with pasta and maybe Gardein's chicken cutlets. It was served with a fresh tomato salad which balanced it out.

This  lemon sauce is the ideal one to make during these late August heatwaves.It's cloud light and delicate. Have it with zucchini spirals for a healthier spin or pasta and meat for something a bit more filling.

Finding A Kitchen Treasure My Mom's Herb MIll

Where would we be without those dozens of kitchen gadgets that make our prepping and cooking easier and much more fun? Recently I discovered my Mom's herb grinder , a Christmas gift given a few years ago from a good friend who was family too, Eunice. She never used it, the gadget was  still in its' packaging.

It's the Microplane Company  herb mill  which finely cuts fresh herbs into perfectly shredded pieces. I don't know why my Mom never used it. It really is perfect . The company also has other mills and graters like their garlic and ginger ones that are worth looking into.

There's only two pieces and they fit puzzle like together. The fresh herbs,(I used my fresh basil) are put in the cylinder. The pestle like piece is then put inside.

It's worked like a pepper mill.

The leaves are ground with those small blades , producing perfect pieces. I wish I had used this before for my sauces because it really is a big help. I plan on using it with chives (one of my Mom's favorite herbs besides basil and fresh dill (Eunice's favorite herb which she used liberally on salmon and cucumbers). There's so much that can be made with it. I plan on making basil butter for corn and using it also on fresh rosemary for pizza.

Where would we be without our gadgets? Finding my Mom's herb mill was a godsend. It really will be used much more for a variety of different herbs.