thesamanthafiles's Profile

@Rucy - So glad you brought up Bread and Jam for Frances. I love that book (loved it as a child and still love it today). An excerpt for those folks who have never read the book (This is Frances' friend Albert eating his lunch) :

"He took a bite of the sandwich, a bite of pickle,
a bite of hard-boiled egg, and a drink of milk.
Then he sprinkled more salt on the egg and went round again.
Albert made the sandwich, the pickle,
the egg, and the milk come out even.
He ate his bunch of grapes and his tangerine.
Then he cleared away the crumpled-up waxed paper,
the eggshell, and the tangerine peel.
He set the cup custard in the middle of the napkin on his desk.
He took up his spoon and at up all the custard.
Then Albert folded up his napkins and put them away.
He put away his cardboard saltshaker and his spoon.
He screwed the cup on top of his thermos bottle.
He shut his lunch box,
put it back inside his desk, and sighed.
'I like to have a good lunch,' said Albert."

I'll echo grinding some of the oats. I've had great success with the granola recipe from Traveler's Lunchbox - http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/6/9/the-lip-ladys-secret-granola.html

Hmmm, I think I need to make a batch of that olive oil granola now, grinding some of the oats into powder. Mmm!

I like to dice it up and store it in the freezer (a Ball canning jar with a plastic lid works really well). Then you can use a bit at a time.

As for uses - scrambled eggs or a frittata, a root vegetable hash, a quinoa pilaf, sauteed greens (especially hearty ones like collards and kale), any sort of bean soup, anything with potatoes.

Awesome! Just pledged. I would use this quite a bit. Maybe not to send neighbors home with leftovers, but certainly for baked goods - those last few biscuits or cookies.

Wow! These look fantastic, I might need to make them tonight!

While we do always have tomatoes on hand, and I am a fan of Marcella's butter sauce, I am pro-jarred sauce. Either Raos or Trader Joe's (Rustico - if that's the chunkier sauce with vegetables).

If my husband and I are totally wrecked after work, using jarred sauce and boiling some pasta is better than take-out.

And you know, I make them a little differently (as per Serious Eats - http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/06/cold-processed-berry-shrub-recipe.html)

The cold process really keeps the fruit tasting bright and fresh.

I'm sold too. Also love the introductory video on their website.

Boy, I think I might have to make lentil walnut burgers for dinner now. And I always forget to use lentils in tacos... making a mental note.

Some more ideas here: http://www.101cookbooks.com/ingredient/lentil

I love the Lively Up Yourself Lentil Soup (I usually use a package of cooked lentils from Trader Joes - the one near the produce).

Oh, I just planted one of these this year! It is already growing fast, it's in one cage but I've already ordered another cage to stack on top of it.