As I prep for apartment living I’m plotting and scheming eating locally and seasonally. With the help of a friend this may not just be probable, it may be AWESOME. We’re talking about going in together on a share in a CSA. That’s a Community Supported Agriculture group, kids. And this one provides some very nice food options in addition to the lovely variety of produce. It would mean having to find some creative recipes to use a variety of veggies, but I’m up for the challenge. Vegetables and I are slowly becoming friends. And the more I meet, the more veggie friends I make.

Speaking of veggies, I made a delicious lunch and at least 2 days worth of bento today. I used a convenience food of awesome: Trader Joe’s Fire Roasted Vegetables in Balsamic Butter Sauce. Cause vegetables are good for you, but maybe you have a bad relationship with them. Maybe you loved green beans at the tender age of 3 and declared them “yucky” by the age of 6. The truth is, even the veggies you don’t love (like carrots!) can be fantastic with a flavorful sauce that brings out the yummy taste of the vegetable.

Which brings me to the Roasted Veggies in Balsamic Butter Sauce. They’re awesome. Microwave them a few minutes and you’ll have a bowl full of delicious smells. This mix has carrots, peppers, pearl onions, green beans, and the occasional tomato or button mushroom. They are covered in a delicious balsamic butter sauce that tastes every bit as good as it smells.

Today I was in the mood for a slight bit of comfort food so I put some naan in the oven (also from TJs). While it was warming up I boiled water and found my veggies. I put the veggies in the microwave and some spaghetti noodles in the water. After everything was cooked I tossed the spaghetti with some EVOO and a little basil and oregano. Some noodles went in the bento for tomorrow, some went in a bowl for later in the week, and the rest stayed in the original bowl. Then I put veggies in the bento, a tupperware container, and my bowl. I sprinkled the bento contents with a bit of parmesan cheese and put a bit of cheese on my noodles, too.

So I had spaghetti with balsamic butter vegetables for lunch. And naan. It was delicious and amazing. If you need a reason to eat more veggies, you should totally get a bag of this stuff from Trader Joe’s. It’s a good idea.

It’s all good. This gives me a chance to go through and rate stuff. I’ve been playing with smart playlists recently so I’m having fun with it.

Monday is day of errands! I got my eyebrows done and went to Dierbergs. Then I spent an hour prepping for dinner, prepping for 2 weeks worth of bentos, and cleaning up the kitchen. I made the soycutash I got from Trader Joes. I gotta say, I was totally not sure about the stuff when I made it. But it does taste like yummy corn succotash, and that’s just from tasting a room temperature bite after packing it all up. Victory is mine!

My bentos mostly revolve around some particular standbys: rice (still have 3 frozen servings!), frozen veggies, frozen chicken, sushi (I need more from TJs), raisins, cheese, and miscellaneous leftovers. I need things to be quick and easy, and these are!

I want to play the Sims again so I can make pretty buildings, but I’m not ready to take the plunge. That game consumes my time all too well.

Today’s bento: Top: leftover Cheesecake Factory orange chicken and rice. Bottom: Teddy Grahams with Nutella, raisins.

Tomorrow’s bento: Top: Brown and wild rice, 4 chicken gyoza pot stickers, soy sauce in fish bottle. Bottom: Mixed dried berries, Babybel cheese, peanuts.

I’ll post more things when I feel less tired.

I also went to the store and bought two birthday presents for family members, some sushi, some chocolate, and of course… a flower for myself. If someone gets me something for Valentine’s day, that’s awesome. Otherwise, I have this little vision of loveliness sitting by my side:

Isn’t it beautiful? Look at the color! It’s a pretty little mini iris. I wanted to look into forcing mini bulbs and growing tiny container gardens, but Trader Joes did the forcing work for me and now all I have to do is try to nurture this lovely little plant. Not that this will be easy. I have kind of a black thumb. But I figured, why get a bouquet of flowers that will fade within days instead of a lovely flower that I can have around for months? How could I pass up something so lovely?

Tomorrow’s bento is not nearly as exciting or colorful. I mean, some of it is red. But that’s it.

Top: McDonalds BBQ sauce for the chicken, grape tomatoes, and Babybel cheese. Bottom: chicken drummettes from TJs, mashed potatoes.

I know, not an exciting bundle of variety. But good enough, I say. Good enough for one day.

Tonight I will learn mom’s secret recipe for Chicken and Dumplings. Victory!

I’m also calling the number on the for rent sign for the duplex I drive by every day. I may not move till May, but I’d like to check this place out.

There’s a charter school coming to STL in the next few years I’m keeping an eye on. It is on the horizon but probably not a good fit for me, at least for a few more years. But I’m going to check it out. If God wants it, it will happen anyway. All I know is that my eye is drawn to it like a shiny object in the distance.

Today Atlantis took off. I was glad. Nothing brings together the SLSC staff like a shuttle launch. Word got around and before long staff from many departments were watching the action as it was projected on the wall. It was a good feeling. Like maybe we can step away from the problems and difficulties and just be a family or something.

I also had a rockin awesome splat show this morning. Really fun high school kids. They were really enthusiastic and funny. I was also majorly hyped up on my caffeine. Between those factors was a fabulous show.

Alright, here’s tomorrow’s bento:

Top: Roasted veggies with balsamic butter sauce, spaghetti noodles. Bottom: Mozzarella and tomato salad, peaches. My biggest fear is that the peach juice is going to try to intermingle with the salad, and that simply won’t do. There’s a layer of Press and Seal Wrap trying to keep this from taking place.

Tomorrow’s bento:

Top: 5 little tomatoes, cheez-its, applesauce. Bottom: Orange chicken, sugar snap peas, brown and wild rice. There will also be an 85% dark chocolate demitasse from Godiva in the lid.

Yay!

The weather is on a roller coaster around here and I feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster right along with it. I wish we could just transition from winter to spring, but this is St. Louis. I’m learning and accepting some things about life right now and it’s a little roller coaster. Also, the dramallama is still up to her old tricks at work. Thankfully I got to talk to Scott, who is extremely reassuring and helpful (and reading this right now, so THANK YOU, SCOTT! YOU ARE FABULOUS!). Friends are great.

However, someone hired the drama llama because man, the staff drama is totally ridiculous. It’s like high school. Ugh. I think I need to hide from staff tomorrow, impossible as that will be with all the meetings.

My bento was every bit as lovely as I thought it would be. Tomorrow’s is leftover chicken with garlic cream sauce, leftover mashed taters, banana yogurt, applesauce, and… mini marshmallows. My cutesy little fork fits in the lid, which is good because chopsticks are great with veggies and rice and chicken, but not so much with other things. Oh, the veggies were amazing. If you go to Trader Joe’s, pick up the vegetables in balsamic butter sauce. It’s in the frozen section. It’s awesome.

I also had a chance to make dinner for someone last night. This means I’m pining even more for my own place. I want to cook for people. It’s fun cooking for family but I really want to have a standing night that I cook for whichever friends show up. But I must be patient. I must wait till May. I am paying better attention to “For Rent” signs. I think I will start photographing them when I get the chance so I can review my options.

I got my vote on today! Hope everyone did!

But it’s more than Monday. I stepped outside with a list in hand, ready to take on the day. But I went without a coat! That’s because the weather is absolutely amazing. It’s wonderful. It’s like a taste of spring.

Only it’s February in St. Louis. That means I will get many tastes of spring followed by doses of winter.

A few days back I got this little number in the mail. Isn’t it cute? It’s a bento box!

Today I spent about an hour making enough delicious food for a couple weeks worth of bento lunches, as well as my lunch for today. I stuffed my bento box to the gills with yummy things for tomorrow:

Top: Little cup of applesauce, corn (leftover), Babybel cheese, some little chocolate balls. Bottom: Orange chicken (made today, from frozen), my perfect sticky brown/wild rice (made Saturday), and mixed veggies in balsamic butter sauce (made today, from frozen).

The prep took a long time, but it means I have ongiri in the freezer, leftover veggies and chicken, and two more cups of applesauce. That’s not counting the other leftovers that will be assimilated into the bento lunch system in the next few days.

I’m also reading French Women Don’t Get Fat. I like this book so far. But I really should be doing more cleaning since it is Monday.

Oh well. Life is good!