Picnic Bento

Hapa Bento has a great themed bento challenge each month, and this month the theme is Picnic! I thought a lot about what to make, and I always associate bugs with picnics. Bleh, hate those bugs! But a cute little olive ant is a welcome addition to this Picnic bento.

I made an ant out of olives, nori (toasted seaweed), and a few pieces of dried spaghetti for his antennae. The ant is surveying the picnic spread from his perch on a biscuit filled with ham and spices. The spices are a blend called Duqqah that I picked up from The Handmade Pantry.

In the rest of the bento: blueberries, cherry tomatoes, deviled quail eggs (!), a slice of cucumber, two homemade pickled cornichon, and arugula. I love this arugula from Ridgeview Farms in Healdsburg. It is so spicy and delicious!

I purchased a four pack of small olives at the grocery store the other day, and honestly, I was really sold as soon as I saw them use this scooter image on the packaging. Beep! Beep!

I also included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Check it out to see what other bento bloggers are creating!

Recipe for Deviled Quail Eggs
6 quail eggs
2 or 3 tablespoons vinegar
3 teaspoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon prepared wasabi paste
salt
paprika

Rinse quail eggs in warm water to remove any dirt or feathers from the shells. Fill a small pot with water and add vinegar. Add quail eggs and bring water to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove pan from heat and take it to the sink. Run cold water into the pan and gradually pour out the hot water. Allow eggs to cool then gently peel. The vinegar should make it easier to remove the shells.

Carefully cut eggs in half and remove yolks. Place yolks in a bowl. Add mayo, wasabi, and salt to taste. Blend well. Transfer yolk mixture to a plastic bag and snip a small piece of the corner of the bag off. Carefully pipe the yolk mixture back into the egg white halves. Top each with a little pinch of paprika. Makes 12 teeeny tiny deviled eggs.

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.

Pooltime Snack Bentos

This past weekend was all about lounging by the pool, well that and a bit of working and some art purchasing, but mostly about lounging by the pool. I made these two snack bentos for my step daughter and myself so we could play in the pool a bit longer without having to head back inside for replenishments. Her bento has a selection of Croque Monsieur sandwiches, a couple of cherry tomatoes, cucumber flowers, a cucumber "baran", a few slices of cheese, and half of a nectarine with a cute little bunny pick.

My snack bento also contains a few Croque Monsieur sandwiches, a cucumber flower, a homemade cornichon pickle, a little hunk of brie cheese, blueberries in a paper cup, a few cherry tomatoes, and two olives.

If you are wondering where to get the cutters to make the cucumber flowers, I suggest getting them from Amazon. I had really quick delivery and they are so useful to add that special touch to your bento boxes. Here are the two sets that I purchased: Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters #K8444 "100% Made in Japan!!" and Vegetable Cutters, Stainless Steel set of 6 large #450106.

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!

Hotsy Totsy Bento

This bento is not especially hot or spicy, per se, but I thought it had enough oomph to call for devils and this fiery fabric as a background. I think I got the devil cocktail charms at Archie McPhee in Seattle. I love that store so much, I lurve it! I don't see them on Archie's site right now, but Amazon may have them: Cocktail Demons

In this hotsy totsy bento: a half hard boiled egg, blueberries, raspberries, and slices of deep red plum from Neufeld Farms. In the lower compartment: slices of lemon cucumber from Crescent Moon Farms, a flower shaped open face sandwich with ham, provolone, and smoked paprika (I broiled it to melt the cheese a bit), cherry tomatoes, and pan fried padron peppers from Crescent Moon Farms. I picked up the cool star shaped silicone muffin liner from Cost Plus this weekend, along with the jar of pimenton (smoked paprika).

If you have never tried padron peppers, I highly recommend them! I get mine from Crescent Moon Farms each year. These were the first of the season. Preparation is so easy, you really don't even need a recipe. Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the peppers whole, and fry them until they are softened and brown on the outside. Toss with sea salt and serve. Once in a while you will get a hotter pepper, but they are generally mild, and so flavorful. You can also use this method with shishito peppers, a japanese cousin of padrons.

These lemon cucumbers from Crescent Moon Farms were really delicious. Look for smaller lemon cucumbers, otherwise you will get nothing but seeds inside.

Gooooooaaaaallllll!

My sweetie pie had a four day weekend this past weekend, and it made me bento lazy. But yesterday we did manage to head dowtown for a little World Cup Fever. I wanted Holland to win, but alas, they didn't. It was a pretty good game, though, chest kick and all!

After the game, I headed to the pool for some chillaxin time. I made this little snack bento to enjoy while I got some rays. In the magic round bento: slices of Valley Ford Cheese Co. Estero Gold cheese, pan fried padron peppers from Crescent Moon Farms, slices of lemon cucumbers from Crescent Moon Farms, cherry tomatoes, raspberries, a few blueberries, and half of a plum from Neufeld Farms.

I made the little Spanish flag from a set I got at Cost Plus Market. For some reason, it didn't have the coat of arms on it. And I had to make nails to match! I only show the Spanish set, not the other hand with the Dutch flag on it.

Pretty hard to make soccer balls, they look a bit more like cows, huh? Moooooo-oooaaaaallll!

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.

Patriotic Bento

Today I worked on a live broadcast from a demo kitchen and they made yummy burgers to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday. It certainly does not suck to work with professional chefs! But because I was working, I didn't have time to do a really elaborate bento for the holiday. I made half of a bento box lunch for my step daughter, but I did manage to put some patriotic touches on it.

In this lunch: vanilla yogurt with blueberries and a raspberry, red pepper "fireworks," carrot "flames," mini star bologna sandwiches, a bit of broccoli, and some enoki mushrooms for "sparkle." I didn't have time to fill a second compartment for her. But I did stay up late last night to do these patriotic fingernails:

Have a Safe and Happy Fourth of July weekend!!

Life's a Beach

One of the awesome Bento Bloggers out there, Hapa Bento, has a monthly contest called the B.O.M.B. (which stands for Best of the Month Bento). The theme for June's B.O.M.B. is the beach! I tried a turtle onigiri, which worked out okay, but not great. I think this one is better!

The cheese sunglasses with nori lenses are resting on a "sandy" bed of soboro (a.k.a. crumbled cooked meat.) This is turkey soboro. I also have cucumber skin palm fronds, and an orange pepper coconut (it could be a sun, I wasn't really sure), and there are waves of steamed cauliflower washing up on the beach, with a sea of blueberries behind it.

Recipe for Turkey Soboro
4 oz ground turkey meat
1/4 cup minced onion
1 tablespoon mirin (or dry white wine)
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
a few drops of toasted sesame oil
freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients and cook over medium heat until cooked through and moisture has mostly evaporated. Makes enough for one bento box lunch.