A Very Bento Christmas or What I did on my Holiday

Actually, my Holiday is just beginning since I don't go back to work until next Monday. But I won't be making lunches during my week off. I had a great Christmas this year and received a few gifts that will hopefully get me out of my bento rut. I got some mini cookie cutters, plus large ones, some food dividers, and a book about Japanese Garnishes. I also got a little creative and made some new food pics:


I got the idea for these food pics from this blog. I can't find the original post, and since I don't know Japanese, I can't search for it. I think that they actually sell ribbon or tape that is designed to be used as flags, but I improvised with some $1-bin ribbon from Michael's Crafts, double stick tape, and colorful food pics. I made a bunch of them, so they should feature prominently in my future lunches.

On Sunday my cousins and I ventured to New York to visit the Museum of Art and Design which recently moved to a new (larger) building in Columbus Circle. We also hit Kinokuniya, a Japanese bookstore located across from Bryant Park (near the NY Public Library). If you are traveling to NY, I highly reccomend this store. Not only are there books in Japanese, but there is nearly an entire floor of Manga, an entire floor of books in English about Japanese things, Magazines, Gifts, Movies.... In other words, so much great stuff!! They are a bit pricey so I couldn't afford the giant plush Totoro that I wanted, but I still walked away with some great finds:

A Miffy Classmates Bento Box. Ordinarily this would be out of my price range ($13) but I couldn't resist.

They had a pretty large selection of cookbooks in Japanese including a few shelves of bento-related books. Obviously it is silly of me to buy a book that I can't read, but I chose one which had a lot of pictures. Just like with the blog I mentioned above, I can get plenty of ideas by just looking at the pictures (although sometimes I have no idea what the ingredients are).

Since I couldn't afford the giant Totoro plush (or any of the great Totoro products they had), I splurged on this little Catbus Magnet.

So I was really pleased with Kinokuniya, and I wonder what other gems are hiding in New York which I have been missing. Any reccomendations?

Heart (Love) Bento

Heart (Love) Bento
Originally uploaded by JB Doodles

Today's bento features some heart shaped Onigiri. The two white hearts are filled with vegetarian "chick'n", and the two brown and white hearts are rice mixed with fake "burger" and ketchup. Also included are some fake breaded "chik'n" strips left over from dinner the night before, and a sweet omelet. I make Tamagoyaki (omelet) with almost every bento I create. They are fast, easy, and taste super yummy. I have developed a less traditional recipe which I particularly enjoy. I mix a tsp of corn starch, a tbs of milk, and a tsp of honey with a beaten egg. I have a tamagoyaki rectangle pan which makes the process fairly easy. Whenever I see omelets in Japanese cookbooks or at fancy restaurants, it is always very evenly cooked and yellow, yet I have never seen sufficient instructions to help me create this. I generally have some brown spots from cooking it too long in spots. This is, in my opinion, my best attempt yet. Does anyone out there have any tips for a perfect Tamagoyaki?

Overall, this bento was fairly successful. I made the ingredients the night before, but didn't form the Onigiri hearts until the morning which meant waking up early to put the bento together (definitely a feat for a night person). They taste much better when made fresh. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

Tons of Veggies Bento

Veggie Bento
Originally uploaded by JB Doodles

This bento is basically just veggies. It includes green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and part of an ear of corn. In the back are Morningstar Farms Buffalo Wings and some scallions which were made all curly for fun. In front of the corn is a small Hello Kitty hard candy. So, this bento isn't too creative in either the recipe or cuteness department, but all the veggies makes it look pretty nice.

Another Bento LOL Cat

I can't resist these kitties:


more animals

The Simpsons Bento and Recipe for "Indian Blintz"

This bento was created for the LiveJournal Bento Challenge "Under the Sea." Once again I chose to go pretty simple. Using wax paper I cut the fish shape out of a piece of veggie cheese (see Tutorial on using wax paper here). Under the fish is what I call an "Indian Blintz." It is a cross between a blintz and a samosa.

Recipe:
Blintzes are an Easter tradition in my family and consist of a crepe filled with a potato and cheese mixture, folded up square, and fried in butter and onions. Learning to make crepes can be tricky, but once you have the technique down, you can whip them up pretty quickly. In this variation I filled my crepe with mashed potatoes which were seasoned with a generous amount of garam masala (a super yummy Indian spice mix). I folded it up and baked it for a few minutes so it retains it shape. I whipped up a simple spicy sauce (not pictured) out of ketchup, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Usually bento lunches are served room temperature, but I warmed the blintz up because I had access to a microwave.

Adorning this blintz are some Morningstar Farms Chick Nuggets and Mini Corn Dogs, as well as some fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. Underneath the tomatoes a small Burger King Hot Mustard cup for the nuggets and dogs is hidden.

Chick Lunch

Chick Lunch
Originally uploaded by JB Doodles

The theme of today's lunch is Chicks! I chose this because of the LiveJournal Bento Challenge "Winged Creatures." Now, I know that chicks don't fly, but they do have wings!

On the right side of the large box is a salad with tomatoes, mozzarella, and fresh basil on skewers sitting on top. The chick sauce container has balsamic vinaigrette in it. The left side has Morningstar Farms fake buffalo wings (Wingettes) with cute bone picks. An omelet with fresh basil, and a Trader Joe's Vegetable Bird's Nest. The Vegetable Bird's Nest and Chick sauce container were my inspiration for creating a chick bento. I used veggie cheddar "cheese" for the chick (roughly cut by hand). I added a nori eye and an orange beak made of orange Soy Sushi Wrapper.

The smaller box on the top right contains a whole wheat mini-bagel with tofutti fake cream cheese, a Trader Joe's fruit leather, and a bag of Bear Cookies. The small closed container (top middle) has some salted cashews.

As is usual, my first priority is making myself a healthy balanced lunch. I then add the character or theme later. Often the lunch I make doesn't mesh well with cuteness, but I think this one works pretty well. The salad and whole wheat bagels are good and healthy. The egg, wingettes, and Veggie Birds Nests are moderately healthy and the cookies are just plain bad.

FYI Sometimes out of habit I call Morningstar Farms Buffalo Wings "Wingettes." I didn't correct myself today in order to explain. It is a nickname and I will probably slip and write that again in the future. They are my absolute favorite food (well, maybe a close second to ravioli) and they will often feature prominently in my lunches.

Happy Lunch!!