Crepes and Cherry Plums Bento

As I type this, the smell of bacon is wafting through the office. Our afternoon talk show host just finished talking to Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu and Bovolo Restaurants, and they brought their own Black Pig Meat Co. bacon which they cooked up in the studio. I was able to sneak a taste, otherwise I would be crying as well as hungry right now. Duskie and John won the recent Cochon 555 competition in Aspen, so they are the official Queen and King of Pork! Woohoo!

Sadly, there's no bacon in this bento. But it was still tasty. This bento features items I picked up at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market yesterday when I went there with fellow bento maker, Bentobird!

In this bento: crepes with turkey, colby jack cheese, and wilted arugula from Ridgeview Farms. Also baby carrots, french breakfast radishes from Ridgeview Farms, a few broccoli spears, and cherry plums from DeSantis Farms. The cherry plums were a bit tart, but so cute and perfect size for a bento. It was really fun to show off my favorite farmers market to a fellow bento buddy.

Here is the video I made of my recent adventures at the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic. Enjoy!

Godzilla Polenta Bento

Rrrawr!!! Godzilla Attacks Bento! Citizens flee in terror! Actually, this bento was really cute and fun to eat as well. I wasn't scared one bit... ok, maybe a little scared.

In this bento: teriyaki chicken meatballs from Aidell's, roasted brussel sprouts with Black Pig Meat Co Bacon, baby carrots, yellow bell peppers, white pomegranate arils from De'Santis Farms, and polenta in the shape of Godzilla.

I darkened the top of the polenta here in Photoshop so you can see the Godzilla shape a little better. I picked up the cutest little jello/custard mold at Daiso and I tried it out with a polenta recipe from Martha Stewart. It worked great! Click here to see Martha's very easy recipe for creamy baked polenta. It will firm up if you chill it in the fridge.

Quivira Bento

Living in Sonoma County sure has its benefits, like amazing producers committed to the land. I had the opportunity to interview the farm manager from Quivira Vineyards and Winery last night, Andrew Beedy. He was telling me about an event coming up at the winery on Sunday, November 7th celebrating the harvest and locally raised turkeys. I also interviewed a 4H youth grower, the leader of the 4H Sonoma County Heritage Turkey Project, and the leader of Slow Food Russian River. It was a packed studio! Andrew brought along some goodies from Quivira to showcase the amazing biodynamic farm there and the wonderful things they produce. I immediately started thinking about how to use them in a bento!

I decided to do something simple while I listened to the Giants game (!!) and cooked last night: frittata. So many possibilities! I used eggs, beet greens, and rainbow chard from Quivira to make this simple frittata. I also added a bit of Black Pig Meat Co bacon, because it's delicious, and topped it with cheese. I ate part of the frittata for dinner and saved the rest for today's bento. On top of the slices of frittata are a few nori flowers. There are slices of carrot and a sprig of parsley from Quivira as well. That parsley tastes AMAZING! I think I'll have to make some tabbouleh or salsa verde to really highlight its amazing flavor. There's a rice ball, a radish from Ridgeview Farms, grapes from De'Santis, pepper slices from The Patch, and an oak leaf shaped slice of pepperjack cheese.

It was nice to have this protein packed little bento so I can be fueled up for election night coverage. If there's still time where you live, GO VOTE!

10,000 Hits Winner and Black Eyed Peas

Congrats to.... PATRIZZIA! Out of the 50 entries (I went through the comments to make sure everyone got their correct number of entries), Patrizzia of iCreate was selected as the winner of my 10,000 Hits Giveaway. I hope you enjoy your bento goodies, and that you get them in time to make some fun Halloween themed bento creations. Thanks to everyone who entered and to all of my followers for your great comments and your interest in Sonoma Bento. It really means a lot to me! And I loved your Halloween stories. :)

Patrizzia is getting a blue bento box, a handmade Jack O'Bento bento box strap (made by yours truly, Sonoma Bento!), a pumpkin ice cube tray, sauce and furikake seasoning containers, and a starburst shaped craft punch.

And the hits keep on coming! I am so happy that bento blogs are popping up everywhere and people are really getting into this healthy, fun way to have lunch. There are so many reasons to love bento: they're economical, environmentally friendly, good for watching calories, nutritionally dense, and KAWAII!

Today's bento features some delicious local items from my favorite farmers. I cooked fresh black eyed peas from Jill at Crescent Moon Farms, and included some chopped Black Pig Meat Co Bacon from Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu and Bovolo Restaurants. They only took about 20 minutes to cook and no soaking! Jill has a variety of fresh shelling beans each year. Be sure to search her out at the markets. I also have a Crescent Moon Farms hard boiled egg. There are tiny cherry tomatoes from Nancy at Middleton Farms, and a few baby carrots and cucumber slices.

BLT 3 Ways Bento

I thought about how to make this bento for two days. That may seem to be excessive planning, but we're dealing with a very serious subject here: BACON. Ohhhhh yeah.

Possibly the best meal on the planet is a BLT made with artisan bacon, good bread, in-season tomatoes, fresh lettuce, and a bit of mayo. It's simple and wonderful. But it doesn't exactly fit inside of a bento box. So I wanted to adapt the flavors of a BLT and put them into a bento. Here's what I came up with:

It's a BLT 3 Ways Bento! In this bento are BLT Skewers, BLT Wraps, and BLT Salad, along with some grapes from Neufeld Farms and a side of mayo.

Of course to start, you have to use the best bacon. I am proud to say that I have been a member of the Black Pig Meat Co Bacon Club. One year of artisan bacon! I need to sign up again, since I let my membership lapse. Luckily, this bacon is for sale at local markets, so I can get my fix even though I am not getting my monthly slab of bacon. Black Pig Meat Co Bacon is made by John Stewart and Duskie Estes, two phenomenal chefs and owners of Zazu and Bovolo Restaurants in Sonoma County. They are really nice people, too. Duskie is going to be a contestant on the Food Network's Next Iron Chef competition, so be sure to cheer her on! Go Duskie!

For the BLT Skewers, I fried up some slices of Black Pig Meat Co Bacon and sliced them into chunks. I threaded these onto skewers with a bit of romaine (or spinach) from Offerings of the Land (I love their salad mix available at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market), a cherry tomato (these are from Ridgeview Farms and the French Garden), and a homemade croutons made from La Brea baguette (yes, I cooked them in butter and bacon drippings, OMG!) Repeat on skewer until it is filled up.

The BLT Wraps were made with a wonderful Sonoma County product called La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas. They are chewy and soft and soooo good.

Inside of the tortilla is a smear of mayonnaise, chopped up Black Pig Meat Co Bacon, chopped cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms, and a few torn pieces of lettuce from Offerings of the Land. Roll them up and slice them in half. You can secure them with a bit of toothpick if needed, but they will stay rolled up in a well packed bento box.

And finally, I made a BLT Salad with a homemade crouton (different shape than the croutons for the skewers), slices of Black Pig Meat Co Bacon, a few cherry tomatoes, and a bit of lettuce from Offerings of the Land. It's placed inside of a silicone cupcake liner. I had a side of mayo with this lunch to dip the skewers and salad mixings in, but it would have been nice to make a creamy style dressing to go with the BLT Salad.

Recipe for Home Made Croutons

bacon drippings

butter

chunks of bread (or thin slices)

italian seasoning

In a skillet, heat the bacon drippings and butter together over medium heat. When the oils are hot, add the bread and toss gently to coat all sides. Heat until bread is toasted and turning brown. Add italian season and toss gently again. Remove from heat. Turn croutons out onto a plate covered with a paper towel to allow croutons to crisp up.

Beverage Pairing Suggestion: BEER. I love the very hoppy local brew made by Bear Republic Brewing Company in Healdsburg. Racer 5 India Pale Ale has a bitter bite that will offset the sweetness of the tomato and caramelized bacon. Yum, yum, yum (for 3 kinds of BLT).