Curry with Rice Puppy Bento

It's been cool here in the Bay Area, and it's time for some warm thermal bento. I made curry loaded with vegetables, which will be ideal to nourish the kiddos midway through their hectic day. TinySprite still uses this Hello Kitty Thermal Food Jar, and if I add a side box with a selection of fruit - here, grape tomatoes, kiwi, and a tiny satsuma mandarin - it's just the right amount of food for her.

I would put the rice puppy inside the thermos, but I'm sure he would fall apart and disappear before lunchtime, so I packed him separately for her to add at her discretion. I hope she likes this one. Woof! 

Salmon Lettuce Wrap Bento

Today's bento is another quick and easy one: pan-fried butter shoyu salmon in a romaine lettuce leaf. I added some roasted baby potatoes, fresh baby carrots, broccoli, and pickled daikon. I've recently started using lettuce wraps for meals, as you can see below in a dinner I made (in an ECOlunchtray) last week. I put Korean chicken, rice, cucumbers and green onions inside the lettuce and the kids loved it. I'm going to try lettuce-wrapping other foods too: I'm thinking hot dogs and hamburgers...

I added a side box (ECOlunchboxes Dipper) containing satsuma mandarins and string cheese. I sent along furikake in the monkey shaker, to add to the salmon at lunchtime.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Snowman Quail Egg Christmas Bento

Snowman Quail Egg Christmas Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

One week until Christmas! Here is my last Christmas themed bento for the year. It's another snowman, this time made with a nori- and carrot-decorated quail egg. A little blue hat, and there's a happy friend waiting to enjoy lunchtime with TinySprite! I used my EcoLunchbox Solo Cube with 4 silicone cups containing sliced bratwurst sausages, sauteed shredded brussels sprouts topped with parmesan and garlic powder, Greek yogurt with homemade granola and a perfectly sized satsuma mandarin. I don't normally pack yogurt without a lid, but the layer of granola (Alton Brown's recipe) helps keep it in place. I like how everything fits in here snugly, and makes a colorful, festive holiday bento. Merry Christmas, friends!

Snowman Onigiri Christmas Bento

Snowman Onigiri Christmas Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This is TinySprite's version of the comfort chicken and rice I made yesterday. I always pull her meat off the bone to save her lunchmates the sight of messy carnage. Plus, I can get more meat in the bento this way. In one section there's chicken and broccoli; in the next a little two-ball onigiri snowman with nori detail and a steamed Okinawan sweet potato hat, some carrots; and finally a baby satsuma and a few blackberries. She also has a class snack party, so I don't expect her appetite to be all that big. I can tell my little girl is growing up when I look at her big brother's bento boxes and think: it may be time for her to use this one now. Yep, he has used this worn old three-sectioned box for years. It has kept all its pieces intact, and the latches, gasket and clear lid are all in great shape. What a workhorse! Love this one.

Rudolph the Quail Egg Christmas Chicken and Rice Bento

Rudolph the Quail Egg Christmas Chicken and Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The nights around here are getting pretty chilly -- down in the 30s -- calling for some comfort food to warm up the bones during the day. I made a big pot of Vietnamese soy chicken drumsticks (method and recipe here). Even though I grew up with shoyu chicken, and the Hawaiian version was a childhood favorite of mine, I really love the distinct taste of this version. I think it might be the fish sauce that gives it that extra flavor punch. Or maybe it's the black pepper. In any case, I'm hooked. I made this batch on the stovetop, and it doesn't take more than an hour to get nice and fall-off-the-bone tender. I packed some in the apple box atop some furikake rice and some broccoli steamed in the same pot. Chicken and rice. It's delicious hot, cold, room temperature, whatever. You know what I mean? The top layer holds a satsuma mandarin, the ever-present sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, a smattering of blackberries, and a shoyu-dyed quail egg Rudolph. It's Christmas, after all!

Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree Bento

Christmas Tree Side Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yeah, okay, maybe it's just a broccoli tree like all the other broccoli trees. But this one has a star on top! And star ornaments on the branches! Can we just call it a Christmas tree bento? I hope she'll go for it! Besides the festive "Christmas tree" there is my ever-present, favorite satsuma mandarin, a few blackberries, a lone grape tomato, and the dwindling cup of home-pickled cucumbers. I have another six pickles to go, so this exact same cup will be present in several more upcoming bento boxes. Just to warn you. There isn't anything in the thermal food jar yet, which is why I'm not showing you the interior, but I am planning to pack the kale-white bean-chicken sausage-vegetable soup that we had for dinner. It's a typical winter warming bento, which is so nice when the weather is cold, isn't it?

Black Rice Jook Thermal Bento

Black Rice Jook Thermal Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Have you eaten black rice? Also known as Forbidden Rice, it's received press lately for its high levels of antioxidants, on a par with blueberries. It has a nice, mild flavor, and a pleasing (to me) purplish color that is retained after cooking. I've used it to make jook before (see my method here), and this time I added sliced lup cheong (Chinese sausage), celery and broccoli stalks. You can also add chicken, mushrooms, fish, or whatever else you'd like. It's an easy meal to make: I used a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 8 cups of water (or broth). Simmer about an hour to 90 minutes, adding the rest of the ingredients for the last 30 minutes or so. I scattered chopping green onion on this serving packed in my Stanley thermal food jar, but you can also add cilantro, ginger, pepper, chili oil, even shoyu as your taste dictates. It's another kind of comfort food that's especially satisfying on these cold wintry days. I sent along a side box containing a satsuma mandarin, some grape tomatoes, and the ever-present mini-cups of home-pickled cucumbers and fermented sauerkraut. Simple and fast, yet hearty. I had some for lunch myself, too. ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch.

Grilled Furikake Chicken LunchBots Quad Bento

Grilled Furikake Chicken LunchBots Quad Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I felt like using the cute LunchBot Quad today because the divided sections are so handy it almost fills itself. I simply grilled some chicken, sliced into bite-size pieces, lay them in one section side by side, and sprinkled with sodium-free, MSG-free furikake. Next, I cut some garlic-roasted baby asparagus for the next section, and added a couple of grape tomatoes and a flower-shaped steamed Okinawan sweet potato. A third section got tiny silicone cups of homemade sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers (and a carrot), and in the last section I squeezed some watermelon cubes and a peeled satsuma mandarin. See what I mean? You've seen all these components in my bento before; some of them happen to be stocked regularly in my fridge for an easy go-to. TinySprite's kindergarten appetite is fairly small, so a few items of each food group will just about fill her up. The Quad is ideal for this purpose; love it!

Mini Snowman Bento

Mini Snowman Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I wanted to make a mini bento for Christmas since I haven't made one in such a long time. I initally wanted to do a miniature Christmas tree, but then I thought a tiny snowman would be so cute! I planned to make little snowballs to go with him and everything, but after working with the snowman himself I think the microsnowballs would be too much trouble. As it was the "snow" stuck to the plastic wrap and thus doesn't look quite smooth. I made three balls out of cream cheese for the snowman, and decorated his face with nori, a carrot nose and a yellow carrot corncob pipe. He also has purple carrot buttons and a carrot top hat. His arms are dry somen. As you can see, just as real snowmen do he started to melt after awhile, and began to lean to the side. I propped him up for the picture but lay him down after I was done. He is on a tofu platform and there's a bare tree next to him as well as his watermelon radish mittens. I wanted to poke the mittens on his arms but then his arms would have fallen off for sure! The rest of the bento contains a satsuma mandarin, grapes, peapods and carrots. Merrry Christmas!

Santa Egg Snack Bento

Santa Egg Snack Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Another snack bento for TinySprite; this time a beet-dyed hard-boiled egg decorated with nori, radish and carrot to look like Santa Claus. Or Humpty Dumpty with a Santa hat and beard on. There's also bowtie pasta, steamed broccoli, grapes and satsuma mandarin. We're almost halfway through the last week of school for 2010, people! Woo!

Gyoza and Wreath Bento

Gyoza and Wreath Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made gyoza today with whole wheat wrappers, which I'd never used before. I also picked up spinach wrappers too, but haven't used them yet. These wrappers are kind of chewy compared to the regular ones, but the kids didn't seem to mind. I used a ground pork filling with chopped scallions and shredded spinach, and seasoned with salt, sugar and shoyu which tasted pretty good. I pan-fried then pan-steamed, so they got nice and crispy on the bottom and stayed soft on top. After they were done I pan-fried some lightly steamed kabocha in the same pan, then drizzled with sesame oil and shoyu at the end of cooking. Sound familiar? I have been eating tons of kabocha this way lately. It's SO good, I'll eat it right out of the pan. To fill in the gaps I added steamed peapods. Other side has kiwi, grapes and my nod to the season: a satsuma mandarin wreath decorated with purple carrot "berries" and festive bow & leaf picks.

In other news, tomorrow is MisterMan's Christmas concert, where he'll be performing on the violin. He has been playing for only three months, but when I attended the rehearsal last night I was surprised to find that they all sound pretty good (no cat screeching). Whew! I never would have believed the director could get a bunch of first and second grader first-time players to sound decent, but I guess their method works. We'll see how the actual performance goes!

Rudolph and Misobutterfish Bento

Rudolph and Misobutterfish Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

My favorite fish, butterfish misoyaki. So easy and so yummy! I added some red rice mini-musubi with cherry picks, carved carrots, steamed shoyu Brussels sprouts and a shoyu quail egg decorated as Rudolph with nori eyes, radish nose and ears, and the very versatile and useful bone picks for antlers. There's also a plum. I have no idea where it came from, but it's really not sweet at all. Luckily there are black grapes and satsuma mandarin to make up for it. Here's a closeup of Rudolph. Aww...

Mac, Cheese and Christmas Tree Bento

Mac, Cheese and Christmas Tree Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I love mac and cheese. I love making it, I love eating it, and I love the way it's always an instant hit with everyone in the family. It's also a one-dish meal, which is my specialty (quick, easy, minimal thinking involved)! The great thing about mac and cheese is that it's a forgiving dish. You can make it pretty much any way you want, and it still turns out okay, to me anyway. I don't even really measure the cheese and milk and flour. Just put in what you have and keep adding until it looks good to you. Then, bake until everything meshes together and finish under the broiler for a crunchy top. Today I used mini penne pasta, two kinds of cheese, plus I chopped and added ham, spinach, some whole wheat bread slices and even... my favorite squash du jour: kabocha! I steamed it lightly, then grated it coarsely right into the mix. You could also puree it, but I like to see the little bits of kabocha. I don't remember if I even told the kids everything I put in it. It wouldn't matter anyway. They could eat the whole casserole quite happily. Good thing I reserved some for their bento. I don't show TinySprite's bento, but I made one for her too. Along with the mac and cheese, I squeezed in some carrots and peapods, a bunch of grapes, a satsuma mandarin, and a steamed broccoli Christmas tree with radish ornaments. I have a feeling I made this exact same tree last year, which I didn't realize until after I took the picture. Well, except for the star skewer, which completes the effect nicely, right?

Snowman Bao Bento

Snowman Bao Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

No-cook Christmas bento for MisterMan today. We got home late after TinySprite's debut Nutcracker ballet performance so there was no cooking to be done. They were so excited and wound up by the whole affair that they could barely get to sleep. Today started very grumpily, as a result. Let's hope the snowman lifts some spirits! It's a steamed char siu bao, which I thought was appropriate for a snowman, and all I had to do was add nori facial details, radish cheeks, a carrot nose (yes, I did cut a slot for it and stuck it in his face), and a crusty bread pipe. He's got a cucumber hat and even some broccoli earmuffs. Hello Frosty! There's also pork chow mein, some grapes and a satsuma mandarin. Whew! I'll have to get back into the routine again. Tomorrow. ^_^

Snowman Fried Rice Bento

Snowman Fried Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I made a quick fried rice with the last bits of frozen shredded turkey stash and various veggies I had in the fridge, plus an egg. For my second Christmas bento I made a mozzarella cheese snowman with carrot and nori detail, and utilized versatile pick placement. Easy! Fruit side includes fall plum and satsuma mandarin. That's it for today!

Christmas Tree Jook and Rudolph Bento

Christmas Tree Jook Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Since tomorrow is December first, I decided to make a first Christmas-themed bento set. I made two, in fact! MisterMan gets turkey jook, made using the Thanksgiving turkey carcass to make turkey stock. I tossed the thigh bones in as well, and at the end of the hour of simmering, the meat had all fallen off the bones and the broth was nice and flavorful. I used only half the carcass, so there's one more batch to go. I have to admit I love turkey jook -- much more so than the actual turkey it began with. Personally I like to throw in ginger, scallion and garlic chili paste to give it a tasty kick. For the kids I keep it more mild. I did sprinkle on some chopped green onion before I realized it landed in kind of a tree formation. Okay, I rearranged a little, and added a kabocha star, but I'm calling it a Christmas tree bento.

The fruit and veggie side dish is the top tier of this thermal bento. I gave him a satsuma mandarin, some pan-fried kabocha, broccoli and a grape. It's kind of a small box.

For TinySprite, I turned a char siu bao into Rudolph with carved carrot antler, grape eyes and a radish nose. She also got some pan-fried kabocha, steamed broccoli and sliced kiwi. Happy December, and welcome to the Christmas season!

Chicken and Red Rice Musubi Bento

Chicken and Red Rice Musubi Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Quick standard chicken and rice bento. I made a rice mix that included red rice, brown rice and pearl barley. I formed two mini musubi and added a cherry pick for fun. There's also steamed broccoli, cucumbers, a tiny yellow pear tomato from my slowly withering tomato bush (which still has 3 more tomatoes ripening), a radish heart, purple carrot skewer, grapes and a satsuma mandarin.

Mochiko Chicken and Crispy Kale Bento

Mochiko Chicken and Crispy Kale Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

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!

Teriyaki Salmon & Asparagus Bento

Teriyaki Salmon & Asparagus Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Wild salmon teriyaki with roasted asparagus thrown in there too. Baked purple potato "chips", cherry tomatoes and cucumber. Fruit side has satsuma mandarin, kiwi and raspberries. Yellow carrot added a bright punch with flower and star cutouts. The stars are cut out by hand, very simply with a knife tip. I am really liking the bright intensity of the yellow carrots -- I think I'll be using it quite a bit during these dark days of winter.
No holiday details here (too tired to think of any)! Maybe tomorrow...

Snowfuman Bento!

Snowfuman Bento!, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Get it? Tofu-Snowman? Snow-tofuman? Hm. Okay, nevermind.
One more snowman bento -- I forgot to add him into the last post, but it's okay.. I think he may be my favorite. Doesn't he look happy? Maybe because he's making his final appearance in a long week full of snowman bento? Or because I finally managed one that looks kind of cute rather than "interesting"? Trouble is, since I have been in snowman mode so long I may have a hard time remembering other Christmas theme possibilities for this week's bento... Well. Anyway.

For this one I made ma po tofu using ground chicken, fermented mustard greens, green onions, black bean sauce and a little guilin chili garlic sauce ('cuz I love it, but the kids can't handle too much). Also, I roasted some asparagus in olive oil and garlic powder. I made the tofu snowman face with nori and carrot facial detail and purple potato hat with yellow carrot buckle on a bed of white/brown/black (Forbidden) rice mix. Raw carrot stars. Fruit section has kiwi flowers with blueberry centers, satsuma mandarins, strawberry and raspberries.

Is it cold where you are too? Snowman is happy about it, but I'm not! I am counting the days until we are on vacation.. to a sunny and warm spot on the globe where we can thaw out ^_^