Easter Egg Bento

Hello Bento Peeps! (Ha ha, I said peeps!) I thought I would sneak in one last Easter themed bento. I tried my hand at dying these quail eggs, and the ratio of food color was a bit strong, so the egg turned out more mauve than the pinkish purple I was going for. Oops!

In this bento: udon noodles tossed with a soy vinaigrette, two little quail eggs from Triple T, orange cauliflower, slices of cucumber, baby carrots, two teriyaki chicken meatballs from Aidell's, snow peas from Triple T, two french radishes from Ortiz Farms, and a few green grapes.

I don't normally use picks, but these little chick picks were perfect for an Easter themed bento. They are soooo cute! The soy vinaigrette has: soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, freshly grated ginger, lime juice, toasted sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and Persian Lime Olive Oil from Stonehouse Olive Oil. Really yummy! 

Happy Easter weekend, friends!

Oceanic Bento

On a recent trip to the supermarket, I found these crazy cool dolphin and whale shaped chicken nuggets! They are called Banquet Ocean Adventures and each is 50 calories, so they are a tasty and not too high-calorie addition to a healthy bento lunch, although not low fat. There were also dinosaur shaped nuggets made by Tyson, too cute! I packed them into my favorite Hello Kitty lacquered bento box.

In this bento: Banquet Ocean Adventures Dolphin and Whale shaped chicken nuggets, provolone cheese stars, a cherry tomato, and blue tinted udon noodles (I got the idea for tinting the noodles from Shannon at What's For Lunch At Our House!) tossed with Stonehouse Lime Infused Olive Oil.

In the lower compartment: blanched green beans from Crescent Moon Farms, cherry tomatoes and blueberries from the Sebastopol Farmers Market, cherries from Hamlow Ranch, a few raspberries and a cute little flag pick I got in Seattle.

This lunch has been added to What's For Lunch Wednesdays. It's fun to check out the creative lunches posted there. :-)

I saw today on Just Bento that blog author Maki had emergency surgery yesterday. I know that all of us in the bento community are wishing her a quick recovery, and are sending supportive thoughts to her family.

Gender Bento

I am finally using up the last of the bread, bologna, and cheese from our camping trip last weekend. These two happy sandwiches are hanging out with red pepper slices, cherry tomatoes from the Sebastopol Farmers Market, steamed romano beans from The Patch in Sonoma, two cherries, and a few blueberries, also from the Sebastopol Farmers Market.

I had a great Fourth of July celebration with friends, complete with BBQ and pool time. I brought along these steamed green beans topped with a lime infused olive oil and basil dressing. They turned out great!

Recipe for Green Beans with Basil-Lime Olive Oil Dressing

3 pounds of green beans, rinsed and trimmed

1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves

2 garlic cloves, grated

1/3 cup lime infused olive oil (I used Stonehouse Olive Oil, based in Berkeley)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Steam green beans for 7 to 10 minutes. Run beans under cold water to stop them from over cooking. In a food processor, combine basil, grated garlic cloves, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Blend dressing. Spoon dressing over beans. Serves 10 as a side dish. *If you don't have lime infused olive oil, use regular oil and add a bit of grated lime zest and a tablespoon of lime juice.