Recipe: Prosciutto Perline Pasta Salad

It is hot and muggy here in Vermont today, and I had absolutely no desire to cook or eat anything hot.  Pasta salad to the rescue!

I picked up some prosciutto perline at Trader Joe's, and they are delicious little bundles of pasta.  You could, of course, use any pasta you like - a small, fresh, filled pasta will be better, in my opinion.

In order to make the pasta salad, I cooked up the pasta (and then quickly turned the stove off!) and rinsed it in cold water.  I then added some quartered mini heirloom tomatoes (again, you could use cherry tomatoes if you like - I like these tomatoes because they are delicious AND beautiful!) and some sliced and quartered mini cucumbers.  I tossed in halved mini mozzarella balls.

To finish it off, I made a light vinaigrette.  In a small canning jar, I combined about 3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar and 3 Tbsp olive oil, with some Italian spices.  I shook the jar up very well, and then poured over the salad, stirring to coat.

The salad was then refrigerated for about an hour to chill, and to allow the flavors to meld.

Yum.  And cool.  Now I might go have some ice cream.

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)

Dinners for an Outing: Picnic on the Beach - 6.29.14

It was a really hot day and I was very tired, and so we didn't do much of anything all day.  I napped.  The kids played on the computer.  I was feeling a bit guilty about being inside for most of the day, and after my nap, I had a little energy, so I decided to pack dinners for us and go to the beach.

I packed us some tuna salad made with hummus instead of mayonnaise, with croutons and on a bed of lettuce, with apple slices and ginger cookies.  It was a pretty yummy, no-cook dinner for this hot evening.

I need to add that I don't love the beach.  I love swimming, but don't really like sand.  I grew up on a rocky shore, and I like that much better... I know, I am strange.  The Girl loves the beach, and is actually going to a swimming-based sleep-away Girl Scout camp in a couple of weeks.  I know that she will have a blast.

The best picture I could get of The Girl in the water...

At least he likes the water... 

The Boy is reticent to learn how to swim (and staunchly refuses my offer of getting him lessons).  Thus, I want to spend some time at the beach this summer to get him to be more comfortable with swimming.  He made some progress tonight,   The Girl turned out to be a patient teacher.  He learned some from me, but more from her.  I think it might be a couple more trips to the beach, and some determination to succeed.. he does love playing in the water, but it's just the swimming he is trepidatious about.

And there were minnows!

Overall, it was a nice picnic, and fun in the water.  I am glad that we decided to go, and hope that we can make it a more regular thing.

Lunches for an Outing: Mount Abraham (Long Trail) - 6.27.14

For our second hike of the summer, the kids and I decided to hike Mount Abraham, which is the shortest of the five over 4000' mountains in Vermont.  We would love to do all five of them at some point.  This one was a good start, for sure.  It was a rather strenuous hike, with some really fun scrambles.  The path was muddy in parts, due to a little brook that ran through the area, crossing the path at times.

A panorama of the top

The peak was at 4006', and the hike was a 2200' gain in elevation, and 5.7 miles, round trip.  There were times when the kids and I thought we should rename the mountain Mount Muddy Stumbles... there were a few tree roots and rocks that tripped us up.

We made it to the top, though, and the view was totally outstanding.  There is another trail that leads up from the other side, and we would love to try that some time.

A couple of friends joined us for part of the hike, so I made five lunches for the day, in our Easylunchboxes.

The Boy had a sandwich with hummus, lettuce, smoked turkey, and cheese, some trail mix, candy coated sunflower seeds, strawberries, grapes, and apple slices.

The Girl had a sandwich with hummus, lettuce, smoked turkey, and cheese, trail mix, candy coated sunflower seeds, a white apricot, grapes, and apple slices.

For the grown ups, I packed sandwiches with leftover curry chicken, hummus, lettuce, and cheese, a white apricot, trail mix, candy coated sunflower seeds, grapes, and apple slices.

I can't wait to get to our next hike - after the Fourth!  Happy Summer to everyone!

Lunches: 6.12.14

It's the last full day of school, and therefore, the last packed lunches of the school year!

I have not done anything fancy for them.  I've just packed delicious food that they can't wait to eat.  I think that's the goal, anyway.  I do like doing fancy and decorated lunches occasionally, but I am tired and uninspired.  So - delicious food it is!  No one is complaining.

Blueberries: 5g, Schoolbook cookies: 16g, sandwich: 20g, babybell: 1g, strawberries: 5g

The Boy has some blueberries, cinnamon Schoolbook cookies, strawberries, a babybell cheese, and a sandwich with cheese, white bean and basil hummus from Trader Joe's, and turkey.  His snack is provided at school this week.

The Girl also has blueberries, cinnamon Schoolbook cookies, strawberries, a babybell cheese, and a turkey, cheese, and hummus sandwich.  Her snack is an applesauce (not pictured).

Disclaimer: I love Trader Joe's, but they do not sponsor this post or this blog. All opinions are my own (or that of the kids)

Family Lunches: 6.11.14

I took an unexpected and unwelcome break from lunch blogging for the week, due to my home internet being broken.  Nice timing, being that this is the final week of school.  *sigh*  I have lunch pictures saved up from the past week, and I will post a round-up of them soon.  For now, I will just get back to the present lunches.

... And I don't even need a lunch for The Girl for Wednesday, because she has an at-school barbecue.  I don't get school lunches all year, but I allow the kids to eat at their end-of-the-year barbecue.  The food is pretty good.  I've eaten it before.  They love it, and there are lots of healthy choices.  I can appreciate that.

The Hubby has a sandwich with grilled chicken and barbecue sauce, along with watermelon and plaintain chips.

I have a sandwich with grilled chicken and barbecue sauce, with blueberries and pita chips.

Sandwich: 22g, Veggie crisps: 20g, watermelon: 5g. blueberries: 5g

The Boy has a sandwich with turkey, hummus, and cheese, some plaintain chips and bean crisps, watermelon, and blueberries.  His snacks are provided at school this week.

Just one more day of school for the school year!  We are hoping for plenty of outings this summer, and I will still be packing for The Hubby and for myself for work, and I am sure I will have plenty of recipes to share, so it won't be a blogging wasteland.  Stay tuned!