Wings of Bento, and a Celebration

Wings of Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

As I was going through my bento stash, I found this two-tier rectangular stainless steel Ecolunchbox set. It comes with a smaller, lidded box that fits into the top tier and is useful for packing things that you'd like to keep contained. The other Ecolunchbox I have (the oval one you can see here and here) also includes a separate small box, which seems to be where this company stands out. I like the quality of these boxes; the metal is sturdy and well-constructed enough to survive a typical lunchbag-swinging kid. This one, like the other one, has a tight latch, which you might need to practice with your child to make sure he can open and close it easily. Here I've packed some tebasaki (Japanese Grilled Chicken Wings with Sea Salt - method and recipe here), roasted diced taters and asparagus spears in the lower tier, and strawberries, carrots, blood oranges in the top tier, along with cottage cheese and blueberries in the little tin.

As for the kids' accomplishments last Friday, MisterMan finished first in the 3rd Grade District Spelling Bee! He beat out 27 other kids from 8 other schools to take home the medal. Interestingly, although the kids were given a list of about a thousand potential words to study, the second half of the bee drew from a secret list that the kids would only have been able to recognize from their reading. Not surprisingly, most of them were eliminated during that half; and some of those words were tough! MM never cracked under pressure, and spelled the winning word, "admirably", admirably. So proud of him! As for TinySprite, she appears to have performed well in her Kindergarten Readiness Interview, as we received her positive evaluation today. So as promised, they celebrated with their own double ice cream cones this past weekend: pistachio and chocolate chip for him, and chocolate and blueberry cheesecake for her. ^_^

Tebasaki and Kabocha Jack Bento

Tebasaki and Kabocha Jack Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I packed another guaranteed kid favorite: tebasaki chicken wings. I won't tell you how many we make, but I always make more than I think we'll eat so that there will be enough to pack for bento. Today I cleaned out the wings at the butcher. If you haven't yet tried this recipe (see the method and recipe here), you really should. It's easy, and it's deliciously addicting. You won't be able to stop after 5, or 10, or ... well, now you see why I have to make so many. I skip the shichimi togarashi for the kids, but you can sprinkle furikake instead if you like. They are already salted, so my kids love them just as is, straight out of the oven. They are also good cold or at room temp, making them perfect for bento. I used a deep bento box to pack a bunch of wings, plus the usual sides: corn, broccoli, carrots, pluots, strawberry, blackberries, Okinawan sweet potato car, and my Jack-of-the-day, carved from a roasted kabocha slice. So it's really a Japanese pumpkin jack-o-lantern. How about that? ^_^

Tebasaki Chicken Wings Bento

Tebasaki Chicken Wings Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This is another TinySprite bento from last week. She got her favorite salt grilled chicken wings (recipe here), of which she can eat massive quantities. If you make these, be sure to make an extra large batch so there will be enough for bento. They taste best fresh, hot and crispy, but the kids do love to eat them at room temp just as well. The adult version has Japanese seven spice pepper (shichimi togarashi) sprinkled liberally, which makes it mouthwateringly delicious for spice lovers. Make sure to pack lots of napkins, as the eating will be messy. She also gets carved carrots, steamed Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, broccoli, strawberries and blueberries. Simple, colorful, and tasty!

Added to What's For Lunch!

Chicken Wings Bento

Chicken Wings Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Wings! And drumettes! Yay! All is right in the world. Have you made these for your kids (or yourself) yet? If not, you really should. It's quick, easy and very tasty, especially when sprinkled with togarashi, which is how I eat them (recipe here). The kids get them plain, but they could gnaw on these little guys all day. Make sure you make a big batch because you'll be surprised how addicting they are. Luckily I was able to snag a few for MisterMan's bento, along with some roasted asparagus and satsumaimo, and a side of juicy fruits (strawberries, grapes, kiwi and well, carrots). Done! Who says it takes too long to make home (bento) lunch? ^_^

Chicken Wings Double Bento

Chicken Wings Double Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

It's chicken wings again! I know, I know. It seems like it was just yesterday, but I looked back to see when it was we had them last, and it was 2 weeks ago. Really! Of course, we did have mochiko chicken just last week. But then, don't you have chicken at least once a week too? We probably rotate a few standards throughout the week: chicken, fish, pasta and a rice meal usually make an appearance pretty regularly. Today we had chicken wings that we grilled in Korean barbeque sauce, but the ones I packed in the kids' bento were plain. They really love these. If you haven't made them yet for your kids (or yourself), you really should. Click here for the recipe. I used the EcoLunchBox to pack my second-grader's bunch o' wings in a lettuce wrap, along with red kabocha and asparagus that were roasted alongside the wings. There's also a carrot and some tomatoes for color. In the little cup he has cottage cheese with blueberries and blackberries.

TinySprite's bento has another bunch o' wings in a lettuce wrap (which ends up being decorative, unlike her brother's, which he will eat), a cup of the same kabocha and asparagus, a watermelon radish heart, a mini mandarin, grapes and a strawberry. Who can say no to wings? You should see the giant pile we cooked for dinner; and I won't tell you how many went on my plate... Addictive!
Linked this one to What's For Lunch!

Chicken Wings Bento

Chicken Wings Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains a bunch of chicken wings we grilled the night before. I asked my 7-year-old if he could eat 6 of them and he said "yup!" I also pan-fried some lightly steamed red kabocha in butter and garlic, and snugged some steamed colorful veggies in the spaces (yellow cauliflower, broccoli and romanesco) There's also a purple carrot skewer, a grape tomato, some chopped blood oranges and a blackberry. All packed up in our LunchBots Duo. Bento: accomplished!

Chicken Wings Bento and Recipe

 Chicken Wings Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today both kids get Tebasaki (grilled chicken wings with sea salt), which I made using a recipe adapted from my twitter friend LovelyLanvin. When she told me there were only three ingredients and a single pan, well -- how could I resist? You know how much I love quick and easy cooking! I made these wings for dinner, and they were crispy salty fresh & hot out-of-the-oven just as advertised, but the kids didn't mind packing them for lunch to eat later at room temp. Although the recipe calls for shichimi togarashi (seven pepper mix) I omitted that for the kids' portions. It's still very tasty without it. I made a few changes, maybe because my broiler isn't as hot:

Tebasaki (Grilled Chicken Wings with Sea Salt)      [adapted from LovelyLanvin]
2 pounds chicken wings
Sea salt
Shichimi togarashi

Rinse the chicken wings, drain, and pat dry. Place them in a tray and put into refrigerator uncovered to dry out further.
Preheat broiler, remove wings from refrigerator and salt them generously on both sides.
When the broiler is hot, place tray on broiler rack about 6 inches from heat.
Watch to make sure they don't burn, and when nice and brown (recipe says 5-7 minutes) turn to crisp other side. Note: My broiler took longer; I let them cook about 15 minutes each side. Also, my wings dripped grease into the pan so I actually drained the pan a couple times during cooking. I wonder whether I could use a rack inside the tray next time?
Remove from broiler, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi, and serve hot!

Anyway, they were delicious! So thanks a lot for sharing the method Shirley!
The rest of MisterMan's bento contains roasted kabocha, carved carrots, steamed broccoli and fresh cherry tomatoes. The stunning citrus is blood orange, which we discovered at the farmers markets this past weekend. Yay for new produce! There are also some grapes and blueberries.

TinySprite has a grouchy steamed char siu bao, steamed broccoli, carrot and a chicken drummette. Her fruits include some Cara Cara oranges (another farmers market find!) and grapes. Thanks Susan for the supercute picks!
Linked at What's For Lunch. Take a look to see what everyone else is having!