New Magic Round Bento

This is one of the bento boxes I picked up at Daiso in Seattle. It is stainless steel, and has a plastic airtight lid. I have seen round bento boxes on other blogs, and they are often referred to as "Magic Round Bentos," because apparently they are super easy to arrange. I had to try it for myself.

It's true! For some reason, things just seem to fall into place in a round bento. I didn't have to arrange and rearrange things, like I sometimes do with my other bento boxes. Things just fit, and sort of naturally go where they should. I can't wait to try more of them!

In this bento box: steamed broccoli, cherries, slices of white nectaring, sugar snap peas, a pretty spicy radish (whew), arugula, and a cut up lightly breaded boneless pork chop. I made steamed broccoli and the pork chops for me and my hubby last night, and used the leftover chop for this lunch. Yum!

Cherries are in season now, super sweet and ready to be gobbled up. This photo is from the Sebastopol Farmers Market. I like to buy cherries this way, instead of buying a basket, because presentation is such a big part of making a bento lunch. Choosing each individual cherry lets me get the best ones.

Recipe for Lightly Breaded Boneless Pork Chops

4 thinly sliced boneless pork chops
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon aji amarillo ground pepper (or chili pepper)
2/3 teaspoon garam masala spice powder
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in a plastic bag. Add pork chops, seal the bag and toss to coat the meat with the breading. Melt butter and oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook pork chops for about 2 or 3 minutes each side, until golden brown and cooked through. Makes enough for 4 bento box lunches, or enough for two dinner portions. You can sprinkle a little seasoned rice vinegar on the breaded chops for more flavor.

Garlic Scape Pesto Bento

Wow, life sure got interesting! Sorry for no bento posts in a while, I ended up with a new job here at the station, and I am slowly but surely getting the hang of it. A side effect of my new two-hour daily talk show duties, is that I am hella tired, and don't have time to make bentos. But I was determined to get back to it this week.

I made a lovely pesto with garlic scapes, walnuts, and parmesan cheese, and tossed it with this penne pasta. There's also arugula from Ridgeview Farms, and a sugar snap pea and radish "tulip" from Crescent Moon Farms.

In the lower compartment: slices of white nectarine, cherries, carrots, and fresh cucumber from Crescent Moon Farms.

I made a trip last weekend to Seattle for my best friend's wedding celebration, and also to see my mom. Of course, no trip to Seattle would be complete without a stop at Uwajimaya! I went a little crazy there and bought a few bento books, as well as two new bento boxes. And then as we were leaving Uwajimaya, I noticed that there was a Daiso store right across the street. Bonus! So I spent some time there and got a few fun things, including this cutie-patootie Bunny felt band for my bento box. Look closely and you can see a few strawberry Pocky sticks tucked away in the upper compartment of the bento box. Stay tuned for more of the stuff I scored while in Seattle!
Recipe for Garlic Scape Pesto
1 cup roughly chopped garlic scapes
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup walnuts
2 ounces finely grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Combine the garlic scapes and olive oil in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add walnuts and pulse again to incorportate walnuts. Remove pesto from food processor and stir in cheese and seasoning. You can freeze this pesto (I lined an ice cube tray with plastic wrap and froze the pesto in cubes!), or put it in the fridge and use it within 10 days.