Archive for September, 2009

OOTS! Lunchbox Review

This week I came home to an unexpected package.  I had entered a contest that I found via this link posted on Kath Eats.  I wasn’t reading the surrounding text very closely, because the contest was put on by Applegate Farms, which is a deli meat company.  I realized this once I got my prize in the mail!  :’(

HOWEVER, I will not let my prize go to waste, because it’s super cool!

I won an OOTS! Lunchbox!  Specifically, the deluxe lunchbox, in blue and red as depicted in the far left picture.  I love the design of the lunchbox, it’s so functional.  The deluxe version comes with the containers shown in the right in the above picture, 1 large one, and 4 smaller ones, which stack on top of each other so they stay upright when you transport your lunch.  The only downside I see to this lunchbox is that the containers are not water tight. They seemed to snap on pretty well, but the caprese salad I made leaked out when the whole lunchbox was tipped slightly to the side.  I will try to find some other plastic containers that seal tightly and still fit the box, and will put plastic wrap over the containers for now, but I found this annoying, especially since it is the “deluxe” version that comes with these containers.

Either way, I am happy I won this contest.  For all those interested, the contest was about your favorite school food memory.  I chose to write about the many lunches my mom packed for me when I was in high school. I played varsity sports year round, and my mom would pack not only a regular lunch, but also my “swim” lunch or my “track” lunch since I was at school until 6pm most days.  She always packed the best lunches to make sure my sister and I were well fed, and often stuck a nice note inside that said she hoped we had a great day and told us that she loved us.  Maybe that’s why I’m such a mushball sometimes.  Anyway, my mom’s lunches were awesome, and that’s why I won the contest.  She’s not getting the prize though!

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Socca

I had the day off of classes today, and instead of reading ahead for evidence, I sat around and enjoyed myself.  Since I enjoy cooking so much, I did a bit of that too!

After I graduated college I backpacked around Europe for a few weeks.  One of my destinations was Nice, France.  Upon arriving there from the (way, WAY better Lyon) I was underwhelmed with Nice, to put it politely.  I stayed in a “budget hotel” that was very nice, with great owners that gave us french lessons, but it was in a really sketchy neighborhood with bums and beggers on every street corner.  I ventured out to sun bathe on the (stone) beach, and drank some local vino in my hotel room, but for the most part I was a little scared of the city, and used the couple days I spent there to rest up for the last leg of my trip.

It was only when I got back to the states that I realized that I missed out on the best culinary experience a vegetarian traveling through France should indulge in: socca. Socca is a chickpea flatbread/pancake that it sold on the streets for a couple of euros.  I’m sure I passed by a few places that sell them, but for some reason I wasn’t inquisitive to ask what they were.  Either way, I knew I had to try them some day, and with my lesiurely day, I figured there was no time like the present.

The recipe is based off of this one, from David Lebovitz, but I modified it a little bit.

Socca

Socca

Socca (makes 3-4)

1 cup chickpea flour (besan)

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for the pan

Mix all ingredients in a medium size bowl with a whisk.  Cover, and chill for at least 30 minutes.

When batter is ready, preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and place a cast iron pan inside to heat up.  Once the oven reaches 450, remove the pan (use 2 potholders, that sucker is going to be super hot), and pour 1/4 cup or so of batter in, swirling the pan to evenly coat.

Place in the oven until firm and it begins to blister and blacken in spots on the top (this will vary depending on your oven, it took me about 4 minutes).  If you find your socca is not blistering appropriately, you can set your oven to broil and place the pan close to the broiler for a few minutes.

Gently remove the socca from the pan, and cut into wedges to serve.  Drizzle some more olive oil and kosher salt on top, if you like.

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Mmmm, flatbreads.

I love most things bread.  Bagels, english muffins, tortillas, whole wheat, italian… you name it, I dig it.  The most versatile bread, in my opinion is flatbread.  Puffy pitas, naan, roti, tortillas, and fancy dancy ‘wraps’ are are great to have on hand to easy homemade meals.  Most of them freeze really well too (except maybe tortillas), so you don’t have to worry about having them go moldy on you.  The reason I like them so much is that you can make them into sandwiches, eat them plain dipped into soup or a dip, made into garlic bread, as a crust for mini pizzas, the list goes on.

Probably my favorite way to use them for dinner purposes is as a shell for some type of baked flatbread.  My own personal definition of pizza is that it must contain red sauce on the bottom.  White pizza makes no sense to me, but when you call it a “garlic and cheese flatbread” I’m all about it (but will still probably attempt to dip it in marinara).  Weird, I know, but love me anyway.    What were we talking about again?

Oh, this stuff:

Pizza!

Pizza topped with zucchini, red bell peppers, kalamata olives, and red onions

This guy is made on a “pizza parlor” flatbread that I pick up at Wegmans near the pita breads.  They are tasty and can stand up to the millions of toppings I like on my pizzas.  Pizzas can also be made on tortillas, but you have to be a little less generous with the toppings or it won’t get crispy.

This is NOT a pizza, but a baked flatbread.  And it’s damn tasty!  Naan style flatbread, topped with homemade cilantro-almond pesto, kalamata olives, quartered grape tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.  This guy was tasty as heck.  I highly recommend this combo.  I used this recipe for the pesto and froze most of it in an ice cube tray and then put it in a plastic bag to store.  I actually broke out a cube today to use as a sauce for my gnocchi and it still tasted fresh and delicious.

This one was pretty similar but the base is a laughing cow cheese wedge mixed with some Gorgonzola and cilantro pesto, then topped with tomatoes, olives, and fresh basil.  This one wasn’t as good as the one above, but still pretty dern good.

Did I mention that I make these in my toaster oven so they don’t even require heating up your regular oven?

Go eat some crispy topped bread!

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