Ham & Cheese

Monday's lunch consists of soybean salad, coffee shortbread, and ham sandwiches.

For the sandwiches, I used sliced cheddar cheese, sliced deli-style ham, rosemary mayo, and onion bread.  To make the rosemary mayo I simply chopped up some fresh rosemary and mixed it into some mayonnaise.  I used to volunteer at a vegetarian restaurant that made the best sandwiches with rosemary mayo so I wanted to try to make some at home.  The onion rolls are from my sister's work but the cheese and ham are just from the grocery store.  I cut the edges off so they would fit in the bento box.

For the soybean salad, I thawed frozen soybeans and then made a dressing with soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds.

You can find the recipe for the cookies here.

A quick, simple lunch!

Coffee Bean Shortbread and Cottage Pie

coffee bean shortbread

ingredients:

2 sticks of salted butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of very finely ground coffee (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F and line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment.  Cream the sugar and butter in a stand mixer.  Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir in coffee, if using. To form the coffee bean shape, take a small lump of dough and use your hands to roll it into an oblong shape.  Press the thicker end of a chopstick down the center of the cookie.  Place cookies about 2 inches apart from eachother.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
3 stalks of celery, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small bag of some sort of frozen vegetable medley, thawed
1 small bag of frozen peas, thawed
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans of V8 (original flavor or low sodium)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
3 large potatoes, large dice
salt to taste

about 1/2 teaspoon each of the following ground spices:
cardamom
coriander
pepper
fennel
sage
turmeric
black pepper
paprika

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until clear. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant (abt 1 minute).  Add the vegetables and saute for a bit.  If your blend includes cauliflower, pick it out after it has absorbed some of the spices and set it aside (the cauliflower will go into the mashed potatoes).  Add the ground beef to the skillet and break it up as it browns.  Once it is browned, taste a small piece.  Add salt and more spices if needed.  Add the V8 and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer while you make the potatoes.
Bring water to boil in a large pot with lots of salt.  Once a rolling boil is achieved, add in potatoes.  Allow to cook until potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.  Drain the water and put the potatoes back into the pot.  You can remove the skins from the potatoes now if you'd like, i prefer to leave them on.  Add in 1/2 stick of butter, cauliflower (if using), 1/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric and garam masala.  Mash everything up until mostly smooth and everything is a uniform yellow color.  Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Spread the potato mixture over the top of the meat.  Use a fork to make a hatch design across the top of the potatoes.  Bake, uncovered, at 350F until the top is crispy and golden, about 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool a little (at least until it's stopped bubbling) before serving.