Big Shiny Bento

For those of you who don’t cook that much here is a tip.

If you want things to cook faster, cut them into smaller bits. When you hear that it seems to make perfect sense, but many people don’t think about it. Potatoes, carrots, turnip, or any other hard food that you want to cook will take a long time and benefit from dicing before cooking.

And here’s a tip on presentation. If you are dicing one thing in the dish, say ham, it makes sense to dice it all. Unless you want something to stand out, uniform shape and size will make the dish better. Think about it - have you ever seen string beans in the same dish with cubed ham? If you did, you likely didn’t even notice the ham at first. And to go with the diced bits, rice fits perfectly since its about the same size.

Next time I’ll talk about matchstick recipe tips.

Have fun satisfying your choco-holic tonight! and tomorrow, and the next day and…

I’ll try to have something orange for Monday’s lunch.

Today was leftovers from supper, but they were really really good!

Last night I wanted to cook supper fast. I cubed 2 cm thick ham slices, diced 1/2 medium cooking onion, 1 large carrot, and 1 royal gala apple. I boiled the carrots, while cooking the rest together on high to brown. Then simmer on low, add some water, and after a while drain off the juice for sauce and add the carrots. I only used 1 onion, 1 apple, and 1 carrot but it was a really big carrot it seems. While that is simmering cook some small pasta - I used over a cup of gnochini. Use the juice to make a cream sauce - milk, butter, heat and stir on low, and add corn starch to thicken - you don’t need much sauce for this, just enough to coat things. Combine pasta, diced bits, and sauce in pan and toss. I decided to add some worchester sauce to the cream sauce and it added some zing to it.

Supper was a hit with the whole family, and with me again at lunch! Plus it pretty economical to boot.

Again sorry about no picture, but lunch went down fast today!

Today lunch is pretty ho-hum. Its left over spaghetti and meat sauce. The sauce has diced hamburger, celery, mushrooms, and onions. I threw in some apple slices on the side, and some cheese slices.

No picture because I was rushes, and its a boring lunch. 

I didn’t have time for a picture today, sorry folks! I was up late watching the election last night, so this morning was a bit rushed. In my area all the old MPs got in with almost the exact same votes as last time - that makes me a bit mad.

But enough about politics! Time for important things - like food!

Today I made fried rice to use up some leftovers. I sliced a cooked hamburger patty very thin. Then the same for the turkey and celery. I cooked the egg, onion, and some soy sauce broken up fine.

I cooked the rice up this morning so I had to re-cook it in the pan to get rid of excess water in it before frying it. Then toss in some oil, toss the rice, and toss in the goodies with some more tossing. Plus add a little soy sauce to flavor it.

I’m still working on portions - I ended up with my large 1 tier bento box (the blue one) full to the top, and enough leftover for my lovely wife to have for lunch as well.

For our international readers, Monday was the Thanksgiving holiday in Canada where its traditional to serve turkey for dinner. Its pretty much a harvest festival, but a number of explorers landed in Canada in the fall after long trips across the ocean from Europe. So there are a few things to celebrate.

I’m thankful I have a fridge with leftovers that I can enjoy this week!

Especially since I will be going out to vote for a new leader for our country after work tonight!

Yes, this is a request to share your sources or even advertise your own business if you like.

I am looking for cool, Japanese lunch boxes - traditional or modern styles are both good.

I own 3 currently, but I am looking to expand my collection and buy some for presents for friends and family.

My best source appears to be in New Jersey near NYC, but I have no trips planned in that direction any time soon.

So, please help if you can!

Today is more in the true bento flavor.

The dark stuff is roast beef slow cooked with browned onions, chopped fine with soy sauce added. Baby carrots are at the end, and arranged with green onions into a carrot flower and leaves.

Beef rice with celery is in the bottom. It filled it up nicely, so I didn’t add any apples today.

Yup, today lunch is not the most healthy lunch, but its not bad. Its definitely more fun than usual.

Sliced apple, cheese, and beef jerky on the bottom level.

A raisin pastry and Ritz cheese sandwhich crackers on the top. I added a vanilla pudding for more volume.

The panda is a snack container I bought for my daughter. The head is hinged and the whole top pops off. Its really neat! I got it at Sobeys. I put it in since we watched Kung Fu Panda recently - awesome movie!

Back from the hot and rainy south!

We’ll see if it has inspired me.

Keep watching!