Bento a la Grecque
Upper Tier: Two layers of grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions, sumac, walnuts, and lemon juice
Upper Tier, Center: Cucumbers with sour cream and yogurt (both fat-free), salt, pepper and dill
Bottom Tier, Upper Half: Grapes and blueberries, cheese wedge, almonds
Bottom Tier, Lower Half: Greek salad (minus cucumbers — I ran out!) made of tomotoes, red onion, kalamata olives, oregano (from our garden) and feta (fat-free)
This bento was for Allium; here’s the same one packed in a smaller container for me:
Allium’s box is meant to be a lunch box, but mine is actually theoretically meant for craft storage. Mine’s available at grocery stores, sold for lunches, but you get only two tiers — neither of them divided. I found a three-tiered version with one divided section at a craft/fabric store for the same price. The craft organizer also has a handle, which the lunch boxes lack. (Too bad!)
Amazon sells the “small 3 layer square Snap ‘n Stack by Snapware” and also carries Allium’s “snap ‘n stack 2 layer lunch box”.
Wasabi Tuna Stuffed Onigiri
Upper Left: A single strawberry
Upper Center: Salted cucumbers
Upper Right: Green grapes and blueberries
Lower Left: Onigiri stuffed with canned tuna (good quality!) seasoned with wasabi mayonaise and sambol olek and wrapped with a band of nori
Lower Right: Cherry tomatoes
This represents a new low in photography — got to work on that lighting!
Thai Spring Rolls with Edamame
Upper Tier: Lettuce, carrot, rice noodles, spring onion, shrimp, mint and cilantro (both from the garden) in rice paper wrappers on a bed of basil leaves (also from the garden)
Lower Tier, Upper Left: Sliced strawberries
Lower Tier, Upper Right: Grapes and blueberries
Lower Tier, Lower Left: Skewers of stuffed green olives and grape tomatoes on basil leaves
Lower Tier, Lower Right: Edamame
Ginger Salmon on Soba Noodles
Upper Left: Olive and tomato skewers on a bed of basil
Upper Right: Strawberries
Lower Left: Ginger broiled salmon on soba noodles with ginger soy sauce
Lower Right: Artichoke hearts with greek olives and red peppers, lemon juice and red pepper flakes
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
Grape Leaves with Squash and Chick Pea Salad
Upper Tier: Two layers of grape leaves stuffed with rice, onions, sumac, walnuts, and lemon juice with yogurt and dill dip
Lower Tier: Grape tomatoes, squash and black olives in a silicone baking cup, chick peas with lemon and red onion
This bento box is made by Lube Sheep (don’t ask; I sure don’t intend to!). It’s one of three I just got from a great eBay store, and is pretty commonly available. These particular boxes look quite small at about 6 by 3 by 3.5 inches — and they really are small. But according to a really useful chart over at Lunch in a Box, it’s the right size for me. Bento boxes size is usually determined by capacity, rather than dimensions: these hold just under 600 ml.
Each layer has its own lid, and there’s a nifty little space under the domed top for a thin goodie or two, and a set of undersized chopsticks — or a full-sized pair like my wonderful technical chopsticks, which I’ll show in another post.
Couscous– The Glamour Shot
After the disappointment of the previous couscous bento, I glammed this one up a bit.
Upper Left: Almonds and a wedge of cheese
Upper Right: Green grapes and blueberries
Lower Left: Lemon couscous flecked with olives and green onions and decorated with red peppers and black olives
Lower Right: Carrot straws
Way-Too-Plain Couscous
Not a flattering shot of the couscous! It needs a bit of help. I’ve got leftovers; we’ll see what I can do tomorrow.
Upper Left: Cherry tomatoes
Upper Right: Cucumber with rice vinegar, pepper and sesame seeds
Lower Left: Lemon couscous flecked with olives and green onions
Lower Right: Roasted yellow peppers (I got these at a ‘regular’ supermarket and they were a disappointment, flavor-wise, even though they cost just as much as at Wegman’s, our ‘quality’ market)
Onigiri with San Bai Zu and Sweet Potatoes
Upper Left: San bai zu — wilted carrots in rice vinegar, mirin, shoyu and salt, with toasted sesame seeds on top
Upper Right: Sugar snap peas with black pepper
Lower Left: Nori-wrapped onigiri with canned tuna, wasabi mayonaise and sambol olek
Lower Right: Caramelized sweet potatoes
Bento with a Spring Roll in a ‘Lunch on the Go’ Container
Upper Left: Cucumbers in rice vinegar with salt; marinated mushrooms
Upper Right: Grape tomatoes on a bed of fresh basil leaves from the garden, sprinkled with basalmic vinegar
Lower Tier, Upper Image: Lettuce, carrot, rice noodles, spring onion, shrimp, mint and cilantro (both from the garden) in a rice paper wrapper
Lower Tier, Lower Image: Roasted asparagus and red onion
Lower Tier, Circular Container: Dipping sauce of soy sauce, rice wine, fresh ginger and a pinch of sugar
OK, I now have a new respect for food photographers. This really was prettier in person — if you allow for the general thinness of the baby asparagus spears, and the oversized container. I’ve got quite a way to go before I become a bento master — or a master bento photographer.
The ‘Fit & Fresh Lunch on the Go’ container leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically, but has a horizontal divider shelf between the lower tier and the top containers. It’s a freezable shelf; good for keeping food fresh in summer.
I rolled each grape tomato in a whole basil leaf to eat. Too wonderful!
