Toast Of The Day: Artichoke Hearts!

Today's Artichoke Heart, Arugula & Purple Cream Cheese Toast idea came about after I read a recipe for marinating plain quartered artichoke hearts instead of buying the kind in those tiny jars. I used white wine vinegar and olive oil, as well as shallots, lemon slices and oregano. It came out tasting nothing like the jarred stuff, but still delicious!

Sure, you could eat it just as is, but why not make a fun toast with it? I used whole wheat pita again, schmeared cream cheese (into which I mashed a piece of steamed Okinawan purple sweet potato because, look how pretty!), scattered some arugula and piled on the home-marinated artichoke hearts.

Um, SO good!

😊❤🍱

Starry Penne with Meat Sauce Bento

Starry Penne with Meat Sauce Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

MisterMan gets carrot penne with meat sauce topped with fresh grated parmesan and stars. The top tier has an assortment of strawberries, white peaches, steamed Okinawan sweet potato sticks, and homegrown arugula salad with shaved Iberico and walnuts. So excited that my arugula is growing so vigorously; I love this peppery green! I'm going to try to make fans of my kids as well, by the end of the summer. That's my goal. ^__^

Sausage Arugula Pasta Bento

Sausage Arugula Pasta Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Now that the kids are getting older and their appetites are getting bigger, I find myself reaching for the more spacious bento boxes more frequently these days. My preschooler can still use the cute little one tiered character boxes, but probably not for much longer. And my almost-4th-grader definitely needs more food. This summer he's been very active, with various enrichment programs such as cooking, chess, mad science, and sports. He can eat a lot. I found this nice-looking two-tiered box today and thought it would be perfect for him in the coming months. It supposedly holds over 1000ml, but I find that the containers themselves take up space and there isn't a need to pack super tightly. This one has a snug-fitting upper divided tier that sits deep into the main compartment. Thus, I have to be careful not to pack the bottom too high. I like the gasket in the lid and the two double latches, as well as the transparent nature of this Clic-Tite box, made by a company called Novo. Here I've packed a quick-cook meal of thin whole wheat spagetti, wilted arugula and spinach, and pan-fried chicken sausage to layer in the bottom on a lettuce leaf. The top holds a silicone cup of yogurt with blueberries and sunflower seeds, another of steamed corn off the cob, carrots, cherries, strawberries, lychee, Okinawan sweet potato and regular sweet potato.

 

Pizza Bento!

Pizza Bento!, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't used my Keroppi sandwich bento in a long time; it's nice for certain foods that are large and bulky - like sandwiches. I used to pack bánh mì in the top portion for MisterMan in summertimes past. Today I used the extra-tall part to pack a pizza for TinySprite. This one is homemade with arugula, sauteed mushroom and zucchini and melty cheesy toppings on a gluten-free crust. I used Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pizza dough mix for the first time. It's very, um, different than regular pizza dough. If you weren't exactly sure what gluten is or does to baked goods, try this pizza dough and you'll understand. For one thing, it's not stretchy or elastic at all. It's also very wet and doesn't stick together very well. While I was rolling pressing it out, I wondered how in the world this was going to make a pizza. It came out pretty nicely crispy though, and held up to the toppings very well. I think the trick is to press it as thin as possible. TS loved it, so that's what matters! On the bottom section I gave her some cottage cheese with sunflower seeds, by her request, and some carrots, strawberry and blackberries. Gluten-free experiment seems to be progressing quite well!

Calzone Flowers Lunchbot Bento

Calzone Flowers Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Welcome to the first day of the Lunar New Year! The kids happened to have yesterday off, so we spent the long weekend celebrating with family. And today's bento has meat! It's a meaty calzone I made with whole wheat dough, containing pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and mozzarella. I had to slice it so that it would fit in the bento box, and decorated with Okinawan sweet potato flowers with peapod leaves. I rounded out the meal with a giant strawberry, some sliced kiwi, grape tomatoes, grapes, carrots, and sweet yellow pepper rings. You can see that after the dragon tour de force, I am now back to my usual "plain" quickie bento arrangements, which take much less time but which can still look fresh and appetizing due to the addition of colorful, seasonal fruit and veggies. I am a big proponent of local, seasonal ingredients for bento; the fresher it is, the less preparation (and even cooking) you have to do. And who doesn't love that?

Pizza Face Bento

Pizza Face Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Look at those luscious lips! Okay, you might need a bit of imagination to see it, but there are supposed to be tomato eyes and red pepper lips on this cheesy, salami, arugula flatbread pizza. I used Mediterranean whole grain flat bread, which is thick enough to stand up to toppings, but which bakes crispy for a cool mini pizza. The other sections of this Sistema double-sided box contain Okinawan sweet potato, corn on the cob, pluots, nectarines, strawberries and blackberries. Smooch!