Lunchbox Liz

Just in case you want to sing!

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve dilly beans,
Eleven perfect peas,
Ten leaves of lettuce,
Nine lovely leeks,
Eight mustard greens,
Seven sweet potatoes,
Six garlic peppers,
Five golden beets,
Four Chinese cabbage,
Three Fennel bulbs,
Two tasty turnips,
And a parsnip in a pear tree!

Today’s Lunch
Green Beans with Dill

1 lb green beans
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill or 1 tbsp dry
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice from 1 lemon

Wash beans and snap each end off each bean. Steam for 10 minutes or until tender. Toss cooked beans with the rest of the ingredients. Serve hot or cold. Serves 4.

While studying at Lincoln University in New Zealand I used to go to dances sponsored by the African community of students studying at the University. I was too young to know why the women were hostile and the men overly friendly. At one of the dances I kindly accepted an invitation from a young Ghanaian man to have dinner and study. He cooked me a dinner of tuna and peas with onion and African pepper served over pasta. While eating he announced that his father had ten wives and he wanted eleven, one of whom should be an American. I skipped dessert.

Today’s Lunch
Ghanaian Pasta

1 onion
2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 can tuna
1 package of pasta of any variety

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Chop onion and add to the skillet. Cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cayenne, salt and pepper, and peast. Cover the dish will draining the tuna. Add tuna and cover again. Cook for fifteen minutes on medium low heat. Remove the lid and turn the heat back up to medium and cook for a further 5 minutes. Cook 2 servings of pasta according the directions on the package. Serves 2.

Lettuce comes in a wide array of varieties with the most incredible names-- Ithaca, Summertime, Bibb, Buttercrunch , Marvel of Four Seasons, Salad Bowl, Lollo Bionda, Oakleaf, Rouge d’Hiver, Little Gem, and Mesclun. Summertime is a type of crisphead or iceberg lettuce, but isn’t it so much better to think about eating a bowl of summer?



Today’s Lunch
Roast Beef Roll Ups

6 leaf lettuce leaves
1 tsp horseradish
3 tbsp mayonnaise
6 slices roast beef
1 red pepper

Wash lettuce leaves and pat dry. Mix horseradish and mayonnaise. Wash pepper, slice off the top and clean out the seeds. Cut into strips. Assemble the roll ups by laying a lettuce leaf flat and smear with horseradish mayonnaise. Lay 1 slice of roast beef on the mayonnaise and add a few pepper strips at the base of the leaf and roll! Serves 2.

I wish I could speak as eloquently on the cultivation of leeks as Lawrence the farmer can. He is very proud of his leeks that stand tall and proud in his field. He had cultivated this same stand of leeks for nearly six generations (of the leeks that is). One thing I can tell you about leeks is that Welshmen sometimes wear them on their heads on St. David’s Day.

Today’s Lunch
Potato and Leek Soup

4 cups stock (see post from July 16, 2006 on how to make stock)
1 large leek
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 clove chopped garlic
2 pounds potatoes any variety chopped into 1-inch pieces.
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Wash the leeks by copping off the greens on the top right where they start to cluster together and merge with the whites. Slice off the bottom. Cut the leek lengthwise and wash both halves under running water. Slice the resulting two halves along the length of the to create crescent shaped pieces. Melt the oil on medium in a large stockpot. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add leeks, salt, and two kinds of pepper and cover for 3 minutes. Add stock and potatoes and cover. Cook for thirty minutes and then test the potatoes to see if they are tender. If not cook further. You may need to reduce the heat to medium low if the soup comes to a hard boil. When the potatoes are done remove the pot from the head and mash the soup with a potatoes masher then stir. Add more salt and pepper if desired. Serve hot or cold. Serves 4.

The other day I was eating lunch in our company break room with a new coworker. She asked me where I got the mustard greens I was eating. I told her about the farm and I learned that she was newly transplanted from North Carolina. She sorely missed her greens. The next day I brought her a batch of greens from the farm. She was thrilled. After all we displaced southerners have to look out for one another. With a nod to our collective heritage I’m adding black eyed peas with my greens today. According to southern tradition eating black eyed peas on New Years Day bring you good luck in the coming year.

Today’s Lunch
Mustard Green and Black Eyed Peas

1 bunch mustard greens
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup dried black eyed peas
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak the peas overnight (or you can skip this step and buy canned peas, but do buy fresh greens!). The next day drain the peas. Place them in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover them. Add the bay leaf and cook on medium high until the cooker reaches full pressure. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the pressure to subside. This usually takes about 10 minutes. Wash greens thoroughly and pat dry. Slice the greens width-wise in about 3 pieces. Melt coconut oil in a large skillet on medium. Add garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add greens and cover for ten minutes or until greens are tender. Serve the greens in a bowl topped with a scoop of peas. Serves 3.