Domo Meatloaf Bento

I forgot where I found this meatloaf recipe but it calls for a whole container of silken tofu to be mixed with 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground beef (or pork). You wouldn't notice the tofu except that this meatloaf comes out very moist and with a lighter texture; not as dense as a regular meatloaf. It's pretty good, and I'm thinking healthier too! 

And of course, rectangular brown food must be transformed into Domokun. I think it's a bento rule.

😊❤🍱

Shrimp and Mushroom Power Bowl

Today's power bowl has tasty protein and vegetables, and whips up in no time. I got the idea to add roasted mushrooms to everyday dishes (like pasta, salads or sandwiches) from a cookbook I was reading this week. I'll let you know my impressions after I try out some of his recipes.

I cooked almost everything you see here in the same pan on the stovetop, including toasting the peanuts, and each separate ingredient only took a few minutes. The mushrooms are a mix of black trumpets, portobellos, and porcinis. I seasoned with garlic and pepper, as well as a splash of ginger soy dressing. So delish!

The taro chips I tossed on a baking sheet in the toaster oven with some olive oil. You have to watch those to make sure they don't burn, but they only take a few minutes as well, if you slice them thinly.

Have a great weekend, friends!

😊❤🍱

🌱Saladbook For Lunch Bento!🌱

 Getting our greens in early this week! 🌱🌱🌱🥗🥗🥗

I got inspired by all the beautiful grain bowls I saw this weekend flying through my instafeed so decided to pull out the Smart Planet Home Saladbook and pack one of our own. This box is perfect for tossing together whatever your favorite salad fixings might be and making them look appetizing in this shallow round box. It looks like a ton of food but it's really only about an inch deep. What's great is you can go ahead and put the salad dressing on if you like since the lid is leakproof. Nice!

In our Saladbook: quinoa/millet/buckwheat, romaine lettuce, cucumber, red onion, mushroom, corn, tomatoes, egg, kimchi, and a drizzle of homemade oil and balsamic citrus dressing. Instant healthy lunch!❣😊💚🍱🥗🌱

Soba Salad Bento

Hello! I know it's the middle of March, but it has been feeling like summer these past few days in the Bay Area. It was too hot in the kitchen to cook, believe it or not, so I decided to make a fresh cool salad for dinner. And tomorrow's lunch as well! Soba salad is convenient because everyone can use whatever toppings they choose: this one has snap peas, tomatoes, ham, egg, shiitake mushrooms, sesame seeds and green onion. The tsuyu goes into a separate small container on the side, but if you have a leakproof lunchbox you can drizzle it right on top ahead of time (or just omit it if desired). You can also sprinkle furikake as well. I hope this weather means the worst of the rainy winter season is over!

Chow Mein Life Without Plastic Bento

We are using the Life Without Plastic lunch container again, this time with the removable dividers in place to test out the separating quality of the separators (last time I used the box with just a round cup in the center of our somen salad - that worked very well). MisterMan doesn't usually care whether the food happens to touch each other or the pickle juice gets into the strawberries, but I still wanted to find out just how much mixing occurs. I did use a silicone cup for the pickles, as I usually do, but I probably didn't really need to.

I placed chow mein in two of the four sections, then fruit (cantaloupe, raspberries and strawberry) in one of the remaining sections and sliced Okinawan sweet potato and pickles in the last. The box held everything together without much movement of the food inside; nothing leaked or spilled. Yay!

I used spinach noodles for the chow mein, and stir-fried fresh green beans, chopped baby bok choy, and beech mushrooms alongside. I seasoned with oyster sauce and shoyu to taste, plus garlic and onion. Top with a drizzle of sesame oil and chopped green onions. Quick, easy, and tasty!

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On a side note, The Whole Foods Market blog wrote a piece focusing on Bento Box Lunch Ideas, and I share some bentomaking tips from Happy Little Bento over there. Please click over and take a look if you're interested! It's called:
Bento Box Lunch Ideas: 6 Easy (and Insta-worthy!) Options 
Thanks!
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Shoyu Chicken LunchBots Cinco Bento

Second time using the big-size Lunchbots Cinco, and like the first time, I packed chicken once again! This time it's shoyu chicken, with broccoli and potatoes on top of a few lettuce leaves. Pasta goes in the side (again!) with mushrooms and parmesan. Are you sensing a theme here? On top: chopped sweet red pepper, mandarin, and carrots. I like using this box, but for some reason I get nervous that I won't have enough to fill it. Maybe the third time we'll see something really exciting! Let's hope! ^__^

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Bento

Gluten-Free Cauliflower Pizza Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Hello people! Remember the first gluten-free pizza crust I made over in this bento last month? It was from a mix, and it was okay. It had that gluten-free background flavor, not like real crust. Well, this time I wanted to try something totally different, and I found this cauliflower pizza crust idea floating around. I saw it at RecipeGirl's site first, but she noted that lots of others had tried similar variations. All you do is grate a head of cauliflower, mix it with egg and cheese, form a crust and bake. Sounds crazy? Actually I thought, there's no way this is going to stick together to make a crust. So I added some rice flour and some flaxmeal. Did I ruin it? Who knows? Let's just say this does not turn out to be what you think it'll turn out to be. It's basically a cheese cracker with some cauliflower bits mixed in there. Nothing wrong with that, but I mention it just so you'll know. Now, I love a cheese cracker. Salty, crispy, and yes - greasy - goodness is hard to argue with. So of course my little girl loved it! But if you try it, I'd caution you to use a nonstick pan, or parchment paper.

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Cauliflower Pizza Crust (from Recipe Girl)

1/2 large head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
[not in original recipe but I added 2T rice flour and 2T flaxmeal]

Directions:
1. Grate the cauliflower into small crumbles. You can use the food processor if you'd like, but you just want crumbles, not puree. I used a box grater. You'll need a total of about 2 cups or so of cauliflower crumbles (which is about half a large head of cauliflower. Place the cauliflower crumbles in a large bowl and microwave them (dry) for 8 minutes. Give the cauliflower a chance to cool. They'll be nice and soft.

2. Prepare the crust: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with nonstick spray (or use a nonstick surface). In a medium bowl, mix the cauliflower crumbles (about 1 1/2 cups since they shrink after cooking) with the remaining crust ingredients. Pat the "crust" into a 9 to 12-inch round on the prepared pan. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray and bake for 15 minutes (or until golden). Remove the crust from the oven and turn the heat up to broil.

3. Add toppings of your choice and return pizza to oven to broil for 5 minutes or until toppings are hot and cheese is melted and bubbly.

For this pizza I used chopped mushrooms, sliced zucchini, pepperoni, and diced capsicum in varying colors, then topped with shredded mozzarella. The pizza came out nice and crisp, since I pressed the crust as thin as I could manage. It doesn't stick together very well, so a thin crackery crust probably works better than a thicker crust which might break. I packed some in her Keroppi sandwich box, and placed some refreshing fruit and veggies in the lower tier. Pretty successful as a gluten-free pizza, but my search continues...
Added to What's For Lunch.

Chicken Sausage Zucchini Bento

Chicken Sausage Zucchini Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

First bento back after a long President's Day holiday weekend. Ours was kind of tiring: my hubz was working all weekend, MisterMan had a Kung Fu rehearsal and demonstration at City Hall, and I wanted to make a video with the kids since we had such beautiful weather. That may sound unremarkable, but it's a lot more "eventful" when you have no video-editing experience. Let's just say I'm exhausted after the weekend and am actually very happy to see it end for once! This double bento requires no real cooking; just a quick stir fry with sliced sweet chicken sausages, zucchini, mushrooms and kabocha squash. I put a couple of raw carrots in there, a spotted "mushroom" radish, lightly steamed broccoli and an array of fruit: strawberry, oranges and grapes. I finished both bento in half an hour. Woo! The radish was the most time-consuming because I actually couldn't remember how I cut the stem. I ended up whittling it so it had a nice flared edge. But the rest of the food was pretty much just tossed in. This is when the divided boxes really come in handy; you don't have to think about arrangement at all but it still comes out looking nice and neat. I likes that!

Mushroom Bacon Risotto Thermal Bento

Mushroom Bacon Risotto Thermal Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today I'm packing the mushroom and bacon risotto in the Zojirushi Classic thermal bento set. It's a fairly large set, especially for my second-grader, but he's game to try it. He practiced with each of the bowls so I'm confident he can open them all. The smallest bowl is meant to contain the soup, but I've packed veggies in it. I put the risotto in the largest container, which is meant to contain rice. The fruit (which I always include in his bento) is packed in the third container. The way I've packed this set is less than optimal; obviously I don't want all his food to be kept warm, so I have to keep the fruit separate. This defeats the purpose of the thermal set, but I don't see what else I can do about it. At this point, I'm wondering whether this kind of set is the best choice for my purposes. Anyway, after I've heated up the thermal outer container, I'll pack the risotto and the veggies, close the lid, and send the fruit alongside. I've already done a temperature test (I'll post about it later in my full review) and I know the food will stay warm; but we'll see what my 7-year old thinks about his "hot" bento. Fingers crossed!

Salmon Bento and LunchBots Trio Review

Salmon Trio Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Since we have been on a kabocha kick, as well as a cooking-everything-in-the-same-manner kick, why stop now? Today I decided to grill! I had some nice pieces of fresh salmon so I used half to make shiozake (salted salmon -- more on that next time) and the other half to grill with just a bit of salt and pepper.

Today I'm introducing my new LunchBots Trio stainless steel box. It's a slightly different shape than the Uno and Duo, but like the Duo it has permanently mounted dividers attached to the box interior. [I've already reviewed the LunchBots Uno and Duo here, and if you missed it, well -- I love 'em.] This one, the Trio, is billed as a snack container, but as you can see from the photo, it seems actually bigger than the Uno and the sides are taller. You can fit quite a bit of food in here. I'm a fan of the divided box, so I knew I was going to like this one. It's not divided in half and fourths, like many other boxes. I think they are actually equal thirds. The lid fits snugly (though not leakproof), just as with the other LunchBots. For its inaugural use I lay some salmon pieces and a tiny mixed rice onigiri on a lettuce leaf in one section, and added a half radish carved into a mushroom shape. The next section had kabocha, which I briefly steamed and grilled along with the cherry tomatoes right next to the salmon. I also added a few cucumbers to fill in the gap. The last section holds sliced plum, grapes and raspberries. It's a nice arrangement style, and I give it two thumbs up!

My preschooler gets basically the same stuff. Last time I picked her up from school she hadn't finished, and the teacher said all the kids seemed distracted that day. Well, I was disappointed but we packed up her bento and when we got home she surprised me by asking to finish it before her nap. She devoured every piece of garnish and decorative lettuce as well. So when you see me line her box with lettuce, it's not just for effect! I really think she is more willing to eat (vegetables) when it's presented in her bento box. She also got a new cutlery set which helps too. Interestingly, when we go out to restaurants or eat at home on an ordinary plate, this leafy greens rule doesn't apply. Too bad!

Egg O'Lantern Bento

Egg O'Lantern Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Egg-o-lantern today, dyed with beet and shoyu, and with a nori face, sits on greens next to grilled portobello (olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and green onion). He also gets a piece of corn on the cob, a purple and pink carrot skewer, an orange cherry tomato, some pickled renkon (lotus root) and bittermelon, and sliced pluots. Are you feeling the Halloweeeeen yet?

Twin Goldfish Pasta Bento

Twin Goldfish Pasta Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Yes, we love pasta bento over here. The kids who don't care for rice can suck down the pasta like crazy, even plain. What?! So here my boy gets tricolor pasta all in one section, with the mix-ins in the next section: pan-fried chicken-artichoke sausage, mushrooms and spinach (just tossed in at the end to wilt slightly), with roasted cherry tomatoes and brussels sprouts. Will he actually "mix it in"? Nah, I bet he won't. For fruits I added red grapes and a strawberry, and for decoration I placed two sweet potatoes cut out with my goldfish cutter. I put a whale baran and a fish pick to try to suggest a fishy theme so it's not so haphazard. Did it work? Monday always finds me not really interested in spending a lot of time with the bento. It's a bit drab, but believe me, it's really yummy! I'm a big fan of roasting veggies to bring out the natural sweet taste. All I did after roasting in olive oil is sprinkle some garlic powder. Total yum!

Fish Tacos, Deconstructed Bento

Fish Tacos, Deconstructed Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento has snapper fried in pepper and lime juice, next to cabbage slaw tossed with red onion, oranges, cilantro, and cumin. At home we made fish tacos with tortillas and I added sour cream and hot sauce, but omitted that from the bento. We have a lot of fruit in the house right now, so I put some oranges, strawberries, red grapes and kiwi in there. I added some purple carrot discs for color and a purple / regular potato "mushroom" in the center for fun. That's it! Quick and easy.

Mushroom Orzo "Risotto" Bento

Mushroom Orzo "Risotto" Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Haven't used this cute box in awhile, and I forgot how nice it is to pack. You have to think about four different food groups in four different colors. You can't avoid it. It's an easy way to make sure you have a balanced bento. Today he gets whole wheat orzo with crimini mushrooms in a lettuce cup, sprinkled with fresh grated parmesan. This dish is vegetarian, with no dairy used (except the cheese on top). It is made like a risotto, but with vegetable broth. It's pretty good! I got the recipe from a book called 10 Things You Need To Eat, by Dave Lieberman and Anahad O'Connor.

Here it is:

Cook 10oz roughly chopped crimini (or other) mushrooms and 1 finely chopped onion in olive oil.
After mushrooms have "liquified", about 10 minutes, stir in 1t ground allspice and fresh ground black pepper. Add 2C whole wheat orzo and mix together.
Add 3C vegetable broth and bring to simmer, stirring often, until absorbed and risotto-like, about 20 min.
Top with grated Parmesan and crushed toasted pecans.

He also gets a sprig of steamed broccoli, some purple carrot discs, and baby carrots. I put a bunch of red grapes in, and the red section contains cottage cheese topped with sliced strawberry + kumquat, and a blackberry. I tossed some chopped almonds over that. Finally, I steamed a purple Okinawan sweet potato and cut it into a flower shape, poking a few holes with a straw. The leaves were cut from cucumber. Luckily this box has a convex top, so the flower will not be smushed. I should really use this box more often; it's so pretty. :)

Portabella Bento

Portobella Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

For this bento, I sliced and grilled portabella mushroom caps with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and sprinkled with chopped scallion. Asparagus and baby round potatoes were tossed with olive oil and garlic, and roasted together. I added a perfectly round cherry tomato in the corner for a splash of red, and some baked sweet potatoes cut into flower shapes. In the fruit section he has sliced plum, blueberries, and a cup of cottage cheese topped with chopped strawberries and wheat germ.

Upon looking at this bento now, it seems like a wintry one, with lots of earth tones and warming foods. Hopefully my bento will start to look brighter and more colorful with the coming of spring! I am definitely liking the longer evenings these days. The kids stayed outside until 8pm last night, riding bikes down the bay trail just down the street from our house. And today was positively warm, which got me thinking about refreshing foods like somen salad and sushi. Yay!

Making Sticky Rice

I made a batch of sticky rice today, and this time I used a mix of brown sweet rice, white sweet rice, brown short grain and white short grain rice, in a ratio of 2 cups sweet rice to 1 cup short grain rice. I also used more than the usual amount of liquid because I noticed in the past that brown rice needs more water to attain the same level of stickiness. If you have time, you should also soak the rice a few hours before cooking. I've soaked sweet rice overnight with good results. I like to take a picture of the rice before cooking because I think it looks pretty cool.

I soaked some dry shiitake mushrooms, and sliced them before putting them to cook with the rice. I used the mushroom broth to make the rice.

It's not traditional to use fresh bok choy, but I do because I like the addition of dark greens. I think it looks nice, and it's another way for the kids to get a serving of leafy greens. I chopped the leaves and stems and put them in the pot with the rice. I also added lup cheong (Chinese sausage) and green onion. You can also use char siu if you like. Everything cooks together and you have a quick and easy one-pot meal! I should have taken a picture of the finished product, but my camera battery died and I forgot to upload it later. I did make a bento with it, though, and you can see it here. Oh, sticky rice does make a good bento :)

*ETA: Here's the finished sticky rice, all ready to eat...

Autumn Bento

Autumn Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Here is my contribution to the "Autumn" theme bento!
Pan-fried snapper in olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. We ate them with sour cream/lime juice, cabbage, scallions and cilantro in tortillas for dinner. MisterMan gets leftover fish for his bento, along with mushroom & zucchini sauteed in garlic and olive oil, various color carrot skewer (purple, yellow and...I found MAROON carrots!), peapods, and lotus-cut radish. I tried to cut the lower petals more curving -- for this I used a rounded cutting edge. I think next time I'll make the petals wider.
Fruit side has strawberry, red grapes (under), Asian pear and red raspberries.
"Autumn" part comes in with sweet potato maple leaves with sesame seed detail ~ this is how my Japanese maple is starting to look these days.... less red and more bronze....