American Bento

I never realized how "adult" the food I typically make is until we brought the kids home.  I had planned an Italian sausage and spinach soup - but then realized that kids wouldn't eat it.  So, I turned it into a pasta dish.  This is leftovers repackaged for lunch.

Layer 2: Sausage and spinach pasta.  It isn't pretty but it did the trick.  :)   This dish started life as a soup: chicken stock with Italian sausage (chicken sausage) meatballs that I had sauteed.  I added spinach, tomatoes, pasta (which cooked in the broth), and cheese. 

Since we've gotten home from Russia with our three little munchkins, our DD has been a fabulous help!  She has changed diapers, given up her time so that I could have 5 minutes of my own during the day, and generally been a mini-mom to our other children.  This tremendous gift of self is more than I can ever repay.  She does it without asking and without complaint - even going so far as asking us to plan a date night and get out of the house (providing baby sitting free of charge, of course).  She has tried to get me to stop making her bento but I just can't.  It would be poor thanks for all she does.  So, this bento, simple as it is, is a thank you bento - made with love and gratitude.

I have begun putting together bento lunches for the kids.  It's a slow process because they take a lot of my attention.  :)  Here is my first attempt.

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.

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!  :)

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 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.

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.

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."

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 . . .

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.

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!

Friends,

School is letting out shortly and I am getting ready to make a wonderful trip to Russia.  My husband and I are adopting three beautiful children and have a court date shortly before Christmas.  I hope to be back in time to post some fun, bento inspired, healthy snacks for the holidays.  I may not make Christmas but will do my best to have something special for New Years.  Please keep my family in your prayers.  Next month may be filled with meals for toddlers instead of teenagers!  At least, that is what we are all hoping for!

Thank you all and I wish you all a very merry Christmas!

Fontevrault

I've been asked to share my recipe for baguette here.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't be ethical to share the recipe itself since it comes from a wonderful book:  Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.   If you click on the title, it will take you to Amazon.com.  I don't participate in a referral program but thought it might make life easier for you to be able to click and read reviews. 

I like this method of making bread because it is fast and easy and yet healthy.  Fast and healthy rarely describe the same food, so it is nice to support an effort to help families (a) eat real homemade food and (b) offer ways to do so without spending all day in the kitchen.  Don't get me wrong; I enjoy cooking.  But, I also have a lot of other projects to work on. 

The premise of the cookbook is that you make a basic recipe and keep that dough in the fridge.  When you want to make bread, you simply pull out the amount of dough needed and shape your loaf (your 5 minutes of work).  Then, you allow the bread to rest and later bake it.  There isn't a lot of kneading involved or even proofing yeast.  Instead, the recipes in this book use more moisture and add vital wheat gluten. 

Some loaves should rest for as much as 50 minutes.  Baguettes require less rest time and bake more quickly (since they are more narrow).  This works for me because I get up at 5 am to make lunch and breakfast for my family.  I really don't want to have to get up any earlier than that.  So, I make baguette and sometimes hit the snooze button.  :) 

The baguette pictured in my "A Sandwich Bento" entry is the basic whole wheat bread recipe.  I've made some changes. I use white whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour.  I also made small "mini" baguettes.  These are approximately 4 inches long.  Once I've allowed the dough to rest, I moisten the baguette with water and sprinkle a mixture of rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper on top.  I then slit the top of the dough. 

I do hope you will consider looking at this book.  It might even be available at your local library.  I have found that I bake more frequently because I have the dough ready.  I also find I spend much less money on bread.  I think my total cost for a conventional loaf of bread might be $0.50 with these recipes.  Fancy breads like a herbed baguette would cost far more at the store.  I have spent as much as $4 for a nice loaf of bread at Whole Foods.  Now, I can just make it at home!

This bento is made from leftovers.  Tonight we've had a lot going on.  Dinner was an afterthought: a rotisserie chicken from Walmart and a quick salad.  This bento grew out of that simple meal. 

Layer 1:  Cucumber sandwiches and mini tomatoes start off the meal.  A muffin, yogurt, strawberries, and orange slices make for a sweet ending.

Layer 2: A main course of chicken leg, potatoes tossed with herbs, green beans, onions, and carrot.  There is also some mashed sweet potato and a small salad.

This bento is a single layer meal made of leftovers from a delightful dinner.  Here are ravioli filled with cheese and topped with tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted red pepper and more cheese.  I've used cucumber slices to hold the ravioli in place so that I could add some fresh veggies: tomatoes, carrots, and peppers. 

This is a bento that DD tells me is her personal favorite.  She enjoyed the lunch so much that she has asked me to make it several times.  It's nice to feel appreciated, especially when the lunch requested is so easy!

Layer 1 is my usual assortment of veggies and a dip.  Dessert includes plums, strawberries, and low carb cheesecake.  I make the cheesecake in advance and then freeze individual portions.  I can then pull out a treat whenever I need to.


Layer 2 is a small salad and a chicken sandwich on homemade baguette.  The baguette is whole wheat and topped with a rosemary herb mix. 

I have only just noticed that I haven't been posting much!  I am sorry to report that life has gotten busy and I got overwhelmed.  But, I am now able to focus much more on my bentos!  :)

Today I present a pulled pork bbq bento with homemade cornbread.  This is comfort food - plain and simple.   It's even in a one layer bento. 


Here you can see a small cup of pork bbq.  I had some stashed away in the freezer and pulled it out to make this bento.  It seemed like a way to make DH smile when he had a long day of teaching ahead.  The cornbread has minced onion and green pepper in it.  There is also a little bit of coleslaw topped with sliced yellow pepper. 

They predicted 5-10 inches of snow last night.  We only got 4 - officially.  I think it's more; well, at least it looks like more.  The roads are slick and horrible.  But, guess what?  School's in.   I wanted to have my family home today.  We would have baked bread, made soup, and sat around the fire enjoying one another.  It's too bad PSD didn't get the memo.

So, we have a rather reluctant bento that I threw together this morning all the while hoping for that elusive snow day.  Four inches really isn't enough to close school over but I had high hopes for a 4 day week. 

Layer 2:  Veggie pasta cut in harvest shapes - pumpkins and autumn leaves.  The pasta is tossed with a purple basil pesto made with herbs from my garden (clearly not today - I pulled it from the freezer).  There's also some chicken here.  I made chicken stock yesterday and put the "bits" of chicken into lunch.

Sistema puts out the bento box I use and my family loves it.  Unfortunately, the only place in town that carries it is Safeway and I haven't seen anything but the box.  Sistema's website shows a number of other nifty products.  My husband and I went shopping in Denver this weekend and I found more Sistema products! 

World Market now carries Sistema boxes and other supplies.  I bought the "Cutlery to Go" kit in pink (the only color they had).  So, I imagine DD will be using it.  It's a little too feminine for DH. :)  Let's take a look:

This little box holds quite a bit.  The cutlery options are quite nice and seem fairly sturdy.

The only problem I see with the set is that it only contains two bottom pieces.  You can't have a knife, fork, and spoon assembled at once.   I'll report more once my daughter has an opportunity to use the set. 

In honor of Halloween, I have made a harvest themed bento.  Tonight we had a lovely dinner that was remade here.

Layer 1:  An appetizer plate of veggies and cheese with a jack-o-lantern pepper.  Dessert is a spice muffin and fresh fruit. 


Layer 2:  Roast pork with onions, apple butter, acorn squash, and pumpkin pasties. 



You will need:

• pie crust (either store bought or home made)
• a can of pumpkin
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and allspice

Combine the pumpkin, 1 egg, brown sugar, and spices in a bowl.  Mix in spices to taste.

Beat the second egg with a tsp of water.

Cut rounds or other shapes of pie crust and fill with the pumpkin mixture.

Paint the edges of the shape with the egg and water and press the shape closed.

Paint the top of each shape with egg and sprinkle with spices and brown sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees until brown.