Kuri Curry LunchBots Thermal Bento

With the weather cooling down a bit, I'm thinking more about thermal bento these days. And when I saw the cutest kuri squash at the market, I had to make curry. I wish I took a picture of the squash before I cut it. If you haven't seen one, it's a small roundish squash with a tough outer skin in a brilliant red color. The flesh is orange like pumpkin and it's great in curry because of the autumny color! My curry is packed with all kinds of veggies (and ground turkey) like broccoli, celery, onion, carrots, and sometimes mushrooms and potatoes. You can pack it over rice or just straight, like I did here, in the LunchBots Thermal Food Container. I packed a side box with beautiful cara cara oranges (also called red navel in my market) and watermelon balls. I also packed this cute Light My Fire combo spoon fork because it's MisterMan's favorite. It even has a serrated edge for cutting. How cute! Happy Start of Fall!

Autumn Chili Thermal Bento

It is starting to cool down over here in Northern California just a little, which means it's time to start packing thermal bento again. I have several types of thermal containers and this one is still just right for TinySprite. It holds 10 ounces and has a cute Hello Kitty decoration on it. I have a bigger one that I use for MisterMan, and you'll see that one in an upcoming post I'm sure. I made turkey bean chili with various vegetables (this time tomatoes, corn, celery, onion, and broccoli) added. To accompany it, I packed a small round tight-sealing container with sliced plums, carrots, and grapes.

Tuscan Kale Vegetable Bean Soup Bento

Hi! How was your weekend? Here in the bay area we experienced an unseasonably warm and sunny weekend. We (along with lots of other people) decided to spend it at the beach in Monterey Bay, where we were treated to a lot of gray whale activity. We saw them spouting, diving, and even breaching from right on shore. It was very exciting! Back home today, it feels like a complete 180 degree turnaround in weather: cloudy and cold once again. A cold day like today calls for a warm soup bento! I made big pot of vegetable soup with beans and sausage to fortify us through the frigid weather. All right, it's only in the mid-50s but still.

MisterMan will bring this LunchBots Thermal Food Jar to school with him, with this very cool spoon/fork combo utensil, along with a side container of ombre blood oranges, pickled cucumbers and grape tomatoes. I love the way the blood orange segments look. Have you tried this variety before? They taste a little more tart than cara cara oranges (my favorite) at first, but they finish nice and sweet. If you see them in the market, you might want to give them a try. They are easy to peel and you can pack these pretties in segments, as I've done here, or cut them into wheels, as I've done in the past. They look like this on the outside; kind of like blushing oranges. ^__^

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Tuscan Ribollita Soup Recipe

(adapted from Eating Well)

• 1 14-ounce can whole peeled plum tomatoes
• 2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed, divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 medium leek, halved lengthwise and sliced, white and light green parts only (I omitted; used round onion instead)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
• 2 whole diced carrots
• 2 stalks diced celery
• 1 cup diced zucchini 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 bunch kale or Swiss chard, trimmed and cut into 2-inch-wide slices (I used various baby kale varieties)
• 1/4 head Savoy or green cabbage, cut into 1-inch cubes (I omitted)
• 2 cups diced russet potatoes (I omitted)
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 teaspoon celery seed
• Crushed red pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. Drain canned tomatoes, reserving the liquid. Dice the tomatoes. Using a potato masher, mash half the beans into a paste (add a bit of broth, if desired, to make mashing the beans easier). Set the tomatoes and beans aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook, stirring, until translucent and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Do not brown. Season with 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir in carrots, celery and zucchini and the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; cook, stirring, until nearly tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Season with 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
3. When the carrots and celery are nearly tender, stir in kale (or chard) and cabbage. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted, 4 to 6 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, water, the diced tomatoes and juice, the bean puree and whole beans, thyme and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Season with celery seed, crushed red pepper and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until all the vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Enchilada Soup LunchBot Thermal Bento for Fall!

Enchilada Soup LunchBot Thermal Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Everyone is talking about the upcoming fall weather, and I'm starting to get excited about fall soups. So even though it's not exactly cold yet, we're having chicken enchilada soup (see the recipe and method I used here). As usual, I added a lot of nontraditional extras such as zucchini, carrots, corn, celery, and leeks. It was good (if a tad bit spicy). I served TinySprite's portion over rice, and she ate hers without too much complaint over the heat. I get to use the LunchBots Thermal food jar for this bento, and packed it along with a side container of white peach, grapes and strawberry. Happy Fall!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup Bento

Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I got this chicken soup recipe from Bon Appetit magazine and it went over pretty well. I substituted chicken breast meat since that was what I had, and the meat was tender. It made a pretty big pot of soup, and the family completely slurped it all up. Good thing I reserved some for the Hello Kitty thermal. The little side box holds: blackberries, strawberries, Okinawan sweet potatoes, and the usual pickled stuff. This time I added sliced kiwi in with the bittermelon, and the sweet fruit actually helps cut the intense bite of the bittermelon, if you eat both together. Unfortunately, the kiwi gets soft and falls apart in the solution, so you have to add it upon serving. I think it looks pretty. If you don't think you'd like bittermelon, I suggest you try it this way. It's not bad!
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Lemony Chicken and Orzo Soup (from Bon Appetit)

1 T olive oil
1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise 1/2" thick
1 celery stalk, sliced crosswise 1/2" thick
12oz. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Kosher salt, fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup orzo (I used whole wheat orzo)
1/4 cup chopped dill (I omitted)
Lemon halves (for serving)

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add leek and celery and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are soft, 5-8 minutes. Add chicken and broth; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Let cool, then shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, return broth to a boil. Add orzo and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Stir in chicken and dill. Serve with lemon halves for squeezing over.

A Tree Grows in Jooklyn Bento

A Tree Grows in Jooklyn Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Get it? Get it? Did you read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? Okay then. I know it doesn't look like a tree, but this tree is stylized. (Look at the other jook tree I made). This means that you must utilize your imagination for it to take shape. I made brown rice jook (see my method and recipe here) and decorated with char siu, cilantro and scallions. You can use chicken broth to flavor the soup, and add in aromatics like tiny dried shrimp. I also sometimes use shiitake mushrooms, leftover chicken, or even fish. It's also great to make your own broth using chicken or turkey bones. I packed this bento for MisterMan in his Lunchbots Thermal jar. A side box holds: satsuma mandarin, strawberry, blueberries, house pickled cucumbers and house marinated sweet baby bell peppers.

Chicken Enchilada Soup Bento

Chicken Enchilada Soup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made use of the crockpot to make this one; it's great to toss everything in in the morning, and then I'm free to run in and out of the house the rest of the afternoon. The kids have the usual assortment of afterschool activities this quarter, and there's always that one day (or two) that you can barely get everyone dropped off/picked up in time. Remember when we were kids and if we wanted to join an afterschool activity we had to ride our bikes there and just make sure to get home in time for dinner? Times have sure changed!
Anyway, this one is a shortcut enchilada soup. I LOVE Mexican soups (especially posole) and this one is actually kind of healthy since it uses chicken breast meat. I found the quickie recipe at Tastingspoons. I packed this hearty serving for MisterMan (TinySprite got similar -- she loved it too!), topped with cheddar stars in his LunchBot thermal jar. I sent along an Eco Dipper holding some cara cara orange chunks, blueberries, blackberries and a grape tomato. Delish!
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Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup (from Tastingspoons)

3T butter
3T flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups lowfat milk
10 oz. enchilada sauce
15 oz. black beans
14 oz. Rotel diced tomatoes and jalapenos
10 oz. corn
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped (my addition)
2 whole boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour, continuously until smooth. Remove from heat and add broth and 1/2 cup milk, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil, cook until thickened. In a large bowl, mix together with enchilada sauce. Gradually whisk in remaining milk until smooth. Set aside.
In a crockpot, combine beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place the chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker. Cover, cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
When you are ready to serve, remove chicken and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back into the soup and mix together. Top with cheese, avocado, chopped green onions, sour cream, cilantro, or crushed tortilla chips, as you desire.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Black Bean and Sausage Stew Bento

Black Bean and Sausage Stew Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

When the weather turns frigid our thoughts turn to... warming soups and stews. How about you? This time it's a black bean and chicken sausage stew packed in TinySprite's Hello Kitty thermal food jar. The cute stainless-lined snack pack box contains (on one side) Greek yogurt topped with pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, and the usual assortment of berries and nominal veggies. If the main dish is already packed with vegetation, then I can go easy on the side box. Plus, both my kids are drinking homemade green drinks daily, which ensures another big serving of both fruit and vegetables. Win!

Added to What's For Lunch.

Curried Lentil Farro Soup Bento

Curried Lentil Farro Soup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This winter has been extremely cold around these parts -- 30s at night and only 40s-50s during the day! It definitely calls for warming foods at lunch time, such as those that can be packed in a thermal food jar. Today I made curried lentil barley soup for protein-packed nutrition. For TinySprite I left it a little "dry" to make it easier to eat without spillage. She toted along a little side container containing: a mini cup of blueberries, steamed broccoli and Okinawan sweet potato, a satsuma mandarin and a dried pluot. My favorite local stone fruit farm sells the dried version of my favorite summer fruits so we can pretend it's peak summer. They don't add sugar but the pluots, nectarines and peaches are unbelievably sweet. Just one will overwhelm your tastebuds with a sublime explosion of sweetness. Can you tell I like them a lot?

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Curried Lentil Farro Soup
(from "Super Natural Every Day" by Heidi Swanson)

2T olive oil
Large onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1T curry powder
1/2 cup farro
1 cup lentils
6 cups vegetable broth (or water)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, and saute onions, celery and carrots until softened, a few minutes. Add the curry powder; stir until fragrant. Add farro, lentils and broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer covered for 30 minutes or so. Taste; add salt or more seasoning as desired. You can also add other vegetables too, like squash or potatoes, or add more of the ones in the recipe as you like. It's quick and easy. I added extra cumin (because I like it). You can also top with yogurt mixed with lemon juice.

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?

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.

Minestrone Rudolph Bento

Minestrone Rudolph Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The recent cold weather has put me in the mood for hot soups and stews. The heavy fog that we woke up to this morning stuck around all day long, which doesn't usually happen. It felt like 6pm all day. So everyone was very glad to have some hearty warming minestrone soup to take the chill off. Just as I always do, I threw in a lot of colorful vegetables to make this soup chock full of vitamins and nutrition. There's also some smoked andouille sausage in there for a little bite. TinySprite loved it so much, she asked for more again tomorrow. In her side dish I gave her the cutest little baby crabapple, steamed broccoli, carrots, grapes, a strawberry, and my first attempt at a Christmas character - Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. He's made from a shoyu-dyed hard-boiled quail egg, with nori eyes and mouth and a baby grape tomato nose. Are you in the Christmas mood yet? We've just put up our tree and are in the process of decorating it now. The kids love this part ^_^
Added to What's For Lunch.

Hot Jook Thermal Bento

Hot Jook Preschool Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Double bento today for my son and daughter are nearly identical. They both get true comfort food: black/white rice jook with turkey and ginger, green onion scattered on top. I packed them in thermal food jars: the Stanley jar which you've seen me use before many times (and which I recommend highly) and the Thermos brand Hello Kitty jar which I hadn't used before. First thing I noticed is that the Thermos is much lighter. Of course, it is smaller (I have the 10 oz version), but also the lid is plastic and there seems to be quite a bit of heat loss through the lid. Immediately after filling the jar and closing the lid, I could feel it getting warm right away. The Stanley has a double lid: an inner plastic screw lid which is set inside the jar, and an outer plastic-lined metal cap which can be used as a bowl. If there is heat loss through the inner lid, it's not detectable through the outer lid, as fas as I could tell. I tested the Hello Kitty jar with boiling water, and found that the temperature of the water began dropping within an hour after sealing. That was pretty disappointing to me. We'll see what my preschooler says. Both kids toted along a side bento filled with strawberry, grapes, cara cara wedges, broccoli and carrots.

Many of you may be following the terrible events unfolding in Japan following Friday's 9.0 magnitude earthquake; the resulting tsunami devastated towns and destroyed thousands of lives. The people of Japan face a long journey towards healing and rebuilding, even while aftershocks still rock the country and rescuers continue to search for survivors. I and many fellow bento-bloggers have been keeping up with real-time developments via @makiwi on twitter, who has embarked on a labor of love to translate and update the rest of us on the news from Japan, seemingly without sleep. If you are looking for a way to help, please consider making donations to The Red Cross at IFRC.org or Doctors Without Borders at doctorswithoutborders.org.

Portuguese Bean Soup Thermal Bento

Portuguese Bean Soup Thermal Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's wacky weather included warm (50F) sunshine, rain, dark clouds, blue sky and even hail. Whew! This unsettled weather calls for hearty nourishing food. I made Portuguese bean soup, a local Hawaii favorite and a hit with everyone in the family. I adapted Sam Choy's recipe to make mine.

Portuguese Bean Soup

2 smoked ham hocks
4C chicken broth and 4C water (or all chicken broth if you prefer)
1C diced carrots
1C diced potato
1 diced onion
1C diced celery
1 head cabbage, cut into 1" cubes
1 bunch kale, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped into 1" cubes
1 can tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 Portuguese sausage, sliced
1/2C dried macaroni
Cilantro

In a large stockpot, boil ham hocks in broth and water, then simmer until meat is tender. This part makes the house smell REALLY good and gives the soup its distinctive rich taste. Remove skin and bones from ham hocks, return meat to pot. Add remaining ingredients except beans, sausage and macaroni and continue to cook about 20 minutes. Return soup to a boil and add beans, sausage and macaroni, then simmer another 15 minutes or until macaroni is done. Garnish with cilantro. You don't even need to add salt or pepper; this soup is very flavorful and delicious. The recipe is easy to adapt to your preferences; you may add or subtract whatever vegetables you choose. My kids each asked for seconds, and I bet yours will too. The recipe makes a lot of soup, and it tastes even better the next day.

I took this opportunity to pack my other thermal jar; this one from Stanley. I'd used it before for chili, and I know it works very well, but I didn't show a picture last time. So here's what it looks like packed. As with the Zojirushi container, I preheated with hot water for a few minutes, then replaced the water with my preheated soup.

The side bowl of fruit was packed separately in his lunch tote. The Stanley jar insulates very well, and the heat doesn't conduct to the outer surface so this method worked well. He gets sliced blood oranges, a strawberry, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, a carrot and some peapods. I love this jar because it comes with a sealing lid as well as an outer cap which can be inverted and used as a soup bowl (shown with a spoon in the picture). A nice option for kids who have a hard time eating out of the jar itself. Can you tell I love this jar?

Portuguese Bean Soup Bento

Portuguese Bean Soup Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's no-cook bento had Portuguese bean soup leftover from last weekend. As everyone knows, soup gets better over the next couple days as the flavors mingle and the broth thickens. So this is a win-win bento. Extra-flavorful soup that required no additional work. Yay! This soup, based on Sam Choy's recipe, contains a bunch of vegetables (tomato, carrots, cabbage, cilantro, onion, celery) along with potates, kidney beans, ham and sausage. It's a very hearty and satisfying soup. It's especially comforting on those cold Fall nights. We've been having 75 degree days, but it still looks like fall out there with the leaves flying off the trees, it feels nice and seasonal. I packed his soup in the froggie thermal container, which comes with a small upper bowl in which I placed some grapes, sliced persimmon, a few peapods, and a quail egg skull to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Okay, it's an excuse to make another quail egg skull. This time I lightly pinched in the sides closest to the tapered end to simulate the cheekbones, and it made the cranium pop out, which I think looks pretty good. You could probably do this with a hen's egg too, for larger-scale fun. Happy November, friends!

Making Wontons

The good thing about wontons is that they are easy to put into soup for a healthy, tasty meal...and they also go well in bento because they taste just as good cold or room temp. There is a bit of preparation time involved, but not too much. I used ground pork, which is traditional, but you could easily substitute turkey or chicken if you prefer. Season with shoyu, salt, sugar, pepper, garlic and a little cornstarch. I mixed in chopped baby bok choy because I like the crunch and the green color it adds. You can also add chopped green onions. The filling should look something like this.

Next, place a tiny amount in the center of the wrapper. I like to use square ones, because that is how my mom taught me. I thought these were square, but it turns out they were rectangular! Oh well, it doesn't matter that much, I guess.

It's important that you don't overfill them, as it will be difficult to close, and then you run the risk of them popping open later. Dip your fingertips in water and wet two adjacent edges of the wrapper. Press those edges to the other side, folding the wrapper into a triangle. Try to press out any air pockets.

You can see here that my triangle is imperfect, due to my rectangular wrapper.  If you bought square ones, you will get a nice, perfect triangle. Good for you. Oh, and make sure you use medium thickness, not thin, as they will hold up better during cooking. Next, make a pinch in the bottom edge and bring the two side corners down to meet and overlap.

Wet the corners to seal.

Repeat with the rest of the filling, till you are done! If you calculated right, you should come out even. Today, I got lucky! Filling and wrappers came out even. Yay!

Halfway done. Look how cute they look, sitting together like that. When you are ready to cook, set a pot of water to boil. Place the wontons in gently and make sure they don't touch the bottom of the pan, or they might stick there. Cook for one more minute after they float to the surface. This is how my mom taught me; she really did not give me a more specific cooking time than that. You should watch them, because it won't take more than 5 minutes or so.

All done! Drain and cool. You can serve them in a chicken broth-based soup, with some choy, onions, mushrooms, garlic and green onion, even spinach. This is what we did for dinner tonight. It was a hit with everyone, especially the kids :) The leftover wontons made it into bento for tomorrow; see my latest on my flickr photostream.