Beet Kohlrabi Latkes Bento

Beet Kohlrabi Latkes Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Kohlrabi: never heard of it? Me neither, but I saw other people buying it at the market so I thought, why not? Latkes I've never made either, but it seemed pretty straightforward. The recipe called for coarsely grated kohlrabi, beet, and onion mixed with a beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of flour, to be formed into round shapes and fried 4-6 minutes on each side. I added grated zucchini and some cheese, because that's how I roll. I had to squeeze quite a bit of liquid from the ingredients before forming the patties, which ended up holding together very loosely. I'm not sure if that's the way regular potato latkes look or not. I was kind of expecting a more "burger-y" type of patty, similar to the beet patties I made here. The recipe also recommended serving with a horseradish sauce, which sounds great, but I had mine with chimichurri (this stuff is very versatile!). I sprinkled some green onion on TinySprite's two patties, which I packed into the divided container along with a homegrown mesclun microgreens salad topped with shaved iberico and yellow tomatoes, some marinated mini peppers, and a selection of white peach, blueberries and a super ripe dark orange apricot.

Seeing as tomorrow is the last day of school, I made shoyu hot dogs (by request) for the kids to share at their snack party. Can't believe the year is all over and we have the long hot summer ahead of us at last! I don't know who is more excited: me or them! Counting down the hours starting now...
Added to What's For Lunch.

Deconstructed Fish Tacos LunchBots Quad Bento

Deconstructed Fish Tacos Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Me, I love fish tacos. I like to grill the fish (I used cod here) in salt and pepper, then pile it into a tortilla along with onions and cilantro and a heaping dollop of salsa. Good right? But with kids, it never works out. Don't tell me your kids haven't at some point held the taco sideways so everything fell out, or took a bite and tore the whole thing in half, or dropped all the contents onto the floor and commenced screaming. Come on! After about age 8 (in our house), they finally seem to get it. But until then, I have discovered that it's easier to just forget about filling the taco and just let them eat the thing piecemeal. I've packed deconstructed (DIY) tacos before, where I roll up the tortillas and let them do what they will. Usually they eat them separately, plain. So I saved myself some trouble and used the Lunchbot Quad to pack a few pieces of cod in lettuce, and a cup of salsa (onion, tomato, cilantro, corn, cumin, pepper). She loved it. She especially liked the fish spear. I also squeezed in some white peach, blueberries, grapes and lychee, and some decorative carrots. What could be easier?
Added to What's for Lunch.

Salmon and Lil' Mouse Bento

Salmon and Mouse Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This week's salmon and rice format is packed in a newish two-tier strawberry shapes bento set from Daiso; so cute right? And only $1.50; you can't beat that. The only problem is that it's just a tad bit big, so I think the salmon layer probably moved around a bit by lunchtime. TinySprite gets red rice and salmon with furikake kabocha, a little cup of steamed corn off the cob, and a cute radish mouse. The lower tier contains white peach slices, cherries, blueberries and homegrown sunsugar and yellow pear tomatoes. Simple but satisfying.

Honeybees Bento

Honeybees Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

A couple more days of school, and a couple more bentos to make. Here's one from last week, which I forgot to post in the craziness. It contains shoyu chicken and furikake rice, which used to be my ultimate favorite meal when I was a kid. I always requested it if my mom asked what I wanted, and I always chose the drumsticks. I don't usually pack rice for my boy since it's not his favorite, but it would be nice to start adding it. He didn't object to it here, and of course it was completely consumed, so maybe he'll come around to loving it as much as I do. Rice in bento also provides a nice backdrop for decorative details.

In this one I dyed two quail eggs in golden beet juice before adding strips of nori and cute tiny faces. The heart picks make perfect little wings. The other section contains regular and Okinawan sweet potatoes, a cup of edamame, some sliced (super sweet) white peaches and a strawberry. I personally love this bento. Gonna make one just like it for myself one of these days ^_^
Posted at What's For Lunch!

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!

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!

Carrot Apple Chili Bento

Carrot Apple Chili Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

The bento today has vegetarian chili with kidney beans, black beans, green beans, and corn, topped with grated cheddar. I lay it upon a lettuce leaf in one of the 3 compartments in my white MRB (magic round bento). It's not that liquidy, so it should stay put. The lid is tight-sealing so there's no risk of leakage. Second compartment has steamed broccoli and purple cauliflower, which is the first of the season this year; there also was yellow cauliflower available. I'm looking forward to more purple produce again this summer. Not convinced there are more nutrients, but it looks so cool. Fruits include white peach, which is super sweet, a half mandarin (underneath), a giant black grape (not olive), and cute little homegrown strawberries from our garden. I guess I kind of knew they would be small, as wild strawberries often are, but they are organically grown and a vibrant red color, so I am very pleased. I hope these are sweet too. I'll have to ask him later. To top off the bento, I added a carrot cutout in the shape of an apple, with a yellow carrot half and sesame seed "seeds". Simple.
Happy Monday, bento friends!

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento

Slow-Cooked Pork Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains some sliced pork, cooked in the slow-cooker, Okinawan style. Slow-cooking meat is easy and effortless, and you always end up with tender, moist, delicious meat. This recipe is no exception. It's sweet and rich, and the sauce is delicious over rice and veggies. Perhaps you've noticed we like to use all kinds of meat sauces over our veggies. In our house, such a tasty sauce will magically make ANY veggie desirable. Guaranteed. You should really try it with your little ones. Broccoli, choy, cauliflower, even sweet potatoes get dipped in sauce. You might be surprised at what they'll agree to eat!

3-4 pounds pork butt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 inch ginger root, crushed
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mirin
1/2 cup shoyu
1/2 cup miso

Combine all ingredients except the pork, mix well, put in slow cooker.
Place pork in slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-9 hours, until tender.
Turn over midway through cooking to brown the other side.
Cool, then slice. Enjoy!

The rest of the bento includes a mixed rice onigiri which is hidden beneath a flower made of sliced radish, purple potato and peapods, steamed broccoli, and a hard boiled egg shaped into a bear face. I know it looks really weird, but I put nori dots in the eye and nose indentations, and a nori strip in the mouth, because I thought you would be able to see it better. Um, I guess I have to change the settings on my camera since a few of the last photos have had a lot of glare and intense brightness. You can't even tell I shaped it; but believe me -- I did, and it came out perfect too, no cracks or anything! Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.

There's also a yellow carrot flower, white peach slices, a strawberry and some blackberries. All packed in my stainless steel Lunchbots box. This one has no dividers, but never mind; the silicone cups do well at separating the fruit from the rest of the meal. This nice compact box fits well in my boy's little insulated tote.

Oh, and I almost forgot: this one qualifies for Hapabento's BOMB contest for Flowery Bento, yay!
Happy bento!