Category: Bento

Bento 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.

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

Soy 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

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