It's the Little Things

I have learned that it is really the little things that can make a meal special. Don't underestimate the power of a tiny little garnish, for example. Or of serving the food in a way that makes it more appealing.

In that vein, I give you, the frosty mug:

I have had more enjoyment out of these mugs than I ever thought I would when Bryan talked me into putting them on our wedding registry. We keep them in the freezer, and when we drink rootbeer, we drink it out of them. Delicious!

What little things do you do to make your food special?

Speed Bento

Today's bento was quick to make - about four minutes, I'd say. But it took me another four to figure out that I needed to photograph outside today to get enough light. Oh well. Under 10 minutes total is still pretty speedy, right?

Here is my lunch:

Contains:

• Pot roast
• Broccoli
• Brown rice
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes
• Grapes

Now I'm off to run the box office at the local community theater for the show Wait Until Dark.

Happy Bento!

My Little Bunny?

My dog loves to chew. Sometimes when I'm making a bento, tidbits fall to the floor. This is how I learned that Dioji likes carrots. Last night, Bryan suggested I give him a whole carrot to nom on:

He ate the WHOLE THING in less than 15 minutes. Too funny.

No bento today for me. I am eating left over potato soup for lunch. And that just isn't really worth a picture.

Have a good day!

Pink Bento

Over at Bento Challenge they reminded us that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In honor of that, we were challenged to come up with a lunch that had something pink in it.

I decided to do a simple pink ribbon out of ham. Here is my bento, photographed on the window-sill because it wasn't very bright out this morning:

Contents:

• Turkey sandwich on a "Sandwich Thin"
• Cucumber
• Carrots
• Grapes

Happy Bento!

Related Posts:
(AKA: other bentos featuring Sandwich Thins)
Smiling Sandwich
Kitty Bento

Breakfast with Bacon

Yesterday morning I made Bryan and I a traditional breakfast. You know the kind: eggs, bacon, toast - type thing? I decided to try the bacon on the Forman Grill because the package says I'm supposed to drain the grease from the skillet as I go along. (Yeah right! Someone as prone to getting burned as I am should not be pouring oil out of a hot skillet and trying to keep the bacon inside!)
It worked pretty well. Though the bacon wasn't quite crisp enough when the eggs and english muffins were already ready to eat. So I tossed it in the microwave to finish it off. I think I 'bout killed it! (See below.)

Anyone have any tips on cooking bacon or juggling cook times so everything is hot at once?

Thanks!

A Foodie Flick

Yesterday my mom took me to see Julie & Julia.

For those of you who have yet to see it, it is a delightful film. It is based on the true story of Julie Powell who blogs from NY. She challenged herself to cook through all 524 recipes in Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 in 365 days.

I found the movie honest and touching, and it inspires me to want to cook more. (If only I could use butter!)

If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it.

If you have seen it, and would like to read the original blog that started it all... here it is.

Enjoy!

Related post:
One of Julia Child's recipes that I have baked.

Mead Marinade Recipe

Let's talk about this, for a moment, shall we?

There is nothing better than steaks on the grill.

Anyone else out there agree with me that BBQ smoke is the most alluring cologne a man can wear?

Any vegetarian readers I had have probably gone, with that last statement. And it is just as well, because my next photo is one of raw meat:

I promised the marinade recipe we used for this year's belated anniversary dinner. And I will now be as good as my word.

First Bryan shook a bunch of seasoning on the meat. Oooh... action shot:
When the T-Bone steaks had been thuroughly seasoned...

I asked him to turn the shaker around so I could get a pic for the blog. What!? Salmon seasoning? Bryan explained that he had chosen it by smell, and had me smell the cork of our special ingredient, next to the shaker. I agreed they smelled good together, and went back to taking photos.

Next we added in the mead. This is the way we marinaded our meat on our honeymoon, and has been our anniversary tradition since.

Next a dribble of liquid smoke
And we let the meat soak
At this point, I became extremely dissapointed when I realized Bryan wasn't intending to use any actual BBQ sauce on the steaks. Seeing how much it meant to me, good husband that he is, we added BBQ sauce.

The reason he didn't want to is because the alcohol reacts funny with the sauce, so that it doesn't spread on the meat very well. I don't think it matters, since it is all just soaking anyway. But next time we are thinking of brushing the sauce on first before we add the mead.

The next evening, we put the steaks on the grill:

And Bryan barbequed them beautifully:

I set the table with my wedding china
Added some cresant rolls and baked potatoes, and we were ready to eat.
Yum!
Do you have a favorite marinade?

A Sandwich in Two Tiers

This sandwich has it's insides out:

In the smaller container I packed all the wet ingredients for my sandwich:

In the larger container I packed the rest of my sandwich, with the mayo and mustard "sandwiched" between the lettuce and turkey. The bread was not soggy in the least come lunch time.

The fork was for adding the wet ingredients, and worked well.

Happy Bento!

Dos Bentos

Today for Bryan's dinner I packed him a simple chicken and rice bento:


I made one of the compartments into a little "relish tray" like they have at Sayler's. (That is one of his favorite restaurants.)

As for my own bento today, I blame Yvo. Her post had me craving a plain ole PB&J. So here it is:

On the side are some raisins and sunflower seeds. Or, "Poor Man's Trail Mix." ;)

I know from this bento it looks like our cupboards are bare... but it isn't true. I had the most glorious salad for dinner. In any case,

Happy Bento!

Cloudy Day Bento

Sorry about the photo quality on this one. Cloudy days are not great lighting for bentos:

Contains:

• Shake-n-bake chicken (will the left-overs never end!?)
• Mashed potatoes
• Broccoli
• Lettuce
• Tomatoes from you-know-where
• Carrot accent
• Grapes

And now I am off to sing in my church choir...

Happy Bento!

Simplemente Bento

Today's lunch looked like this:

Contents:

• Shake-n-bake chicken
• Steamed brown rice
• Lettuce
• Cucumber slices
• Carrot flowers
• Homegrown cherry tomatoes
• Broccoli

Happy Bento!

German Bento?

This weekend I got to go to Gustav's as part of a birthday celebration for my aunt. It was delicious, and half of my sandwich became my lunch for today:

It was very tasty and extremely filling. Thanks again, Nana!

Contents:

• Turkey sandwich
• Carrots
• Broccoli
• Lettuce
• Hummus

Happy Bento!

Anniversary Steak

My husband is wonderful at the grill. He BBQs up tasty things on a regular basis during the summer. So what better way to celebrate my marriage to such a talented man than a nice, juicy grilled steak?

Stay tuned for the marinade recipe...

Related posts:
Cedar Plank Salmon
Teriyaki Chicken Skewers

Hummus Snacker Pack

I've had some people curious about the hummus packs I am using. Here is what it looks like:

There are 16 individual hummus packets in it. The price at Costco is about $5, if I remember correctly. The one I have currently says it is best when used by the 8th of November, and I've already had it awhile, so they stay fresh for quite a long time (since they are sealed and refrigerated).

On another topic... I have decided to sign up for NaBloPoMo - which is short for National Blog Posting Month. I will valiantly attempt to post every day in the month of October. Three days down, twenty-eight to go...

Related posts:

Hummus Snack Bento

Basic Hummus Recipe

Bento del Dia

My husband had a much-deserved chance to sleep in this morning. When I talked to him later on the phone, I said I'd been rushed getting ready this morning, and he said, "You must not have been too rushed, I thought I heard you making a bento."

Now, my question is: what does bentoing sound like? How could he tell I was cute-ing up my lunch and not just grabbing stuff from the fridge?

In any case, this is what he heard me make:

Contents of "hot" tier (the one I microwave before eating):

• Shake-n-bake chicken
• Homemade roll
• 3 onigiri w/ personality
• Broccoli to add color and fill in the gaps

The cold tier was made with bento challenge in mind. This week's theme was "apple."

Contents of cold tier:

• Apple shaped into a crude representation of a mushroom
• Lettuce
• Broccoli
• Grapes
• Carrot flowers
  

I love how the rice balls turned out to have so much personality.

Happy Bento (and happy Friday)!

Related Posts:
Yummy Roll Recipe
Making Onigiri

Bento du Jour

First, a word about the title. I have been having a hard time lately coming up with titles for my posts. I mean, how many times can I call it, essentially "My Lunch" before we are all bored to tears? I could go back to Bento #whatever - but I don't exactly know what number I'm on, to be honest.

I was chatting about this title quandry with my friend Andrea and she suggested I try something with an International flair. Since bento is quite the international phenomenon currently, I say, why not?

So without further ado, I present today's lunch:

Contents:

• Brown steamed rice
• Shake-n-bake chicken
• Carrot flowers
• Broccoli stems and grass
• Lettuce
• Grapes
• Tomatoes
  

The color in this tier was good - and the tomatoes continue to be tasty. I even ate my lettuce today, believe it or not!

This is the first time I've used this little flower cutter. It is much smaller than the stars I usually do, and it is a fondant cutter, so I wasn't sure it was going to be strong enough to cut through carrot. It had no problems.

Happy Bento!

Hummus Snack Bento

Today I was eating homemade gumbo for lunch, so I just packed a side of veggies and hummus:

I still just love my little hummus things from Costco. So convenient!

By the way, yesterday while my husband was at school, I re-did my blog banner from this:


to this:


I was wondering what do you think? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Anyone think the old one is better? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Happy bento!

Related posts:
Basic Hummus Recipe

Cute is a Verb

"Did you cute your lunch today?" one of my students asked, innocently. Grins all around, and a few of the staff chuckled. But we all knew what she meant.

"A little bit. Do you want to see?"


The bottom tier has brown rice supporting a nori wink, and pulled pork garnished with a tiny little tomato.

The top tier is bordered in lettuce, and displays three varieties of tomatoes (thanks to my dad for the yellow and orange ones!).

Here it is, just waiting for the top lid to go on. Yum!


So, I have to ask: when was the last time you cuted your lunch??