National Static Electricity Day Bento

January 9th is National Static Electricity Day, so my lunch is particularly shocking. Ha ha! I used my LunchBots Trio bento box to make today's lunch:

In this bento: leftover mushroom couscous with two bolts of static electricity (provolone cheese), piece of chicken thigh (marinated in soy sauce, honey, pepper, lime, olive oil, and Peruvian Chile Lime Seasoning from Savory Spice Shop) on a bed of arugula with pomegranate arils, a few blackberries, broccoli, carrot, and cucumber. 

Now go run around on the carpet in your socks and shock someone you love. *ZAP*

I have included this lunch in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesday group. Check it out for other great bento lunch ideas!

Yogurt Chicken Bento

This is a leftovers bento I made for lunch today. I had prepared a kind of Indian supper for me and the hubs this past weekend (perfect for St. Patrick's Day, right?!?) and I assembled it in a small Tupperware to take to work.

In this bento: yellow lentil dahl, white rice, cilantro, chopped tomato, and yogurt spiced chicken. I prepared the chicken thighs using some plain yogurt, salt, pepper, and a lemongrass sweet curry spice mixture that I picked up at Savory Spice Shop in Santa Rosa. I let the chicken thighs marinate for a bit in that mixture, then seared them in a pan for a few minutes on each side and finished them in the oven for about 20 minutes. They were quite tasty, and also made great leftovers. 

Happy bentoing!

Oh My Stars!

My mom is originally from the midwest and one of her favorite sayings is "Oh My Stars!" It cracks me up. And since I get to see her this weekend in Seattle, I thought I would make a starry bento.

This bento has cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms and Triple T Ranch, corn from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, star shaped onigiri rice balls with black sesame seed accents, and a few grapes from Schletewitz Family. In the lower compartment: another star onigiri, baby carrots, steamed edamame, and chicken prepared kind of like karaage (Japanese style fried chicken) but with a glaze.

I have to head to the airport soon, so I'll try to come back and post the recipe while I am waiting for my flight. Have a great weekend Bento Buddies, and maybe I will run into you in Seattle. :)

Ladybug Bento

A week from today will be the one year anniversary of the passing of Carol Marie Geddes, a woman I never met, but feel like I know through the love and thoughts of her husband and friends. Carol died from cancer on September 15th, 2009 when she was only 40 years old. I met her husband Glen just a few weeks after Carol had passed away. My husband was high school buddies with Glen and had reconnected with Glen over facebook. Tragically, I missed meeting Carol by just weeks. Next week, Glen and his friends and family will gather to celebrate Carol's memory by releasing live ladybugs into the air. Ladybugs were one of Carol's favorite things, and Glen continues to be comforted each time he sees a ladybug, knowing that Carol's loving spirit is not something that will ever go away.

Today I made a ladybug bento in honor of Carol, and I am really looking forward to the ladybug ceremony next week.

In the upper compartment I have steamed edamame and corn from Duffy at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, an orange cherry tomato and french radish slices from Ridgeview Farms, and slices of charentais melon (dressed with honey, lime zest, and lime juice) also from Ridgeview Farms. In the lower compartment a mix of chicken, zucchini, and red onion cooked with soy sauce and spices, and leftover cardamom scented rice with two cherry tomato ladybugs (decorated with nori), a nori heart, and some of the salad greens and flower from Offerings of the Land.

Hi Carol! I used mayonnaise and a toothpick to attach the nori to the cherry tomatoes (actually one cherry tomato from Triple T Ranch cut in half). It worked really well and was not too difficult.

This is a new bento box that I got at the Disney Store! They have a selection of about 5 different bento boxes with different Disney/Pixar characters. And they are very reasonably priced!

This Ariel box is two tiered with a removable plastic divider for the upper tier. It latches shut very securely with two latches on either side.

I also included this lunch in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Check it out for other great bento ideas.

Chicken and Rice Bento

I wanted a more substantial bento today, and I had some leftover chicken from that yummy bird I got from Triple T Ranch. Save your leftovers! They make great bento ingredients! :)

In the upper compartment: leftover chicken cooked with zucchini and spices and garnished with cilantro and basil, tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms and The Patch, a fig from The Patch, grapes from Neufeld Farms, and a lychee (from Safeway!).

In the lower compartment: Crescent Moon Farms cucumbers (marinated in seasoned rice vinegar, sugar, and salt), rice, chopped beni shoga (red pickled ginger), black sesame seeds, and a small sprig of fresh dill.

Today's bento was put together pretty quickly because I set the rice on to cook while I was taking a shower. The chicken was already cooked, so it was just a matter of heating it up with some other ingredients and then putting it in the bento. I think I took about 15 minutes to make this bento, not counting the rice cooking time.

These are gorgeous Green Zebra tomatoes from The Patch in Sonoma. They are at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market every Wednesday and Saturday. Great tomatoes!

Recipe for Spicy Chicken with Zucchini

1/4 cup cooked chicken, chopped small

1/8 cup small dice zucchini

1/2 tablespoon minced red onion

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 pinch ground ginger

a few drops toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon seasoned rice vinegar

1/2 teaspoon sugar or 1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce

1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

Cook chicken, zucchini, onion, and garlic in olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When sizzling and warmed through, add other ingredients. Stir and heat through. Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro and basil. Makes one serving.

I featured this bento on Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Check it out for other great bento ideas. :)