Ma Po Tofu Bento Bowl

Ma Po Tofu Bento Bowl, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

My "dry" ma po is perfect for bento because it minimizes leakage in bento format. I served over rice in the cute apple bento bowl, and you can top with chopped green onion or cilantro. Since my version is almost chili-free, I add spicy chili sauce after the fact into my own bowl. The top tier contains chunks of super sweet cantaloupe and scattered strawberries because we're kind of low on fruit these days. The kids gobbled so much down there wasn't any leftover at all for my next day lunch. Aww!

Pork in Lettuce Wrap Bento

Pork in Lettuce Wrap Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made a Vietnamese style marinade using fish sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar using a recipe from Bon Appétit. And instead of pork chops I used thin cut pork loin, for kiddie-friendly eating. I did a pan sear, and served in home grown "baby lettuce" leaves alongside pickled carrots and daikon, and cucumbers. There's also a baby cherry tomato in there for color. Before I left for a 2 week vacation this past summer, I had placed a little planter of baby lettuce sprouts into my fig pot. When I got back, the lettuce had taken over and grown to an immense size. So now we have lots of salad in our future! The rest of this bento contains super juicy and sweet late-season pluots, grapes and cherries. A tasty bento lunch for the kiddos!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento

Chimichurri Pork LunchBots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I packed TinySprite's bento with pan-fried peppery thin cut pork chops on shredded cabbage, topped with a chimichurri sauce (parsley, cilantro, shallot, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, pepper, sherry vinegar). This version is a bit on the spicy side, so there's just a very little bit for flavor. She also gets sesame-marinated mini bell peppers, pickled cucumbers, carrots and daikon. The last section of the very practical LunchBots Trio holds strawberry, a quartered donut peach, and cherries. And that's it for the week!

Rubber Ducky Curry Bento

Rubber Ducky Curry Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Packing some curry today (see the recipe I used here). I made it a lot more "soupy" than the recipe calls for, because I like it that way. TinySprite's Hello Kitty thermal food jar is topped with a handcut yellow capsicum "rubber ducky" taking a swim. The side box holds: a perfectly sweet and unblemished organic (tiny) apricot, sliced nectarines, baby strawberries, a steamed Okinawan sweet potato, and some pickled stuff. The weather's been cooling down a bit (a bit; down to the upper 60s), so this warm bento should be welcome!

Gyoza EcoLunchBox Bento and a Spelling Bee

Gyoza EcoLunchBox Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Hello again! Sorry I've been a bit negligent about posting bento here for a week or so. The day after Valentines Day, MisterMan participated in his school district Spelling Bee again this year. Last year he took home the top prize, and this year he snuck into 4th place. He was the only returning placewinner from last year. This year's competition was fierce, complete with 21 4th-grade spellers from 5 schools, multiple elimination rounds of off-list words, tie-breakers, and even parent protests. It was a nail-biter, I tell you! In the end MisterMan was tripped up by "scalene", but when he stood onstage with his ribbon he looked just as pleased as ever. I'm glad he likes words so much; I think it's quite a nice hobby to have. We're so proud of you MisterMan! To celebrate, we spent the long weekend checking out some dinosaur exhibits and cool kid museums. And yes, there were frozen desserts involved too! ^_^

Today's bento is packed in my super awesome EcoLunchBox two-tier set, with homemade pork gyoza (see my method and recipe here) in the lower part and a variety of refreshment in the upper part: baby satsuma, a smattering of grapes, strawberry, blueberries, and house-pickled cucumbers. Gyoza are guaranteed kid-pleasers, tasty with or without dipping sauce, easy-to-eat finger food, and made for bento. I made my filling with pork and chopped baby bok choy, because I'm wild like that. You can use almost anything you like: even mushroom, scallions, water chestnuts (for crunch), bean sprouts, whatever. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Slow-Cooked Pork Stew Bento

Slow-Cooked Pork Stew Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yeah, I know it's not fall yet, but I had a little pork shoulder so I decided to toss it in the slow cooker with some potatoes, carrots and celery and make a kind of stew. It had been cool for a few days last week and I can smell fall coming, so we might as well dust off the stewpot and get ready for those hearty warm meals. This kind of bento is a cinch to pack, because all I do is heat it up and ladle it into the thermal food jar just before the kids go to school. The little side box with fruit (peach, strawberries and blueberries) can be packed the night before. It might not be the cutest looking lunch, but it's nutritious and filling, and it'll keep my kids satisfied though the afternoon. And... that's the whole point, right? Happy Bento-ing! ^_^

Posole II Bento in LunchBots Thermal Jar: Review and Giveaway!

Posole II Bento in LunchBots Thermal Jar, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

NOTE: This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thank you for your interest!
Yes, a GIVEAWAY! If you can't wait, you can scroll down to the bottom. But first I want to tell you about my posole. ^_^
Remember the posole bento I made almost exactly a month ago? It was my first time making this spicy Mexican chili-based pork and hominy soup at home, although I've enjoyed it in restaurants for years. This bento marks my second attempt, this time using real homemade red chile sauce from scratch! I used New Mexico chiles, as per Homesick Texan's recipe here. It came out quite tasty! I adapted the recipe a bit.

Red Posole
1 - 29 oz. can of hominy, drained
1 pound of pork shoulder, cubed (I used pork tenderloin, but pork shoulder is better)
1 medium onion, diced
8 cloves of garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano (can substitute regular oregano)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder
9 New Mexico chiles, stems and seeds removed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Juice of one lime

For serving:
Shredded cabbage
One avocado sliced
One lime cut into wedges
1 cup of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of diced onion

Method:
In a large pot, cook the onion in olive oil for 10 minutes. Add the pork and brown on each side for a couple of minutes. Throw in the garlic and cook for one more minute.

Pour the broth into the pot and add the oregano, cumin, ground cloves and ancho-chile powder. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer.

Meanwhile, take your New Mexican chiles and cook on high in a dry cast-iron skillet until they pop, a couple of minutes. Turn off the heat, add water to the skillet and let the chiles soak until hydrated, about half an hour.

Drain the chile-soaking liquid, and place the chiles in a blender. Add one cup of water and blend on high until a smooth puree has formed. Stir the chile puree into the soup pot.

After a couple of hours, add the hominy to the pot along with the juice of one lime and the chopped cilantro. At this point, adjust your spices and add salt to the pot. Continue to cook on low for a couple more hours.

Pour into bowls and serve with shredded cabbage, diced onions, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and avocado slices.

I didn't take any good pictures, but I did snap a few with my phone. Next time I'll take process pictures for sure. It was fun making the sauce, and easier than I expected. Next time I plan to use guajillo chile pods, the traditional chile used for Mexican sauces. I also plan to double the number of chiles for a spicier broth. Anyway, this batch was excellent. I used a different cut of pork, which turned out to be leaner than the pork shoulder I used last time. Note: pork shoulder is best. I sent this posole to school with TinySprite in my new LunchBots Thermal Food Jar, which they were gracious enough to allow me to try out and review. I was so excited, because in the cold months I use a thermal food jar several times a week. I'm always on the lookout for a better one. I sent this one along with a side box of shredded cabbage and cilantro, and some decorative carrots for her to add to the hot soup at lunchtime. There are also some blackberries and a juicy strawberry.

So what did I think of this jar? I've actually used it several times already, and you'll see those bento during the rest of the week -- so I've had some time to think about the merits and shortcomings of this jar.

PROS:
- At 16 oz, it's larger than the Thermos brand Hello Kitty thermal jar and similar jars available for the kid set. This is nice because there are times when my nearly kindergarten-age girl could eat a little more than the 9 oz of the Thermos.
- Even though it's quite a bit bigger, it's not much heavier. I also have the Stanley 17 oz jar, which I use for my 3rd-grade boy, and that one would be too heavy for her to handle.
- All surfaces which come into contact with food are stainless steel, including the inside of the lid. This is a nice feature for those who are concerned with heat effects of plastic in contact with food. I have not seen this feature on any other thermal food jars.
- The wide mouth opening makes it easy for her to eat from, similar to a bowl.
- The stickers on the jar and lid make it easy to know how tight to screw on the lid so that the vacuum seal won't be too great to open it again.

CONS:
- The wider screw top lid, while convenient to eat from, may be unwieldy for a smaller child with a smaller grip. My 3rd-grader could manage it with no problem but my preschooler needed help opening it. Of course, a teacher should always be nearby to help with this.
- I've found greater heat loss through this jar than from the Stanley jar, but may be similar to what I see with the Thermos brand jars. I didn't do a side-by-side comparison, but I measured the temperature of boiled water packed into the jar after several hours on the counter. After 4 hours, which is about the longest that my daughter waits before eating her lunch, the temperature was not piping hot. This is not necessarily a problem: she reported to me that the food was still warm and delicious.

In conclusion, I think this thermal jar is worth purchasing, if you are in the market for a versatile jar useful for either a child or adult. As I mentioned, it is unique in its shape and capacity, and those in themselves are good reasons to invest. It does a good job of keeping your soup or stew warm, and with no leakage through the gasket seal. Big enough for a healthy appetite but lightweight enough for a smaller child to handle, you could use this jar for kids (or adults) of any age. But even better than purchasing this jar would be winning it in a giveaway! That's right - the kind folks at LunchBots were generous enough to provide a LunchBot of your choice to one of my readers. All I'd like you to do is tell me which LunchBot you'd prefer, and what you'd pack in yours. If you haven't noticed, I own quite a few of them (Uno, Duo, Trio and now Thermal Jar), so I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions! And tune in tomorrow because I've got a review of another cool LunchBot product coming up!

To Enter the LunchBots Giveaway:
Please comment with your name and email address, telling me which LunchBot you'd choose AND what you'd pack inside.
The winner can pick any one LunchBot food container or insulated container of their choice.
US and Canada residents only, please.
Contest entries must be received before Friday March 16th, 2012, 5pm Pacific.

Oh, and if that isn't enough, use the coupon code HAPPYBENTO for 10% off and free shipping at LunchBots.com all week! Woo!

Posole Bento

Posole Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Our winter here in California has been pretty mild (or nonexistent), to say the least, but finally in the past few days we've had some cold temps and rain. It's nice to feel like having some warm soups and stews during winter, don't you think? I've always loved posole, and we have lots of Mexican restaurants around here that serve it, but only on the weekends. This past weekend I missed it again, and I was disappointed because it's the perfect weather for it! So I tried my hand at making it at home.

Posole is a chile-based Mexican soup of pork and hominy, and to make it traditionally, you use real dried chile pods to create the red chile sauce (by roasting the dried pods, soaking in boiling water, then processing it all). And it has to have the red sauce. I really want to try making the red sauce from scratch some time, but this time I took the easy way out and used canned red chile sauce. It was super potent! Too bad I had to dilute it way down for the lightweights in the family, but if it were just for the adults, I would have used it straight. Even as it was, I was a little concerned that my kids would balk at the diluted version too. I first served my daughter the ingredients with only a little soup. She tasted it, pronounced the first few spoonfuls "delicious", then stopped and said "Mom, when it goes down my throat, I feel the hot spice down here." I waited for her to refuse the rest, but she finished the bowl and requested more for her bento. Wow, I was so happy!

This bento is MisterMan's version: a thermos of posole, a container of tortillas with car shapes, and another container of cooling carrots, peapods, strawberry, blood oranges and grapes. Are my kids finally becoming heat-tolerant? *crossing fingers* ^_^

Here's the method I used:

Slow-Cooker Posole

1 pound pork, cut into cubes (I used pork shoulder)
1-10oz can red chile sauce
1-30oz can white hominy, drained
1 onion, chopped
1-7oz can diced green chiles (I had to omit! But I love these)
1 celery stalk, chopped (not traditional)
1 carrot, chopped (not traditional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you like)
1 tsp ground cumin
water

fresh cilantro, chopped
white onion, chopped
cabbage, thinly sliced
radishes, sliced
lime, sliced

In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the cubed pork on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to crockpot. Stir in the red sauce, hominy, onion, green chiles, celery, carrot, garlic, cumin, and enough water to cover the meat. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender. You can customize this recipe by using more meat, more hominy, and more red sauce if you like. If it's too hot, add more water. I love the soup to be very dark red. Serve hot in bowls with cilantro, onion, cabbage, radishes and lime on the side to be added into the bowl.

Hello Kitty Santa Curry Bento

Hello Kitty Santa Curry Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's time for curry again, with the nighttime temperatures dipping into near-freezing range these past few nights. You'll probably be seeing quite a bit of the thermal bento jars on this site over the next few months. Like last time (see this bento here) I used a ton of vegetables, but I also used ground pork, which made it very substantial. This batch contains onions, celery, carrots, sweet mini peppers, potatoes, and broccoli. I packed (and served it at dinner) over hot brown rice mixed with pearl barley. This combo results in a chewy rice batch that I really like. The little side car contains oranges, grapes, broccoli, Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, and a little quail egg Hello Kitty santa with a strawberry hat and suit. Aww! ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch.

Black Beans and Pork Round Bento

Black Beans and Pork Round Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I found a recipe for slow-cooked black beans and pork loin that uses chili powder and coriander; it sounded so good I had to try it. I crossed my fingers that it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids. Success! I also added chopped onion, tomatoes and zucchini to round it out nutritionally. It came out sort of like a chili / stew; very tasty and hearty. Every time I use my crockpot I vow to do it more often. Is there anything better than walking in the door and realizing dinner is cooking itself? I scooped some over rice in the bottom bowl of this round stainless steel bento box I found in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I put some strawberries, grapes, carrots, peapods and cara cara oranges in the top tier.

The handled lid screws on top, securing both containers. This box resembles a tiffin, except that the screw top replaces the latches. I had my second-grader practice opening and closing it before I packed it to make sure he wouldn't have any problems. This set holds 800ml; there's also a 600ml and a 1000ml version that I saw. The round apple shape is a fun one, isn't it? Another MRB. Yay!

Pork Edamame Rice and Bunnywich Bento

Pork and Edamame Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Did only limited cooking for this MisterMan bento. I used the last of the shoyu mirin pork frozen from last time, tossed hot mixed grain rice with edamame, and wrapped those in lettuce leaves. I fried some kabocha slices in the leftover shoyu mirin sauce in the pan after heating up the pork and placed two carved carrot flowers in the last remaining space in the lower tier of this super cute panda box. In the upper tier I put sliced blood oranges and some cherries. This tier comes with a tight-fitting lid that goes on before you put the panda face lid on, but I left it off so that I'd have a bit of extra room on top. So happy I got a pretty good variety of colors in this one. This week's bento have all been healthy and balanced, but without any cute details. The whole bentomaking process goes faster for me if I don't have to think about a cute element! But if you make sure you've got a mix of different food groups, I find that the food often can't help but look beautiful and appetizing. It must be nature's way of helping us to eat well.

For TinySprite's bento I used a Hello Kitty cutter set that I got from my cousin for Christmas. She's so sweet. Thank you Darlene! I used the two cutters to make two mini sandwiches (kitty and bunny). They are cut from sweet potato bread, which doesn't taste like sweet potato at all; more like sweet buttery butter bread [read: delicious!]. I smeared the bread with cream cheese and added a few slices of nitrite-free turkey meat. I decorated the bunny face with nori eyes and a carrot nose (stuck on with cream cheese), and some pretty picks. I didn't bother to decorate the kitty since it is in back anyway, heh. The raised cover allowed me to leave the sandwiches like this, with just a little smushing down. On the side she gets some tangerines, a cup of edamame, some cherries and some chunks of kabocha. Last two bento of the week. Woohoo!

Marmalade Pork Bento

Marmalade Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

For today's bento I had made pork spareribs using a recipe I saw on the Japanese Time-Saving Show. It's a funny show that features hilarious tips for saving time in all kinds of areas. There is usually a cooking segment with chefs who sometimes try to copy the recipes from celebrity chefs while using strange substitutes. Sometimes there are regular housewives and husbands who want to share a quick tip for getting the kids ready for school in 5 minutes, or even bento ideas. Once in awhile there is an idea that I might be willing to try, like the Marmalade Pork Ribs here. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the exact ingredient measurements, but it was so straightforward I thought I could wing it. Basically all you do is put the ribs (I used country style pork ribs) in the pot with yakiniku sauce (but I used a shoyu/mirin/white wine sauce [2:1:1], splash of lemon, sesame oil, ginger and garlic) and a "big scoop" of marmalade. The idea is that the pectin will tenderize the meat quickly and you can have your meat ready in 18 minutes on the stove. First I poked the meat all over with a fork, then browned them in the pan. Then I added the yakiniku sauce and approximately equal volume of marmalade, lowered heat to simmer, covered and let cook until done, turning a couple times. Well, it didn't come out SUPER tender, but it was pretty tasty! I sliced it into smaller pieces and lay them in a lettuce leaf in one section of the bento. I also included pickled cucumber, steamed kabocha (which I added to the rice cooker about 10 minutes before it was finished), peapods and a carved carrot. Last section has cherries and a mini mandarin. I think I may be getting back into the bento swing, slowly. ^_^

More Pork and Musubi Bento

More Pork and Musubi Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Yep, another pork and musubi bento. But I didn't make this pork; it's side pork cooked with preserved veggies from my neighborhood deli. Since it comes in a sweet sauce I thought it was pretty safe to add a musubi. This one is made with mixed rice (white, pearl barley, bulgur and lentils) which I sprinkled generously with furikake to make it more acceptable to MisterMan. I added nori eyes and a cherry tomato nose for fun. Also I stuck in some steamed purple cauliflower with yellow carrot flowers, and raw purple carrot slices. Fruit side has a mini mandarin, mini white peach, sweet cherries and a few grapes tossed in. Do you have your summer fruits yet? Every weekend we get more varieties appearing at the farmers markets, and I get so excited to see what's new each time! The apricots on our tree are getting bigger too, so I hope they'll make an appearance in a bento soon :)

P.S. It was a totally gray and rainy day, so I think that's why the photo doesn't look completely washed out today. So, there's one good thing about this wet weather in spring, I guess. Ha!

Eggplant with Pork Bento

Eggplant with Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

For this bento I made eggplant with pork, since I happened to find the cutest tiny eggplants at the farmers market on the weekend!

Besides that, MisterMan gets a veggie section with purple and gold cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, peapods, flower-shaped purple carrot & potato skewer, and romanesco (underneath). Fruit section has grapes, satsuma mandarins, strawberry, blackberries and raspberries.
Also, I put rice under the eggplant; it has a nice sauce so he is sure to like it together :)

To see the making of the eggplant recipe, see this post. It's a nice, tasty dish -- would you be surprised to learn that my kids wolfed it down?

Shiso Honey Pork Bento

Shiso Honey Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

In MisterMan's bento: Shiso-honey pork with broccoli, sauteed green beans and little "cupcake" onigiri with furikake and tiny cherry tomato. Satsuma mandarin, grapes, kiwi and strawberry for dessert.So happy with the satsumas these days!

For this recipe you can use pork chops, but I used thin pork slices since it's easier for kids to eat this way. For 1 pound of meat, make the following sauce and marinate the meat 4 hours or overnight. Reserve 1/4 cup for basting.

1 cup honey

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup finely julienned shiso leaves (recipe calls to marinate in it, but I opted to add mine later)

1t. kosher salt

1t. fresh ground black pepper

Brown the meat on the grill or pan, then add reserved sauce. I added shiso at the end, cut into little pieces with kitchen shears. It has a nice sweet taste with sharp contrast of shiso. I forgot to take pictures, but you can see my boy's bento here. I forgot to add the shiso to his portion, oops :)

Eggplant with Pork

I found these baby eggplants at the farmers market last weekend, and they were so cute! I picked up a bunch so I could make eggplant with pork. It's supposed to be a spicy dish with chili peppers, but I call it Eggplant with Pork because, as you'll see, I omit the chili.

First, make the sauce with the following:

2t. minced fresh ginger

2t. minced garlic

3T shoyu

2t. sugar

2t. vinegar

1t. cornstarch

(crushed red pepper, to taste)

Then, cut the eggplant into 1 inch slices. Heat oil in a frying pan until hot, and add the eggplant and fry until tender. I kind of browned mine a bit, but it's okay. Remove from pan and blot excess oil. Then add 1/2 lb. ground pork to the pan and cook, remove and drain oil. Heat the sauce in the pan, then add back the eggplant and pork. Mix together until thoroughly mixed.

It would look redder if I added the chili! But with my kids, I have to leave it out, and add it to adults' portions later. Serve over rice. Yum! See it in my boy's bento today.

Honey Garlic Pork Bento

Honey Garlic Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made honey garlic pork ribs, and I have been wanting to use shiso recently ( I did use it in tamagoyaki a few days ago -- it was good!). After the meat is cooked through, I sprinkled the shredded shiso on top, so it didn't really cook. It adds a nice minty flavor; very nice.
So, MisterMan got some pork slices, and a brown / jade rice bunny onigiri, but I used a sandwich mold instead of a rice mold, which was bad planning because I subsequently really had no way of sliding it out after I shaped it. So, anyway, it's a girl because I wanted to use the associated bow cutter, and isn't it cute? He also gets purple and yellow cauliflower, peapods, ocean salad, garlic sesame spinach, and tricolor tomatoes. Fruit section has yellow plum (don't know the name of it but it's sweet!), organic strawberry and blueberries.