Home-made Takeout Roundup

A while ago, I asked for ideas about home made take out-meals we pack to take for lunch, on the plane, to the park for the afternoon. I have organized the responses here for you. Please let me know if I somehow missed yours, or fouled up your link. As you can see,I haven't been overburdened with entries.... so do feel free to send along late ones, and I will add them, as long as this post remains on my front page.

Before I roundup the brownbag bloggers, I thought I'd pass along a Deborah Madison idea (sorry, no photo on this), which I found strangely appealing. It is very simple- an idea, rather than a recipe, and one well suited to a take along dining. I came upon it looking for something a little bit different to do with the radishes which appeared in my first CSA farmbox of the year, collected Wednesday evening (about which, more soon, especially in regard to both pea greens and rhubarb).

Why, you might ask, would a person do anything to radishes, other than wash and trim them, and serve them with good bread, salt and sweet butter? Exactly so. This is just the convenience food version thereof, easy to consume and very packable . You chop the radishes finely, and mash them up with a tiny bit of lemon zest, sea salt, and good butter. You can add a few of the radish leaves, finely chopped, if they are in good shape.

Then you can make some very refined little crustless tea sandwiches, or pack them in a small crock, or tupperware thingie, along with a hunk of crusty bread, for spreading on the spot. Handy and charming, IMO. You could customize this radish butter with chopped fresh herbs of your choice: I put some chives in mine.

On to business. You can find the following takes on home-made take out at these linked spots:

Maninas made a recipe for chickpeas, which gets better the longer it sits- hence a good choice to carry with you-maybe for several days in a row. It has tomatoes and almonds, too, and was adapted from a recipe she found at the Traveler's Lunchbox.Incidentally, I have made this dish myself-in the Traveler's Lunchbox version, and it is exceptional. Also, it is very economical, that is to say, just about free, keeps splendidly and travels well. Eat it with a salad and a piece of cheese, and you could live on it indefinitely. This is a keeper for sure.

Sarah, of Avenue Food, was also inspired by our friend the chickpea, which appears to combine admirably with shrimps in a pretty salad.

Melissa of Banlieue Blog is clever with wraps, using flour tortillas, rice paper, or my favorite idea-puff pastry. She bundled up a red pepper mozzarella pesto spread, rocket (that may be arugula to you) and ham slices. Go check out her blog; this lady can really cook!

Anapestic, of the blog by the same name, has got an "unnamed" lentil barley concoction that sounds delicious, toothsome, and probably even healthy.

Tanna, of My Kitchen in Half Cups had beautiful smoked salmon sandwiches, instead of nasty airline food on the plane, though they confiscated her yogurt as a "liquid".

The chocolate lady took us on a ride around NYC, and shared the excellent lunch she carried, wrapped in a cloth napkin. The cloth napkin is something which I had not previously thought of, though I use cloth napkins all the time at home. After all, if you are bringing your empty containers home to refill another day, how much trouble is it to bring a napkin home? They are, after all, virtually weightless, and foldable. This was pointed out to me by zp, whose lunch post follows.

Zp, of i hate the new yorker, has written about the enticing sandwich pictured here, and various other carry alongs, including a personal favorite of mine, the tomato sandwich.

Ximena of the beautiful Lobstersquad gets to eat lunch at home, and finish up with a nap on the sofa, but she packs a real lunch for her less fortunate commuting partner, including a green bean salad in his "Nomad" model lunchbox.

Finally, Biggie's blog Lunch in a Box is all over this, as it is entirely devoted to "building a better bento."

In fact, there a quite a few bento-themed blogs out there, many of which are helpful with take-out plans, as well as decorative and entertaining. Do a google specialized blog search for "bento", and see what I mean.

Don't forget, if you have other ideas for us, late entries are welcome. Send your link to lindystoast at gmail dot com.

Comments

[redfox (lindy's daughter)]

Have you seen this Flickr pool, all photos of lunches people have packed in their Mr. Bento boxes? Really fun.

[lindy]

Oh, I had missed that-it's great. Everyone should check out the Flickr pool.

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

what a great roundup~ now I have to spend the next hour hopping around the blogs.
thanks!

[lobstersquad]

Hi Lindy
I sent you my entry, but I wrote the email address from memory, so probably all wrong
here it is:
http://lobstersquad.blogspot.com/2007/05/home-made-takeout-event.html#links
I love the roundup, and now that you vouch for it, will definitely make those chickpeas inmediately

[Melissa]

Fantastic round-up!
Thanks for extending the date....
Melissa

[the chocolate lady (eve)]

Ah, now I'm hooked on the bento blogs. It is a slippery slope. Do you notice how the container can inspire so much creative energy? It reminds me of a passage in The Girl of the Limberlost when our gal gets a new lunchbox and her heretofore abusive and neglectful mother is somehow compelled to start making these awesome lunches. I will have to reread and blogify.

Once again the key to all of life's questions turns out to be found in children's literature of the nineteenth century Midwest.