Polenta Bento

This one is a mishmash of stuff we had at dinner, including the polenta that made an appearance on my toast in the previous post. I think TinySprite would prefer a box filled completely with sausage; she's a definite meat lover🐖🐮

😊❤🍱

Toast Of The Day: Mushroom Swiss!

Okay, okay, it's not really toast. But it's an open faced bagelwich so that's what counts here. 

I absolutely loved the confluence of flavors here.

First I melted the swiss onto the bagel half, then lay some dandelion greens atop. After frying the mushrooms on the stovetop until crispy-ish, I piled them on, followed by pickled cabbage and radish sprouts, two ingredients which added tang.

The only issue I had was the toppings falling off such that maybe next time I might consider putting the swiss on top to act as a glue of sorts. But if I did that I would sacrifice the pleasing aesthetics of the overall structure, which really comprises a large part of the appeal of this toast series for me. Also, it might have benefited from something lightly sweet. Maybe.

Besides that, this was a definite winner of a "toast."

😊❤🍱

Chicken and Broccoli Lunchbots Bento

The comfort food of my childhood shows up often in my bentomaking as an adult. How coincidental that chicken and rice is a prime combo for bento. It's delicious hot, cold, or room temp😊❣

Today's Lunchbots Clicks contain: shoyu chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, furikake rice, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, tomatoes.

Sticky Rice Froggy Bento

When afterschool activities run from 4:00 until 5:30 or 6:00, I'm thinking of dinner making itself. Sticky rice is a great self-cooking meal. Just toss everything into the rice cooker, press the button and go! If you have a fancy Zojirushi, you can even set the timer. Today I made a half brown half white batch with shiitake, lup cheong, baby bok choy, and char siu. In the past I've also added chopped kabocha and roast duck. You can use whatever you like, and pack it into the lower part of the cutest Kotobuki Froggy Two-Tier Bento ever. In the top tier, toss in some elephant heart pluots, grapes, and carrots. So easy; my favorite kind of dinner-to-bento meal. Done!

St. Paddy's Day Green(ish) Bento!

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! In honor of this holiday, I've made a "green" Lunchbots Quad bento for TinySprite: okay, maybe half green. The right half. The green part: kiwi, pasta with pesto, and green pepper "shamrock." I also nearly every green pick I own, which turns out to be quite a few. Yay! The other half: tomato, mandarin, and sausage/mushroom. Fork/spoon/knife combo utensil by Light My Fire.

Panda Rice and Chicken Bento

Just a little more of that unbeatable (for me) comfort food combo: chicken and rice. I used the Vietnamese Soy Chicken Drumsticks recipe that I've made several times before (you can see my version and the link to the original recipe here). So good. Sometimes I pack the drumsticks whole, but today I pulled the meat off the bones so I could arrange a cute bento in this enameled stainless steel bowl (from Daiso). I can pack a lot of food in here because it's pretty deep, and it has a translucent tupperware-type lid to keep everything secure. The advantage to packing a tight bento like this is that the food doesn't move around like it might in a larger box. Besides the chicken meat, this bento contains a mushroom-cut radish, steamed broccoli, a panda rice ball (with cucumber "bamboo"), carrots, grape tomatoes, and blood orange segments. Aren't those cute pencil chopsticks? I have a pair in 5 other colors. They don't really function as color pencils, by the way. ^__^

Just curious; I notice another bentomaker often photographs her bento on a pure white background, and it seems to make the food stand out. I tried the same, but I'm not convinced I like it better. Maybe I have too many shadows. What do you think?

Skewers of Sausage, Mushrooms and Peppers Bento

My first bento of the year, and it's a quick and easy one. I pan-fried an all-natural preservative- and nitrite-free chicken sausage alongside some halved mushrooms and chopped red capsicum. Little skewers make it fun to eat with little fingers. I added greenery with a few green lettuce and pickled cucumbers. Everything fits perfectly in my LunchBots Clicks. This box is stainless steel with a translucent plastic airtight locking lid; I love that it's easy for kids to open and close, and adds security for those lunchbag-swingers. I also put some sliced cara cara oranges in a round EcoDippers side box along with a cup of pepitas and chocolate raisins. This bento will go to school with TinySprite. Let's see if it comes home empty^__^

Sticky Rice Panda Bento

I made sticky rice today, which I love to do on extra busy days because all I do is throw everything into the Zojirushi and walk away. This batch is made with half white half brown glutinous (sticky rice) which I presoaked overnight to make sure it got nice and soft. About midway through cooking I tossed in finely chopped baby bok choy, sliced shiitake mushrooms, sliced lup cheong, and cubed kabocha. Yes, the kabocha goes really well in this dish! You won't hear any complaints about it. I guarantee it. After cooking, sprinkle some green onions on top for a fresh look. The top tier of the cute panda box holds strawberries, grapes, and persimmon from a neighbor's tree. I know you are excited to hear about the winner of the ECOlunchboxes Tri Bento -- the winner has been chosen! I'm waiting to hear back from her, and if I don't get response (or if she is located outside the U.S.), I'll have to pick another. Check your email! Maybe it's YOU! Stay tuned!

Jack o'cheese Pasta EcoLunchbox Halloween Bento

Jack o'cheese Pasta EcoLunchbox Halloween Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Remember I went through a big jack o'lantern phase at Halloween a few years back? (Check them all out here if you like) Wow, that was weird, wasn't it? I did discover plenty of ways to cut a jack-o-lantern out of food, though. This is my first jack this season, and it's an easy cheddar cutout. I used a squash/gourd cutter that makes these jacks look a little like skulls (to me). So maybe they aren't the *cutest* jacks, but lets see what TinySprite thinks. The rest of this meatless Monday bento includes rotini pasta with zucchini and mushrooms, plus a bonus broccoli sprig. This fit into the EcoLunchBox Solo Cube perfectly. I sent along an EcoDipper to hold the sliced Asian pear and cute sugar plum. A perfectly sized Halloween lunch for my 1st grader.

Sticky Rice Ono Bento Bowl

Sticky Rice Bento Bowl, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I love the sticky rice bento. Well, I love sticky rice (see my method and recipe here) for dinner first of all, because it's super quick and easy. Chop everything up and toss it into the rice cooker about 15 minutes before the rice is done. This batch has half brown and half white sweet mochi rice, and I added lup cheong, char siu, shiitake mushroom, baby bok choy, onions, and then sprinkled chopped scallion on top after. I have also added fried garlic or cubed kabocha squash before as well. I packed MisterMan's bento in the cute apple bowl, with the top tier holding an artful (to me) arrangement of plums, grapes, and pickled cucumbers, onions, carrots and daikon. Our bento these days often look like this, with no special touches other than the colorful naturalness of the variety of ingredients. MisterMan has been making his (and his sister's) bento recently, and I think his work is starting to look just like mine. So proud \(^__^)/

Sausage Rotini Pasta Mushroom Bento

Sausage Rotini Mushroom Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Okay, okay. We might have had a bento *very* similar to this one about two weeks ago. Like about when school first started. But who's keeping track? I'm still gearing up to this whole bento-every-day thing. Plus, this one is just so easy to throw together. And they like it! This time I sliced some chicken spinach feta sausages (nitrite free) and pan-fried them with some garden kale and baby bella mushrooms. Tossed them all together with rainbow rotini pasta. And that's it for the main compartment. The side contains: three bean salad, strawberry, and plum wedges. It's only the second day of the week and yet it's also mid-week. Gotta love these holidays!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Breakfast For Lunch Bento Pt. 4

Breakfast For Lunch Bento Pt. 4, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We do like our breakfast for lunch. Especially when it's such an easy one to pack! This is just a section of an enormous 6-egg omelet that we had made for brunch. It was such a good one: packed with nitrite-free chicken sausage, mushroom, spinach, onion, tomato and peppers. Sprinkled with a little cheese and chopped green onion and cilantro, it should be a hearty lunch bento for the little girl. She herself packed the sides: a smattering of berries, carrots, and pickled cukes. And a few cheery friends to welcome her at lunchtime. Happy Monday!

Portobello Ecolunchbox Bento

Portobello Ecolunchbox Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Welcome back from a long Memorial Day weekend! Since we did a lot of grilling over the weekend, I decided to have a meatless Tuesday bento today. I broiled portobello mushrooms with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then garnished with green onion, cilantro, and various other herbs from the garden. I personally had mine with chimichurri, with which I am currently obsessed. It's a very intense and aromatic dressing/sauce, and I use garlic and sherry vinegar to give it even more bite. I like it with meat, pork, even just with bread or pasta, like pesto. MisterMan has sliced portobellos with savoy cabbage - carrot - daikon - sesame slaw, watermelon, corn, peapods, tomatoes, Okinawan sweet potato, blueberries and apricot. All packed in the 3-in-1 Ecolunchbox set. Super refreshing to kick off this brand-new SHORT week. The last week of school for us!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Angel Hair Mushroom Saute Bento

Angel Hair Mushroom Saute Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This one involved cooking, but only very minimally, which made it an easy Monday meal. I sauteed a variety of mushrooms (crimini, beech and enoki) in butter and some olive oil until softened, along with minced shallot and garlic. Salt and peppered to taste, parsleyed, and grated some aged manchego into the pan with the heat turned off. Tossed the cooked angel hair into the pan with the mushroom sauce, and it was done. And the kids gobbled it up! I packed some for MisterMan's bento, topped with some dark-skinned purple sweet potato which I found locally. He also gets the first baby nectarines I've seen at the market this year, baby strawberries, and fresh pickled cukes, kumquats, and watermelon radish. Happy Monday!

May the 4th Lentil Sausage Bento

May the 4th Lentil Sausage Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I know it's not May the 4th yet, but since it falls on Saturday this year, I'm sending MisterMan to school with his Star Wars bento today. I tried a new lentil potato sausage chard "salad", which can be served hot or cold. If you want to serve it cold, you can toss with balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar. I cooked French lentils with diced purple potatoes, then added pan-fried chicken artichoke sausage, mushrooms, onion, garlic and celery. I tossed in shredded chard at the end just to wilt it a little. If you omit the sausage, it could be a vegetarian option. I thought it was pretty good, and refreshing on this hot day. The top tier holds a big strawberry, carrots, fancy-cut radish, broccoli, and pickled turnips and kumquats. Do you see the Star Wars reference? It's very simple, but I hope he gets it. Light sabers were cut from red sweet pepper and cucumber. Happy May the 4th (a few days early)!

P.S. You can see the other Star Wars bento I have made in the past here.

Sausage Mushroom Chard Bento

Sausage Mushroom Chard Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's not Monday, but it still feels like Monday to me... so that's why I'm packing a super easy and quick bento favorite of mine. It usually involves some kind of good (organic, no nitrites) sausage, sauteed mushrooms and quick pan-fried rainbow chard tossed with garlic powder. I finished out this box with steamed broccoli, a little cup of pickled onions, cucumbers and carrot/daikon, and a scattering of farmers market strawberries and blackberries. Are you excited to see colorful fruit and vegetables at the market lately? I definitely am! I've also been pickling more stuff lately, and I'll try to remember to stick some more adventurous combos in here in the next few days. Happy Tuesday!

Rilakkuma Chicken Miniburgers LunchBots Bento

Rilakkuma Chicken Miniburgers LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I made mini chicken burgers for TinySprite. MisterMan is in the mountains somewhere, eating cowboy stew and soudough bread or something like that. With only one bento to make, I decided to take some extra time and make a cute one. I fashioned a bear face with ears, and added nori details to a piece of mushroom to make Rilakkuma; his sidekick Kiiroitori is cut from a yellow sweet pepper. There's also a panda egg on a bed of furikake rice, some Japanese slaw (shredded napa cabbage tossed with rice vinegar, sugar, shoyu and sesame seeds) -- the kids both LOVE this salad! -- and more supersweet organic strawberries and carrots. All packed in the sky blue LunchBots Quad. Happy Wednesday!

Anpanman Portobello Pizza Bento

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

We made portobello pizzas again (see my method here), and I've found that it's best to scrape out as much of the gills as you can, use a minimum amount of cheese (just enough to "glue" the toppings on but not enough to get all gooey), and leave the vegetables just a bit tender (not super grilled). Of course, these pizzas are best straight out of the oven, but the kids beg to take them to school. Whenever I see a round food now, I think of Anpanman. And I had just the round things to make his nose and cheeks (pepperoni minis). I used ham to make his eyes, eyebrows and mouth (and nori for his eyeballs). If I had waited and put the pepperonis on after (or cut smaller circles) they might have looked rounder. And you might have recognized him. But whatever! I rarely use this flip-top box, but it fits the food just too well today. Happy Wednesday!

Portobello Pizza Bento

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

I saw this portobello pizza idea somewhere...maybe on Pinterest or something? Anyway, it was described as a low-carb way to enjoy pizza. Gluten-free too; so I gave it a try.

Here's the method I used:
1. Dust/clean portobello mushroom cap, and remove gills with a spoon to create a little mushroom "cup."
2. Cut off stem.
3. Fill with your choice of toppings (I used shredded zucchini, bell pepper strips, spinach, pepperoni, cheese)
4. Top with cheese if you like, and bake at 350F until mushroom and toppings are softened, and cheese is melted.
5. Alternatively: put cheese in first, and layer toppings on top.
6. Bake at 350F until everything is softened and bottom cheese is melty.

Well, the first thing I noticed is that since the mushroom cap doesn't absorb any moisture, it can fill up with moisture from the veggies. It might be better to saute the veggies before putting them on, maybe. Also, I prefer the cheese on the bottom version, because I like the fresh vegetables looking nice on top. In fact, you can reduce the cooking time as much as you like, and keep the veggies on the crunchier side, too. Still good that way. Anyway, my boy wanted to take one to summer adventures program, so I packed one in this Sistema-look-alike box. The only thing different about this box is that there are 3 divided sections on the fruit side instead of 2. I took the picture with the pizza inside the big section, but actually what I did was close the fruit section and place the pizza on top of the lid in its wax paper before closing the domed lid on top of it. Worked great! He liked all the attention his weird pizza got. In the fruit section: corn on the cob, carrots, broccoli, peaches, lychee, and cherries.
This is a fun meal that the kids can help with, and you can pile a lot of stuff in those portobellos :)

Salmon in a Forest Bento

Salmon Forest Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Another TinySprite bento: this one comprised of our weekly standard salmon and rice. I used cajun spices which I mostly rubbed off of TS's portion. It fit nicely into the curve of this box, which is why I chose it. I packed furikake rice on the side, and topped with a broccoli tree, sweet potato flower shapes, and a mushroom-shaped radish. Fruit sides include: homegrown sunsugar cherry tomato, peach pie donut peach, blueberries, baby white homegrown peach, and dark red cherries. One of my favorite go-to, easy-make bento for a carefree summer day. Don't you just love those? ^_^