Showing posts with label crispy kale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crispy kale. Show all posts
Monday, March 26, 2012
Salmon and Kale Quad Bento
After more than a week off (Spring Break + a few extra days), I'm back to making bento. It was nice to have the bento break but I did miss connecting with my fellow lunchmaking mom-pals. How are you? I expect some of you also had the week off as well. We were out of town, and an empty fridge makes bentopacking a bit of a challenge. I spent the day replenishing the stock, and I hope I can get back into snappy bentomaking tomorrow. This is actually one I had made a few weeks ago during my trial test period of the LunchBot Quad I reviewed for my giveaway. I didn't post it because I wanted to use it several times before I formulated an opinion on it. If you missed it, I gave it a thumbs-up, and I think I'll be using it a lot for my preschooler. For such a practical box, it's also just so darn cute! Here I packed a piece of broiled salmon in a green lettuce leaf. I had previously been reluctant to use lettuce baran for my daughter because I noticed she wasn't as thrilled about eating it as my son is, and I don't like to waste food. But these were the very end pieces of the lettuce head, so I threw them in. Can you believe she ate them up? I think it must have been the cute box effect. She also loved the roasted potatoes and kale chips. The berry reward was a final delicious topper. This bento was a total hit, and I'm very happy about it. Yay!
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Vegetarian Hominy Bean Chili Bento
Guess what? We made it through a whole meatless week! Today's vegetarian chili is the 4th meatless bento in a row, and it's a thermal one. I've never tried this recipe before, and it has a different flavor than our usual meaty chili, with a ton of vegetables and beans such as black and kidney beans, lentils, carrots, sweet pepper, onion, zucchini, kale, celery, and hominy. It calls for a lot of chili powder, but also 1 ounce of bittersweet chocolate, which counters the spiciness enough that the kids could handle it. They loved it. I topped it with grated parmesan and fresh cilantro, and it was delicious. Even though it still hasn't been all that cold, it was nice to make a warm bento. It is winter, after all. The side box contains a selection of fruit: oranges, strawberry, blackberry, grapes, and a carrot. That's it for the week! We'll see if anyone asks for meat next week. ^_^
1 quart good quality vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
1 generous Tb. vegetable oil
1 medium-large onion, cut into medium dice
1 bell pepper, cut into medium dice
1 carrot, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, stem removed and leaves torn into small pieces
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. each ground cumin and oregano
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) drained black beans
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) drained hominy (I substituted kidney beans; you can use any beans)
1 cup lentils
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1/4 of chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers; sauté until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin and oregano: sauté until fragrant, a minute or so. Add beans and hominy along with broth and tomatoes. Add the rest of the vegetables and lentils. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender and flavors have blended, about 40 minutes. Stir in garlic, chocolate and cilantro; simmer a couple of minutes to blend flavors. Turn off heat and let stand a few minutes if there's time. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox.
Black Bean Hominy Chili
(adapted from Pam Anderson's recipe)
Ingredients:1 quart good quality vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 ounces) petite-diced tomatoes
1 generous Tb. vegetable oil
1 medium-large onion, cut into medium dice
1 bell pepper, cut into medium dice
1 carrot, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 bunch kale, stem removed and leaves torn into small pieces
3 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. each ground cumin and oregano
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) drained black beans
2 cans (15.5 ounces each) drained hominy (I substituted kidney beans; you can use any beans)
1 cup lentils
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate
1/4 of chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers; sauté until soft and golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin and oregano: sauté until fragrant, a minute or so. Add beans and hominy along with broth and tomatoes. Add the rest of the vegetables and lentils. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are tender and flavors have blended, about 40 minutes. Stir in garlic, chocolate and cilantro; simmer a couple of minutes to blend flavors. Turn off heat and let stand a few minutes if there's time. Adjust seasonings and serve.
Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Mochiko Chicken and Crispy Kale Bento
Mochiko chicken is normally deep-fried, but I've made it using a recipe adapted from hapabento. It's baked instead, and although you don't get the same fried effect, it's still pretty good!
Marinate 1lb chicken (cut into bite-size pieces) a few hours in:
Equal amounts (4T): shoyu, flour, cornstarch, mochiko flour, sugar.
1 egg, one minced garlic clove, finely chopped green onion (white part)
Add chicken pieces to hot, oiled pan at 400F.
Bake until cooked, and broil if necessary to get a crispy crust.
Along with some mochiko chicken I added steamed purple cauliflower and raw carrots. The flower is made of satsumaimo and purple potato. The fruits are kept separate with a lettuce baran, and there are some good summer fruits now! White peach, golden apricot, and look at the little plum! I forgot the variety, but it's dark red inside and out, and sweet-tart. Love 'em. I also made crispy kale using a recipe from Steamy Kitchen. Basically all you do is wash and thoroughly dry your fresh kale, tear into bite-size pieces, toss in olive oil (and garlic powder if desired) and bake at 350F until crispy. Toss a few times while cooking to make sure it's crispy all around. It's prettier if you crisp until just before the leaves start burning, but I'll tell you that the brown bits are crunchy and very fun to chomp. You can seriously eat a whole bunch of kale in minutes this way. Even your kids will like it, no lie!
Marinate 1lb chicken (cut into bite-size pieces) a few hours in:
Equal amounts (4T): shoyu, flour, cornstarch, mochiko flour, sugar.
1 egg, one minced garlic clove, finely chopped green onion (white part)
Add chicken pieces to hot, oiled pan at 400F.
Bake until cooked, and broil if necessary to get a crispy crust.
Along with some mochiko chicken I added steamed purple cauliflower and raw carrots. The flower is made of satsumaimo and purple potato. The fruits are kept separate with a lettuce baran, and there are some good summer fruits now! White peach, golden apricot, and look at the little plum! I forgot the variety, but it's dark red inside and out, and sweet-tart. Love 'em. I also made crispy kale using a recipe from Steamy Kitchen. Basically all you do is wash and thoroughly dry your fresh kale, tear into bite-size pieces, toss in olive oil (and garlic powder if desired) and bake at 350F until crispy. Toss a few times while cooking to make sure it's crispy all around. It's prettier if you crisp until just before the leaves start burning, but I'll tell you that the brown bits are crunchy and very fun to chomp. You can seriously eat a whole bunch of kale in minutes this way. Even your kids will like it, no lie!
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