Toast Of The Day: Avocado, Cheesy Eggs, Hummus & Tomato!

Why did it take me so long to discover cheesy eggs? My feelings toward scrambled eggs have changed forever. 

You guys might already know this, but the key to fluffy eggs is to cook low and slow. That is, low heat with constant stirring until you feel the liquidy cheesy egg start to develop form. I mixed my egg with a big spoonful of cottage cheese; you could use ricotta or whatever cheese your little heart so chooses. At that point, turn off the heat and let finish to your desired fluffiness. If you want to pile sky high on avocado toast, who's stopping you? 

And then just because I happened to have a pretty gradient of grape tomatoes, I made another toast on hummus. Come to think of it, I could have combined everything into one deliciously massive towering architectural wonder.
Architoastual wonder.
Next time!
😊❤🍱

Salmon Bowl

Here's something about me: I really enjoy bowl eating for aesthetics as well as practicality. It's so easy to throw everything on top of a bowl of rice or salad greens, especially when I want a variety of flavors at the same time. And I like the way it looks all colorful and pretty. 

I make fish at least once a week and it's usually salmon although sometimes we'll have cod, sardines, or tuna. Or anchovies tossed in pasta or salad. I pan fried this salmon last night and sliced it cold into my bowl. I kinda like everything cold like this sometimes, especially when I get back from working out or if it's a warm day.

Egg Salad Sandwich Snack Bento

While I was going through my extensive bento stash recently, I found a ton of super cute bento boxes that my kids probably think they're too grown-up to use now. That's not what I think. Even though these boxes hold only 350 and 250 ml, I can still fill them with snack bento. And I know they are always excited (hungry) for snack bento between school and afterschool activities!

In TinySprite's big snack box: egg salad on whole wheat bread with pickled cukes and a little romaine for crunch.

In small snack box: grape tomatoes, edamame and mandarins.

Pizza in the PlanetBox Bento

Like I mentioned in the last post, we've started the new school year with a brand new bento box system: The PlanetBox Rover. I was very excited to test it out! So far we've used it only a couple times, but I can't wait to show and tell you about it already. Our first packed PlanetBox is shown here:

We packed homemade pepperoni/spinach/onion/red pepper pizza in the largest, square section. I separated the two pieces with wax paper. Since the lid is convex, you can pack more than you think, a feature I love! In another section I packed a cabbage/carrot/daikon slaw and grape tomatoes, a selection of strawberries and super-red elephant heart plums (my current season favorite), cinnamon cottage cheese in the little dipper, corn sheets, and some sunflower seeds in the tiniest center compartment. That little space is supposed to be reserved for a small indulgent treat, like maybe a piece of candy or something. 

I'm not sure how much each section holds, but the website says this entire box has a capacity of 4.5 cups -- I'm assuming that means packed to the gills up to the top of the recessed lids. The box itself is not leakproof, so they don't recommend liquids like gravies or sauces, but the lidded containers (I've only shown the small one) are reported to be leakproof.

My experience with the PlanetBox Rover?

The little round dipper was indeed leakproof, and my son said everything stayed inside its separate section without problem. He had no problem opening and closing the box, and he ate everything we packed. As a bonus, his fork fit into the long section after he was finished, so as to keep the inside of the carrying case clean. I did see some liquid spilled into the case, however, but I think it was the pickling liquid from the slaw. If I were to pack slaw again, I would make sure to drain it first, or else pack it in one of the dippers. Otherwise, it is a great option for bento packing, and I recommend it. Cleanup is easy; I washed everything in soapy water (they are also dishwasher safe) and towel-dried. The only reservation I have is the somewhat higher than average retail price of $49.95 for this box set; there is a smaller one that sells for less (Shuttle, $34.95) and a larger one that sells for more (Launch, $55.95), but I expect this box to last for many uses, making it a quality long-term (hopefully lifetime) investment. We're looking forward to using this box much more throughout the school year!

Purple Bunny Bento

Purple Bunny Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I know what you're thinking: they just had salmon this week already. But actually the bento from Monday was a late post from a few weeks ago -- so this is the first salmon of the week! I broiled this one with a cajun spice mix, and laid it upon some white/brown/quinoa/millet mixed rice in the lettuce cup. As usual, I roasted some veggies at the same time; this time some pencil asparagus which I tossed with olive oil and parmesan. There's also carrots, peapods, a section of fruit (strawberries, blueberries, grape tomatoes), and a steamed Okinawan sweet potato bunny with rice stick whiskers, because I realized at the last second that Easter is coming in a week or so, and I haven't made any Easter bento yet. Just in case the bunny doesn't cut it, there's a little fuzzy chick to get the point across. Happy Spring!

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?