American Bento

It is summer and that means lovely days filled with sunshine and my whole family (including DH) around me.  I'm not making bento as frequently because we are grilling outdoors.  But we are planning on taking the kids to Rocky Mountain National Park for an outing.  I decided that we needed bentos for the voyage and spent some time playing today.  As hot as the weather is, it is a real pleasure to stay inside with my bento supplies.  



I made a fake sushi roll.  It is not my greatest work but I learned a lot.  They are a light pink color because the only vinegar I had handy was red wine vinegar.  I put asparagus in the center and really could have put more into it.  Next are chicken wing pieces baked with salt, pepper, and garlic.  There are mini peppers, strawberries, tomatoes cut into flowers, and cucumber pieces that are meant to go into a vinaigrette in the little cup. There is also half a hard boiled egg.  I've added chive blossoms (fully edible) for a little onion flavor and purple color.  The cup holds some imitation crab meat.  On the far right is a tiny bamboo fork.

The coolest part of this bento is that it is 90% disposable.  At the end of the day, we will take home 5 silicone cups and 5 dressing cups.  The rest can go in the trash. Now, normally, that isn't a good thing, but I have wanted to find a good container for DH to use for field trips and so that I can pack lunches for our family outings where it is not as easy to tote around lunch boxes.  A baby requires enough gear that simplifying lunch is important.  Well, simplifying is a relative term here.  :0)

Today is the last day of school and DH has a long day ahead of him.  I made this lunch in about 20 minutes this morning.  It turned out quite well considering the situation - little to no groceries, a bit of a time crunch, and no plan.  It could almost be termed a fly by the seat of your pants bento.  :)


Layer 1 contains a salad of carrot, cucumber, and grape tomatoes.  On the other side is brie cheese, a few grapes and orange slices.

Layer 2 contains a stuffed portobello mushroom (I found one lone mushroom in the fridge and some herbed cheese).  There is also sauteed asparagus and a stir fry with ramen noodles, chicken and broccoli slaw.

You can so tell that it is the last week of classes!  I haven't really gone grocery shopping in two weeks.  We are dwindling down the stores of food and things are looking a little sparse.  For this bento, I had to search around quite a bit.  For better or for worse, here it is.


As you can see, it is one of the larger My Bento Meal boxes that DH loves because there is so much food.  My goal, as usual, is to fill him up with more fruit and veg than junk food.


Layer 1 contains ham and boursin roll ups in a low carb tortilla, a carrot, slices of white peach, orange, and grapes.  I tried for a swirl effect with the fruit in the center but it just didn't come together as I wanted it to.

My children have officially requested bentos again after a winter spent in fascination of homemade soups and mayo.  Yes, homemade mayo, I am told, tastes better than that stuff in the jar.  :)  I think I'm raising foodies.


This is what I came up with today.  It is similar to DH's bento but I've added elements.  The little cup on the left contains last night's cucumber and green pepper salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, mint, salt, and pepper.  Above are chunks of Cajun chicken, a single shrimp cooked in saffron, and a little hard boiled egg. The right side contains two onigiri like the ones I made for DH but here they are topped with flowers cut from ham and a little piece of cheddar.  Between the onigiri is a small piece of avocado.  There is also some broccoli, a strawberry, some grapes, and a slice of peach.

What I like about this bento is the fact that they nest inside one another for storage.  I think I bought 3 on ebay as a group and got a great price.  I'm gearing up with some new bento toys soon that I hope will help spark some further creativity, but that's a subject for another post.



 This smaller section is filled with my attempt at some onigiri.  I made them with leftover long grain rice (not a good idea by the way).  The rice has onion, green pepper, tomatoes, peas, and carrots in it along with some saffron.  I've added two shrimp steamed alongside the rice, some cheese, and a little more broccoli.

Here is the bento stacked and ready to go.



My kids said something rather cute today.  They asked me to keep making bento over the summer because they like "Daddy's lunches."  :)  So sweet!

DH was really sweet to me too.  I asked him if he'd mind if I bought some new bento gear.  He smiled and said if I wanted it, I should have it.  What a kind man!!!  Well, I guess he benefits from my little hobby . . .

In my last bento, I included some homemade raviolis.  To be completely honest, my mother made them for me the last time she came for a visit.  However, they are a good stash item because you can freeze them and pull them out whenever you need a quick meal, so I thought you might like to know how to make them.


The basic procedure is the same for a quick and easy ravioli.  You can make up your own fillings and cook in a variety of ways, so feel free to play and share your own ideas.

1 pkg wanton wrappers
1 acorn squash
a few slices of black forest ham, diced fine
1 large portobello mushroom, diced fine
butter
1 egg separated
plain breadcrumbs

Bake the acorn squash the way you like it.  I make mine with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and cinnamon.  I make them as a side item with roast chicken and just make an extra for this project.  It helps to cool the acorn squash so that the filling is easier to handle.

Sauté the mushroom in butter.  Season with a little salt and pepper.

Mash the acorn squash interior, adding the mushroom and black forest ham.  Add the egg white and enough breadcrumbs to have a firm (not runny) filling.  The amount of breadcrumbs you use will depend on how much liquid your acorn squash contains after cooking and how much moisture is left in your mushrooms.

Mix the egg yolk with 1/2 tsp water and blend.

Take out a wanton wrapper (keep the remainder covered or they will dry out).  Paint the edges with the egg yolk.  Add a small amount of filling to the middle and fold over to create a triangle shape.  Press the edges firmly together.  Then, moisten two tips of the triangle opposite one another.  Fold together and press firmly.

Repeat until all your filling is gone.

If you get tired of making these and want to stop, the filling freezes well on its own.  You can always package it up and make more another day.

This is essentially a western version of dim sum.  You could steam it in that way, bake it either in sauce or as I did for this bento, or boil as a traditional ravioli would be.  I like these particular raviolis with a light mushroom cream sauce.

Enjoy!

As I've said, I am out of standard "stash" items and am throwing together bentos based on what I've made recently for dinner.  This bento is a mixed bag - a little of just about everything.


Layer 1 contains a salad of grated carrot, some smoked Gouda, and nuts.  Dessert is Greek yogurt, strawberries, grapes, and slices of white peach.

This bento was my first "getting back into the swing of things" bento.  It had been so long since I'd made a bento that this one feels a little incomplete.  I would have liked to have seen more color, perhaps some fruit, and for the whole thing to have a sense of cohesion that this one lacks.  It seems like a work in progress.  :)

My own DH made a lovely dinner for Mother's Day: roast chicken with fennel, onion, celery, and carrot.  Dessert was chocolate dipped strawberries.  We had a great time with all the kids around us.  After dinner, I made this bento for him.


This top layer is a cheese plate with smoked gouda, provolone, and brie cheeses, grapes, crackers, and one chocolate dipped strawberry.  I added two roses that came from the flowers our eldest daughter brought me.


The bottom layer is leftovers from two nights.  The cup holds roasted veggies from last night (fennel etc.).  There is sliced chicken breast and a wing.  Lastly, I added some low carb pasta tossed with a portobello mushroom cream sauce.

I am absolutely crazy about this roast chicken.  It is the best I've had in a long while.  DH coats the chicken and veggies with a rosemary rub.  We make a huge quantity of the rub and use it on grilled meats and roasts all summer long.  It goes nicely on veggies too - especially grilled zucchini.

Rosemary Rub:

• 1/4 cup dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried crumbled sage
• 2 tbsp garlic flakes
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 tbsp cracked black pepper

As promised, here is the bento design I showed you earlier today.  This is what the box looks like all closed up.  The handles fold down.  It is a nice design from My Bento Meal.

It has been quite a while since my last bento.  In the meantime, I have had a baby - a beautiful little boy.  As you can well imagine, there was another adjustment necessary (what a year for change!). We went from a teenager just about to graduate and go to college to not just 3 but 4 children under the age of 5!   :) The pregnancy was not an easy one but I am truly grateful to have our littlest boy safely delivered and thriving.   Just because I can, here is our latest little bundle of joy:


I think I have finally figured out a schedule that works and am back to making bento.  Here's one:


This is a new bento that I bought from Tuesday Morning.  It was originally made by mybento.com.  It is a cute oval shape and has handles on the top for easy carrying.  I'll post a picture of the closed bento when DH comes home from work. 

The top layer of bento holds a cucumber and tomato salad, tamagoyaki, some pepper slices cut in the shape of flowers, and nuts.  I think it would have been nicer to put a layer of lettuce beneath the tomato and cucumber salad but I didn't figure that out until after the fact.

What are tamagoyaki?  They are a lovely Japanese folded omelet.  I've tried two variations this week and both have turned out well.  This one is rather plain: egg, water, a little pinch of salt, and some sugar (1/2 tsp or so).  This doesn't really make the tamagoyaki sweet but does amplify the egg flavors nicely.  To make this, I blended 2 eggs with the salt and sugar in my magic bullet (you get a really uniform mixture and it seem lighter that way than if I do it by hand).  I cooked half the mixture until the egg was just barely set.  Then, I rolled it over itself.  I then cooked the other half of the mixture and placed the first role on one edge and rolled the second around it.  I then transferred it to a cutting board and allowed it to cool.  DH and I nibbled on pieces as I was making the rest of this bento.  You could easily get 2 or 3 bentos out of one tamagoyaki.  If you had a smaller pan, you could easily make it with 1 egg instead of 2.


 This bottom layer is the result of making it up as I go.  On the left is sautéed cabbage, leek, and carrot with dill.  The two onigiri are very western: flavored with red wine vinegar (from my own vinegar pot) and stuffed with roasted red pepper.  There is a stuffed tomato on the right.  The filler on this layer is the protein: sautéed shrimp.  The shrimp are made with garlic, salt, pepper, white wine, tomatoes, and parsley.