little LADIES WHO LUNCH

Pulled pork with Piedmont sauce (a classic vinegar-based Carolina-style sauce) on a whole wheat slider bun. 

Beef steak tomatoes drizzled with balsamic dressing, spring lettuce mix, vidalia onions, sweet corn relish

Sauteed asparagus with salt and pepper

Organic strawberries with cardamom cinnamon whipped cream

There are many ways to make pulled pork, but the recipe we used to make this Easy & Delicious Slow Cooker Pulled Pork is here.  We specifically went with a recipe that did not use BBQ sauce from the get-go (and that each family member could choose to add later) because the kids aren’t huge fans. Good move.  :0)

 Piedmont Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 
2 cups ketchup 
1 tablespoon sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp celery seed
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
juice from 1/2 lemon
1 tsp dry mustard
1 shot of bourbon
1/2 cup pulled pork drippings
1/2 cup pureed tomato
1/4 cup finely chopped sauteed onion

Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 15 minutes.  

This was the perfect Sunday dinner for us, as once the pork was in the slow cooker we could go about our business and enjoy the day.

Roasted humanely-raised chicken drumsticks with herbs over a bed of raw spinach; organic strawberries; Asian pear “fries”; Minneola tangelo slices; cornbread as a special treat

It’s a rainy, cool day today in Brooklyn.  I wanted to send the kids to school with a little warmth and sunshine from home. 

Strawberries and homemade whipped cream are hands down a favorite no-bake treat in our family — and so easy to whip up (no pun intended)! My youngest daughter recently took 25 mini servings to school as her classroom birthday treat and received rave reviews.

Below, her older sister agreed to walk us through the process. 

First, here’s what you’ll need:  local cream, sugar (we used organic), real vanilla (we scored ours at a Kickstarter fundraiser for one of our favorite blogs, Time at the Table), organic strawberries (rinsed and hulled) and an optional bar of dark chocolate (for grating).

Start by whipping the cream:

Then slice the strawberries:

Add strawberries to disposable mini party cups or your vessel of choice:

Grate optional dark chocolate:

Spoon or pipe whipped cream on top of berries.  We used a cookie gun because we love the fancy look it gives the cream.

Add a few dark chocolate flakes and top with a strawberry slice:

Enjoy!

My daughters informed me that they’d love another Halloween themed bento at 7:40am.  We leave the house at 8, and there was hair and teeth to be brushed, socks to find.  So….we relied on little Halloween trinkets to funk things up.

Our quick and easy bento consists of a whole grain muffin, reduced fat organic cream cheese (they wanted almond butter, but there wasn’t enough left in the jar after making squirrel treats — don’t ask), local / organic strawberry jam, organic strawberries topped with star fruit and a jack-o-lantern clementine. 

The whole grain muffin is from a local bakery.  The list of ingredients is as follows:  whole wheat flour, water, low-fat sour cream, apple sauce, eggs, canola oil, apple juice, prune puree, flax seed, sesame seeds, baking powder, dark rye flour, crude wheat bran, baking soda, salt, rolled oats, raw wheat germ, whole grain cornmeal, and oat bran. 

For more Halloween ideas, check out our previous posts!

Slices of grilled organic, nitrate-free chicken and apple sausage in natural casing; crudites (red pepper, baby carrots, cucumber); local apple slices; organic strawberries; freshly baked oatmeal banana walnut muffin (basic oatmeal muffin recipe here, tweaked slightly to meet our dietary standards)

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I had goals in place yesterday, which basically consisted of staying far away from the media circus surrounding 9/11 (check!), baking oatmeal banana walnut muffins (check! — sort of — my husband made them), watching the Giants hopefully win (fail and fail again), cooking a big Sunday dinner (more failure) and coming up with a good meal for today’s bento (the jury is still out).

So, what happened?  Our doorbell rang at noon with a special delivery. 

We are now fostering a gorgeous mama cat and her (3) 2-week old kittens for the next month or so.  Just like that, I was sucked into (no pun intended) watching the kitties nurse, cuddle, sleep, roll around and sleep some more.  Having had a very short-lived and grueling “baby moon” myself, I wasn’t about to allow mama cat to have a similar experience.  No, instead she’s resting with her babies on high thread count sheets, getting fed at her whim and feeling 100% secure in her surroundings.  At 9 months of age she’s just a baby herself! But the hard knock life is over for them.  They aren’t leaving until they’ve all found perfect homes.

What does all of this have to do with bento boxes?  Oh, right.  Well, what we ended up with for today’s lunch is exactly what bento boxes were made for in the first place:  a potpourri of foods that don’t necessarily have a cohesive theme.  Today we’ve packed a little of this and a little of that…  basically, whatever looked good in the fridge.

Even if you have just one sausage leftover from dinner to split between 2 kids, slice them up and toss them in.  Or maybe there are only 6 tiny organic strawberries that are still looking good while the others have headed south — perfect.  After all, “bento” originates from a Southern Song Dynasty slang term biàndāng, meaning simply “convenient” or “convenience.” 

Speaking of convenience, if you live in the New York City area and have been considering adopting a cat or kittens, here they are!  Please get in touch.

The Little Ladies started the new school year today, and when asked what they wanted to pack in their first bento they decided nearly immediately on

Organic champagne grapes; organic strawberries; multi-grain baquette; hormone-free sliced cheddar cheese; watermelon balls

I wish them well.  I detected a little nervousness on their part, but they’ll be OK. 

For my part, I’m going to head out now to do some exercise to help ward off empty nest syndrome!

Bid adieu to summer berries with this 15 minute effort (my girlfriend Crystal says 25 minutes if you include taking the picture and writing about it!) 

*Recipe makes 12 silicone cupcake molds.

For red layer:

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1/2 cup whole raspberries

1 cup water

juice of half a lime (or lemon)

1 tbsp honey/maple syrup

2/3 tsp agar powder

For white layer:

1 1/3 cup half and half (or heavy cream or coconut milk or milk)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp honey/maple syrup

2/3 tsp agar powder

Place 12 silicone cups on a cookie sheet, dice up 1/4 cup strawberries and place in the bottom of silicone cups.  Place remaining strawberry slices in a pot with the remaining red ingredients and bring to a boil.  Boil until berries are falling apart (about 3 mins).  Quickly whisk berries to break up pieces.  Remove from heat.  Let cool for a few mins. and divide among 12 silicone cups.  Add “white” ingredients to another pot and turn on heat.  Once white is boiling, let boil for 1 min and remove from heat.  Add white to each silicone cup.  Place cookie sheet in fridge to set quickly/serve cold.  Leave on counter if you would like to serve at room temp.  To serve, just invert silicone cup on a plate and push gently on the bottom.  The “jello” will pop right out.  Garnish with additional berries & whip cream (if desired).

Agar sets quickly.  On the counter, at room temp, maybe 15 minutes, tops.  You want the red partially set before you pour on the white.  But you want the white to still be hot when added so that the layers “melt” together a little.

Keep in mind that the ingredients are spread out over 12 servings, so it’s a surprisingly light dessert that looks and feels decadent.

Keep an eye out on Crystal’s brand new blog for more creative recipes. She has easy-to-follow instructions and her photography is just gorgeous!