Carnitas Bento

This bento was made with leftovers from a slow cooker carnitas recipe. One tip that I found really great was to spread out some of the pulled pork onto a cookie sheet and then broil it for a few minutes to get the meat a little crispy on parts. Ooo, yum!

Also in this bento: romaine lettuce, a tiny red bell pepper from Triple T Ranch, a green chile tortilla from La Tortilla Factory, and slices of tomato from Triple T Ranch. Have a great day!

Simple Quesadilla Bento

Often I am in a bit of a rush, and I need something quick and easy to throw into my bento box. I had two tortillas from La Tortilla Factory leftover in the bread box, and it wasn't enough to make a meal for myself and my hubby, but it's just enough for a bento!

I thinly sliced pepper jack cheese and took a slice of deli turkey meat and placed that between two tortillas in a pan over medium heat. I flipped it after the cheese got melty, then let it cool while I added the grapes and carrots to the bento box. Then I cut up the quesadilla and popped it into the box. A simple bento, and still tasty.

Quesadilla Bento

Leftover pulled pork made its way into this bento (I made it last week, but am just now posting it), full of fun colors and flavors.

In this bento: a pulled pork quesadilla made with pepper jack cheese, pulled pork, and a handmade style tortilla from Sonoma County's La Tortilla Factory, a purple sweet potato flower, a few black grapes, half of a radish, a clementine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand, cilantro, sour cream, and salsa.

I am coming up on my 1 year blog anniversary (blogiversary?) and I am really excited. I will be recreating one of my first bentos, and I will also have a fun prize for you to win. Keep an eye out towards the end of the month. Have a great day, bento pals!

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).

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Hola! Happy Cinco de Mayo! Today's bento box has a Mexican theme, with the colors of the Mexican flag, and tasty Mexican food. I made steak tacos for me and my hubby last night using steak, cheddar cheese, salsa, a green avocado/cilantro sauce, and super tasty tortillas from La Tortilla Factory. La Tortilla Factory is based in Sonoma County, and 3 generations of the Tamayo family have been making tortillas here since 1977. This is a new product called Hand Made Style Corn Tortilla. They are flexible like flour tortilla, but have that wonderful chewy masa flavor. Also in this bento box: green and red bell peppers, and radishes. I peeled the skin from the radish to make the radish flower, and then placed the white radish flesh between the peppers to echo the Mexican flag. Pairing suggestion: Mexican food and beer really seem to be perfect partners. A frosty glass of Anchor Steam beer would go great with this lunch.

The sauce inside the steak tacos is something I picked up at a broadcast with Chef Mark Stark of Stark's Steakhouse. Mark explained that tacos take so many little ingredients like onions, avocados, cilantro, sour cream, etc. that it takes a while to put them together. But, you can blend the green items together saving time and also keeping the ingredients from falling out of the taco as you eat it! Great idea! So I made this green sauce based on the sauce Mark made during out broadcast.

Recipe for Avocado/Cilantro Sauce

1 ripe avocado

1/2 cup cilantro

green parts of two green onions, roughly chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup Clover Stornetta Sour Cream

Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.