Showing posts with label cherry tomatoes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cherry tomatoes. Show all posts
Tomates crevettes bento
Labels:
apple,
apricot,
brocoli,
brown rice,
cauliflower,
cherry tomatoes,
nectarine,
radish,
tomate-crevettes
·
Today I have a skinny version of a typical Belgian dish in my bento : Tomate-crevettes. Tomate-crevettes can be a starter or a main dish and is basically an raw tomato, emptied out and filled with a shrimp stuffing (peeled sand shrimps with mayonnaise in the original version) which is commonly served with fries and salad.
Instead of the kcal bomb that is mayonnaise, I used a light petit-suisse and blended everything together, adding a bit of herbs and a radish for more taste. No fries neither in the bento, but the usual amount of rice and some brocoli and cauliflower rosets for greens. The cherry tomatoes and radishes supply the necessary dash of colour. For dessert, I have half a nectarine chopped up half and apple and a little apricot underneath it all.
Bon appetit.
Tian Provençal Bento
Labels:
blackberries,
cherry tomatoes,
cucumber,
eggplant,
garlic,
onion,
plum,
strawberries,
white rice,
zucchini
·
Another workday, another bento.
I cooked a tian provençal this weekend (with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, garlic and onion) and made sure I had plenty left over to fill couple of bentos this week. It's such a summery and savoury vegetable dish, that I could eat it every day. And thus I will :o)
To accompany the tian, I have some plain white rice topped with diced cucumber with two sliced up meatballs left over from last night's dinner. I added a little cucumber/cherry tomato skewer. Dessert is all red and blues : mini strawberries, blackberries and hidden beneath all that goodness a little dark plum.
Bon appetit.
Fennel Mushroom Risotto Bento
Labels:
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
cucumber,
fennel,
oyster mushroom,
risotto,
shitake,
steak
·
After seeing Gamene's post featuring fennel, I remembered I still had a fennel bulb in the fridge. I bought it a while back, meaning to prepare it with sometype of fish but never came round to it. Luckily for me, my fridge is an excellent one with the vegetable drawer being at a constant 0 degrees. So more than two weeks after purchase, it was still nice and fresh. :o)
I searched for a recipe that would combine fennel and mushroom as I still had some oyster mushrooms and shitake in that drawer too. And that's when I came across this recipe. Because cups aren't a regular measuring unit over here, I had to wing it a bit as far as quantities were concerned but it came out perfectly. To accompany the tasty risotto (containing shitake, oyster mushroom, fennel, asparagus and spring onion), I cooked some steak and added a little tomato skewer and carrot sakura for a bit of colour. For dessert I have a little sidebox, but I didn't take a picure of it.
Bon appetit.
Ginger & Sweet Chili Turkey Bento
Labels:
apple,
babybel cheese,
cabbage,
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
grapes,
noodles,
pineapple,
turkey,
zucchini
·
I didn't have much time to prepare my bento last night, so I opted for a one-pan dish, a stirfry. It doesn't make for an attractive view but the taste definitely makes up for it. In the bottom tier , the stirfry has noodles, turkey slices, zucchini, carrots and white cabbage, all seasoned with ginger and sweet chili.
The top tier has a piece of mini pineapple, a clementine, white grapes and a piece of apple for the fruit section. The second half has a mini babybel, raw carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes.
The end of the week, so no more bentos until Monday. I wish you all a great weekend.
Terriyaki Beef Bento
Labels:
apple,
beef,
blood orange,
brocoli,
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
grapes,
green asparagus,
green beans,
kiwi,
mushroom,
potato,
radish,
snow peas
·
Strange how despite the numerous amounts of bento boxes in my cupboard, I usually end up using the same ones over and over again. So unsurprisingly, I grabbed the M4SB again today. I think what I like most about that box is that I can keep everything nicely separate, sometimes colour coordinated, but always looking neat. Someone told me yesterday that I am a control freak with a longing for things to be square and orderly. Maybe that's the reason that my bentos look the way they do. :o)
Anyway, today's bento has some boiled potatoes, an assortment of steamed greens (brocoli, green beans, snowpeas, asparagus), carrot sticks, a mushroom skewer and cherry tomato, terriyaki beef and a sweet section for dessert (golden kiwi, white grapes, apple slices and a piece of blood orange).
Hump day today ... and I am already starting to look forward to the weekend. :o)
Happy Wednesday everyone.
Vegetable méli-mélo bento
Labels:
apple,
babybel cheese,
brocoli,
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
chicken,
clementine,
grapes,
green asparagus,
mushroom,
snow peas,
sugar snaps
·
Lots of vegetables in today's bento, hence the title. Next to some chicken patties, I have two brocoli rosets, mini corn cobs, green asparagus, sugarsnaps, snowpeas, carrots, a couple of mushrooms and cherry tomatoes for that necessary splash of colour. Dessert is the same as yesterday : clementine, apple, grapes and a mini babybel cheese.
Bon appetit.
Chicken Sausage Bento
Labels:
apple,
bell pepper,
blackberries,
blueberries,
brocoli,
carrot,
cheese,
cherry tomatoes,
chicken chipolata,
grapes,
peach,
radish,
scallion,
snow peas,
strawberries,
witloof,
zucchini
·
Another day, another bento. And for today's lunch I dusted off my sakura box which had been laying fornlorn in the bento cabinet for these last few months.
In this single tier box I squeezed in everything I will be eating today : a stirfry of all the veggies I had in the fridge (i.e. carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, endives, snowpeas, spring onions), a steamed broccoli roset topped with a cheese maple leaf, a diced up chicken chipolata, some grenaille potatoes with a cherry tomato on top and a radish for decoration. I also packed my usual fruit selection (the advantage of summer and its abundant supply) : white peach, strawberries, apple, white and black grapes, blueberries and blackberries.
Bon appetit.
Terriyaki Turkey Bento
Labels:
apple,
bell pepper,
blackberries,
blueberries,
carrot,
cheese,
cherry tomatoes,
grapes,
nectarine,
peach,
radish,
scallion,
snow peas,
strawberries,
turkey,
witloof
·
Today's bento is already looking a bit better than yesterday's (if I may say so myself). Proof that I am slowly getting back in a certain routine :o)
Bottom tier has terriyaki turkey (I was planning to make duck but they were sold out), glazed carrots, a bell pepper/snowpeas/endives/spring onion stirfry, some grenaille potatoes and radishes and cherry tomatoes for decoration. I also added a little container of orange sauce (I deglazed the frying pan with some orange juice after frying the turkey).
Top tier holds the dessert and snack section : white peach, nectarine, strawberries, pink lady apple (my fave), white and black grapes, blueberries and blackberries, a piece of Camembert, and two mini tartines russes. I don't know how they are called in English, literally translated these are "Russian sandwiches", basically two crispy biscuit slices with some buttercream in between. Yumm.
Usually, I don't use a same box two days in a row but as I am housesitting for my parents at the moment (who are enjoying some happy time far from cold and rainy Belgium) my packing possibilities are rather limited. I already dragged along my "bento accessories" storage box, so I couldn't take all my bentos with me as well. I'll try to pick up a couple of other ones at home tonight, so I break the monotony. Somehow the vivid red of this box, is just too much for the camera to handle.
Talking about boxes, I encountered some wonderful boxes and tiffins while perusing some (food) blogs yesterday and a couple of them just scream out "come and get me". I don't know how long I will be able to resist their siren song, but I will do my best. And because shared happiness is always better, these are the ones I am talking about.
First of all, this gorgeous handpainted Lolita tiffin on sale at monbento.com. The price is steep and its volume and weight quite impressive, but you have to admit that this stunning container is one of those "got to have".
The second box that charmed me is the Jenggala Rantang from the Indonesian factory Jenggala Keramik Bali. Unfortunately the post on Decorablog dates from last year and I couldn't find this ceramic and wooden box anymore in Jenggala's online catalogue. At 32 EUR, it would have been a wonderful addition to my growing collection. Maybe I'll get lucky on ebay. Anyway, this is what this beauty looks like. If anyone sees it on sale somewhere, please drop me a line.
Until tomorrow, enjoy your bentos ! :o)
Ginger Pork Bento
Labels:
apple,
blackberries,
blueberries,
brocoli,
cauliflower,
cherry tomatoes,
ginger pork,
grapes,
green asparagus,
green beans,
olives,
orange,
pomegranate,
potato,
radish
·
Because I still had ginger to use before it went stale, I decided to make some ginger pork for my bento last night. It's an recipe I already used for bento (and which you can find here). This time I did as Maki suggested in her book and coated some new potatoes with the ginger sauce, to accompany the meat. It smelled divine and I am sure the taste will be equally satisfying. In between the gingery elements, I added green beans, green asparagus tips, some broccoli rosets, radish, a mini cauliflower, a cherry tomato and a few olives (inspired by Ohayobento's post from yesterday). The WW total for today is 7 propoints.
As I am still battling the nasty germs, I stocked up on as many fruit vitamins as possible : white grapes, blueberries, blackberries, apple bunnies, blood orange slices, pomegranate seeds and some dried fruits (pineapple, papya, cranberries, banana).
Wishing everybody a healthy bento lunch today !
Bon appetit
Chicons au gratin bento
Labels:
apple,
banana,
carrot,
cheese,
cherry tomatoes,
cucumber,
grapes,
ham,
strawberries,
witloof
·
Today's bento features a typical Belgian dish : (Belgian) Endives rolls, locally knows as Chicons au gratin (in French) or Witloofgratin (in Dutch). Basically these are braised endives, rolled in a slice of ham, covered with bechamel (or as I did cheese sauce - although I didn't add any liquids to the bento) and generously sprinkled with grated cheese, before getting a tan in a hot oven.
It is a typical winter dish as well, as endives are very much in season now. I always go for the field-grown variety as I find those more savoury and less bitter than their greenhouse counterparts.
So besides, the endives, my bento has a few cherry tomatoes, shredded carrots and cucumber slices. The sweet dessert portion consists of half a banana, white grapes, apple and a few strawberries. And all this for a total points value of 6,5 WW propoints.
Bon appetit !
Ginger pork bento
Labels:
apple,
bean sprouts,
blackberries,
blueberries,
brocoli,
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
ginger pork,
grapes,
kiwiberries,
ramiro pepper,
redcurrant,
strawberries,
white rice
·
Multiple postings on the same day, don't worry ... it won't become a habit. :o) Sukiyaki style bento was my lunch on Monday, no bento on Tuesday (aftermath of the unwanted visit), and today I had this delicious ginger pork at lunchtime.
It was also the first outing of my new purple Bento Color Box, with its tree separate tiers. The box turned out to be a bit smaller than I expected (although it still holds 650 ml), so there wasn't a lot of room of embellishments, which can be an advantage when you're uninspired :o)
The bottom (and largest) tier held white rice with carrot slices for colour, alongside some broccoli and a cherry tomato. The next compartment has a beansprout/ramiro pepper stirfry and the ginger pork giving the bento its name. The top and final tier housed the sweet finish of any good lunch : some fresh fruits.
How to "ginger pork" :
Again a recipe from my new favourite bentobook JustBento. :o)
Ingredients :
* 100g thinly sliced pork
* 1/2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
* 2 tbs soy sauce
* 1 tbs mirin
* 1 tbs sake
Fry the pork in a little bit of oil, until each side is browned. Remove the meat from the pan and wipe the pan with a paper towel. Add the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Add the reserved meat to the pan, in order to coat it with the sauce.
Show-off of the new bento :
Peas & ricotta moelleux bento
Labels:
blueberries,
brocoli,
brussels sprout,
cantaloup melon,
cherry tomatoes,
cordon bleu,
grapes,
green asparagus,
moelleux,
nectarine,
orange,
white rice
·
Another day, another bento ... and we're Thursday again already. The weekend is almost there ... I can smell its sweet scent, beckoning me :o) But I still have to more working days to go, which will need lunch-boxes.
Today's bento has a moelleux as center piece. I looked for the correct English word, but couldn't find it. A moelleux is in fact a cake with a soft core. The most famous example would be a moelleux au chocolat, a chocolate cake with a gooey centre. The cake in the bento is a savoury variation of that concept, although the core is clearly not runny like the chocolate version. The recipe for these cakes can be found below.
My bento has white rice with green asparagus layered on top, brussels sprouts, steamed broccoli, a moelleux with ricotto and peas, and some cordon bleu pieces (breaded veal scallop with gruyère and ham in the centre). The vitamins can be found in grapes, blueberries, nectarine, oranges and cantaloup balls.
The second bento has the same ingredients except for the veggies, because brussels sprouts are a no-no in my other half's bento and Sweetie isn't too fond of broccoli neither. So I replaced those by green beans, snow peas and sugar snaps ... also green greens, but different ones.
Ingredients :
* 100g (frozen) peas
* 140g ricotta
* 3 eggs
* 20g grated cheese (gruyère)
* 60g all purpose flour
* 25 cl milk
* 40g demi-sel butter (i.e.lightly salted butter)
* salt & pepper
Cook the peas in salted boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and mash them and mix with the ricotta.
Preheat the oven to 210°C.
In a bowl, wisk the eggs as it to make scrambled eggs. Add progressively the sifted flour, while mixing with a fork.
In a pan heat the milk with the diced butter. When the butter has melted, pour the warm milk in the bowl with the egg/flour mixture. Mix and add the peas/ricotta mash. Mix again and season with pepper.
Pour the dough into 9 individual recipients, sprinkle with the grated cheese.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes (according to the size of your molds).
Let them cool slightly before taking them out of the molds.
My talented bento friend Lia from MyBentolicious surprised me yet again by passing on two awards to me. I'm paying it forward to all my fellow bentoists whose blogs are such an inspiration to me. Feel free to grab the badges here :o)
Empanada de atún bento
Labels:
bento,
blueberries,
cantaloup melon,
cherry tomatoes,
cucumber,
empanada,
grapes,
lettuce,
mozarella,
nectarine,
olives,
orange,
radish
·
Spanish flavours in today's lunch, as I decided to make empanadas de atún last night to pack in our bento boxes. As it was a kind of a "spur of the moment" idea, I didn't have the time to make it completely from scratch as my MIL used to do. Luckily for me, the "organised business woman" I am, has everything she needs in her fridge and cupboard to produce these savoury pastries in a relatively short time.
As my (Spanish) Sweetie grew up with these flavours and with MIL's comida casera, cooking up a Spanish dish is always a bit tricky. No matter what I do, I'll never make things exactly the way she did. And as she sadly passed away a few years ago, I can't ask her for advice anymore neither. Nevertheless, I had to shoo someone out of the kitchen last night, who had picked up the familiar scent, trailed it back to the kitchen and was intent on stealing a few scraps out of the hot pan. I guess I can consider that a compliment :o)
So both our bento have an empanada de atún on a bed of young lettuce leaves, radishes, cucumber, tomato/mozzarella skewers and a green olives skewer. It's nice to include raw veggies again, it reminds me that sunny days are on their way and that it will soon be BBQ weather again :o)
The dessert section has grapes, cantaloup balls, orange parts, nectarine and blueberries.
How-to speedy Empanada de Atún :
Ingredients for 8 empanadas:
* 3 garlic cloves (or less, if you're not a garlic fan as we are)
* 2 red onions
* 400g of canned tuna (I used tuna in olive oil, but on brine would work too)
* 2 (bell) peppers (traditionally you'd use green ones, but I used the two red ramiro peppers I had in the fridge)
* 1 jar (400 ml) of tomate frito (my fave brand : Solis)
* 2 hardboiled eggs
* 1 egg
* 2 puff pastry sheets
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Dice the onions and peppers and finely chop the garlic. In a skillet, fry the onions and garlic in a bit of olive oil, and add the peppers when the onions have glazed over.
Once the peppers are starting to tender, add the tomate frito and let it simmer for a while on low heat.
Meanwhile, drain the tuna and crumble it. Chop up the hardboiled eggs and add them together with the crumbled tuna to the tomate frito. Stir all the ingredients together and let it simmer a while longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. The filling should now be rather consistent and not watery or liquid.
Roll out the pastry sheets. The ones I had in the fridge were round ones, which aren't the easiest to use. If you make your own pastry dough you can make roll it out in a sheet, cut out round shapes, reshape the remaining dough into a new flat sheet, cut out again, etc. (empanadas are normally presented as half circles, like goyza)... But I just cut the round doughs in four, filled them and then (painstakingly) tried to close them.
Whisk the egg and brush it on top of the empanadas, before putting them in the oven for about half an hour (depending on your oven).
The empanadas are delicious hot and cold, which makes them ideal for bento.
Taboulé & falafel bento
Labels:
apple,
bento,
brocoli,
cherry tomatoes,
grapes,
nectarine,
plum,
scallion,
strawberries,
taboulé
·
I was a bit at a loss last night as to what to pack in today's bento. My main problem is that I don't plan ahead. I try, really, I do, but somehow it just never works out the way I want it to. This means that by Tuesday, all my good intentions have already gone down the drain and I have given up on the whole "let's plan ahead and save precious time in the evening" plan.
Yesterday was no exception to the rule: like on other evenings, I found myself staring blankly at the inside of the fridge. And then I saw the M4SB on the kitchen cupboard, waiting to be put away and inspiration hit me : the magic of the M4SB was operating :o)
I didn't plan it to but when I finished assembling the bento, it was quite colour coordinated again. I guess it's a virgo thing that takes me unawares, whether it be colours or symmetrical lines, I always come back to "neat and orderly".
Anyway, enough rambling. My M4SB of the day has :
* yellow section : taboulé with bell peppers, parsley, scallion, tomato and raisins (and a drizzle of olive oil). Taboulé is more of a summer dish but with temperatures up to 20°C today, a sunny dish was in order. :o)
* purple section : storebought falafels (because I still can't make them myself, at least not edible ones) and a cherry tomato
* green section : steamed greens (brocoli, zucchini, peas)
* red section : strawberry, nectarine, plum, apple, grapes
Lemongrass scampi & beef/pork patty bento
Labels:
apple,
beef,
bell pepper,
bento,
brocolini,
carrot,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
grapes,
green asparagus,
iceberg lettuce,
mozarella,
nashi,
plum,
snow peas,
sugar snaps
·
Two slightly different bento for me and P. today, as both the scampi and the minced meat had to be cooked up before they turned bad. I know that the date on the packages is indicative and says "best before" and not "unfit for consumption after", but still, I don't like taking risks.
My faithful sakura bento (I love that one so much, I keep using this one every single time) has some white rice topped with bellpepper flowers, scampis stirfried with scallions and lemongrass surrounded by carrot baran, a cherry tomato, brocolini and green asperagus covered with snowpeas, some cauliflower roses and carrot kinpira to the left. The whole veggie section is separated from the fruits by red lettuce leafs, and those fruits are the usual clementine, grapes, plums and nectarine.
P. has a lunch bento and a dessert sidecar today. The lunch bento consists of beef/pork patties with scallion and red onion, white rice topped with red pepper flowers and surrounded by red lettuce baran, brocolini with snowpeas and sugar snaps, carrot kinpira, a cherry tomato and the last of the mozzarella balls.
The dessert sidecar holds beside the usual fruits (clementine, grapes, plums, nectarine, apple and nashi), also a small cup of the spring edition M&Ms I found during grocery shopping last weekend.
Baby pak choi & stuffed eggplant bento
Labels:
beef,
bento,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
eggplant,
grapes,
kiwi,
nectarine,
pak choi,
plum,
purple rice,
sweet potato
·
I went to the Asian supermarket last Friday and for once I found some baby pak choi in the fridge. I guess that the regular Asian buyers get them all before my normal shopping day i.e. Saturday and that's why I never saw them before. I also encountered some white thai tomato eggplants, and couldn't wait to put these in our bento.
So for Monday's lunch, I packed carrot kinpira, steamed pak choi (quickly tossed into the pan I made the kinpira in), stuffed mini eggplants, a plain rice onigiri, the remainder of the stuffing, cherry tomatoes and mashed sweet potatoes seasoned with parsley and coriander.
The sweet department features clementine, white grapes, nectarine, red and yellow plum and some kiwi slices.
How-to stuffed mini eggplants :
For the recipe of the eggplants, I'm going to refer you to Chubby Panda's recipe, as that was the one I used to make these. The main difference is that I didn't have thin-sliced beef in the fridge and used beef mince instead.
I could copy the recipe here, but that would deprive you of the mouthwatering pictures her post contains. So, check it out :o) Hers ended up looking way better than mine anyway :o)
Same ingredients in P.'s bento, except for the sweet potato mash, which is without any additives in this one and the extra slice of nashi.
And then the main news of the day ... the M4SB arrived :o) Can't wait to fill this baby up (although I'll have to think of some cool colour coordinated ingredients for its inaugural lunch :o)).
Wortelstoemp bento
Labels:
bell pepper,
bento,
blueberries,
brocolini,
cherry tomatoes,
grapes,
kiwiberries,
nectarine,
plum,
quail egg,
snow peas,
stoemp
·
The recipe is also quite straightforward : cook the potatoes and the veggies, mash everything roughly together (you should still be able to make out the pieces), season to taste with salt, pepper, nutmeg and the herbs you like.
Anyway, this bento almost didn't make it because I was dead tired yesterday and went to sleep around 10 PM. (If you know that my normal bed time hour on working days is somewhere between 0.30 AM and 1.00 AM, you can appreciate my effort.) So, I didn't feel like making a bento last night and went to sleep thinking I would grab a sandwich on my way to work. When the alarm went of at 6.00 AM however, I felt completely refreshed and decided in the spur of the moment, to make a bento anyway. A morning bento ... now, that's a first.
I made this one in half a hour's time. Quite an achievement!
In here you'll find two wortelstoemp cones (leftover from last night's dinner) topped with cheese sakura and lined with broccoli sprouts. On top of the green sprouts, there is a quail egg and some baby corn slices. In order to go with this month's B.O.M.B., I used red lettuce leaves and cauliflower to separate the broccolini and snowpeas from the rest of the bento. The protein part consists of storebought falafel (I have given up on trying to make my own) and for the sweet section I have red and yellow plum, nectarine, black and white grapes, blueberries and kiwiberries.
Smakelijk. :o)
The nameless bento
Labels:
bento,
brocolini,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
corn,
grapes,
kiwano,
kiwiberries,
meatballs,
mozarella,
nectarine,
plum,
sugar snaps,
vitelotte
·
This bento has a few leftover items in it : the sliced meatballs are from last night's dinner and there was still a bit of vitelotte mash left, so I took that one along as well. For the veggies I have red lettuce (under the meat), brocolini (finally found some in the stores last weekend), sugar snaps and two cherry tomatoes/mozarella/mini corn skewers. The fruit part of the bento has black and white grapes, kiwiberries, half a strawberry, blueberries, plum, nectarin, clementine and a slice of kiwano (see more about that below).
P. only took a fruit snack to the office today as a lunch meeting had been sheduled.
KIWANO
Ok, so most of my friends know that I can't resist anything marked new or looking unfamiliar while grocery shopping. I'm the dream of any marketeer : the volunteer human guinea pig :o)
Anyway, this fruit is the result of that weakness. I saw this strange looking thing in the exotic fruits section and I just had to buy it (truthful to my "try everything at least once" motto). Kiwano : the name sounded promising and called to mind images of sunny tropical islands. Needless to say that I had high expectations...
and it didn't live up to it. It doesn't have any particular taste and could best be compared to a lightly sweetened cucumber. Very fresh (even for a fruit that has to stay out of the fridge) but otherwise tasteless. It looks pretty as decoration but I will pass on this one next time around. Definetely not worth its price.
Spanakopita bento
Labels:
blueberries,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
cucumber,
duck,
feta,
grapes,
kiwiberries,
macaron,
mozarella,
nectarine,
plum,
sausage,
spanakopita,
spinach,
sprouts,
strawberries,
vitelotte
·
I might post of few of the bentos I made for the last two months. But before looking back it's more interesting to look ahead and more particularly look at today's lunch. :o)
Inspired by Blorgie1's mouthwatering Spanakopita snail bento picture, I decided to give that Greek pastry a try. Googling the name for recipes lead to many posibilites and variations, and unable to choose the "right one", I opted for making my own version of it. It's probably not traditional (nor very greek for that matter) but in the end, it's the taste that matters.
I have to admit however that I made the triangle just for the bento and haven't tasted it yet, but the filling was good in itself (yep, I'm the type of girl that can't help snacking on whatever she's making), so baked and wrapped in filo it can only be better :o)
P.'s bento for the day consists of a spanakopita triangle, two skewers composed of cherry tomatoes, smoked duck and mozarella, a grilled chicken sausage, vitelotte mash in a lilac cup, cucumber baran and beetroot sprout. The fruit section has a selection of mainly dark fruits : blueberries, grapes, strawberries, kiwiberries, nectarine, clementine and plum. I also added a mini blackberry macaron for sweetness.
How to Spanakopita, the BentoBliss way :o) :
The following ingredients make 4 triangles
* 250g fresh spinash
* 100g greek feta
* 100g mascarpone (I wanted ricotta but didn't have any available)
* 2 spring onions
* 2 garlic cloves
* 50 g of melted butter and 1 TBS of olive oil
* 8 filo sheets
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp chopped mint
* chopped parsley
* salt, pepper, nutmeg
Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
Blanch the spinach, drain, squeeze the excess water out of it and chop it up.
Chop the spring onions and fry them shortly in a pan. They have to be a bit tender but not brown.
In a large bowl, mix together the spinach, the onion, the crumbled feta, the mascarpone and the herbs and spices.
Beat the egg lightly (as you would for making a scrambled egg) and add it to the mixture.
Take your filo sheets and lay the first sheet open, brush the butter/olive oil mix on the sheet and cover with a second sheet. Repeat until putting the forth sheet on top.
Cut the sheet in half lengthwise, add a fourth of the spinach mix on the bottom of filo rectangle and twist it into a triangle. It's the same method as for making briouats, see the pic below on how to do this.
Repeat the same procedure with the remaining 4 sheets to have 4 triangles in total.
Put the triangles on the baking tray lined with baking parchment paper, and bake them in the oven until the colour golden brown. The exact time depends on your oven, in my case, it took about 20 minutes.
My bento for today, has roughly the same ingredients as the one Sweetie got. I just left out the duck skewers for me and replaced the chicken sausage by surimi & tzatziki rolls.
Jambalaya bento
Labels:
apricot,
babybel cheese,
bento,
blueberries,
cherry tomatoes,
clementine,
cucumber,
grapes,
jambalaya,
olives,
plum,
pomegranate,
radish
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However a new week has started and I have boarded the bento train again, at least until next Thursday. On Friday at noon, we are going to a restaurant with the whole office for our traditional New Year's lunch and after lunch we are free to go home as well. So no bento then, but an early start of the weekend. :o)
But first let's get back to today's bento. I tried for the first time to make Jamabalaya last night and the leftover portions are in today's lunchboxes. This is most definetely not the most traditional jambalaya around (I guess any real Cajun would shake his head in disbelief at my makings), but you have to try somewhere, right? Moreover as I am on a diet (yes, yes, still haven't given up :o)), I tried to keep it as low-fat as possible and it still turned out a yummy hearty winter dish.How-to Jambalaya :
First of all, I encountered a little problem with the rice while making this dish. I had to cook it for 45 minutes in order to get it tender instead of the normal 25 minutes O_o, but otherwise, it came out very tasty. I think the problem might be linked to the small burner I had to use as button operating the large burner of the stove is out of order :o( , so I'll keep the normal cooking times in this recipe.
* 120g lean breakfast bacon (can be replaced by chicken as well)
* 1 onion
* 2 garlic cloves
* 250g mushrooms
* 1 red bell pepper
* 1 tsp olive oil
* 120g brown rice (uncooked)
* 400g sifted tomatoes
* 150ml vegetable stock
* 400g gambas (pealed & cooked)
* 1 TBS parsley* a pinch of sugar
* to taste : salt, pepper, thyme (and if you like spicy, you can add tabasco sauce as well)
Bake the bacon in the teaspoon of olive oil, add the vegetables and stew.
Add the uncooked rice, tomatoes and vegetable stock. Season with salt, pepper, a pinch of sugar (and tabasco if you want) and cook for 15 minutes.
Add the gambas and heat for an additional 5 minutes, finish with the tablespoon of parsley (and thyme).
Sweetie's monkey bento had the same ingredients (1) in the square tupper : jambalaya, cucumber, green olives and some cherry tomatoes. and (2) in the fruit sidecar: clementine, white and blue grapes, apricot and plum.I am wishing you all a great and yummilicious new bento week !
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