Bento (141) - Carrot Stars and Cilantro

Today's bento is accompanied by the announcement that the Internets should be returning to my humble home (which I have nicknamed the Shoebox)! HOORAY! More frequent updating opportunities . . . or, at the least, if I don't update - you know I'm just wasting my time surfing Facebook or some such :P

Onto the food!
This week featured edamame and carrot stars, raspberry/blueberry salad, and beef in sweet soy broth accompanied by noodles (with a sauce container of the soy broth). I discovered chopping cilantro and scattering it over the meat makes for a quick way to make the meat more attractive - and didn't require a lot of "arranging." Hooray for cilantro! (If you make bentos for others, be careful with cilantro. In a certain percentage of folks, there is some sort of gene that makes the herb taste like soap - but not me! Hooray!)

Bento (140) - Kung Pao Bento

And for my final post in this batch of bentos - I tried the P.F. Chang frozen Kung Pao Chicken bag . . . which also turned out to be delicious. If I had more time, I would have liked to stuff a few more veggies around the baked chicken to add a little color - but this was one of those "oh-my-gosh-I'm-late-and-I-need-to-pack-a-lunch" five-minute bentos. Everything is fairly identifiable - yogurt, craisins, rice, pickled plum, and green giraffe food pick to add a little fun! The yellow sauce container has the kung pao sauce, which was poured over the chicken before eating.

Bento (139) - Restaurant Sandwich Makeover

I ordered a turkey/cranberry sandwich from a local restaurant, and decided to try arranging the leftovers in my bento. I think it turned out quite well! The strawberry/kiwi salad came from my fridge, but the broccoli and other veggies were leftover steamed veggies from the restaurant, provided with the sandwich. Proof that you can bento almost anything - and enjoy the presentation just as much as when someone else first gave it to you!

Bento (138) - Orange Chicken - Take 2

Day 2 of orange chicken - accompanied by squash and zuchinni baked with a little salt/pepper/terragon and oil . . . I highly recommend these. Then I got creative with yogurt and craisins . . . . Bottom tier is the usual boring orange chicken/rice/pickled plum.

Bento (137) - Orange Chicken and Rainbow Mochi

Nothing adds to a batch of frozen P.F. Chang's orange chicken like rainbow mochi. Mmmmmm. Anyhoo - I experimented with a squash salad recipe (upper left), but added a touch too much mayo. It was still absolutely DELICIOUS - if a little whiter than I wanted :P :P :P Will have to try it again with less mayo and more squash (ingredients: cooked squash, salted cucumber slices, chopped boiled egg, and mayo). Bottom level is P.F. Changs orange chicken and rice - with a pickled plum (which I found out - acts as a preservative. COOL!). I tossed in a few whole strawberries and called it good!

Bento (136) - Return of the Apple Bunny

It's been forever since I made an apple bunny - and it seemed the perfect way to spruce up my leftover egg foo yong. Pink stuff in the middle is blueberry yogurt sprinkled with craisins (cranberry raisins). Right hand side of the top level is Sams Club pinwheels . . . you can only see the tortilla wrapping and not the pretty stuffing. :P :P :P

Bento (135) - Egg Foo Yong and Checkered Apple

Today's bento is egg foo yong (eggs, onions, artificial crab meat, soy, sugar - and probably something I'm forgetting) over rice . . . . mmmmmmmmm . . . with kale decorations and a fishie container filled with soy sauce. Top level is a checkered apple and a side of edamame topped with a radish flower.