Lunches for an Outing: 7.28.12

We decided to hike Elmore Mountain again.  This time, we went with a group of friends!

More lunches for everyone!

Our lunches were a cheese, hummus, and turkey sandwich on whole wheat pain de mie, some of my Olympic ring cheese crackers, some melon balls, blueberries, and hummus stuffed mini peppers with carrot slices.

So delicious, and such a great hike for them!

All packed neatly in our EasyLunchboxes!

Olympic Blog Hop: Olympic Ring Cheese Crackers

It's time to celebrate the opening of the 2012 London Summer Olympics with a Blog Hop!

For this Bento Blogger & Friends Blog Hop, I haven't made lunches, since the kids are not in school right now, and we aren't going on a hike until the weekend... instead, I made Olympic Ring Cheese Crackers!

I have seen all sorts of sweets all over the web, with cookies and cupcakes and the like, but I wanted to make something more savory.  So, I used this recipe (and oh, is it yummy), and instead of running it through my cookie press (which I want to try soon!), I separated the dough into 5 parts, and colored each part with food coloring gel.  (If you are concerned with artificial colors, you can find some great natural food coloring here.)

Cheese cracker dough.  27 oz, divided by 5... math!

Colors!

Outside of the ring

Inside of the ring

I rolled out each color and cut into rings, using a large pastry tip.

Ready to bake!

Then, I baked them at 375 F for about 6 minutes, or until lightly browned. 

They kind of look like fruit loops, don't they?  Cheesy fruit loops...

Voila - Olympic rings!

FYI - I did try to make connected rings, but the dough was too soft.  It might be something to revisit.  Maybe for the winter Olympics in two years!

Now, Hop on over to What the Girls are Having and on through the Blog Hop to see what my fellow Bento Bloggers & Friends have come up with to celebrate the start of the Olympics!  (I can't wait for the gymnastics!)

Lunches for an Outing: 7.23.12

Snake Mountain.  It's only about 1400 tall at most,  but the views are spectacular.  And, no snakes.  Maybe harmless garter snakes.  In any case, a wonderful shorter hike, at about 3 1/2 miles round trip, only 900 feet gain in elevation.

The lunches!  I packed us turkey, cheese, and hummus sandwiches on fresh pain de mie, a small banana, apple slices, lemon pucker pistachios from Naturebox, and a windmill cookie, in our wonderful EasyLunchboxes.

Yup.  Gorgeous view.

Giveaway: Science Lab Cookie Cutters - WINNER!

The winner of the set of Science Lab Cookie Cutters is #5 - Shannon!

I would love to see cookie cutters in the shape of neat insects!

I'll be contacting you, Shannon, to get your address and get your prize sent out to you.  Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who entered!  Stay tuned for another review & giveaway soon!

Recipe: Poppyseed Filled Shortbread

I'm picking the winner of the Science Cookie Cutter Giveaway tonight, so don't miss your chance to win!

My mom got me a present ... it's the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.  So, when I wanted to make something to bring to work with me, I decided to turn to it for inspiration.

In the book, there is a recipe for filled double shortbread.  It is fulled with jam in the cookbook.  I happened to have a can of poppyseed filling, so I used that.  And since poppyseed goes so well with lemon, I put some lemon zest in with the shortbread dough.

Since the recipe is in the cookbook, I can't repost the exact recipe here.  But, if you take a basic shortbread recipe, and put half of the dough evenly in the bottom of a pan (I lined mine with parchment paper), spread a layer of filling over it, then roll out the other half to be the same size (approximately) on a piece of saran wrap, and then flip the dough onto the top and make it even.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 300 F, let cool slightly, and then slice into rectangles or triangles. 

Lunches for an Outing: 7.20.12

Don't miss your chance to win a set of science cookie cutters!!

Today, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my cousin (visiting from Sweden!) hiked up Vermont's third highest peak - Camel's Hump!  We went up Burrow's Trail, which is my sister's favorite.  I've never done the hike before, so I went with her preference. 

The hike was about 4.8 miles round trip, with a gain in elevation of about 2500 feet.  It was pretty steep the whole way.  Not a hike I would take the children on just yet... we'll work them up to Camel's Hump.  They've looked longingly at pictures of it from a distance and yearn to hike it, but it was tough for our group of adults.... though I did see some kids on the trail. 

Enjoying our lunches!

Anyhow, the lunches!

My cookie broke.  :(  It was still delicious.  :)

I packed up turkey and colby jack sandwiches with garlic hummus on fresh whole wheat pain de mie, cherries, NatureBox lemony pistachios and sunny trails mix, half a sliced apple, and one almond windmill cookie that I picked up at the store.  It was a yummy and filling lunch. 

If you ever visit Vermont, do this hike - and take along an EasyLunchBox with a hearty lunch!

Review & Giveaway: Science Lab Cookie Cutters

Science Cookie cutters!!  Seriously.  These things are made for me.  I don't know if all of my readers know this about me, but I work full-time as a molecular biology research technician in a biochemistry lab.

Between that and my slight obsession with cookie cutters that may be apparent to my followers, how could I not fall in love with geeky cookie cutters?

The good people at Science Lab Cookie Cutters were kind enough to send me a set of their chemistry cutters - the set includes a beaker, a flask, a test tube, and an atom. 

These cookie cutters are not small.  They make big giant cookies.  And they'll be perfect for sandwiches.  I can't wait for the chance to use them. 

Mad Scientist enjoying an edible test tube!  (She's actually quite nice, and not mad at all)

If you recall, my friends and I decorated some cookies for my annual cookie decorating party in a rather geeky manner, even without wonderful proper geeky cutters.  They are all chomping at the bit to get a chance to decorate these! 

Mmmm, flask!

I didn't decorate these cookies, because I didn't have the chance to do so, but they are wonderful plain.

Another delicious flask!

The recipe I used to make these cookies was from Bake at 350.   They got rave reviews from my scientist friends. 

Science-y me, with a beaker I'll eat, and a beaker that it wouldn't be a good idea to eat.

His name is Adam, and he's contemplating the atom.

Do you want to play with them?

Delicious atom!

Yummy beaker!

You're in luck!  Science Lab Cookie Cutters sent me a second set to give away to one of my lucky readers.  Want to win?  All you have to do it leave a comment about what kind of geeky cookie cutter you would most like to see.  I will not require you to "like" Science Lab Cookie Cutters on Facebook, or my blog, but you should, because it makes me happy, and I bet it makes them happy as well.

As always, I need a way to contact you.  Anonymous commenters, with no contact information, cannot win.  If I can't contact you, I can't send out your prize to you.  Simple as that.

One comment per person, please.  US entries only, please.

I will choose a winner, using Random.org, on Sunday, July 22nd, at 6 PM ish, EST.

Disclaimer:Science Lab Cookie Cutters sent me a set of their chemistry cookie cutters free of charge, and provided the prize I will send to the lucky winner, but I was in no other way compensated for this review.  No scientists were harmed in the eating of these cookies.

Lunches for Outing: 7.14.12

Another hike!  We're on a roll.  This time, we went to the Stowe Pinnacle.  Even non-Vermonters have likely heard of Stowe.  This is the place where the actual Von Trapp family (of Sound of Music fame) settled after they left Austria.  It's the place that people in sitcoms come to in Vermont. 

There's a reason.  It's gorgeous.

But on to the lunches!  I packed for us some Scrabble Cheez-its, grapes and blueberries (The Boy wanted apple slices instead), a cheese stick, a baby banana, and a whole wheat wrap with garlic hummus, ham, and sliced carrots.

Easy Lunchboxes are great for mountain top eating, because if you put them on top of their lid, they aren't going anywhere.  

Advice from The Boy, in Scrabble Cheez-it

Lunches for an Outing: 7.12.12

Yup, another hike!  This time, the kids and I went up Elmore Mountain.

It was about a 5.2 mile round trip hike, with some added extra for a little nature trail we went on, and we ended it with a super quick dip in the little Lake Elmore.  It was an awesome day, for sure.

And we had a really yummy set of lunches to go with the hike.  We had a fun skewer of grapes, half a turkey and cheese sandwich, a couple strawberries, baby carrots, a few plain potato chips (we earned them!), and three energy bites that I made based on this recipe - with golden raisins, dried currants, homemade peanut butter, and quick oats.

These kids earned their lunches

We even climbed the tower!

Washing off in the lake after climbing down!