Workin On a Saturday Bento

Actually, I work on Saturdays pretty often. When I have two days off in a row, it is a really big deal! I put this bento together in 10 minutes with bento stash (the biscuit) and some fresh veggies and fruit. In this bento: a biscuit filled with Fra'mani Rosemary Ham and Duqqah from The Handmade Pantry topped with a piece of provolone cheese cut into a floral shape, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, a hunk of Valley Ford Cheese Co cheese, steamed Romano green beans from Crescent Moon Farms, and some blueberries.

I didn't make it to the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market today, but it is a great resource for bento supplies. If you are trying to eat healthier and include local foods in your diet, head to your local farmers market!

Muffin Man

This mini bento was inspired by some recent bentos created by Susan Yuen of Hawai'i's Bento Box. She uses biscuit dough to create little bento creatures and cute little faces. Inside, she hides bits of yummy filling. I decided it would be a fun and quick way to make a bit of bento stash: ingredients that you can keep in the freezer and just pop into a bento for quick assembly. Plus, I thought it might be a good way to use this new spice blend I got at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market.

In this bento: a "muffin man" biscuit filled with Fra'mani Rosemary ham and Duqqah spice blend from The Handmade Pantry (face details are provolone cheese, nori, and beni shoga pickled red ginger), some arugula and green amaranth leaves, a few slices of cucumber, a baby carrot, blueberries, and some leftover fresh corn salad.

Duqqah (also spelled Dukkah, or Duqqa) is an Egyptian condiment served with bread. You dip a slice of bread in olive oil, then in the Duqqah. Ingredients vary, but the main parts of Duqqah are sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, salt, and pepper. Other nuts are often used, and some versions include hotter spices. Jane from The Handmade Pantry says you can use it with fresh veggies and olive oil, try it as a rub for grilled meats, in soups, and salads. Combined with the buttery biscuit dough and fragrant ham, I think this turned out really good as a bento ingredient! You can find The Handmade Pantry at the Wednesday Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market.

On a side note: using the right tool is essential for quick and safe bento making. I tried to avoid using one of my smaller, sharper paring knives for the detail on the carrot, because I didn't want to get another knife dirty. Well, the bigger, more awkward knife slipped in my hand, and whoops, I got a little boo boo. Luckily it was not a deep cut and I had these devil duckie bandages on hand to make it all better.

I have included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesday Blog, a great way to see what other bento bloggers are up to, and to share ideas.

Food Free Bento

Look Ma, No Food! This bento contains red licorice, a slice of fried Spam rolled up with cream cheese, mac 'n cheese, cheese puffs, ho-hos, Slim Jims, and barbeque Corn Nuts. There's also a can of Red Bull (YUCK), a crushed out cigarette, and a flattened PBR beer can.

I have jokingly been referring to this bento as a "Trailer Trash Bento," since it contains "foods" that are commonly found at convenience stores and gas stations. In fact, I bought the Red Vines, Red Bull, Corn Nuts, and Slim Jim at the AM/PM Minimart Gas Station near my home. But as I put this together, the joke seemed a lot less funny. For many people in our country, access to fresh produce and healthy food is limited. These places are known as Food Deserts.

If you live in a Food Desert, your access to food is probably a gas station, convenience store, or mom and pop store with canned goods and shelf stable products, with very little fresh food. And those "foods" probably cost a lot more at the convenience store too. First Lady Michelle Obama has been talking about childhood obesity and promoting her Let's Move! program. She refers to food deserts, and hopes to get rid of them over the next 7 years. Access to grocery stores and farmers markets gives families the option of healthy food choices.

I take for granted the fact that I live next to a grocery store, and within walking distance of a year round farmers market. Sonoma County is so full of healthy, amazing food products, that there really is no excuse not to include fresh produce in our diets.

I did not eat the food in this bento, besides a few bites of mac n' cheese, and unfortunately my husband grabbed the Slim Jims and I couldn't stop him from snarfing them down. Blech! Instead, I headed over to my friend's place for a fun potluck party and I brought some actual food. Here you see fresh corn salad, Fra'mani rosemary ham, Valley Ford Cheese Co. cheese, and blueberries.

Recipe for Fresh Corn Salad

3 ears corn, shucked

1 small tomato, or 5 cherry tomatoes, diced

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

8 fresh basil leaves, minced

1 pinch sugar

salt to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Stand ears of corn up in a bowl, and slice the kernels off the cob in a downward motion into the bowl with a sharp knife. Discard cobs. Add tomato, garlic, basil, sugar, salt, and olive oil to the corn kernels. Stir to combine. Makes enough for 6 servings as a side dish. And yes, the corn is raw in this salad. Sooooo yummy!

Croque Monsieur Bento

I just couldn't let the Bastille Day holiday pass without one more frenchie bento. Croque Monsieur is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich that is quite popular in France. I made these with slices of baguette, Fra'mani Rosemary ham, and emmentaler cheese. Also in this bento: a selection of multicolored cherry tomatoes, olives, some homemade cornichon pickles, and a hunk of brie cheese.

This bento also works in the Bento Summer School series. This week's lesson is about sandwiches. There are TONS of ways to include small sandwiches in bento boxes. This sandwich is a bit more conventional, but be sure to check out the lesson on sandwiches to get lots of ideas provided by Susan Yuen of Hawaii's Bento Box.