School Lunches, or What Am I Sposed To Do Without a Fridge?!

@DrMom,

Also, pesto is basically without sauce -- it comes across as flavored noodles rather than saucy.

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Thanks Cycloptichorn and Soz, I like the olive oil idea, will try it , I guess, heat up EVOO then throw basil and then boiled pasta? and then quickly take out Basil before they know it.. lol.
Will try Pesto too! before I make my own what is a good mild one to buy?
Love the idea of hunger effect. waiting until next school year when there is no Cafeteria ... so it's mommy's lunch or nothing.. ha ha ha ( evil laughter)
BTW just made rice with chickpeas and they gobbled it up, although they didnt wanna confess what they are eating because a caucasian friend was over. I asked that they invite hime to try some and the response " well, what's the other name of Garbanzo peas?"

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@DrMom,

DrMom wrote:

Thanks Cycloptichorn and Soz, I like the olive oil idea, will try it , I guess, heat up EVOO then throw basil and then boiled pasta? and then quickly take out Basil before they know it.. lol.
Will try Pesto too! before I make my own what is a good mild one to buy?
Love the idea of hunger effect. waiting until next school year when there is no Cafeteria ... so it's mommy's lunch or nothing.. ha ha ha ( evil laughter)
BTW just made rice with chickpeas and they gobbled it up, although they didnt wanna confess what they are eating because a caucasian friend was over. I asked that they invite hime to try some and the response " well, what's the other name of Garbanzo peas?"

I guess kids don't like green stuff too much, so I see why you would want to take the basil out, but it tastes so damn good... maybe sliver it?

Chickpeas and Rice... is that Channa Daal? Yum!

My mom used to get us to eat stuff we didn't like by strategically using food coloring, and calling it 'clown lunches.' Anything that takes it out of the normal for the kids, helps them get over their reflexive dislike of certain things.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

Chick peas are Garbanzo peas, quite frequently used in Indo Pakistani cooking, also Mideastern I guess, because humus is ground chick peas. Channa dal is a lentil different from chick peas but also used extensively used in our cooking. I make that with rice too mixed in a form of Pilaf or separate as a curry to be eaten with rice or Pita bread.
BTW just got pesto , got overzealous with it but they still took a few bites,... will go easy next time. Eve for me its a foriegn taste and will take some getting used to!

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@DrMom,

Dr Mom wrote:

Will try Pesto too! before I make my own what is a good mild one to buy?

This is so backwards. You should ask, "Before you buy one, what is a good one to make?" You want to make sure it tastes good the first time someone tries something, so that when they get it in a jar, they don't assume all pesto tastes like it came from a jar. Besides, pesto is easy. Blend up lots of fresh basil with garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, and salt and pepper, and stream in olive oil. Voila. I also like it with toasted walnuts.

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@courtlove40,

Too late, I got one in a jar the same evening. Basil is an acquired taste for me, so it will take some time. I will keep experimenting with basil. I cook with Cilantro and mint a lot. Do you make it in a food processor ?

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@DrMom,

Yes, you can make it in the food processor, but I buy pesto sauce too - the one
from Trader Joe's is just excellent, so don't bother, DrMom.
Somehow kids take a liking to pesto. For a while, my daughter smeared it on
her sandwich, had it in her spaghetti, on top of chicken and mixed with vegetables too. She calmed down considerably (we used 2 jars a week) though. Laughing

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@CalamityJane,

I find roasted red pepper dip a good alternative bread spread to moisten sandwiches (and the neighbourhood kids seemed to really enjoy it when they came over).

easy-peasy to make if you can't find it in a local store

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/roasted_red_pepper_dip.php

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@ehBeth,

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/kids_cooking/

links to things kids like to eat, as well as easy recipes for them to make their own snacks and help with meals

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/kids_cooking/65_kid_friendly_recipes.php

one idea

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/extraterrestrial_tuna_sandwiches.php

my favourite part of the cdn living cooking section

Quote:

To change the number of servings, enter the number of servings you'd like in the box below, then press "calculate".

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@CalamityJane,

Yep, that's what I usually use (Trader Joe's Pesto Genovese or whatever it's called). I do make it from scratch occasionally, when my friend gives me some of his bumper crop of basil.

Love love love basil.

That dip looks excellent ehBeth, thanks!

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I've made this dip for fruit for a number of cottage weekends

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/milky_way_dip.php

soooooo good (and doesn't need a fridge for at least a 4 - 12 hour span)

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That Canada living site is great, thanks, ehbeth!
The red pepper spread sounds so delicious too, I will try that.
------
Yes sozobe, basil is delicious. Trader Joe's sells basil plants
and I always buy one. Basil with tomatoes and mozarella, olive oil and a
baguette makes for a great summer meal in itself.

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Another thing I do occasionally to break up the sandwich monotony:
take tomato paste and spread it on a slice of bread, sprinkle with fresh parsley leaves, add some layers of Swiss cheese (Emmentaler), salt and pepper to taste
and top it with another slice of bread. It sounds a bit weird, no, but is quite tasty.

1 Reply

@CalamityJane,

CalamityJane wrote:

That Canada living site is great, thanks, ehbeth!
The red pepper spread sounds so delicious too, I will try that.
------
Yes sozobe, basil is delicious. Trader Joe's sells basil plants
and I always buy one. Basil with tomatoes and mozarella, olive oil and a
baguette makes for a great summer meal in itself.

I cannot seem to keep a basil plant alive! Damn things die so quick no matter what I do to them.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

Really Cyclo? Basil requires so little care - they do like it moist though and
only morning sun in hot climates. I use a fertilizer stick that keeps the plant
fertilized for quite some time...

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@CalamityJane,

Oh that sounds good! I bet she'd like that.

What kind of bread do you use?

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@CalamityJane,

CalamityJane wrote:

Really Cyclo? Basil requires so little care - they do like it moist though and
only morning sun in hot climates. I use a fertilizer stick that keeps the plant
fertilized for quite some time...

Hmm will try that, thnx

Cycloptichorn

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@sozobe,

sozobe wrote:

Oh that sounds good! I bet she'd like that.

What kind of bread do you use?

I buy the Country potato bread, sozobe. We like it the best and it doesn't seem to get moldy either like most other breads.

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My experience with basil is that it likes heat. I always planted it a bit late in Venice; it liked summer heat/sun (venice is coastal), and didn't particularly like spring weather. Mine has done well in albuquerque, land of wild and woolly sunshine - in almost full day sun. It's true that I make sure it gets enough water.

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On pesto, I sometimes (well, often) use parsley (either kind) with walnuts instead of basil and pine nuts, both with lots of garlic since I like it, and some parmigiano, pecorino romano, whatever..

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School Lunches, or What Am I Sposed To Do Without a Fridge?!

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