Look who arrived in the mail last week. Just makes me want to sing...I haven't tried to use her yet but I am thinking she would be great for a de-constructed multi-layered salad or noodle bowl dish. She reminds me of a sweet little doll. I'm not at all sure how my middle school student's will respond if they see her. Here's hopin' for the best.
My family has never tried dragon fruit before. It was so beautiful when I spied it at the farmers market that I couldn't resist. I had to search the web to discover how to serve it. The literature describes the taste as a blend between a kiwi and a pear. That is exactly what it tasted like to us. The little seeds are like the seeds in a banana. Their texture add a bonus crunch. The colors are really startling and bright. Everyone tried it. Everyone liked it, a big success.
My new red lock n lock bento set is a beautiful deep red. When I filled it with last night's leftover I couldn't get away from red. The bottom tier is filled with baked barbeque chicken and dried apple slices. The top tier is filled with about 1/3 cup of bow tie pasta smothered with roasted pumpkin and cherry tomatoes.
On Saturday I went to the open stall market and played for a while. I found this beautiful assortment of fruits and vegetables to serve the family. The assortment included papaya, guava, dragon fruit, logan berry, garlic, cucumber, zucchini, tomato and those cute little globe like eggplant. the logans didn't last the night. I wish I could have such beautiful produce all the time, it is such a treat.
Monday's bento was created to celebrate the first day of school for my students. Lots of veggies and colors with Crayola picks. The bento was filled with chicken, roasted baby eggplant slices marinated with ginger soy and sesame, mixed veggies, Ditillini pasta and a small Japanese cake. The cake was cute and filled with a mild type of cheese filling similar to our cheesecake.
I wish I was as creative as many bento enthusiasts and was capable of making all of these treats from scratch. No time...lots of work in the kitchen...equals frozen food options. Fortunately for me I have been able to find many good alternatives to home made in my neighborhood freezer case. I have not tried the pork buns or the dimsum on the bottom of this photo so that will be an adventure all it's own. The Annie Chun products are wonderful. They are low fat and just the right size to slip into a bento lunch.
Todays bento is filled with a stuffed pork bun, honeydew melon, steamed carrot, green beans and organic banana chips. It seems like a lot of food but yesterday I found the donuts in the teachers lounge very tempting. Today my plan includes a crunchy snack to sneak when I get tempted. I do love my new little picks with the flower hats. Simple and sweet, an ingedient for success on busy school days.
Today I packed a high protein low carb bento in a new box. The box is stainless steel and feels huge. It measures out to be 700ml in volume which could be dangerous to pack if you don't pay attention. The sides are tall as you may be able to judge by how short my silicon cups look. The silicon cups are regular muffin size from Wilton. It's easy to pack since their is so much space thus lies the risk of including too many calories for lunch. I tried to focus on low fat protein choices- 3 turkey meatballs, 2% mozarella cheese stick, and 2 tablespoons of hummus dip. The rest of the box includes diced honeydew melon, cucumber slices and a few organic banana chips.
This is my first bento of the new school year. The main dish is homemade pizza topped with rice cheese, turkey pepperoni and lots of broccoli. The sides include more broccoli, sliced carrot, and half a plum. Tomorrow I get to clean my class room all day. Things should be pretty quiet. No children until next week :). I love children but I also really like silence.
My favorite shop at Disney World was the Japanese gift shop in Epcot. Unfortunately for me, the rest of the family was exhausted when we walked inside. My husband is a very big roller coaster fan and he had already run the group ragged for hours. I did snag this cute bento bag the minute I saw the display of Shinzi Katoh designs. There were no boxes or accessories but I was a happy camper. The lovely sales clerk was a little concerned since she was afraid that I was purchasing the bag as a purse. She made sure to point out that it was insulated inside and wasn't really a purse. I was tickled pink and reassured her that it was exactly what I was looking for to pack bento.
It's August, which in my house means the return to work and school. Bento season will soon be in full swing. I started making bento lunches over one year ago with lots of energy and interest. I continue into this new year. I do not have any little children. All the cute stuff is for me. My children are all teenagers and young adults. I still make lunches for the youngest one every day before school. My husband packs his own unless I volunteer to put a bento together for him. Most of my bentos are for me. My little reward for making it to noon with a classroom full of middle school children with a smile on my face. This lunch box is for my youngest daughter. We found it on vacation and couldn't resist. I don't remember ever having a little tin lunch box as a child although I am sure that I had at least one. Isn't Alice beautiful!
These are my Mickey Mouse Disney Souvenirs that I collected while on vacation. The red ears are a cookie cutter. It is too big to cut regular sized bread. The smaller black ears are for cooking eggs but I could also use it for cutting small sandwich shapes. The bottom tool is to make a toast imprint with Mickey's face on it. I also bought a Mickey silicon pancake mold. So it's going to be all things Mickey around here for a while. Keep your eyes open I am seeing lots of Mickey's in my lunch box this coming school year.
