This is the very first bento box I purchased. I got it at Asia Mart in Santa Rosa (Guerneville Road) and at the time, I thought it was pretty tiny. And of course, after making bento for a while, I have realized that it's huge! Ha ha! In general, our collective sense of portion sizes is way out of whack. We overeat all of the time because we don't know what serving sizes look like. Our plates get bigger and so do our tummies.
The only practical way to use this bento box now is for picnics, or for a nice healthy salad. The lower tier has salad, and the compartment that rests on top of that one has edamame, fruit, and nuts.
I mixed chopped iceberg lettuce with my favorite salad mix from Offerings of the Land. On top of the lettuce blend are slices of French Breakfast radish from Ridgeview Farms, a mixture of chopped cilantro and basil from Triple T Ranch and Crescent Moon Farms, leftover steak, and a few cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms.
The upper compartment has a fig from The Patch, walnuts from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, half of a nectarine from Twin Peaks, edamame, and another cherry tomato.
I also included a small container of yogurt dressing. A yummy and filling lunch. :)
Recipe for Yogurt Dressing
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 teaspoon salt
freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 small clove of garlic, grated
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
a few drops of taragon vinegar
Mix all ingredients together. Makes a bit less than 1 cup of dressing.
