There are refreshing signs of spring in my latest lunch box: two beautiful vegetables from my first trip to the local Farmer's Market.

It was exciting to be back at the market after a long, cold winter, and I was especially thrilled to find bags of fresh, green watercress there for the first time ever. Raw watercress greens are much, much too bitter for my taste, like trying to eat paint chips. But stir-fried in a touch of toasted sesame oil and drizzled with miso dressing and almonds? Heaven and a half! I found this luscious recipe at watercress.com (click on recipes, then on "Stir fried Watercress with Ginger and Almonds in Miso Dressing").

Next to the cup of watercress is lightly steamed asparagus, another springtime favorite from the market.

Shmoo has been begging for a peanut butter gummy worm sandwich ever since reading the Captain Underpants series.Now, on his second-to-last day of homeschool partnership school, I am finally able to oblige this repulsive whim thanks to vegan sour gummy worms, the first vegan gummy worm ever!

He also asked for potato chips with whipped cream, another gem from the Captain, but I drew the line and merely surrounded his wormwich with Pringles Minis.

Sighting One: I have just been informed that there are 5 new copies of the original, self-published edition of Vegan Lunch Box available for sale in the UK and Europe. You can find the book along with Laptop Lunch Boxes and more at Becky and Lolo.

Here's another new vegan product I picked up while on vacation: Road's End Shells & Chreese.

A Vegan Lunch Box reader named Melissa emailed me a few months ago suggesting that this recipe for pupusas would make a tasty vegan lunch. Pupusas are traditional El Salvadorian corn masa "cakes" filled with meat, cheese, or beans that are patted flat and fried. They are often sold by street vendors in El Salvador and Honduras.

You know how I mentioned below that the new issue of Vegan Lunch Box would be out in March? Well, as so often happens in the world of professional publishing, there’s been a change of plans. The publisher has decided that it will be much more exciting to bring the book out in late July/early August, in order to generate lots of excitement at back-to-school time. I can see the logic there, but I’m still sad to have to tell you all that the book won’t be available for several more months. Doh!

On a recent trip out of town I was finally able to pick up some Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Cheese. I've been hearing about this stuff for years and couldn't wait to try it for myself. Today I took a bit of the mozzarella-style cheese and turned it into a lunch box pizza with tomato sauce, broccoli, and capers.

Thanks to a bright ERR reader, I was alerted to yet another new Rachael Ray cookbook coming out in 2008. Last year, Rachael said she'd be doing only one cookbook a year after Just in Time was released, but it appears that's not the case! Of course, Rachael recently released Yum-o! The Family Cookbook , with all the profits going to Rachael's charity organization.

Reviewed by special guest blogger Shmoo.

I have been trying hard to resist joining any new challenges. I have my work pretty much cut out for me for 2008. But when Michelle at 1morechapter.com announced her Pub'08 challenge to read at least 8 books published in 2008, I couldn't resist. Here is what I am planning to start with:

Here's one of my lunches for a change, photographed in a colorful Melamine 3-Layer Tiffin from Pearl River. I actually bought the lunch box as a gift for a friend who collects melamine (shh, don't tell!) but couldn't resist posing a lunch in it before passing it on.

On the upper right is a big serving of Asian Salad made with baby lettuces, cucumber, edamame, carrot, and daikon.

Lately my favorite non-dairy frozen treat is a simple frozen fruit sorbet: I push frozen bananas, pineapple, and strawberries through my Champion Juicer, and out comes perfect, creamy sorbet with no added sugar.

Here's another new lunch toy! I came across Wrap-N-Mats a few months ago and was interested in trying one out. Wrap-N-Mats are a reusable plastic bag alternative that fold around a sandwich and close with velcro. The PEVA or PVC lining keeps the sandwich fresh, then at lunchtime the mat unfolds into a placemat. Nifty!

After we got over the fact that the brand new mat smelled like a stinky shower curtain, we decided to wipe it down and stick a sandwich in it.

I'm sure you've all seen this little pink cookbook winking at you from store shelves everywhere. Deceptively Deliciousis so popular that even now, almost eight months after its publication, it is still a "7 Day Only" loan at our library. Well, this week I finally got a chance to check it out myself!

The basic idea here is that if you want to end the struggle over vegetables at mealtime, start sneaking vegetable purees into foods your kids love, like mac and cheese or brownies. Then sit back and smile to yourself as they eat their vegetables in blissful ignorance.

It’s an old question, but a good one . . . What were your favorite books this year?

Yes, yes, I know Easter is still a week away, but I've been looking forward to this lunch box for months, and besides, next week is Spring Break. Anyway, maybe this advance posting will give some of you time to join me in making adorable Musubi Eggs this Easter!

After seeing my recent pea-filled St. Patty's Sandwich, Vegan Lunch Box reader Roxy shared this tip: "I like to blend peas into guacamole--it adds more nutrition to the already nutritious dip and you really can't tell the peas are in there. I use about 1/4 cup of peas to every large avocado. Yum!" Thanks, Roxy, I love it! In fact, it inspired me to make a post especially for sharing these kinds of ideas.

My reading time has been limited today. I have several chores that, despite my best efforts, seem to be left waiting for me on Sunday. I am always trying to multi-task though and so I did manage to listen to a bit more of The Poet by Michael Connelly. This is another one of the books on the list of Agatha/Anthony/Edgar Award winners and is therefore apart of my quest to read all the winners. I finished The Chatham School Affair on Friday which is also on the list. I didn't love it as some reviewers have but I did end up enjoying it after a rough start.

Shmoo recently hosted a clown workshop for his friends, where they tried their hands at juggling, tumbling, acting in skits, plate spinning, and more.

Here's my shmoo in his graduation nose, hair still a bit damp from the pie fight. He took to clowning like a natural, who would have guessed? Actually, I've been calling him a clown most of his life.

Breakfast with Al Bano. Actually I was planning to go somewhere else for breakfast, but the place was closed and there I was in Larkspur. So I decided to try Cafe Lucano's breakfast offerings. I asked what the smooth Italian music was and I was shown an album of the popular singer "Al Bano". Giuseppe was serving this morning, one of the family who make your visit so friendly with his ready smile.

I love all the little napkins, containers, and toys I've been using lately in our lunch boxes. I thought some of you might want to join in the fun, so I've put together a selection of Lunch Box Accessories Kits for sale!

1. The drive is often the best thing about traveling.
2. I love a good snuggle with my husband when I'm cold.
3. I often use pasta when I am cooking.
4. I'm reading Little Women right now; I love it.

Top o' the Heap(Best of the Best)
Silas Marner by George Eliot

As promised, here's the first lunch in Daddy Shmoo's new bento box.

A grilled portabello mushroom fish with baby cucumber scales and snow pea eyes is set adrift on a bed of somen noodles with blanched snow peas and parsley "seaweed".

I really wanted to include a Lotus Root Salad next to the somen -- wouldn't that have looked lovely? But alas, I can't find fresh or even canned lotus root here, so I settled on roasting a red pepper and cutting it into sand dollars and little fish shapes, with fresh basil tucked here and there.

It has been a pretty good reading week at my house. Because the weather has been bitterly cold, we have limited our activities to only those that are absolutely necessary.

I was able to finish and review two books for challenges. I read People of the Book and The Septembers of Shiraz. Hopefully, this puts me in a pretty good spot for my January reading goals.

Today, everyone was feeling under the weather so we decided to stay home from church so as not to share our bug. That means it should be a pretty good day for reading for me.