The Week in Bentos : Oct 7 - Oct 11

The weather has definitely turned here in the north of Dallas. Gone are the hot, blistering summers, only to be replaced by cool, cloudy and rainy days..Today is one such day..its been raining since the morning and makes me crave for steaming coffee and spicy snacks!
Last week was pretty tame as far as the lunches that I packed went.
But thankfully, the boxes all came back empty.
Here's what I sent this week.

 
On Monday, I packed a whole wheat bun with almond butter and nutella. Although I dont think nutella is very healthy because of its sugar content, I do allow it as a treat once in a while. I also included apple slices, carrot slices and bear cookies.

 
On Tuesday, lunch consisted of bow tie pasta with a quick tomato sauce, apple slices and yogurt covered pretzels.

 
On Wednesday, LG7 got a grilled cheese sandwich, carrot slices and apple slices. 

 
On Thursday, an EasyLunchBox held waffle sandwiches with peanut butter and honey, strawberries with a frog pick, chocolate covered almonds, raw almonds and yogurt covered pretzels.

 
Friday included a plain peanut butter jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread, carrot coins and strawberries with a panda pick.
Today is Columbus day and schools in our district have scheduled parent teacher meetings. Do your children have a holiday today ? What questions do you ask your child's teacher when you go in for a meeting ?
Hope you have a great week ahead !

The Week in Bentos : Sep 30 - Oct 4

This week marked the 10th year since my arrival in the USA ! Its difficult to comprehend how these many years have passed by , seemingly in the blink of an eye! 10 years ago, I was a young single girl, living with roommates, working at a software organization, enjoying the company of my friends and looking forward to visiting my family. A decade later, I am in an entirely different continent, across the proverbial seven seas, married with two children and running my own household! (Also, I am no longer young..unless 35 is the new 25 ;-) )
Needless to say, I have loved every single moment of these 10 years !

Having said that, moving onto the bentos for this week -



On Monday, LG7 had two tortilla rolls with almond butter and apricot jelly. I try and use homemade whole wheat tortillas whenever possible. These, however, are flour tortillas from Costco. I also added black grapes, carrot sticks, kettle corn and yogurt covered pretzels.


On Tuesday, I made Annie's Organic Mac and Cheese, which I packed in the thermos jar. Black grapes and Pirate's Booty cheese puffs, almonds and dried apricots were added to the rectangular Lock and Lock box.


 
On Wednesday, LG7 took tortillas again (homemade this time) with peanut butter and honey. Can you tell that my son loves nut butters ?  He also got goldfish, sliced apples and grapes.

 
On Thursday, the lunchbox contained cheese toasts, carrot sticks, apple slices, yogurt covered pretzels and hazelnut mousse in the small container.  Although the picture shows only half a toast, I actually packed 3 such slices.

 
On Friday, I made tortillas with a cauliflower cheese filling , cantaloupe cubes, goldfish, carrot slices and whole grain crackers with peanut butter.

Overall, this week was a good one as far as lunches went, because the boxes all came back empty. I also know that nothing went into the trash, because LG7 gets back whatever he doesnt eat. He is also doing much better with his water intake. This year onwards, I have started giving him two water bottles everyday. One in his lunch bag and one to keep on his desk so that he can sip water through out the day.
Since drinking sufficient water is so necessary to a healthy body,  I figure its best if he gets into the habit early on!
Have a great week !

Eggless Ferrero Rocher Tart - Baking Eggless Challenge

In today's busy and often hectic lifestyle, its not unusual that people tend to stick to certain routines and schedules to make their lives easier. While sticking to particular habits and methods might save you some time and effort, it is also possible that monotony might set in ! I joined the Baking Eggless Group a few months back, just to break a similar monotony in my kitchen and on my blog. The challenges set every month are amazing, the resources available are very helpful and the group members are absolutely awesome !
If you like cooking / baking and are looking to create something new in your kitchen, do join up.
This month's challenge might very well persuade you !
For the month of September, the bakers at Baking Eggless attempted to create the Ferrero Rocher Tart in their kitchens.This recipe was suggested by Priya Srinivasan of Enveetu Kitchen and the original recipe is from Trissalicious. As the name suggests, the star ingredients of this tart are hazelnuts, hazelnut cream / mousse and chocolate. There are several components of this tart and it is a significantly time consuming process.
It is also pretty calorie dense. It will definitely not win in the healthiest dessert competition ;-)
But it is an outstanding dessert and will definitely amaze your family !
Without further ado, here's the recipe !

Tart Base or Crust 
I adapted this recipe from Dishes From My Kitchen and halved the recipe.
3/4 C Cake Flour
6 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
a pinch of Salt

Method:
1.Process the butter, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined.
2. Add the cocoa powder and pulse until smooth.
3. Then add the flour and pulse until crumbs are formed.
Note: I do not have a food processor, although I have a small chopper. I completed steps 1 and 2 in the chopper, then turned out the mixture onto a big plate and then cut the flour into it in batches.
4. Gather the flour to form a disc and then wrap it up in parchment or wax paper and refrigerate for at least an hour. Mine remained there overnight!
5. When ready, turn out the disc onto a flat surface. You might need to let it thaw just a little bit so that rolling will be easy.
6. To make things easier, place the parchment paper over the disc and then roll until its about 2 mm.
7. Cut out circles that are slightly larger than the tartlett pans or muffin tin that you are using.
8. Place the dough circles into the tins and refrigerate for about an hour.
9. When ready, blind bake the crusts at 350F for 10 minutes and then bake directly for a further 5 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and set aside until cool.

Hazelnut Mousse 
The original recipe for the mousse contained eggs as well as gelatin. While searching for a suitable vegetarian recipe, I came across this one by Tarla Dalal which contained neither.Again, I halved the recipe and was pretty happy with it.

1/2 C chopped chocolate (I used a mixture of milk chocolate and unsweetened )
2 Tbsp milk
6 Tbsp chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar (you can omit this)
3/4 C whipped cream

Method
1.Combine the chocolate and milk in a microwaveable bowl and heat until the chocolate melts.
2. Add the nutella and mix well.
3. Fold in the whipped cream gently and refrigerate until the mousse sets.
Note: Covering the surface of the mousse directly with cling wrap prevents the unwanted skin from forming!

Chocolate Hazelnut Thing
I referred to the original recipe for this layer. I just scaled it down.
2 Tbsp milk chocolate
2 Tbsp nutella
1/2 Tbsp dark chocolate / semisweet
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp any neutral tasting oil
4 Tbsp crushed caramelized hazelnuts

Method
1. Place all ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heat until the chocolate melts.
2. Mix thoroughly well and mix in the crushed hazelnuts.
Note: I had to add a tablespoon of cream to get the right texture.

Caramelized Hazelnuts
1/2 C toasted hazelnuts
1/4 C sugar
2 Tbsp water

Method
1. Place the sugar and the water in a heavy bottomed pan and bring to a boil.
2. Add the toasted nust and take off the heat.
3. Mix gently until syrup thickens a little.
4. Return to heat and mix gently until the sugar turns into a golden color.
5. Pour onto a baking tray or a similar surface and cool.

To Assemble :
For making tarts, pipe some hazelnut mousse into the tart shell, then top with the chocolate thing and sprinkle some crushed caramelized nuts.
For verrines (useful if you arent able to get your tarts out of the container :) ) , crush the tart shells into a clear glass, pipe some hazelnut mousse over it, top with the chocolate thing and sprinkle with crushed hazelnuts!

Whew !! That was a pretty lengthy recipe, wasnt it ?It was quite satisfying to get it completed!
Taste wise, it had a very intense chocolate flavor with the buttery taste of the hazelnuts for a complement.
It was, however ,a little too sweet for my tastebuds.That , combined with the fact that this confection is quite high in fat and calories makes the serving size very very tiny!

The Week in Bentos - Sep 23 to Sep 27

This past week, temperatures in North Dallas have been pretty moderate. The mornings are crisper,  afternoons are not sweltering (!!) and nights are significantly cooler. Looks like fall is almost here !
I will have to look up some cool weather dishes for the lunchbox soon.
Hows the weather in your neck of the woods ?


 
 On  Monday, LG7 had a sesame seed bagel (from Costco) with almond butter and honey, raspberries with an elephant pick, cantaloupe with a car pick and some sweetened pita chips.I packed his lunch in a box that I got at a local Japanese store.


 
On Tuesday, I used a two tiered bento box from AllThingsForSale. The lower tier contained vermicelli cooked with spices and vegetables (Shavige bhath). The upper tier had raspberries and cantaloupe pieces with an airplane pick .


 
On Wednesday, I packed sandwiches with peanut butter and  apricot preserves. I used a dinosaur sandwich cutter that I had purchased a long time ago. These dinosaurs have tiny blue eyes (tried to use dark colored sprinkles) and are not easily recognizable !! LOL I also added carrot sticks, apple slices, dried apricots, pepper jack cheese slices and a couple of vanilla wafers.


 
On Thursday, the lunch was packed in an EasyLunchBox container. I added bread and vegetable cutlets with ketchup, goldfish , sugar snap peas and red and black grapes with a soccer ball pick.
That day, LG7 came home with a slight stomach ache and fever. He hadnt eaten any of his lunch except the grapes and the goldfish.


 
Thankfully he was all better by Friday morning. I packed him a peanut butter jelly sandwich, raspberries with a car pick, apple slices with an elephant pick and a couple of yogurt covered pretzels.

Its always worrying when your child falls sick, more so when its sudden. I usually refrain from giving over the counter medicines immediately and prefer giving homemade remedies for colds and fevers and such. This has worked for our family so far. Our bodies are generally capable of healing themselves if given a chance !
How do you handle minor pains and illnesses, especially for school going children ?

Eggless Donut Muffins

Today's recipe is a simple one ... a mini muffin that I adapted from the Tasty Kitchen site. I was searching for muffin recipes that I could whip up easily with ingredients at home. I came across these scrumptious looking muffins and when I glanced over the ingredient list, I was happy to note that I had all at hand!
Since the original recipe mentioned only one egg, it was easy to replace it and still retain the texture. The batter came together very quickly and mini muffins bake up in about 15 minutes. The kids devoured the muffins as soon as they came out of the oven!
These eggless donut muffins do taste very buttery and cinnamon-y. They are good at tea time, in lunchboxes, as snacks and any time in between!
Give these a try in your kitchen !



Ingredients:
 ½ C whole wheat flour
1¼  C unbleached A.P Flour
1½ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Nutmeg
½ tsp Cinnamon
⅓ cups Oil
¾ cups turbinado raw Sugar
1 flax egg (1 Tbs ground flax seed + 3 Tbs water)
¾ cups Milk

Topping
4 Tbs melted butter
1/3 C sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon

Method
1. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
2. In another bowl combine the oil, sugar, milk and flax seed mixture and mix well.
3. add dry ingredients in batches and stir to combine. Do not overbeat.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.
5. In the meantime, combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Keep the melted butter in another small bowl.
6. Shake the muffins out of the pan while still hot. Dip the muffin tops in butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Let cool slightly before popping into mouth and savoring the sweet spicy donut muffins !