Goodbye Summer, Hello School Lunches!

We still have a few more days of summer freedom, but let's be honest with ourselves: school is starting again soon. For those of us who are heading back to the books, now is a great time to be thinking about how to feed ourselves well through the busy months. If you're not going to class yourself but you pack a lunch for a kid who is, it's even more important to know how to keep the lunch box healthy.

School lunches are also big garbage producers -- according to the U.S. Energy Information Association, school-age children generate 67 pounds of garbage per child each school year, and that's just at lunch time. Yikes! Instead of paper bags and disposable cutlery, cut back waste where you can; pack lunches in reusable containers that often come with the added bonus of being insulated and bring along reusable cutlery from home. Add some cloth napkins and you are good to go!

An easy way to make sure your packed lunch stays balanced is to plan your meal around a vegetable rather than a grain or protein, include a fruit for dessert, and make sure you're putting in some good protein and fats for your brain to keep buzzing through the afternoon.

If food can be heated up at lunchtime, then your job just got a hundred times easier. Dinner leftovers? That's lunch. It's a whole lot easier to throw on a little extra supper when you're cooking than to make a separate dinner and lunch in one night, so plan to have some leftovers. Just make sure to label them as "lunch food" in the fridge so they don't turn into someone else's midnight snack. If you don't have access to a microwave or stove at lunchtime, consider investing in a good thermos that can keep soup, stews, and other re-energizing dishes hot until noon.

The most important thing about packed lunches is that they need to be portable. Perhaps this is why the sandwich still reigns supreme in the packed lunch realm, but the real trick is simply making it a one-dish meal. Meal salads are great for the early fall, when it still feels like summer outside -- take tuna salad out from between the bread and dress it up with scallions, dill, celery, and mustard, or pop it between some crisp lettuce leaves instead. Make the kale salad everyone's nuts about. You know the one (hint: any kale salad at all). Load it up with toasted almonds and you'll feel like you just ate a steak for lunch, but better. Food blog 101 Cookbooks even has a salad recipe called An Ideal Lunch Salad. Make it. Pack it. Lunch is served.

If you want to go beyond salads, why not try stuffing some veggies full of delicious things like rice, beans, cheese and spices and call it a lunch? Peppers and mushrooms are especially famous for their stuffed goodness, but stuffed zucchini (otherwise known as zucchini boats) is equally amazing, as are onions, if you're up for a bit of a longer cook time. Or what about these rice-stuffed tomatoes? Perfect as summer produce is still booming around us, but we're hitting the books once more.

And sandwiches certainly aren't the enemy when it comes to school lunches, it's just that we can get a little bored of them. And for folks who are gluten-free, it can be pretty frustrating when your only lunch options are packed full of gluten. If you need a change from bread, try bringing quesadillas or other dreamy tortilla concoctions, or wrap up your sandwich innards in crisp lettuce or rice paper wraps. Whatever you pack, make it something you actually want to eat, not something you think you should eat.

Homemade Spicy Ketchup

Adapted from Joy the Baker

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, depending on how hot you want it
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

DIRECTIONS 

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and sautee until transparent and tender, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more.  Add the tomato paste, salt, and all of the spices, stirring until the tomato paste is evenly distributed, and the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add brown sugar, vinegar, and crushed tomatoes.  Stir to combine.

Let mixture simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes until thickened to a ketchup consistency, stirring occasionally. 

Remove pan from heat.  Using an immersion blender (or regular blender if that's what you have), blend until smooth. Strain ketchup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean bowl to remove any seeds.
 
Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Store ketchup in glass jars in the fridge, where it should last for up to 1 month.

Grilled Eggplant

INGREDIENTS

1 large eggplant
3-4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 large cloves garlic, very finely minced
1 pinch each basil and oregano
Sea salt and freshly grated black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Slice the eggplant about 1/2-inch thick.

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Brush both sides of the eggplant slices with the oil and vinegar mixture.

On a hot grill or BBQ, cook for about 15 minutes, usually 5 to 8 minutes per side, until very soft.

Late Summer Gardening

For all of you gardeners out there, August is such a rewarding and sometimes overwhelming month in the garden. Crops tend to be overflowing with food to harvest -- the fruition of all your hard work through the previous months -- and there's also the upcoming season to think about. Now's the time to be planning your fall garden, getting cover crops ready and imagining how to keep your plots well through the wet winter. Here are a few things to keep in mind as August comes to a close in your garden.

Beat the Heat
Keep the soil moist to help plants continue to thrive through the hot and dry spells of late summer. A good mulch cover helps keep moisture in the soil and regular watering will do wonders for thirsty plants. Even better, simple irrigation systems like a milk jugs with small holes in the bottom will cut down on your handwatering time while truly nourishing your plants.

Harvest, Harvest, Harvest

Make sure you keep on picking fruits and vegetables at the ideal stage, as overripe fruit can prevent smaller fruits on the same plant from developing properly and attract pests and diseases. Not sure when to pick your produce?

For squash, smaller tastes better -- summer squash and zucchini can get tough and woody when they grow too large, so pick when they're still small and delicate-tasting. Look under the leaves to ensure you find all the fruit! Carrots, too, are better when they're smaller; grab them when they have the diameter of a quarter or less. Let tomatoes ripen on the vine for the best flavour. Potatoes are ready when their tops are brown and have fallen over. Green beans should be picked when they're about as thick as a pencil and cantaloupes are ready when their skin is nettled and they slip easily from the vine.

Harvest any herb plants early in the day after the dew has dried. To save herbs through the winter, dry them in a dehydrator or air dry them on screens or by hanging bundles upside down in a cool, dry place. Store any dried herbs in an airtight container.

Get Ready for Fall
As early summer crops die away, replace them with autumn crops like broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower. Other brassicas, like kale, do well throughout the colder months and can be eaten fresh from the garden even as winter comes in, so make sure you have plenty of room for these cooler-weather crops.

Prune Down
Prune canes like raspberries after harvest. For plants that bear their fruit in June, cut the canes that fruited this year right to the ground. For everbearing plants, prune canes that bore fruit this season in half.

Keep Your Compost Going
If you aren't already composting, now is a great time to get started. That pile of peelings and pits will be great nourishment for your plants next year. Make sure you're not adding any diseased plants or weeds that have ripening seeds on them into your compost. You can also water your compost pile in the summer to speed up its decomposition.

Simple Summer Bean Salad

INGREDIENTS

1 15-ounce can white beans or chickpeas
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
half a cucumber, chopped

3 teaspoons olive oil

2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup feta, crumbled (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and drain the beans, shaking off as much water as possible.

Whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard in a medium bowl. Add in the beans, tomato, cucumber and parsley, tossing gently to coat in the dressing. Add feta if using and season to taste with salt and pepper.

A time for picnics

Summer is still going strong out there, so it's time to take to the park and embrace the picnic. Eating outdoors -- especially with a gaggle of friends and family -- is one of the loveliest and most relaxing ways to get into the summer spirit. And the best thing about picnics? They can be as fancy or as low

Bring props. The most important of these? Something to sit on. Make it a beautiful blanket, a towel, or even just an extra shirt that happens to be hanging out in your bag, but be sure to bring something to put between you and the three thousand granules of sand that are determined to make it into your sandwich. Get extravagant with cushy pillows, umbrellas, and camping chairs or keep it simple with beach blanket and hat. If it's easy to tuck some of the entertainment kinds of props into your bag too -- cards, books, games, music -- do that! It can be nice to have a reason to stay out in the park longer and reading in good company is a great way to spend an afternoon.

Don't forget your liquids. Make that fabulous ginger-puckered lemonade you've been imagining and sling it full of ice or pack the corkscrew and wine bottle. But bring something that resembles water to stay hydrated and cool. There's nothing like having a delicious dinner of salty snacks and having nothing close by to wash it down with!

Who would we be if we didn't recommend that you go green? Pack reusable napkins, reusable water bottles and real dishes if you can. Just because the stuff you're throwing out isn't going to start in the garbage at home doesn't mean it won't end up in the same place. Tread lightly on the earth when picnicking by only setting up camp in areas that have been approved for human feet (i.e. not on that sensitive sand dune whose ecosystem is destroyed when people walk on it), carrying out whatever you carry in, and not racking up a ton of trash just because you're not at home.

Serve food that will make people feel good, not get sick. The easiest way to make sure of this is to serve up cold foods, but if you want to bring hot dishes, either make them on site on a barbeque or be absolutely certain they've been able to stay at the appropriate temperature. Hot foods that could make you sick -- meat dishes, for example -- need to be kept at 140 degrees to be considered hot. Use insulated containers to transport these dishes and plan them only for picnics that don't require a lot of travel time.

Speaking of safety, here are a couple more tips to make sure that your picnic is a delicious success!

Cover up your feast when you're not eating it to keep bugs and dirt out of the food. When you're packing everything up to go picnicking, it can be tempting to lay it all out the way you would on the blanket, with open bowls and elegant cheese boards. But how are you going to transport that stuff? A better way to go is to pack up food in reusable containers and then arrange when you arrive.

Bring a way to wash your hands. If there isn't a washroom or sink nearby, bring biodegradable soap and water or even just some handwipes. Make sure you can keep your fingers clean!

Have fun! Most of the safety concerns around picnicking aren't all that different from the common sense you use with food when cooking at home, so don't stress. You probably already know how to have a delicious and fabulous picnic -- whether it's on the beach at sunset or even in your own backyard.
key as you like, easily tailored to just about any occasion. Here are a few ideas to make any meal an instant picnic success!

Tomato Tart

Adapted from Martha Stewart Living

INGREDIENTS

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

All-purpose flour, for dusting

1 shell pie dough

1/2 cup of cheese of your choice, grated

4 medium firm but ripe tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and roast the head of garlic by placing garlic on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzling with 1 tablespoon oil, and wrapping foil around garlic. Bake until soft and golden brown and the tip of a knife easily pierces the flesh, about 45 minutes. Set aside. When garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the cloves out of their skins and into a small bowl; mash with a fork, and set aside. Discard the skins.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pie dough to a 1/8-inch-thick circle, about 12 inches in diameter. Brush off the excess flour and place dough into pie or tart pan. Trim the dough so that it is flush with the edges and transfer to the refrigerator to chill, about 30 minutes.

Raise oven temperature to 450 degrees. Spread roasted garlic evenly on the chilled crust. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese, in an overlapping circular pattern. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 400 degrees. and bake until crust is golden and tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape, 45 to 55 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, and serve warm.