This Week in Bento: July 13-17

I'm really starting to think that having a sister blog dedicated strictly to bento is the way to go, but since I'm still starting out, I'll keep it here. (Again, though, I'm open to suggestions from you bento-ers out there!)  Some of my bento-blogging friends post bento photos nearly every day; some maybe once a month.  At least for now, I'm going to shoot for a weekly update.

(Note: I work in retail, which means I have weird hours and days that I work, and since I only make bentos when I work, there's not going to be a regular amount from the week all of the time.  This past week I actually worked 5 days in a row, and also sent Steve to work with a couple lunches as well!)

July 13

This one was for my boyfriend: Cheddar quesadilla, green chile chicken tamal, salsa and sour cream, mango, and nopalitos (cactus) salad with queso fresco.  The salsa and sour cream are in one of my latest bento finds: Lock Up Jars that I found at Crate and Barrel Outlet.  They have a very tight seal (which is needed for transporting bentos), they fit in two of my three boxes, and the ones I got came in a pack of three that actually lock together into a little stack.

Mine was Mexican-inspired as well: Nopalitos salad with queso fresco, sour cream and salsa, cheddar quesadilla, mango, and grilled poblano and red bell peppers.  See? Bento certainly doesn't have to just be Japanese food!



July 14

Caprese salad skewers (with basil from our newly planted patio herb garden.. thanks Steve!), red onion, vegetable radiatore pasta salad with parmesan and kalamata olives, little bottles of balsamic vinegar and olive oil for the caprese, garlic toasts with radicchio, and waaay in the back, a little helping of mango.

Okay, I must say, I am really happy with this picture (not to mention this bento!)  I'm making a concerted effort to improve my photos: using a white background, really trying to make my bentos while there is still natural light, and experimenting with different ISOs.  Plus, it certainly doesn't hurt that I used those adorable little food picks I got from J-List.  The little bottles I found from Amazon; they're itty bitty, so they don't work for anything thick, but soy sauce, oil, vinegar, and thin dipping sauces are perfect in them!

July 15

This one is nice n' simple, and everything in it was a leftover of some sort! More veggie radiatore pasta salad, shaved brussels sprout and shallot sauté with pine nuts, "Biokult" (a tasty pineapple-flavor yogurty drink; delicious despite the frightening name), and cherries (from frozen) hidden underneath.

July 16

We had roasted a duck the previous weekend, and I decided to make my favorite Thai carryout dish from scratch: Pineapple curry with duck! I'll hopefully put it up on this blog soon...I have so many recipes I need to put up here!! Ah!  Anyway, I used my Ms. Bento for this one since the bottom bowl is for soup and has the best seal for anything liquid.  There's also rice for the curry, shaved brussels sprout and shallot sauté, and roasted corn with red pepper stars.

July 17

Here's a rather Japanese bento for the end of my work week!  On the left there's homemade pork gyoza that we made months ago and froze for future use (this was the last of 'em, so there will surely me more gyoza-making in my future!) Red pepper slices, a little bottle of gyoza dipping sauce, sushi (seasoned) rice with wasabi furikake, green beans with wakame seaweed, fresh pineapple, maraschino cherries, and a boysenberry fruit leather. 

I'll go into more detail about the bento gear I use later, but I just wanted to point out that most of the cups and dividers I use are silicone.  I try not to use disposable stuff because it's just creating more waste, and not very economical.  Also, the silicone is safe to microwave, bake, freeze, and clean in the dishwasher, and it's flexible to fit in different boxes.

This week, Saturday was the final day of both of our work weeks, and who doesn't get excited about the weekend?  Also, my friend just got me Yum-Yum Bento Box, which is an amazing book that I'll be reviewing  here soon.  There's a lot of really adorable kawaii in there, and it's actually doable in a reasonable amount of time.  This isn't from the book, but I was definitely in the mood to make something cute, and Steve says he's man enough to take a lunch that looks like it's for a 5-year-old to work, which is good since he didn't have much of a choice. ^_^  When shopping for something else I saw these alphabet cookie cutters, and I was sold!  I make my bentos the evening before, and I put this one in it's little carrying bag in the fridge and told Steve he couldn't look at it until he got to work.  He's such a good sport!

The letters are made of fresh mozzarella and arranged over the last of the vegetable radiatore pasta salad and yes, a heart-shaped slice of pepperoni pizza.  At the bottom are cherry tomatoes with basil, and some fresh pineapple and maraschino cherries.  I got the report back and I guess it tasted as good as it looks!  Success!!

Hope this offers a little bento inspiration! Leave a comment before you go... I love to hear from readers! Thanks!