2 x Bento

Bento #62



This one was leftover sloppy joes made with ground turkey.
Served with slider flatbread rounds, green onion, and shredded cheese
For veggies we have celery and carrot sticks
And 2 chocolate covered macadamia nuts for a treat.

Sloppy Joe Recipe:
1lb ground turkey
1/4 c green pepper, diced
1/4 c onion, diced
1/2 c. ketchup
1 tbsp yellow mustard
a few dashes Worcestershire sauce
Spices to taste (I used chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper and a dash of salt)

Brown meat, breaking it up as you cook it. Drain. Add onion and green pepper and cook until just soft.
While meat is cooking, combine ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and spices. Add about 1/4 c water.
Coat the meat with the sauce (add more water if necessary), and simmer to reduce the sauce.

Serve on your favourite bread or buns (we used whole grain sunflower & flax bread when we had it for dinner) with toppings of your choice!

A lot of the recipes I found for sloppy joes called for brown sugar, and little to no spice. I didn't have any brown sugar on hand, so I skipped it, and added some of my favourite spices. This recipe had a nice slight sweet edge (ketchup already has sugar in it, and cinnamon is sweet), and just a touch of spice.

If you've never tried cinnamon in a tomato sauce, I highly recommend it. It adds such a rich flavour to the sauce. It works really well with meat sauces, but I often have it with just plain sauce. You only need a dash.

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Bento #63



Sorry, this photo is a bit blurry, I was in a rush that morning.
We have 3 round onigiri (l to r: Salmon Furikake, Plain (lightly salted), Umeboshi Furikake)
1 hotdog cut into 2 octopi and 2 crabs (black sesame seeds for the octopus eyes)
Mustard in the little blue container
Deviled Egg
2 apple bunnies

yum!

I haven't made onigiri in so long, and I forgot just how delicious they are - even just the plain ones!
I picked up some more furikake today: Veggie, Bonito and Egg.

I've never actually had an umeboshi ... I will admit that even though I'm all for trying new things, a pickled plum makes me hesitate. I like the umeboshi furikake though. I'm sure if the opportunity presents itself, I will try one someday.

Bento #45

I was quite rushed this morning - I slept in - eep!
I threw this together in about 10 minutes before I ran out the door.

2 cornbread biscuits, left over from dinner (sort of recipe below)
Cheese
Grape tomatoes
Snow peas
Baby carrots
Mini orange pepper
Cucumber slices
2 strawberries
Blueberry skewers
Container of blue cheese dressing for the veggies
Container of jalapeno jelly for the biscuits

It's very bright and summery looking (even though the photo is a bit dark - I took it at work, so I didn't want to use the flash - hah)
It smells delicious too - the fruit is very fragrant ^_^

Cornbread Biscuits
I started with this recipe for cornbread.
I adjusted it for 4 servings
I omitted the sugar, since I wanted a savory bread
Then I didn't actually measure in the milk - I just added it until it seemed like the right consistency - thinner than a drop biscuit, but not a batter - kinda sticky.
I also added some paprika and chives.

Bento #44

Well, I guess this isn't quite a bento ... but just go with it ;)

Salmon Salad Sandwich
Mini Yellow Pepper
Mini Orange Pepper
Baby Carrots
Yellow and Orange Cherry Tomatoes
Mini Corn
Cucumber
Dill Pickles
Olives
pepperoncini
Cheese

Salmon Salad Recipe
-sorry for the lack of measurements, I was doing it all by the teaspoon (not the measuring spoon kind!) and just judged by consistency and taste!
Can Salmon
Cottage Cheese (just enough so the Salmon is still a bit dry)
1tbsp sour cream
Feta, crumbled
Cucumber, Grated and squeezed dry
Dill
Green Onion
Pepper
Seasoning Salt
Minced Garlic

Mix the cottage cheese with the salmon - just enough so it is still slightly dry.
Add everything else and mix well.
Serve as a sandwich or wrap filling, with crackers, add to the top of a salad ... it's very yummy - a little Mediterranean in flavour. Come to think of it, it might be good with a dash of Oregano. I'll try that next time

Bento #40

I said I was going to ...

My Sailor Jupiter Bento box - it's not exact, but it's fairly close, and I was working with what I had on hand just to see if I could do it. Also, my bento box is smaller in size, so I couldn't fit as much as there is in the one from the cartoon.

Here is what I put in it, with comments.

2 round onigiri with furikake with lettuce baran - Jupiter has 3 onigiri and it looks like they are in a long divider cup.
tuna croquette (recipe from Alton Brown) - I only put in one, again due to space constraints, but it looks like she has 3 and they have some sort of sauce on them. I had to cram mine in, so I skipped the sauce.
pasta salad (whole wheat rotini, carrot, cucumber, honey ham, mayo, a dash of sour cream, onion spice mix) - If I used regular pasta, it would be closer in colour, but I like the whole wheat stuff, so ...
mini octodogs (hot dog cut into 4 pieces, only cut 4 legs on each one) - I didn't put faces on mine.
tamagoyaki slices - if I wanted it to look exactly like the picture, I could have used nori in the middle, but I didn't like the flavour when I tried that once.
juliened carrot and snap pea wrapped in honey ham slice (sealed with a dab of cream cheese) - it looks like this might have been wrapped in beef in Jupiter's
cherry tomato - this is the only thing that is exactly the same - hah!
Strawberry - I didn't have anything to replicate the pink things - I think it might be mochi, but the only mochi I have wouldn't have fit, and I didn't want to take the time to make some, because I was running out of steam.

This was a lot of fun ^_^
I'm sure I'll do it again someday.

I showed The Mister ... he kinda stopped and went "oh" - I think maybe he thinks this one is a bit too silly - haha. Thankfully his is different - it's got a lot of the same stuff, but it's laid out differently and in a square lock & lock container.

Not Bento - but yummy!

So, I had to share this, because it was so delicious.
The last package of meat in my freezer was 1/2 a lb of ground turkey.
I had to find something to do with it, so to google I turned.

I finally found a recipe for Moroccan Turkey Burgers (link goes to recipe)

All I had to buy were a couple of buns and some fresh mint, I had everything else in my cupboards or fridge. (I skipped the mint extract, and it was delicious without it)

Even the Mister, who rarely expresses himself over food was saying "mmmmm" while he was eating.

I was a little unsure about the sauce - sour cream, honey and mint - but it paired really well with the seasoning on the meat.

I halved the recipe, made two burgers and served it with some fries I had in the back of the freezer. I think it would have been better with a salad though. Next time I guess.

Bento #35

Curry Rice
Deviled Egg
Hot Dog jumping fish
Carrots
Snap Peas
Snow Peas (hidden under sauce container)
Apricot
Black Grapes

Presentation isn't great on this one - I was a bit rushed and I'm sleepy.

You will notice a logo painted on the egg - I was originally going to try and do egg sheets to put over the rice, but it didn't come out properly, so I did the next best thing. Tomorrow night is Game 7 for the Stanley Cup - so I thought I should give The Mister a break on the cute stuff and give him the (old) Vancouver Canucks logo.
I'm not a sports fan in general, but it's hard not to get into the excitement.



I'm down to the bare bones in my kitchen and I have to finish packing, so I won't have time to make bento lunches for the next few days. Moving on Saturday, so life should be back to normal shortly after that.

Curry fried Rice Recipe:

Brown rice cooked in chicken stock
Imitation Crab
Scrambled egg
Corn
Green Beans
Yellow Curry Paste
olive oil

stir fry away!
I just kind of threw this together with whatever I have on hand - it's not bad.

Bento #31

Today's bento is

yakisoba with cabbage
Mini salmon burgers (recipe here) with tartar sauce
mini cucumber sticks
baby carrots and a grape tomato arranged in "flowers"
snow peas (hidden under the sauce container)
apple bunnies
blood orange
black grapes
apricot slices (hidden under the other fruit)


Yakisoba recipe (2 servings for smaller tiers of a two-tiered bento box):

1 bundle soba noodles
handfull of shredded cabbage
dash of olive oil

Sauce Ingredients:
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
3/4 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp sugar
ginger to taste

mix sauce and set aside
boil soba noodles until tender, drain and rinse in cold water
in a frying pan, heat oil and add noodles - stir fry for a minute or two
add cabbage to pan, continue to stir fry until noodles just start to stick to the pan
add sauce and stir fry to reduce

you can add meat, fish or other veggies too!

Bento #29

New bento box! It's a tiny 3-tier one, but it holds just as much as the 2-tier ones I use. I can fill the bottom portion with a much smaller amount of rice than if I was to use the 2-tier one and dedicate the whole bottom to rice.

Furikake Rice
Deviled Eggs
Sugar Snap Peas
Baby Carrots
Mini Salmon Burgers
Mini Bok Choy
Grape Tomatoes

Mini Salmon Burgers
1 Can Salmon (I used the one that's the same size as a can of tuna, also boneless)
dill, salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp dijon
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1 extra large egg
Mix all, form into patties, fry in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat until golden brown, flip, cook until golden brown.

Mini Bok Choy was stir fried with garlic in a little olive oil until it was just starting to wilt. Add a bit of beef broth (a tablespoon or so) and put the lid on to steam. Drizzle with a bit of sesame oil and toss.

Since we are moving in 2 weeks, we aren't really going grocery shopping and I'm kind of having to scrape together what I can.

Bento #26

I made matching bento for the Mister and myself - I've got the day off, but I cooked enough food for two.

Plain white rice
Spicy Tofu
Deviled egg
snap peas, tomatoes, mushrooms and carrots
white nectarine
strawberry flavoured mini pudding gel

The spicy tofu recipe was surprisingly hard to find, so I will share it:
1 lb extra firm tofu, cubed
1/4 c sweet chili sauce
1/4 c soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
6 cloves garlic
red pepper flakes to taste
sesame seeds
3 tbsp cornstarch
4 green onions, chopped

mix chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame seeds and pepper flakes - set aside
toss tofu in cornstarch to coat
heat some oil over med-high heat, add tofu and stir-fry until golden
add 1/2 of the green onion and stir-fry for 1 min
add sauce, simmer to reduce.
stir in remaining green onion and top with more sesame seeeds.


I bought some agar-agar powder yesterday, and I'm going to make coco-lime tea gel.
The tea is a loose-leaf tea bought at Tea Desire - they have a ton of varieties and flavours, and they're really reasonably priced (unlike some other specialty tea vendors)
It's a black tea with coconut flakes and dried lime wedges - so refreshing and delicious - we will see how it translates into a gelatin.

I also bought some Cha Soba - green tea flavoured soba noodles! I'm going to do a whole dinner with Japanese inspired food tonight:
Honey Garlic Teriyaki sausage over white rice
Imitation Crab Salad Maki
Tamagoyaki Nigiri
Cha Soba with traditional fixings (dipping sauce, wasabi, green onion)
Gyoza
I may even have to present it on these pretty square green glass plates I have with a bamboo design etched into them. They were actually the base for our wedding centrepieces (add a pillar candle, some glass aquarium beads, and bam!), but we kept them, because they're a really nice decorative plate. I've never had a chance to use them before, so I thought it might be fun.

Bento #18

For tomorrow's bento, I made it mostly with the just bento cookbook. I changed a couple of things, because I didn't have some of the ingredients or wanted to try something different, but inspired by her recipes. Some of it came out a little small, so I packed in some fruit and snow peas to fill the rest of the space.

Rice with mixed veggies
Dwarf Bok Choy stir fried with garlic and tossed with a dash of sesame oil (yum!)
tamagoyaki
ham roll filled with chive whipped cream cheese and cheddar
strawberry
grapes
snow peas

I printed out the "weekly meal planner with bento lunch box" from the just bento website and slid it into a plastic page protector. I used a grease pencil, which wipes off the plastic very nicely, and wrote out this week's meals, planning the veggies and sides so I can use them for the bento lunches the next day. I stuck it to the side of the fridge with magnets for handy reference. (the wire basket has index cards with recipes in it)



Let's see how well I follow it!
I'm going to try and remember to take photos each day.

Finally, I went to the farm market and picked up a whole bunch of fruit and veggies for a great price. I want to make it my goal to try something new when I spot it at the market. This time around I got some enoki mushrooms, which I will be using in a bento later this week.
I guess the bok choy sort of counts too - I've eaten it before, but I've never made it myself - and these ones were so tiny!

Garlic Bok Choy Recipe:
large handfull of Bok Choy
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp beef broth
1 tsp sesame oil

heat oil and garlic, add bok choy and stir fry until leaves just begin to wilt - ensure garlic gets spread evenly . Add beef broth and quickly cover the pan, steam for a couple of minutes until heated through. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss.

Bento #17

This was yesterday's bento - I've been making them a lot more lately, but I just haven't had the time to take photos and such.

Inside is:

1 cup rice - 3:1 mix of white and black rice (cooked together, makes it purple)
1 tuna croquette (recipe from "Good Eats")
Container with tartar sauce
Chicken, carrot and snow pea teriyaki
Broccoli tossed in wasabi and soy sauce

The little packet off to the side is instant miso soup.

This was kind of an "oh no, I need lunch, what's left in the fridge?" bento.
I had completely forgotten that I cut up a couple of chicken breasts and stashed them in the freezer in small portions, it came in handy!

Bento #16

I got a couple of single-tier bento boxes today. They're just the "Lovely" brand from Daiso - a blue 850ml one for the Mister and a pink 550ml one for me.
According to charts I've seen, they're each 50ml too small for our age (the height is quite far off), but that's okay, because we're both trying to lose weight.
Mine was a little harder to pack, because it is smaller (it's only 30ml smaller than my URARA dragonfly 2-tier box, but I'm not used to the single space).

Inside each box is a vegetable stir fry (not vegetarian, but it could be if you replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock):
1tsp olive oil fragranced with a piece of ginger (heat oil, lightly sautee ginger, remove - The Mister is not a big fan of ginger, so I didn't want to leave pieces in)
1/2 tsp minced garlic (I'm lazy and have the pre-minced stuff in a jar)
handfull each of snow peas, green pepper, yellow pepper cut into bite-sized pieces
handfull of carrot, thinly sliced
Sauce:
1/4 c chicken stock
splash each of mirin, rice vinegar and soya sauce
cornstarch (about 1tsp) to thicken

Tamagoyaki with herbs (we each get half):
2 eggs, a generous pinch each of parsley, basil and oregano, and about a teaspoon of finely chopped green onion.

I also made hot dog "jumping fish" - cute! (he gets 1 whole hot dog cut into 4 fish, I could only fit 3 fish into my box, so I ate one right away!). Put in a small container of honey dijon to dip the hot dogs in.

I get 1 cup of rice, he gets 1-1/2 cups - topped with carrot and snow pea flowers to make it pretty.

These ones look a lot more "traditional" than my other bento boxes - I actually really like it.

I'm really looking forward to getting the JustBento cookbook.
I've started a notebook specifically for bento friendly recipes - though I'm thinking of getting index cards and a plastic box so I can organize them, instead of just writing it all down and then having to flip through it all to find what I want.

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In addition to the above bento boxes, I also bought a Makiyakinabe pan today. It's a small rectangular pan specifically for making tamagoyaki. It was only $2, and I make tamagoyaki often enough that I wanted to get a pan, so I could make them a nice uniform shape for the bento boxes.
People often say it's a single-purpose item, but as soon as I was done the omelette, threw in the hot dog "fish" to cook - they all fit perfectly in a single layer. I'm sure I can make use of it a lot with making various small portioned fried items for the bento boxes. And because it's a nonstick pan, I don't have to use much, if any oil.
Not something totally necessary or for everyone, but I'm glad I bought it.

Bento #15

I bought the Just Bento Cookbook and the Kawaii Bento Boxes books for my birthday.
Amazon.com has some sample recipes from the Just Bento Cookbook on their site, so I decided to make one last night.

Chicken and Three-Color Pepper Stir-fry (I only had 2 kinds of pepper - haha)
Instant Cabbage and Cucumber Pickles
Basic White Rice
Cherry Tomatoes, Carrots and Snow Peas (the original called for broccoli, but I didn't have any on hand, so I replaced it with the carrots and snow peas)

I sucked it up and bought some fresh ginger for the very first time to make the chicken recipe. It smelled absolutely delicious while it was cooking. I munched on a couple of pieces of the chicken this morning, and it was amazing!
My husband is okay with peppers, and I'm not too sure how he feels about ginger, so I told him if he doesn't like it I won't make it for him again (but I certainly will for me!) I didn't make the pickles for him, because he generally dislikes pickled things.

I like the JustBento website a lot, so I'm really looking forward to this book. (I've wanted the book for a while, it's just impossible to find locally, I've been looking in bookstores for a few months now)
I hope the Kawaii one has some good stuff in it too.

Bento #12

Today is leftover day.

Hamburger Helper Chili Macaroni (made with lean ground turkey and mushrooms)
Schwartzies Hash Browns (butter omitted, less cheese, all other ingredients were reduced fat)
Assorted veggies
Riceball mixed with furikake and topped with a nori and cheese penguin.

The Mister actually got something completely different today, because he doesn't like leftovers, and I make less food at dinner time now, so there are actually less leftovers to go around ;)
No photo, but I made him an egg sushi roll (tamago maki!), vegetable dumplings, meatballs with teriyaki sauce, grapes, apple chunks, veggies, cubed cheese and a turkey pepperoni stick.

I got some new bento supplies at Daiso, including mini sauce bottles (photo not mine), sushi molds (because I fail at rolling sushi) and vegetable cutters (mine only came with 3 - I didn't get the circular one, but it was only $2, so ...)

I'm having way too much fun with this.

Bento #7

This is from a few days ago.
I randomly decided that I wanted coleslaw, and made my own. I only did a small batch:
1 tsp mayo
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp honey
pinch paprika
handfull of coleslaw mix (green and red cabbage, carrots)
4 tart green grapes
toasted sesame seeds.
I mixed the dressing first, then added the rest to the bowl, covered in plastic wrap and gave it a good shake to make sure everything was coated.
It had a nice mild slightly buttery flavour.

The rest of the time, I've been taking the tv-dinners to work.

Yesterday morning I did 30min of yoga, then left an hour early for work, so I could head to the community centre and register for the Vancouver Sun Run walking clinic. The community centre is about a 30min walk from my house.
From there, I could have taken the bus to a skytrain station, but I chose to walk for another 30min to the skytrain station.

This morning I did another 30min of yoga, but I got out of bed later, so no long walk today.
The yoga I'm doing is from the "lets yoga!" video game I bought. It's really good so far - I've just been combining three of the lessons in the first section to make up 30mins. It's onto the next section tomorrow!

Tomorrow, I am re-joining the Burnaby Lake walking group (approx 10k / 2 hours), and then Sunday is the first walking clinic.

The Sun Run itself is 10k, which I know that I can already do, but it will be nice to see how fast I can do it.
Oh, and I can't run for medical reasons. My left knee has been buggered since I was in highschool - my kneecap likes to dislocate if I repeatedly bend my knee, so running and cycling are bad things for me. Walking is okay, and I can manage stairs as long as I haven't already been walking for a long time.

I'm going to be "bad" today and get some fast food for lunch before work - a spicy teriyaki chicken rice box.
There is this little takeout place downtown called Kushi Box they are super cheap, and all they serve is chicken on rice in a takeout box. You can choose from teriyaki, tsukune or karaage - oh, sorry, they do have pork toro as well.