Personal Evolution
. . . in the blue, wackily-named Lube Sheep bento box.
Top Tier: Shredded cabbage and carrots in rice vinegar; vegetarian gyoza
Bottom Tier (clockwise from left): Fresh grape tomatoes; rice crackers; red peppers roasted with garlic; strawberries
0 CommentsThree Tiers
Upper Left: Grape tomatoes
Center Left: Broccoli with garlic slices
Lower Left: Green grapes, halved
Center Tier: Spring roll with lettuce, carrot, rice noodles, spring onion, shrimp, mint and cilantro in rice paper wrappers and small container of garlic-enhanced shoyu
Upper Tier: Rice crackers
0 Comments. . . in the large faux enamel bento box
Upper Left: Vegetable gyoza with dipping sauce in bottle and two strawberries
Upper Right: Grape tomatoes
Lower Left: Shredded cabbage tossed with seasoned rice vinegar; celery partitions; steamed rice with furikake
Lower Right: Green grapes below roasted red peppers
0 CommentsShrimp, Mint, and Cilantro Spring Rolls
Upper Left: Green grapes and grape tomatoes
Upper Right: Broccoli dressed with shoyu and garlic
Lower Left: Lettuce, carrot, rice noodles, spring onion, shrimp, mint and cilantro in rice paper wrappers
Lower Right: Cucumbers in rice vinegar
Center: Small jelly
Center Right: Kalamata olives on picks with basil between
0 CommentsGyoza, Carrots and Cucumbers
Upper Left: Coffee flavored jell; dipping sauce with shoyu, garlic and ginger
Upper Right: Cucumbers in rice vinegar
Lower Left: Gyoza (vegetable, from Trader Joe’s)
Lower Right: Slivered carrots simmered briefly in a light sauce with mirin (then cooled); heart-shaped egg
The egg was shaped in one of my ice cream molds (see Bento 13). I don’t have the knack yet; that’s not a broken heart, but it is a cracked one!
2 CommentsBlack Rice Noodles, Shitake Mushrooms and Shrimp
Here’s mine, in a standard bento box
Upper Tier: Black rice noodles with shitakes, green onions, garlic and shrimp
Lower Tier: Straw-cut carrots, pineapple with Vietnamese cinnamon, cucumber with black sesame seeds
Here’s Allium’s, in a single-layer box that’s really meant for serving sushi (I think)
Top: Black rice noodles with shitakes, green onions, garlic and shrimp, decorated with strips of egg
Bottom: Cucumber with black sesame seeds, pineapple and blackberries in a cup, straw-cut carrots
Right: Fruit gels
0 CommentsTasty Tofu (No, really!)
Upper Left: Green grapes
Upper Right: Carrots and celery (Allium decoratively scored the carrots down the side to make them flower-like)
Lower Left: Steamed rice with furikake and an umeboshi
Lower Right: Tofu roasted with five spices
I’m not always a big fan of tofu — usually it’s just boring. Dusting the cubes with Chinese Five Spice powder and then roasting it didn’t make the tofu exactly exciting, but it did make it tasty, and gave it a very un-tofu-like, almost crunchy texture. Quite nice with shoyu enhanced with garlic and ginger (which I packed in a very small Nalgene bottle that isn’t shown).
0 CommentsBento 13 - Rice Rolls, Red Pepper and and Egg
Upper Tier: Rice rolls with furikake or nori, red peppers with scalloped edges
Lower Tier: Shu Mai from Trader Joe’s on a bed of edamame, hard-boiled egg molded into the shape of a cow’s head, pineapple with shredded ginger, very small container of dipping sauce
Black Tray: Okaki meguri (rice crackers) and technical chopsticks from Snow Peak, all of which just fit under the domed lid (not shown) of the bento box
The Shu Mai wasn’t as tough as it was last time, probably because I added nearly a tablespoon of water to the bowl in which I microwaved them — and watched the time very carefully, taking them out before they were quite warm.
About that egg — it was a lot of fun to put the hard-boiled eggs into ice cream molds to shape them, and the process worked pretty well (details to follow later, maybe). But I don’t know; I’m not so sure I’m really excited about eating an egg that looks like a cow’s head.
My in-laws gave me these wonderful chopsticks. The wooden tips slide into the metal cases, which are also the handles. The tips are screwed into the case to make full-size chopsticks. They come with a nifty sleeve and cord, too.
Update: The chopsticks aren’t on Snow Peak’s website any longer. Or maybe they are, and it’s just too difficult to find them. Check out REI , though; they’re on the website and in my local store, too.
2 Comments Onigiri with Squash and Asparagus
Upper Left: Pears broiled with ginger and honey
Upper Right: Roasted asparagus and red pepper
Lower Left: Nori-wrapped onigiri with tuna, wasabi mayonnaise and sambol olek
Lower Right: Onion and squash sauteed in broth, with black pepper
0 CommentsSoy Steak with Red Pepper and Onions
Upper Left: Edame shu mai from Trader Joe’s (a bit heavy and not as tasty as they should have been — next time I’ll try steaming them instead of microwaving)
Upper Right: Green grapes
Lower Left: Soy beef stir-fried with onions and red peppers
Lower Right: Steamed rice with shirasu furikake
0 Comments