I was able to stick to my morning routine for the most part today which even allowed me to whip up a very quick and dirty tamagoyaki for my bento. Usually I avoid cooking in the mornings and prefer to just piece a bento together with what is already made.
The top container has an onigiri filled with seasoned seaweed paste (I believe this is called nori tsukudani) with perilla. This is the first time I've wrapped an onigiri completely with nori instead of doing just a strip or two. It felt difficult to get it completely wrapped in a presentable fashion, but it was quite tasty this way. Next to the onigiri is my quick and dirty tamagoyaki, with lots of soy sauce. I need to get some dashi to make proper tamagoyaki at some point, but for a quick five minutes this morning this worked out well and was very tasty at lunch. Beside that are slices of a "tofu pup" which is a vegetarian (it might be vegan?) hot dog alternative and some diced celery. Chick sauce bottle has soy sauce for the onigiri and the rabbit has bull dog sauce for the tofu pup.
The bottom container has three strawberries (sliced, though you can't really tell from this picture), some apple slices and an apple flower and then two kumquat slices. I've decided that I don't care for the kumquats. I may juice them and use the juice as an apple coating. I cut the apple on the same plate I used for the kumquat today and the citrusy taste on the apple was kind of good.
On the side is my last mini chocolate bar. I may or may not get more of these in the future - they are quite tasty, but not cheap and higher in calories than I thought.
The produce for my bento stock is dwindling so I will have to go grocery shopping tonight or tomorrow night. I try to buy a little bit of a lot of different types of produce each time I go to the store which usually lasts me for a week or more. I think I might adjust my buying though, so that I go to the store more often to theoretically get fresher produce into each bento. The strawberries in today's bento had definitely seen better days so I was hesitant to use them, but didn't want them to go to waste either.
I would also really like to try umeboshi, but have only been able to find them at the Asian grocery store in a bigger jar. Since I don't know if I'd like them or not, I'd rather not buy the bigger jar and see most of it go to waste if I find out my palate doesn't appreciate it. I think the solution to this would be to try to order something with an umeboshi from a Japanese restaurant. Of course, I'd have to find and go to a Japanese restaurant in the area first!
(There are plenty to try, it's just that I'm kind of a weenie when it comes to trying new things by myself and haven't found anyone else to go with me yet.)
very healthy and colorful. i'm adding you on my blog links list. wish i were creative enough to make bentos too.
ReplyDeletePlease share where you got your perilla. The woman at the garden center I consulted was worried their perilla isn't safe for consumption, and I wanted purple, anyway. I ended up coloring my rice with vinegar soaked in purple cabbage, and it worked nicely also, but I'd still like to add perilla to my garden or at least my pantry.
ReplyDeleteThank you purple city princess! I think anyone can make bentos, really so you should give it a try! I haven't ventured into the really creative part yet with making character bentos or anything like that. I've still gotta work up to it!
ReplyDeleteHi, Felicity. The nori tsukudani came with the perilla already in a jar I got at the Asian grocery store. Here's a link: http://www.pacificeastwest.com/011152265582.html. I had never heard of perilla before seeing this type of nori tsukudani, and didn't realize you could buy it or grow it and use it fresh!
I'm not sure how many kumquats you have or if you're so inclined, but kumquats make amazing marmalade...slice them thin, rinds and all.
ReplyDeleteBTW, thank you for the link to Bentocracy!
Hi, Toro! Marmalade sounds delicious! I will have to try that out sometime. I don't think I have enough at this point to do it, but I'll check out some recipes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe try to use the kumquats in cooking... I don't know any recipes but I bet you could find some. We would get along well... I need someone to tour the Asian Markets with me and explain what everything is.
ReplyDeleteI think you are going to like umeboshi, esp. if you seed and chop them and make colorful tangy onigiri by just working chopped pieces into the rice as you shape it. These are my husband's favorite onigiri and the plums have a digestive benefit as well so if you ever get a sad stomach, umeboshi are a good Rx.
ReplyDeleteNice bento! I love nori tsukudani in musubis, so tasty. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, jomamma - That's a great idea to use the kumquats in cooking. I wonder how they'd be in a stir fry? I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteHi, Flying Lily - A colorful and tangy onigiri sounds really good. I will definitely get some umeboshi this weekend to try them out. Thanks!
Thank you, Susan! Do you have a particular flavor of nori tsukudani that you prefer?
I like the one that says "Gohan Desuyo" or the plain one. I haven't tried the others yet. :)
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