On Friday, I was responsible for making both lunch and dinner at work, plus I tacked on a 2 hour meeting with my boss at the end of the day. And because it was Friday, I was only focused on the tasks that remained until I could start my weekend, and I was by no means thinking ahead to Monday. So this morning crept up and I suddenly remembered that I was doing back to back staff lunches, and had to have a full lunch for 12 people prepared by noon – whoops!
I hit the ground running with NO plan. First thing I needed to decide was what my main salad dish would be, and then I could throw together some lighter sides afterwards. I walked in the door, dropped my bag, and immediately flung open the pantry. I kind of felt like I was on an episode of Chopped – knowing I had 2 hours to cook and that I needed to get the longest-cooking things started first.
My first thought was quinoa, but when I grabbed the box I realized it was nearly empty. Plan B – a giant bag of beautiful French lentils.
I got the lentils going on the stove, and made my way out to the garage where the excess produce is kept. Each week, the farm guys bring all of the excess veggies to our three giant overflow refrigerators. My job is to try to use as much of the supply as possible, in order to utilize all of the available produce. I saw a box of sweet potatoes on the floor and snapped into action.
Check out the size of this sweet potato! Hard to believe it is organic and hormone-free. Held up next to my head for a size comparison. And yes, my head is abnormally gigantic, but it couldn’t compete with this sweet tater.
The sweet potato monster and his friends were washed and trimmed for roasting.
They were chopped and tossed in a little EVOO and S&P, and spread out on a roasting pan.
And then sprinkled with some freshly chopped rosemary – pulled straight out of the garden with my own two hands!
Once my lentils were done, I gave them a cold rinse…
And tossed them in a delicious special sauce – recipe coming next!
I wanted to make a big garden salad as an easy filler dish, so I walked the grounds for a few minutes trying to find whatever salad-type veggies looked ripe and ready. Totally pumped to find some YELLOW squash!
And I am pretty sure I took the only 5 ripe tomatoes on the entire farm, hehe.
A little chopping and dicing later – viola! Delicious garden salad.
With about 45 minutes to go before lunch, I panicked that I wouldn’t have enough food for all 12 people, so I threw some millet into a pot and started toasting.
I added a handful of freshly chopped thyme, shaved parmesan, and (gasp!) a small slice of real butter.
Just before it was time to eat, my rosemary maple sweet potatoes came out of the oven. I’m going to post the recipe for these too – they were a HUGE hit!
Did I mention that I did it all in my fun frilly Anthropologie apron? Why wear professional white chef clothes when you can wear RUFFLES? :)
Funny how I went into this lunch totally frazzled with no plan, it probably turned out to be the best one yet. Final menu – green bean and lentil salad (recipe coming!)…
Fresh garden salad with a balsamic orange vinaigrette…
Rosemary and maple glazed sweet potatoes, mmmmm…
And toasted millet with parmesan and thyme. No one on the staff had tried millet before, and they all LOVED it!
The group ate every last bite – ultimate compliment to the chef. :)
While I was busy cooking all day, Casey emailed me a picture of what was happening back at home. As he went in to the kitchen to get something, he wandered by the laundry room and found this…
Why buy expensive dog beds when yours prefer cheap laundry baskets? :)
Tomorrow is another Farm to Table Dinner, and I’m really excited – it is all RAW food! I will be prepping with the chef this afternoon, and then working a fourteen hour day tomorrow to get it all done.
Keeping my eye on Thursday morning, when I’m hitting the road to Hilton Head for a few days to run on the beach and visit family – wheeeee! :)
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Food looks amazing.
And I’m lmao at that last picture! It is just hilarious that both decided it was a good idea. I’m sure one of them jumped in, and one got jealous and then decided, “heyyy, i can do that too!”
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 am
I was glad to see that Huey, the bigger dog, had commandeered the bigger basket. :)
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Haha….love the picture of the dogs!!!
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The food you make always looks amazing… your my cooking inspiration! Ps- your pups are too cute! Do they always sleep in laundry baskets? I love it!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 am
we keep them in the laundry room when we are gone, and i accidentally left a basket on the floor one day. when i came home i caught huey jumping out when i opened the door. so we bought another one and now they sleep in them when we are gone. but i’ve never seen them just go curl up in them like this!
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ohhhhhhhh my goooood, in love with your pups!! so fricken adorable!
I am also a millet virgin. haha, maybe I will try your recipe!
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I actually laughed out loud in my cube at the picture of the dogs in the laundry baskets. That is HYSTERICAL. Can’t wait to read about the raw dinner party!
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Oh my gosh…LOVED that picture of the dogs! So cute! And I am totally jealous of your job at the farm. It sounds amazing! All of the food you’ve been making looks absolutely delicious. Your post about millet inspried me to give it a try and I’ve been hooked ever since! :)
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I LOVE rosemary and sweet potatoes but never thought to add maple! Looking forward to seeing the recipe! YUM!
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It’s fun being a girl in the kitchen, isn’t it?! Love the apron! Everything looks delicious!
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I’m in awe of the things you come up with. So simple, but everything always looks so good! Last night I tried one of the recipes you posted for green beans recently and they were delicious! Thanks for the ideas!
Also, your puppies are adorable. :)
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
thank you! :)
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You inspired me to get some millet from the bulk bins while I was at Earth Fare last Sunday. Can’t wait to try it. Your lunch looks awesome!
We had a boston terrier growing up that ALWAYS slept in the laundry basket. Huey and Indy are too cute!
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Ha I laughed out loud when I saw the dog picture. That is amazing!
All the food looks amazing, you give me such great ideas of what to do with my csa produce!
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I can’t wait to get the recipes. Those look so amazing. mmmmmmm. Great job doing it last minute as well!
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Congrats on getting your lunch done in time! :) It looks like you have such an awesome job, being able to cook and do what you love. And as a fellow vegetarian, I love seeing your recipes every day!
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What a great lunch – I need someone like you to come cook for me!!
Love pup pics – so cute! :)
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New reader here. I headed over after reading so much about you from Kath Eats. It’s been really neat to read about your experiences on the farm and I look forward to reading more! We go to Hilton Head practically every summer and were just there over Memorial Day. It’s our family vacation spot and we just love it! Enjoy a wonderful beach weekend!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 10:29 pm
welcome welcome! thanks for reading :)
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Dinner looks amazing. I will find my dog in the basket of dirty laundry sometimes too! Dogs are funny.
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I love reading your blog but I’ve never left a comment – had to leave one today. The picture of the dogs is hysterical and it gave me such a great laugh at work. They are such characters!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 10:28 pm
haha thanks! :)
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OMG – the dog pic is just ridiculous – I LOVE IT!
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I also have an abnormally large head…we can compare at HLS, haha :) Wow, I’m still jealous about your job!! Amazing and so rewarding to see the people eating and appreciating your creations! The sweet taters sound amazing. I cooked millet for my parents while I was home and my mom especially loved it! She even made a little concoction of her own with millet..pasta sauce + mozz cheese!
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Oh My GOD that photo of the dogs cracks me up. I like how they are innocently looking at the camera ;-)
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loooooooooooveeeeeee Hilton head! we go every year! have an awesome time :)
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I LOVE your apron and your dogs are too funny! Have a nice trip to Hilton Head. Running on the beach is the best!
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Aw look at that puppy!!
Those roasted taters look yummy! That one was GIANT!!!
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Emily-I have been following your blog for a while but never wrote! You are an inspiration. I love your food and your photography is amazing. You seem to be enjoying the farm…wish I had one closer that I could get some good produce.
I saw you are going to HH…that isn’t far from me :) Enjoy your trip and keep up the good work. You keep me motivated to run!!
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 10:23 pm
that is awesome! thanks for breaking the silence :)
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Love your farm posts- I work on a similar organic farm near my home and I LOVE it! Isn’t it so awesome just to be surrounded by so much fresh, delicious produce all the time? Right now I’m just helping out with harvesting, weeding, and selling produce at the farmstand but I’m going to see if I can cajole them into letting me do some cooking too. It looks like you’re having a blast.
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Emily @ The Front Burner Blog Reply:
June 26th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
you should definitely try to cook there too! LOVE having so much fresh produce!
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