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!
Lunch in a small Japanese bento box
Upper Left: pineapple chunks with Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzy’s
Upper Right: caramelized sweet potatoes
Lower Left: meatless meatballs from Trader Joe’s with decorative Hoisin sauce
Lower Right: steamed rice with furikake shirasu
