Baby Bento 1: A Morning Snack

Greetings all!  We are back from Russia with three beautiful children!!!  They are wonderful, bright kids who will certainly keep me on my toes.  I wanted to do a bento this morning for their snack - just to see what they thought of it.  Here are the results.


There are carrot slices, apple slices, honey dew melon bits, French toast fingers, and vanilla yogurt.  My mom's reaction was that this sounded like too much food for a snack but the cup in the middle of the bento is a mini muffin cup with just a few bites of yogurt in it.  Everything else is likewise small.  My idea was to provide some variety so that if they didn't like something, they had lots of options.  The only thing left in a bento were a few bits of carrot that didn't get eaten. 

How did the kids like it?  Well, here they are eating it.  Our little girl was finished so quickly that I couldn't get a picture!



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A Guest Bento

My sister Parisienne emailed me this lovely bento - her very first!  I thought I would share it with you since I am leaving for Russia tomorrow and am not making bentos until I get back!  :)


This is a low carb bento.  The main course is mashed cauliflower, BBQ pork, and tomato.  The top layer contains carrots and cheese with grapes.

Bravo Parisienne!  I can't wait to see more!!!

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Shrimp Ramen

We had snow last night and I was hoping, indeed praying, for a snow day.  It would have been so nice to run errands and pack for our trip a little early and have some time to relax!  Oh well!  This little dream of mine caused me to put off my bento making until this morning.  Fortunately, I had some precooked shrimp in the freezer.  As a result, this bento was ready in the flash.


Layer 1 looks very much as it always does.  I've filled this layer with fresh veggies and cheese, fresh fruit and for a special treat: gold fish!


Layer 2 was made from pantry staples and leftovers.  I tossed the ramen noodles with Green Giant Healthy Vision veggies: carrots, zucchini, and sliced green beans in a rosemary butter sauce.  The shrimp are obviously on the side.  I added one lovely leftover item: a breakfast strata.  This strata includes sautéed spinach and tomatoes inside.

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Scallops à la Bento

We are leaving for Russia by the end of the week and are trying to get rid of excess food in the house.  Supplies are dwindling, so this bento was made from freezer and pantry staples  -  well, mostly from those.  I still have fresh veggies and fruit to put in the top.  Scallops seem pretty unusual in a lunch but I needed something that would defrost quickly since I didn't plan this bento until I woke up this morning.  I think it turned out very nicely nonetheless.


Layer 1 contains fresh veggies and cheese, orange slices, blackberries, and blueberries.  There is also some rice pudding dusted with cinnamon.  The veggies, fruit, and cheese are all fresh.  The rice pudding is premade.


Layer 2 contains a main course of saffron rice, pan-seared scallops, and frozen veggies (Green Giant Healthy Weight veggies: sliced carrots, sugar snap peas, black beans, and edamame).  I've added some white wine to the butter sauce.

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Saffron Rice in a Rice Cooker

My rice cooker has a brown function so that I can sauté things in it.  It also makes rice in 10 minutes, so I tend to make rice in the morning if I need it for a bento.  I thought about using some leftover rice from a Chinese restaurant that I have in the freezer but I wanted a splash of color.  White rice and scallops (which are also white) would have been too visually bland.  So, here's what I did.

Ingredients:
     1/4 cup diced onions
     1/4 tsp spigol (a saffron substitute)
     2 cups chicken broth
     1 cup of basmati rice
     1 tbsp butter
     salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions in the butter.  Once they are translucent, add the spigol or saffron.  Then add the rice, stirring to distribute the spigol.  Add the chicken broth, salt and pepper and turn on the rice cooker.  Ten minutes later, you have a lovely yellow rice!



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Quiche - In a Tiny Bento

I bought these darling little bentos for the kids (when we get them home).  I thought they'd be perfect for snacks.  I decided to put them to the test today - for DD.  She is going down to Denver with me today for adoption paperwork (she turned 18 and is now considered an adult - therefore more paperwork).  Yesterday evening, we had quiche and salad for dinner and I had leftovers.  I was planning to take DD out to lunch and thought a snack later in the day would be good.  Here's her "snack."


Quiche on a bed of green leaf lettuce with tomatoes and a red wine vinaigrette.  Yum!

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A New Bento Box and a Special Lunch to Go in It

While my parents were visiting, we made a trip down to IKEA and I found bento boxes at a Swedish store!  ;)  My DH is amused by this - or at least he was - until he saw tomorrow's lunch.  This is a BIG bento intended for all day grazing.  The new bento box has two layers measuring 10" x 6" x 1.5". There's lots of room to spread out ingredients but nothing can be very high at all.  DH has been having a hard time getting through his school days and is a little run down.  I think he needs a little more TLC than usual, so here we go . . .


Layer 1 contains the vast majority of the fun stuff in this meal.  Working from left to right, we have herbed goat cheese (the small wedge in the upper left corner), smoked salmon, slices of cheddar and Swiss cheeses, tomatoes, carrots, black forest ham, salami, peppers, cucumbers, and peanut butter filled pretzels.  This is all served on a bed of lettuce. 


Layer 2 contains crackers, Swedish toast, strawberries, blackberries, and orange slices. 

This looks like a HUGE amount of food, but there isn't really that much here.   I've given DH 8 little slices of cheese plus a small wedge of goat cheese.  There isn't much smoked salmon.  There are 1.5 slices of ham and 2 slices of salami.  The key here is that there is a lot of variety and it is arranged to look more substantial.  Even the fruit is not a huge amount: 2 strawberries, 1/2 of an orange, and 7 blackberries.  I will admit, though, that there are a lot crackers in this bento. 

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Steak & Asparagus Bento

We had a lovely steak last night that I remade into this bento for DH and DD.


Layer 1 contains a salad of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots with Laughing Cow cheese and a dessert of strawberries and oranges and a tiny little bit of gingerbread topped with whipped cream. 


Layer 2 contains a main course of rice, a roasted tomato topped with cheese and herbs, asparagus, and thinly sliced steak.  I've added a sauce of fond de veau, red wine, and red wine vinegar.

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Leftovers in a Bento - 2012

Happy New Year!!!!

My parents have just left to return home and I have a house FULL of leftovers.  What's a girl to do?!?!  BENTO!!!  :)

Let me introduce you to my new favorite appliance - the pie maker.  My mother and father bought this amazing appliance for me and it is no ordinary pie maker.  When first they discussed buying one, I suggested that there were cheaper ones out on the market but they did a lot of research.  The Breville Pie Maker is the best available and makes lovely 4 inch pies and quiches - perfect for lunch, breakfast, and well, eating anytime.  I have had hours of fun with it already.

This bento is my first of the new year and it seemed appropriate to use leftovers in a pie.  Mom, this bento is for you!


This is a single layer bento consisting of homemade turkey pot pie and salad.  It is super simple and (I think) quite cute!   How did I make the pot pie?  Well, I took pie crust, put it into the pie maker and shaped it to the container.  I added some leftover mashed potatoes (about 2 tsp of it) and then a few teaspoons of turkey in gravy (also leftover).  I added a few peas and diced carrots.  Viola!  Turkey pot pie is easy as, well, pie!  Thanks Mom for cooking up a storm.  I am packaging leftovers to make meals for when we get home from Russia with the kids.

That reminds me, dear readers, DH and I will be going to Russia to bring home our three kids this month.  Bentos will likely be more kid oriented in February.  We are looking forward to a very big change in our lives - a wonderful change.

Wishing you the very best this new year,
Moi

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