This Week in Bento: January 11-15, 2011 (And a Special Announcement!)

Exciting news this week:  PopArtichoke can now be found at www.popartichoke.com!  No more typing in ".blogspot.com" (although using the old address will still forward to the new one.)  It's my first domain name, so I'm ecstatic!  Also, stay tuned, because I'm working on a new sister blog for PopArtichoke, one that will be especially for bento topics.  The new blog will allow me to talk more about each individual bento, and provide posts with bento tips, reviews of bento materials, and more. Meanwhile, PopArtichoke will still bring you tasty recipes, reviews, and culinary fun every week.  Keep checking in, as I hope to have the new blog up in the next couple of weeks!

In the meantime though, weekly bento posts will still be found here, so here's what I was eating last week!

January 11

This fun bento kicked off my work week with lots of color.  I discovered these delightful Soy Wrappers

at an Asian store recently, and couldn't wait to use them.  They can be used like nori for making sushi, layered in appetizers and sandwiches to add color and flavor, or used instead of a tortilla for wraps, which is how I used them here.  Soy Wrappers come in a package of 5, each a different flavor and color.  I used the "paprika orange" one for this lunch.  Inside the wraps are seasoned, grilled chicken strips, avocado slices, lettuce, and red onion.  The rice is decorated with stars made from gouda cheese.  The back container holds macadamia nuts and a cup of sliced kiwi and tangerine.  On the skewer are coconut-date balls.  I made these by cutting up Medjool dates, forming them into little balls, and rolling them in coconut flakes.  An easy and delicious combo!  Plus, thanks to the soy wrappers, this lunch is gluten free!

January 12

When I made this bento I laughed to myself, thinking it looked like a whole forest stuffed into a little lunch box.  My coworker said it reminded him of love, like a heart exploding (which I assume is a good thing..).  I'm calling this my Mediterranean chicken salad bento, but it's definitely the fanciest chicken salad I've ever made!  First of all, the meat isn't even chicken.  It's leftovers from a roasted game hen we enjoyed for dinner the night before.  The meat is mixed with artichoke hearts, red onion, radicchio, blue cheese, and cucumber.  Then, I drizzled the mix with lemon juice and olive oil, seasoned it with fresh rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, and arranged it in half of a red pepper.  Although it was simple and quick to make, it's one swanky chicken salad, don't you think?  The rest of the lunch includes roasted fingerling potatoes, pistachios, and prunes.  

January 13

It's probably been a year since Steve made these ribs, but they stuck out in my memory so I asked if he could make them for dinner this week.  The pork ribs are marinated in an Asian-inspired mix of soy sauce, ginger, wasabi, and more.  In fact, when I asked Steve what he put in them this time, he named just about everything in the cabinets, leading me to dub them "crazy ribs."  Regardless, they were super delicious and I included one in my bento here.  Along with it is colorful saffron rice with red pepper and scallions, and a green salad with radicchio and red pepper.  A little cup of raisins completes the meal... simple and so enjoyable!

January 14

Here's more leftovers, this time from a stew Steve's been wanting to make for months.  It features Thai flavors in a savory, spicy broth with chicken, cilantro, and baby bok choy.  It's finished off with tasty little potato-chive dumplings.  The rest of the bento includes lime wedges for the soup, red pepper spears, sliced tangerine, almonds, and prunes.  Perfect for these cold days!

January 15

For this last bento of the week, I used some food from my bento stash.  Pork gyoza are always a treat, and I added some color with red pepper slices.  The little bottle holds a savory dipping sauce.  The cubed avocado is seasoned with wasabi-ginger oil.. Mmm!  The rice is topped with ebi fumi furikake.  There's sliced kiwi in the back, but the violet-colored delight beside it is Okinawan sweet potato haupia pie, an excellent recipe I got from Happy Little Bento.  

Hope you enjoyed This Week in Bento!  As I said, stay tuned for an all-bento blog.. I'm working hard to bring it to you as soon as possible.  Have a fantastic week!