Falafel!

Bento #11

No lunchbox today, as I’m working (read: blah, blah, blahgging) from home today. I’ll take the later train in, yes, just so I can go to SNB this evening. Ok, ok, so I have to go to the library to do work, too, but that’s not as fun.

I’m just really in the mood to be around knitters today. I listened to the recent podcast from It’s a Purl, Man regarding the Yarn Harlot‘s appearance in NYC this past Thursday, and I’m all about Representing today. I have more to say on that subject, but later for that.

This is yesterday’s lunch. Contents: leftover falafel, tomatoes, lettuce, hummus, pickle, tabouleh, potatoes faux gratin, mixed nuts, grapes, blueberries, and a little container of soy yogurt dill dip for the falafel. Not pictured are the pieces of pita bread that I nestled in the box on top of these containers.

The falafel reheated rather well, though it wasn’t crispy, obviously. I ate the fruit and nuts as a morning snack (in addition to the fruit smoothie that I brought in my “food jar”), and still I had a headache by 1 pm. I was completely out of commission last night. I went to bed as soon as we got home, around 6 pm. I thought I had this thing figured out, but apparently, I still need to tweak my habits. I even took it easy on the computer yesterday, and had plenty of water. Oh, well. I’ll figure it out. I’m getting really tired of answering the “how are you” question with “fine, but I’ve got a killer headache.” Grr.

At least my lunch was yummy!

Library school?

What’s that?

I thought since I seem to be making note of all the non-school related things I’m up to, I might as well post about library school stuff, too.

Since I’m taking it rather easy this semester, I’ve got more time to work on my projects, and am not stressing about school that much. My two main projects are as follows:

• Oral history: I’m interviewing the owners and founder of Webs in Northampton, MA. I have yet to actually meet any of them in person, and have had very little contact with them, and so I’m getting a little nervous about this project. I hope it comes together well. Thus far I’ve been contenting myself with doing a little reading on weaving, which is the craft for which Webs was founded. I will go to the Archives tomorrow afternoon to do a little research on the founder, who happens to be a Simmons alum, to boot. That should be pretty fun.
• Preservation management: I haven’t really begun research for my final paper, yet. My topic, though, is craft-related, and so, I really should get on it. I want to look into the special preservation needs of textiles in an archival setting. Sounds neat, eh? I rememeber at UMassD Archives we had a scale model of some textiles machine. It was wicked cool. And we also had some garments in one or two of the collections. I specifically remember a christening gown, which was really neat. So, yeah, that’s what I’m aiming for.

I didn’t anticipate being able to incorporate so many of my personal interests in library school projects. It’s rather fun, and keeps things interesting. I also pick topics with an eye towards what might be professionally relevant. I think I’ve done a fairly good job at integrating my personality into my assignments, while making them appropriate for library and archival science audiences. This semester is flying by. I rather wish it would slow down just a little bit, but once I get my first interview done for Oral History, I think I’ll start feeling a little less nervous about that class.

How I spent my Saturday night:

  

lemon yellow 

We were going to call people and go out tonight, but decided to bake instead. (Old!)

I finally got around to making something from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. It’s just your basic golden cupcake with buttercream, but somehow adding lemon extract, lemon zest, and a sprig of mint, and it looks all gourmet! Super simple, though.

The batter and icing were smooth as silk. I couldn’t believe how great they tasted. I was so hopped up on sugar from licking the batter and icing bowls that I didn’t even eat one to see how the finished cake tasted. Cake for breakfast, I say.

I’m still not used to piping frosting, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it eventually. This was the best looking one of the bunch, but click through to see more photos of the whole dozen, if you feel so inclined, and I think you do.

I almost never use these plates, and I forgot how awesome they are. Usually, if I remember, I put fresh lemon slices on them at parties for cocktail enhancement. Lemons are so cheery!

(Edit to add: Sunday morning cupcakes = crazy delicious)

Springtime in SPACE!

Bento #10

I think I have spring fever. And have maybe read too much “Sky and Telescope” of late. This lunch didn’t even start out with a particular theme. I just sort of threw it together, realized I sort of had a theme, and then just went with it.

I’m getting a little tired of sesame noodles, but they’re so tasty! And I think I need to get some different fruit at the market… maybe some berries or something. The crackers actually survived, even though they were a little bit too tall for closing the lid properly.

JeT’s finally got himself a Flickr account, so be sure to be on the look out for photos from “R2DJ” over there. (JeT was already taken. Bummer.) Maybe he’ll actually update his blog!

I made more of that tofu salad today, but added fresh lemon juice. I forget how much I love lemons. And limes. Hooray for citrus. I think I’ll go eat a grapefruit. Yum!

Right. I’ve got to get back to cleaning the house so that tomorrow I can concentrate on homework and whatnot. It may seem like my life is only about food right now, but really I am doing other stuff. Really. Right. Time for a snack!

Bento #8

 

Bento #8

It’s Springtime in my food! This is my favorite one from this week, I think. I like the mix of colors, the arrangment, etc. I’m especially satisfied with my little salad cup on the left, there. Every container has at least one flower (the fruit cup has its lemon, which looks like a flower, eh?) Click through for info on the rest of the contents, and the other bento pictures from this week (Bento #9 is over there).

JeT is no stranger to packing his own lunch. Indeed, for many months he’s been the designated lunch packer each morning. It’s only been since my recent bento fascination that I’ve been packing both our lunches. On mornings when I get to sleep in, he throws something together for himself, nothing too exciting.

This week, however, he decided to pack super fun lunches on his own. He’s even photographed them. I’m egging him on to get his own Flickr page so he can join the food parade, too. I think it would rule.

“People of the fog”

I always say to people (usually when discussing skin and my inability to tan) that my heritage is not tied in any way to ‘the people of the sun.’ It turns out that the Mi’kmaq word for the area whence my mother’s family hails is Unamakik, or the Land of Fog. Turns out, I was right after all.

Ok, back to work. I’m trying to find oral history articles or books about Newfoundland for one of my assignments. The main book I want is deemed “in library use only” at the BPL. Bummer.

Bento #7

 

Bento #7: Sparkle J

This is yesterday’s lunch. No photo of #6, due to scrambling out the door Thursday morning. And no fancy lunch for today, either. I didn’t feel like taking the train in today so I’m working (read: blogging) from home, instead. Click through for JeT’s lunch.

Contents clockwise from upper left: baked beans and veggie dogs (in the shape of flowers), veggie rainbow cup (red pepper, carrot, celery, cucumber), fruit cup (mango, grapes), rice. Garnishes of tiny carrot flowers, grape tomatoes, and parsely, and mint leaves in the fruit. Not pictured is the container of dip for the veggies. I nestled it in among the fruit after I took the photo.

It was quite yummy, though I think brown rice would be better suited than white rice when served like this. White sushi rice is great for molding into shaped rice balls (onigiri), and for nori rolls, but I don’t like eating a big serving of it like this.

This was my first time making veggie dog flowers, and I think they came out pretty good for a first try. The centers are carrot bits. You need something fairly solid in the middle to spread out the “petal” sections.

Frozen mango chunks cut up into smaller bits work great in the fruit cup. They don’t defrost into a puddle of goo (like the frozen berry mix from the other day – remember purple sushi?) and so work great in the uncovered container.

This lunch was made the night before and refridgerated. I love that the little sections are removable, and microwavable, so I could heat up the franks-n-beans.

Bento #5

Bento #5

We got our Laptop Lunches in the post yesterday, so of course we had to try them out today. Clilck on the photo see more laptop lunch goodness. (Oh, and yesterday’s bento #4 is over there, too.)

Contents, clockwise from top left: marinated tofu, mango bits with mint leaves in a silicone baking cup, a plethora of veggies (red bell peppers, carrots, cucumber slices, grape tomatoes), avocado rolls, sesame noodles, a little container of tamari, and parsely and carrot flowers for garnish. Yum!

I took the late train in today, because I have to be on campus late, and the thought of a 15 hour day out of the house seemed a little too daunting. This left me extra time in the AM to make yummy food! Hooray!

I met some friends for lunch today and was absolutely full afterwards. I think I even left a few tofu cubes in the box that I couldn’t bear to eat. Stuffed! This this is great! I can’t wait ’til I get my little soy sauce containers so that I can use the little green container for veggie dips and whatnot.

In other crafty news

Peeking inside the lappy cozy

I made a laptop cozy yesterday. I figured that if I’m to bring my computer to school with me (which was the purpose of having one in the first place) then I’ll need to be able to transport it safely. That doesn’t mean the cozy has to be boring, oh no indeed.

Here we have red bandana-style, orange, and orange ladybug print fabrics. Exciting! The red print is a bit canvas-like, and twill, so it’s got some ruggedness, too. I used 3/4 inch foam to keep the lappy safe, though I trimmed it a bit short, so the top of the lappy kind of sticks out a bit from it’s foam protective envelope. There is a big flap that folds over, so it’s not totally unprotected.

This is another example of a crafty project that I sort of planned while I was making it. I didn’t even change the thread in the sewing machine. I couldn’t find my red, so I used the yellow that was already in there. I’ll call it “accent stitching.” It didn’t take me long to make… maybe 30 mintues? Something like that.

Click on the photo to be taken to flickr, where you can find a different view of it.

Bento #3

Bento #3

Here’s today’s lunch. Click the photo for info on contents and whatnot.

The dumplings came out wicked awesome. They taste just as good as the store bought ones, were easy to make, and super cheap to boot. We need to go grocery shopping so I can get different veggies and fruit. Hey, at least I’m eating veggies, right? It’s pretty bad when you’re a vegetarian who doesn’t eat that many veggies. I was in a serious food rut, and this fun food kick has really gotten me out of it, thank goodness. Now I’m planning my meals for color and prettiness… and beige food doesn’t photograph very well. This meal has a bit too much beige, but it’ll do.