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March 16th, 2009
06:23 pm - Home-made Tsukemono project, Lunch with leftovers and home-made chinese pork, and Umeboshi Adventure
Well, this lunch was made just after my squid sakura tree bento, using a couple of leftovers.
The Bottom Tier contains leftover blue rice (food dye), and sakura flowers cut from pink-dyed eggs, with black sesame seed centers. Wasabi furikake in the mini shaker, and a bunny bottle of soy sauce, because I couldn't decide what to eat the rice with.
The Top Tier contains a green-dyed fishy egg (I later realized it was greener on the other side [ha ha!], and would have looked a little better the other way around), broccoli, some home-made chinese pork, and some home-made tsukemono carrots!
Which brings me to the rest of today's post. I bought this tsukemono (Japanese pickle) press on ebay after reading a bit about tsukemono. I was very interested to try making real Japanese pickles at home. >^_^<
I could not read the suggested recipes in the little booklet at all, but after searching online for tsukemono, I found that the most basic recipes are simply vegetables and salt (salt preservation being part of much of Japanese food tradition), and although carrots are often recommended to be pressed with cabbage, I did carrots by themselves to try it out. I placed 3 large carrots, shredded, in with 3 teaspoons of salt, well mixed. The salts brings the liquid out of the carrots right away. The idea is that the carrots will pickle in their own liquid, which is made by being drawn out by the salt as well as by the pressure.
As you can see, it does not look like much in the container, but just these three carrots have lasted me quite a while!
After the 12 hours these carrots needed to sit in the press, I was ready to pack some in a lunch. I tried some, and was actually surprised to find that they tasted like salt. Yep, just salt. Go figure, right?
I felt kind of silly having expected them to have some sort of flavor of their own. I mean, gee, a vegetable pressed in salt now tastes like pure salt- big surprise, right? Ha ha. (I suppose that's why tsukemono is a rice topping. These salt pickles really do make a good topping for plain rice.)
It reminded me of when I had purchased a package of umeboshi from the natural foods store. I keep seeing people use umeboshi in their lunches, and I had really wanted to try some. Oddly enough, although I had read that umeboshi was made by pickling the ume fruit in barrels of salt, I really expected them to have some sort of fruity flavor of their own. When I tried one, it was like pure salt! Go figure again, huh? The umeboshi came covered in shiso leaves (beefsteak plant) (more salt!). I have included some pictures of the umeboshi package and umeboshi under a cut for those interested. >^_^<
( Pictures of the umeboshi are included under this cut!! )
I'm hoping I can learn to use these in a way that I'll like soon.
Rice Vinegar modified Tsukemono
So, although the salt pickle carrots were pretty good on rice, I was looking for something more like a familiar pickle, sort of. So I placed the remaining carrots in a small Lock & Lock box, and topped it off with rice vinegar. I added a couple spoonfuls of sugar as well, mixed a bit and let them sit. They came out pretty well, they still have a sharp rice vinegar flavor, but I like that just fine. I now eat some of these once in a while on rice or just alongside the lunch. >^_^<
I'm looking forward to picking up one of the tsukemono books I've seen online, and finding more and other types of pickle recipes to try.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenaaccomplished.gif) accomplished
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February 27th, 2009
08:56 am - Contest Bento Fail- Cherry Blossom theme: Fried Squid & egg Sakura Tree
Today's post is a bento from a while back. I made this lunch to enter a contest with, and it's my most decorated bento ever (and the only one I've made a picture in). As of now, it has failed two contests. Hm, I guess I'd better give up on it.
Bottom tier contains a rice sky colored with blue food dye, egg yolk sun, tree branches made from fried squid tentacles, cherry blossoms and windblown petals made from egg whites colored shades of pink with food dye, cherry blossom centers of black sesame seeds, and a little nori cat to enjoy the scenery. (A rabbit would have made more sense, but I didn't have a rabbit punch.)
Top tier contains sweet and sour fried squid rings and tentacles cooked with onions, carrots, bean sprouts, and green peppers, and a fruit salad with blueberries and cherry blossoms made from bananas and apples. A pink rabbit pick hiding in the fruit and a pink rabbit bottle of soy sauce continue the rabbit theme of the bento box as well as the pink of the cherry blossoms.
I really liked the idea of using fried squid to make a cherry blossom covered tree. It didn't come out nearly as elegant and beautiful as I hoped it could though. I guess the squid doesn't lend itself perfectly to form.
Zeus called it a "Cthulu tree". Darn it.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenacreative.gif) creative
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February 25th, 2009
08:58 am - Orange Chicken & Chinese Rice leftovers bento --- Don't microwave raw carrot
Today's post is a pretty simple lunch.
Top tier contains orange chicken from leftover Chinese takeout with carrot hearts I added, and some broccoli from the orange chicken with some extra broccoli and carrot hearts I added.
Bottom tier contains the leftover Chinese rice with added carrot bits and hearts, and a cup of blueberries.
This is where I learned Do Not Microwave Raw Carrot Slices.
Since I had the leftover food I wanted to add carrots to, I cut out my hearts, put them on a paper plate, and microwaved them to cook them fast so they could be added in. Within a few seconds there was a firey flash from the microwave. I stopped it immediately and puzzled over the scorch marks on the paper plate and a few carrot edges.
Unsure of what had happened, I moved the slices away from the scorch marks, and tried again while watching. Sure enough, the carrots were somehow causing little bursts of fire. So, I then removed it, put all the slices in a bowl of water, and microwaved that. Much better. >^_^< .
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenacheerful.gif) cheerful
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February 21st, 2009
07:31 pm - Panheer Makhani, Spaghetti, & Make-A-Wrap -- Plus new Freshness Keepers boxes
Today's post is getting a few of the tupperware bento lunches out of the way that I made in my transition back into bento-making for work, as well as introducing some nifty new boxes I found for extra cheap, for those of us who do enjoy the Lock & Lock style boxes for rushed meals or when simple, microwavable containers are needed.
Visiting the Ocean State Job Lot in town, I found these nifty Lock & Lock lookalikes for extra cheap. They are called Freshness Keepers. I got a 250ml round for $1.00, a 400ml rectangular for $1.25, and a 600ml round for $1.50. They are microwave safe, freezer safe, dishwasher safe, and labeled with a temperature range of -20 to 120 degrees C. The Lock & Lock similar hinges and seals are great, and I like the additional shapes they give me for a wider range of packing options when I need to grab and go.
My first meal here has Panheer Makhani from a ready-to-serve pouch package I got at Ocean State Job Lot for $2.00. I used the 250ml round to pack half the package (The serving size was 1/3, but I found 1/2 to be good for a meal- it didn't look like much, but it was very filling. The chewy cheese chunks were the oddest thing about it, but it was very good.)
I used the 600ml round to pack a couple of hamburger buns that I toasted so I could warm them in the microwave at work (no toaster oven there), and a Hello Kitty cup of butter.
Next to it is a Cinderella spoon I got a the Dollar Tree with a matching fork because I liked the pink and the green on the handles, and my toothbrush-holder-turned-flatware-case. You may notice through the case that the spoon fits without any extra space beyond the handle- I'll be posting later about how I cut out about an inch or so of the plastic and glued it back together to make a perfectly sized case.
Here I have packed leftover pasta with homemade sauce, topped with Parmesan cheese where I attempted a silly kitty face drawn in with a toothpick. >^_^< I used my 870ml Lock & Lock box without its 4 inner dividers- I have used a Sure Fresh 3.85oz mini container to pack blueberries so I could put a lid on them (no more blueberry juice on my other food!), and a heart cup of broccoli and carrot hearts.
Here I packed myself a make-a-wrap lunch because I needed to go fast. I have ham, mustard in the little cup, an inside container with peppers and tomatoes, and a baggie with the tomato basil wrap and some cheese slices.
I have since started stickering my cheap little containers for some better bento cuteness. More to come on that. >^_^< .
Current Mood: cheerful
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February 14th, 2009
11:25 pm - Quick Product Review: $8 Microwave Rice Cooker / Pasta Cooker
Filling in for today is a quick review of this Microwave Rice & Pasta Set I got at a Walmart last year for about $8.00. The set was labeled "MiracleWare", and labeled with Walmart's name brand "Mainstays".
The exact same set was also available at Target under a different name for about $9.00. It can also be found here at Amazon.com as the "Progressive International Microwaveable Rice/Pasta Cooker Set", although at a higher price.
I love this thing. It's great for me! I haven't tried to use it for pasta yet, I don't have much trouble leaving that on the stove, but I love this for rice. Our microwave is a bit high-powered, so I turn the power level down to 70% as recommended, and I get great rice every time. I have experienced the overflow problem that larger batches can have, but it's never very much, and when the microwave plate is clean anyway, a quick rinse-off is a breeze.
I have used regular long-grain rice and found that if I take the time to wash the rice as I do with sushi rice, the cooker will turn it out with a fantastic level of stickiness. I can stick even the long grain rice together into shapes no problem! If I'm feeling lazier, I can skip the washing and get good old regular, fluffy, tasty rice.
So, all around, a great rice cooker to have around- cheap, good performance, easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store- I'd recommend it to anyone. >^_^<
And that concludes today's Quick Product Review. >^_^<
Current Mood: cheerful
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February 12th, 2009
01:15 pm - Back Again: Pork Fried Rice ([American] Chinese Restaurant Style)
Greetings! This is a re-post of my recipe for Chinese Restaurant Pork Fried Rice, originally posted at http://cgpbento.livejournal.com/6165.html, and also featured on my profile page. Recently I was making a couple batches, and on the second I measured everything I put in as I went, so this recipe is no longer base estimation, and in theory could be followed by anyone to achieve the same great results! I figured I'd go ahead and put it up again since it was updated, but without tags- no one needs to find it twice later. >^_^< Enjoy!
I made "Chinese restaurant style" pork fried rice! I had to mostly make up the recipe myself, since I couldn't find anything anywhere that mentioned what I wanted to do. I incorporated some of the vegetable ingredients and mixing ideas from a couple other recipes, but I'm really happy that I got pretty much the exact results I wanted with my own idea and attempt. (I couldn't find anything that said how to do the pork like I wanted to.) Yay!
Step 1: Chinese pork
- pork, cut into small cubes
- a jar of Ah-So sauce
Put the pork in a baking pan. Pour in enough Ah-So sauce to cover pork, stir. Put in a 350 - 400 degree oven [depending on how well your oven works] for about an hour. (May take longer, even up to 2 hours, depending on the batch- mainly going for thoroughly cooked pork with a dark sauce color.) Check and stir periodically, about every 10 - 15 minutes or so.
Ah-So sauce is interesting stuff. It's bright red, somewhat sweet, very salty, and very sticky. It tends to stick to the cooked pork thickly, making it not really resemble [American] Chinese restaurant pork at all. It's still tasty though. Of course, after I had added it to the fried rice, the way the excess sauce rubbed off while stirring apparently left the pork resembling the Chinese restaurant pork perfectly.
And if MSG is a concern for you, then no problem, because there is no MSG in the Ah-So Sauce. I have never seen more than one brand of Ah-So Sauce in this area, but a quick check of the ingredients label will let you know if your Ah-So Sauce is also MSG Free.
Step 2: Pork Fried Rice
- 6 tbsp cooking oil
- 6 cups cooked rice
- 1/4 cup soy sauce (LaChoy brand or similar taste for best results)
- 1 cup chopped carrot bits
- 1 cup chopped green onions (scallions), or regular onion
- 1/2 a 12-16oz package of bean sprouts
- cooking spray (or more oil)
- 2 large eggs (3 if small)
- 1 cup Chinese pork, as prepared above
Add 6 tbsp cooking oil to a wok or wok-like pan at med-high heat. Put in 6 cups of cooked rice. Fresh, moist rice is best to work with, so either use freshly finished rice or microwave your leftover rice- covered- to re-heat and restore moisture. (If your rice has become very dry, drip some water over it and then cover and microwave to restore moisture).
Cover rice with 1/4 cup soy sauce (LaChoy brand soy sauce gave the best results). Stir until evenly coated. Press the rice flat into the pan and let it sit. Go ahead and press it down as far up against the sides of the pan as it will go, to get it all as flat as possible. About every 2 or 3 minutes, "flip" the rice- pretty much, just stir it around and then flatten it again. Cook until starting to look fried.
Turn down the heat to 1 setting under medium. Add 1 cup of chopped up carrot bits and stir. Add 1 cup of chopped green onions (or regular onion) and stir. Add two big handfuls of fresh bean sprouts (about half of a 12-16oz package), stir. Cover with a lid and let sit for 5 minutes, stirring once at the halfway point.
Now the veggies are starting to look cooked, while the beansprouts are still looking somewhat fresh (don't worry, they'll be done by the time you're finished). Push everything to one side of the pan to leave yourself some open space. Add a small amount of cooking oil or some cooking spray. Put in the 2 eggs (3 if small) and scramble them up, breaking them apart into small bits. Try pressing the tip of the spatula into them and moving it back and forth as you go. (Don't worry if some of the rice or veggies fall into them.) Then stir the egg bits into the rice and veggies.
Now you can turn off the heat, you're almost done.
Add about 1 cup of Chinese pork (as prepared above) into the rice, and stir thoroughly (excess Ah-So sauce will rub off on the rice while stirring). Then let sit for a short while to cool down a bit.
You have tasty Chinese pork fried rice! >^_^<
Try it out, tweak your ingredient amounts as needed, and you should be able to get perfect Chinese restaurant pork fried rice from this. >^_^< .
Current Mood: accomplished
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February 6th, 2009
03:52 pm - Sandwich wrap, carrots, granola.. Bento restarting in 4, 3, 2...
Hello everyone, welcome back? As I have become active again in the LJ bento communities, I have noticed a few people add me to their friends list (ZOMG, readerz!!!). I had always hoped that this blog would provide some sort of resource for people, if only ideas on cheap gear finds (apparently those entries are dominating my post count..). I've been meaning to get back to this blog for a while now.
The tags I've set up are a good way to find what you're looking for. At some point, I'll try to make a better directory of them to post on my profile page, since LJ's tags links seem oddly difficult to notice from any main pages. I don't know if I'll ever be able to integrate a nifty design like the bento blogs that have their own sites, like Biggie's Lunch In A Box or Pikko's Adventures in Bentomaking, but I'll do what I can. >^_^<
I have, since last summer, become settled in a new state, and a new job. The new job started me a while back getting back into bento lunches, and so now I will begin again in bento blogging. >^_^< All along the way I've been collecting new gear, always intent on re-starting bento when I would need it again. I'm always on the lookout for bento gear at stores, so I've collected a lot to share by now. I have so many photos of gear and lunches backlogged now that I hardly knew where to start.
But I have to start somewhere, and I suppose the photo supply will keep me going for quite a while. >^_^< To start us off, this is a lunch I made before I had the new job, when I had to go out to the University labs for a day very early, and would need good food to keep me going at lunch time. >^_^<
Here I have used two of the green Snap & Seal boxes from Jo-Ann Fabrics (443ml each) to make my lunch. It was a little big for me. I have a sandwich wrap made with a tomato basil wrap, romaine lettuce, mustard, ham, cheese, tomato, green pepper, and pickles. The other one has baby carrots, ranch dressing in the Hello Kitty cup, and a crumbled oats & honey granola bar in the heart cup.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenacontent.gif) content
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June 13th, 2008
06:44 pm - Bento Gear Catch-Up, Part 2
Here's some more nifty stuff I picked up for bento-making, fairly recently even. >^_^<
What's up with the bath scrubbies on the top of this picture? Well no, they're not for bento, but I wanted to better show what I had found at the Dollar Tree in the quest for bento gear. >^_^<
I got these nifty sauce containers to use by checking the bathroom isle for these Toiletry Kits.
At the Dollar Tree I picked up both a pink and a white toiletry kit, each of which came with two little containers perfect for sauces, and three bottles. The containers hold 30 ml, the same amount as my Hello Kitty cups, but they're 2.5 cm high and 4.5 cm wide, so they're as short as the "disposable" sauce containers I'd been using when I wanted to put sauce in the shorter tiers of my bento boxes but the Hello Kitty cups were too tall. They're wider than the Hello Kitty cups, but they should work nicely. The bottles hold 81 ml (2.7 oz), and are 10 cm tall and 3.75 cm wide. I'm not really sure what to do with the bottles. Side bottles of salad dressings, maybe, although 30 ml is usually plenty of dressing for a bento-sized salad. Maybe I could use them for travel bottles of furikake.
One of the best things about these containers is the fact that they're all plastic- there are no waxed cardboard cap inserts like I've seen on other sets, so I don't need to worry about how to keep those clean and food safe. On the subject of food safe, I'm not entirely sure about these containers, since they're not intended for food and do not bear any food-safe symbols on them, however, I'm not too concerned about it for myself, as far as these little things go.
Also in the picture are the colorful cupcake picks I found at the A.C. Moore craft store for $1.99. I also got these with a half-off coupon, since I buy almost everything there with those. >^_^< I realized from looking at the package that these are meant as clips to hold up little cards, but I think they're cute just to use on their own. These are from a while back, as you may have seen in several of my posted bento meals. >^_^<
And last, a couple more paper/nori punches I picked up at the Dollar Tree, since I found a couple more shapes I liked. >^_^< Yay cute punches for a reasonable price! >^_^<
The other bento supply I've picked up recently is this organizer from JoAnn Fabrics full of little screw-top jars, which I plan to use for storing pre-punched nori cut outs. >^_^< I've been looking for a source of tiny containers to keep pre-punched nori in to keep decorative bentos fast, and the small nori shapes easy to access. I saw this one, and determined that it was the most fitting one I've seen, since it has 30 jars to use for different shapes, and each one has a screw-on lid, which should keep the nori fresh in the containers (i.e., crisp and dry, and not old/soft, I hope). >^_^<
This organizer box is 13.5 cm x 16.25 cm x 3.5 cm, and each jar inside is about 3 cm high and 2.5 cm wide. The little jars hold about 8ml each, which sounds like a lot less that it appears to actually be- they may even be great little containers for furikake, or mustard or something, in a bento if needed in a pinch.
They may even be a little on the big side for storing nori punches, but I think they should work pretty well, and it's definitely the best set I've seen. Not sure about the plastic being "food safe", but I don't think it'll hurt anything. Yay for finding some screw-on cap organizers for potential freshness. >^_^<
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenaokay.gif) okay
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June 12th, 2008
08:36 pm - Bento Gear Catch-Up, Part 1
So, here I have a backlog of bento gear photos I never got around to posting about..
Many months ago I was on the lookout for potential bento gear all the time. I ended up finding a lot of nifty stuff at dollar stores, both at the chain Dollar Tree and at the little dollar store in the mall called Wow, Only $1.00. Although the mall dollar store is the sort that charges more for some items.. But they did have a lot of great kitchen items on their wall for $1.00 each. >^_^<
At the Wow, Only $1.00, I found this plastic "Pot Sticker" press, which is for making dumplings that are called gyoza in Japanese. I've also seen someone on a bento community use one to press some small peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for cuteness, so I figured there were a few things that could be done with this. >^_^<
I also got a little collection of tart molds/pans there. I got a 4-pack each of these three types of little tart molds/pans. I'm not sure what to do with the bigger ones, maybe use them for some little cheesecakes, or something otherwise slice-able. I figured I might try something like that with them sometime. The others could make nifty little quiches and stuff perfect for bento boxes. >^_^< These were all $1.00 per 4-pack, so much better than the ones that were $1.00 per each pan at the A.C. Moore craft store.
The red heart picks pictured here are from the Valentine's Day stuff that was on clearance sale at the Jo-Ann Fabrics craft store. Just had to grab some. >^_^<
At the Wow, Only $1.00, I also found this cute little ice cube tray. >^_^< I can't think of much to do with it for bento, other than making small candies perhaps, but it was too cute not to get. >^_^<
Also, I have more mini cookie cutters, and I finally got my full sized heart-shaped silicone baking cups! Yay! >^_^< Pictured under the full sized heart baking cups are two of the mini heart baking cups and one of the regular sized silicone baking cups I already had, for size comparison. The heart baking cups are oddly larger than the regular ones.
I got all these at the A.C. Moore craft store. I picked up most things one at a time with half-off coupons, over a period of several weeks. I got sets of the heart shaped and flower shaped Wilton fondant cutters to add to the rest of my collection. >^_^< These sets were $2.99 each. Too bad they didn't have them at the Marden's when I got the star, leaf, and 5-petal flower shaped sets there for $0.59 a set. -- As usual, the quality of shape of the smallest cutters is not fantastic, but was easy to modify into great shape with a small pair of flat jewelry pliers. >^_^<
(Any needle nose pliers with a decent tip would probably work fine!)
I also grabbed butterfly and bunny shaped cookie cutters from the spring selection of cutters at the A.C. Moore. Yay! I think they'll make some nifty mini-sandwiches and stuff that will [just barely] fit in the bento boxes.. >^_^<
And finally, the cutest little paper/nori punch I've seen at the Dollar Tree yet! I love this adorable little crab! >^_^<
Current Mood: okay
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June 9th, 2008
04:16 pm - Dollar Tree's "Cooking Concepts" paper baking cups (125 pack) = Bad Idea
I have found out that I can no longer use the 125-pack of Cooking Concepts paper baking cups I found at the Dollar Tree for bento arrangement.
Cooking Concepts 125-pack paper baking cups = Bad Idea
So far, I had only bought the gold kind- they came in red, blue, gold, and tan. I found out that they look much better when separated from the pack- less intense color- and seem waxy and good for wet-ish foods, like eggs and apples slices. They also have wider than average bottoms, even though they read "standard size" on the package, which worked very nicely for this sort of bento. However, Zeus informed me that they had been leaking dye on all his food!
So, these paper cups dyed all his eggs yellow, and got yellow dye all over his apples. He said he kept forgetting to tell me (he did eat his lunches anyway). So, no more of those. Bummer. They would have lasted quite a while nicely. They made a great, cheap way to keep these bentos going smoothly. Too bad about the dye leak-age. Bleh.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/arathea/moods/xena/xenaapathetic.gif) aww...
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03:44 pm - Today's and Saturday's bentos
No pictures of Saturday's bento. These last two bentos weren't terribly note worthy, really. On Saturday I hadn't thought to make anything, but Zeus asked if I had a lunch for him on his way out, so I tossed together a 30-second bento.
Grabbed the last piece of cheese that was right in front of me and two slices of ham, and put them on bread in the "tupperware" sandwich-box. He can get condiments at his work, so no worry there. I had made some shaped eggs the night before with extra-large eggs, which make the best shapes, and used the cheese wrapper to separate a couple of eggs, which were car and fish shaped. >^_^<
This morning I made another quick one by putting two hot dogs on a piece of tinfoil in the "tupperware" sandwich-box, and then I put in half an apple, a bunny shaped egg on some more tinfoil, and filled the extra space with grapes. Not too bad. I folded the tinfoil in over the hotdogs and egg, and put two slices of bread on top for wrapping the hotdogs. Simple, not too bad. >^_^<
( Picture of Today's Bento )
These are the first two bentos I have put together now that I know I can no longer use the 125-pack of Cooking Concepts paper baking cups I found at the Dollar Tree. Turns out they were leaking dye on all the food! Yuck! Guess I'll have to use my silicone cups and hope they make it back into the house in a somewhat reasonable time-frame. :P
Current Mood: eh
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June 6th, 2008
11:09 am - This Morning's Bento for Zeus
Another bento this morning. Same basic theme as of late. Half an apple (spritzed with lemon juice to stay fresh), a bunny-shaped hard boiled egg, a couple sticks of celery with some creamy peanut butter (it was thick and sticky enough that I think it'll transport fine just in the paper baking cup), and some pieces of chicken we cooked last night with some Italian bread crumbs from a jar, which were modified with a paprika-based spice mix that is very tasty. I think they came out very well. >^_^<
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June 3rd, 2008
02:58 pm - Another simple quick one
Here's one I made last night for Zeus to take to work today. As expected, the previous box didn't make it back into the house on time, so I grabbed the next box on the stack. >^_^<
I'm thinking I should pick up one more three-pack of these boxes, especially since I discovered that the sandwich-size ones make excellent containers for shaped eggs. I don't have to stack eggs in this one, so they don't press together and flatten edges or wipe out each other's designs.
So, this one has half an apple (spritzed with lemon juice), some raisins, a bear shaped hard boiled egg, a heart skewer of leftover chicken pieces, and a couple sticks of celery with a side cup of peanut butter.
It feels odd to be making bentos for my bento blog without any fancy, pretty boxes to make them look really good.. I kinda miss making the pretty box bentos for myself, but I just don't have much reason to do that right now. Maybe eventually my boyfriend will have a box or two of his own that look nice. >^_^< .
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June 2nd, 2008
11:00 am - Simple Bento, and More New Stuff
This is a simple, fairly uninteresting bento I made for Zeus today. He said his other bentos were too big, even though I wasn't using the whole space of the 5 cup (1183 ml) tupperware box I picked up for him, so I grabbed this 3-pack of sandwich size boxes last time I was at the Dollar Tree. Also, having 3 of them might help, since he isn't all that great about bringing his lunch stuff back into the house..
The box size is 3 cups, or 709 ml. Not too bad for a bento. The shape limits how to pack it and what can be packed (I really liked the shape of the 5 cup box, but couldn't find a similar one with less depth), but the total ml space is much better, and it's still just big enough for the shaped silicone bake trays I got. I compared these to the sandwich-box piece of the Lock & Lock Back to School set, and noticed that they had about the same dimensions but are a little taller. I think the Lock & Lock one could stand to be this tall, it would allow for some non-flat sandwiches to go in there (like ones with lots of lettuce, you know?)
The lunch today was the last two hotdogs in the ziploc baggie, so I just tossed those in, a little container of mustard, half an apple and some raisins. A couple slices of bread on top to wrap the hotdogs in.
 
This lunch is using two of the slightly-wide-bottomed baking cups I picked up at the Dollar Tree (125 pack), and I noticed that the color was not as intense when they were pulled apart- which is a good thing, the intense looking color is what drove me away from the blue and red ones. They also felt decently wetness-resistant, somewhat like wax paper, although they are very thin. All in all, a good find for bento, I think. And knowing that the color softens when they are away from the stack, I might want some blue ones too.
*EDIT*: I later learned that these baking cups were leaking dye all over the food! Zeus' eggs and apples all got dyed yellow from using these, so I have since had to quit using them. Bummer. Good thing I hadn't picked up any more yet..
Also at the Dollar Tree that day, I found a nifty rubber summer ice-cube tray with fun shapes. I was tempted to buy two, because they only have one of each shape in them, but I decided I'd just better be extra prepared for whatever I decide to shape in them so I can make a bunch before whatever bento requires them. >^_^< They came in green and blue.
Current Mood: okay
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May 31st, 2008
03:57 pm - Bento Finds in Jo-Ann Fabrics craft store dollar bins --- Plastics & Food Safety
Here's some stuff for bento that I found in the dollar bins at Jo-Ann Fabrics. >^_^< Yay dollar bins!
The first thing I noticed was the Snap & Seal Box in the bins near the front of the store. They looked so cute and perfect for bento! The first picture I took was in the store, so I could show it to people with interests in bento, as I was trying to resist buying it myself. Although, I kept thinking that a couple of these would be just perfect to make bento lunches for the toddlers, if only they could handle taking care of stuff properly.. I hope that's not too much longer off.. Either way, they looked like perfect little snack boxes! Excellently sized, and even resembling actual bento boxes. >^_^<
These boxes are about 10 cm x 10 cm (12 cm counting to the edges of the lid) x 5 cm, and hold about 443 ml.
So, I just had to get one to try and use for a snack bento. I picked one up, and unwrapped it to see how well the latches worked. They were disappointingly loose-feeling. Kept the lid on, but didn't feel secure. I figured out that rotating the lid around could help, aligning the latches to more fitting sides, but still not great that way.. When I got home, I put some water inside and snapped the lid on to test how well it might hold leaky food. It was a dismal failure. I tipped it up and water leaked out right away. Bummer.
So, I definitely wouldn't use it for food that has juices to leak. But it might do fine for a snack that is mainly dry. Even some ham & cheese rolls would be fine, I think. I ended up picking up a second one just to see if I had gotten a bad one (wasn't too worried about buying another, since it was a dollar). It fit only a tiny bit more snugly, and still leaked water very easily. Oh well, dry snacks it is, I suppose.
The next stuff I noticed were these two sets of three small "tupperware" containers each, in the dollar bins near the back of the store. They have colorful lids, and the set of larger containers comes with a half-moon shaped container that looked like it had some potential for bento design. >^_^< That set is fairly tall, but I could fit them in the 5 cup (1183 ml) box I've been putting Zeus' lunches in, or just use them as side containers.
Now, a lot of people wonder if containers from a craft store are food safe. Are plastics meant for organizing objects safe to hold food? Well, I suppose it depends on the container. Actually, both sets of three small containers have the international symbol for "safe for contact with food"- a wine glass and fork- on the bottoms of them.
The Snap & Seal boxes I'm not so sure about, they did not have a food safe symbol on them, however, the small labels on the back of them read "TAKE LID OFF WHEN USING IN MICROWAVE", as the labels on the three-packs also read. So, I'm willing to go with the guess that these containers won't make my food harmful. >^_^<
For anyone interested in plastic identification for food safety, etc, I started working on this chart of common US Plastic Safety Symbols. Plastic safety can also be determined when the plastic is numbered.
A guide to what the numbered plastics 1-7 are can be found here at the National Geographic sponsored Green Guide.
Safest plastics for food are 5, 4, and 2.
Potentially unsafe plastics are 7, 6, and 3.
P.S.: I would love to add more symbols to this chart, including international symbols, to make it much more useful to the bento consumer. I couldn't find much online though, so if you know of any identifiable symbols on Japanese or other plastics that could help people in purchasing, please send them to me! Thanks!
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May 25th, 2008
12:55 pm - Do-It-Yourself Travel Chopsticks
Here's a simple little project I did, and you can probably tell from the photos just how simple it is. >^_^<
I picked up this pink toothbrush holder for $1.00 at Jo-Ann Fabrics. It was the nice, slender style, for easy compact carrying/storage. The chopsticks are the cheap standard 26 cm long semi-disposable bamboo chopsticks you get in a 10-set pack from a grocery store.
These bamboo chopsticks always come with the standard set of kanji printed on them, which I do not know what it says. (The print usually washes off after some use anyway.) After cutting the chopsticks down to size though, I kind of wonder what's left of what they said. If anyone knows what they say, please let me know. >^_^<
So, you might think that a hack saw is a little over-kill for some bamboo chopsticks- I did-, but after failed attempts with kitchen shears and Zeus' pair of tin snips, I figured that that was what I needed. So, I grabbed the hack saw and cut the chopsticks down to just about 20.2 cm long.
It didn't take long to get through them. A serrated knife would probably do just fine if a hack saw is not on hand.
Then, I just grabbed some fine grain sandpaper to round off the tops. And that was it! Travel chopsticks, ready to go. >^_^<
Current Mood: accomplished
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May 24th, 2008
02:51 pm - Bento-Worthy Find from the seasonal isle at Hannaford
I spotted this Cereal On The Go container at the Hannaford grocery store in the seasonal isle of summer stuff. It was cute, small enough to carry around, and perfect for fitting in a car cup-holder. I thought about it for a while, and ended up buying one on a later trip.
It's got a 355 ml cereal dish, and a 170 ml milk cup with sides full of freezer gel for keeping the milk cold. It says you should freeze the cold cup only for no more than 4 hours before use, and if the milk freezes you're supposed to close up the cup and run it under warm water for a bit.
Looks nice. It includes a fold-up spoon, even. >^_^<
These came in pink, orange, and neon green as well- even the color of the freezer gel itself, to match.
( Click Here for Close-Ups Showing the Back Label with Care Instructions and oz/ml capacity, and Instruction Card from Inside )
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May 17th, 2008
02:18 pm - Apple Blossom Bento
Trying to get a little more creative with the new stuff, I gave my new apple corer a try. I used the star shape to make a flower blossom out of apple slices, with raisins for the center. The rest is my home-made pork fried rice again, and I added some ham and cheese flowers to try and pretty it up a little more. Do you think it worked ok?
See my Pork Fried Rice recipe post here.
Current Mood: cheerful
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May 15th, 2008
01:05 pm - First Try for the Boyfriend with New Stuff!
I picked up some new stuff for bento making at the Dollar Tree- a new tupperware box and a collection of shaped silicone bakeware. >^_^<
I wanted to get a box I could use to pack lunches for Zeus, and this 5 cup (1183 ml) box was the only thing I could find in the shape I wanted. Of course, its capacity is much too large, so I don't fill it all the way up. I wonder how well this stuff travels..
Today's bento is pork fried rice, and half an apple in the star, with raisins and a piece of low-sugar papaya. He forgot to take it with him, but he ate it when he got home. :P
See my Pork Fried Rice recipe post here.
This is all the silicone bakeware I picked up at the Dollar Tree, it's pretty nice. I found a bunch of different shapes, and grabbed two each of my favorites, and one each of a couple others. I like the stars the best. Each of these takes up the space of about a 5.5 inch square, varying a little for each design type. They also had some blue ones shaped like teddy bears, but they were based on detail inside the shape, and I didn't like them much.
I had seen these before, but dismissed them because my bento boxes are standard, two-tier boxes, and these are much too large for those. However, it occurred to me that they might work great for a single-tier bento, which I've been wanting, or the tupperware I use for Zeus' lunches. >^_^<
I have no idea what to do with this interesting pink mold, but I thought there might be some use for it in a bento, some day, so I grabbed one. >^_^<
The silicone bakeware all came in packages that look like this:
Current Mood: accomplished
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May 12th, 2008
01:10 pm - Another Bento for Zeus
Another hotdog bento. Just one box: two hotdogs cut in half, two buns cut in half, a cup of mustard for the hotdogs, a paper cup with a fig, a piece of low-sugar papaya, and some raisins, and a couple of cheese flowers on picks to add to it. Not as pretty or interesting as was hoped. I've been told it kind of looks like an alien.. hm..
 
Current Mood: cheerful
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