Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Starry Spice Bento

My hubby and I finally went to visit a new spice shop in Santa Rosa called Savory Spice Shop. It is part of a franchise based in Denver and the new shop here is just a few months old. They sell online if you aren't near one of their shops.

Oh. My. God. It's like Disneyland for Foodies! We went a little crazy because my husband likes to make spice rubs and I was trying hard to show some restraint when browsing the curry aisle. I gave in and bought this wonderful mix called Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry.

I also ended up with Honey Powder, Italian Black Truffle Salt (!), Vanilla Bean Sugar, and Medium Yellow Curry. So much for restraint! Ha! I used the curry to make more turkey patties for bento stash.

In this bento: an orange bell pepper, grapes from De'Santis Farms, cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms, a turkey patty topped with cheese stars, a mini purple rice onigiri decorated with nori stars, a radish from Triple T, cucumber slices, and a few more cherry tomatoes 'cause they taste so good.

I used a punch to make the nori stars and wrapped a strip of nori with a star hole in it around the mini onigiri. I think it turned out really cute!

Recipe for Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry Turkey Patties
4 oz ground turkey
1/2 tablespoon Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry blend
a few grinds of pepper
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 grated clove of garlic
1 egg yolk
a few drops of toasted sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium/medium high heat. Shape mixture into small patties. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes in oil until browned, then gently flip patties and continue cooking until patties are browned on both sides and cooked through. Watch the heat and turn it down if the patties are browning too quickly. Makes 4 or 5 small patties.

A Big Thank You to everyone who has been following my bento adventures on this blog. Tomorrow look for a cool giveaway to celebrate my 50th Sonoma Bento post!

18 comments:

  1. Oh I bet that curry powder will be goood. And all the others you bought sound like spices I would have got too!

    Love the onigori. Looks great! Might just have to go take a look at that site now hee!

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  2. I tell you, Kelly, it was mind boggling! And we both smelled like ground pepper for hours after we left the store. :)

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  3. Your bento today looks really good! It's finally a meal compare to all your snack bentos! your curry patty is making me hungry!

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  4. It sounds really good! I love curry and turkey patties! The stars look cute in your bento!

    That would be the day that my husband would enjoy going into a spice store with me (I wish...that would be fun). I do go into Penzey's when I go to my parents house. I know how you feel, I love checking out all the spice blends!

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  5. Thanks Mrs. P. Ha ha, I know, I was not taking a lot of time with my past few bentos. I am so anxious to get to bento post number 50 because of the cool bento goodies I want to give away. :)

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  6. Lyndsey, this store had little sample bottles of almost everything. I tried the Italian Black Truffle Salt and I nearly died, it tasted so good! Not cheap, but you use it as a finishing touch, so hopefully it will last a while.

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  7. You're such an inspiration! Every time I go to the downtown market with The Ella I see that spice shop and want to go in sooooo badly. But, shopping for spices with a kid who doesn't eat isn't going to be very productive so I need to get down there without her one of these days.

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  8. You should still check it out Donna! The smell is a little strong when you first go into the shop, but you get used to it. Ella would love the different sugars they have like Vanilla Bean Sugar, Maple Sugar, Honey Powder, and Peppermint Vanilla Sugar. Soooo good.

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  9. Oh wow, I'm so jealous! I wish we had a spice shop :) I can almost smell it through the computer!

    -OhayoBento

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  10. Yum! Curry patties sounds delish :) And that radish looks like a quail egg; how cute!

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  11. Hi Heather, it was so fun to go there and since it is in town, the temptation to go back is pretty strong. Gotta wait until I at least try the stuff I bought. :)

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  12. Thanks sheri! They turned out even tastier than the last round of turkey patties! I need to head to the farmers market tomorrow to get more pretty radishes.

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  13. It looks nice and healthy too..
    yup..I like the cute stars as well :-p

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  14. The stars were a fun addition, Mommy Yenny! And I used a fun star background to repeat the star theme. :)

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  15. Great idea with stars making! Hemmm... your curry patties, thanks for the recipe :D

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  16. Star theme bento ... even the background too, cool! Looks so delicious and purple rice is very eye catching :)

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  17. Thanks tatabonita! The interior of the patties was a lovely golden yellow color from the curry. Yummy!

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  18. Hi Lia! Thanks for your nice compliments, I like how it all came together with the stars. :)

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