March 2009

All the content on this site by month.

April is Frugal Bento Month on Just Bento

'Saving money with bento' Re-ment scene

April is National Financial Awareness Month* in the U.S. And, let's face it, a lot of us are anxious to some degree about the state of the economy, no matter where we live. So in keeping with this, we're going to have a Frugal Bento theme for April here on Just Bento, and a Frugal Food theme on Just Hungry.

Using bentos to deal with food sensitivities gracefully

gp-nic1.jpg

This is a guest post by niceties of Main-Main Masak-Masak, where she blogs about how she deals with her food intolerences and dietary preferences. I've been an admirer of her calm, elegant and very informative essays for quite a long time, so I'm really happy to have her on board as a guest blogger!

It was because of increasingly complex food sensitivities that I was motivated to learn more about cooking and bento culture, so as to be able to adapt recipes and to make my packed meals from home more appetising. The principles of bento culture go a long way in making our food-intolerance-friendly lunchboxes more tasty and attractive. Learning to be creative in those two areas is particularly important when one is faced with the limitations of food restrictions. Here is a quick guide to my approach to bento for special diets, summarising the key ideas I've mentioned across many different postings on my blog.

The Cheap Chick makes a frugal bento

This is a guest post by Erin, who writes a frugal lifestyle blog in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, called The Cheap Chick.

gp-cc7.jpg

My name is The Cheap Chick, and I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to online bento. It’s shocking, but true. Every day, sometimes two or three times a day, I log on to my favorite site and look at what other people packed that week for their lunches.

However, if there’s a 12-step program to help me stop, I don’t want it. Because not only did Just Bento (and its sister site, Just Hungry,) help change the way I cook and eat for the better, bento fits in perfectly with the ‘be cheap and fabulous’ gospel I’m trying to spread across the globe. What could be thriftier than packing your lunch and using the pantry items and leftovers you already have, rather than buying your lunch every day at a restaurant or fast food joint?

When Maki asked for guest writers for Just Bento, I knew it was time for me to join the world of bento makers. And I promised her I could make a bento that would be frugal, use many of the ingredients I already own or buy on a regular basis, and would look and taste delicious. Here’s how it turned out...

Stuffed Pan Fried Hanpen, 'foxy' light fish cakes

hanpen4.jpg

A light stuffed fish cake recipe that's really good in bentos.

Carrot and cheese stars, flowers, hearts

carrotcheesestars1.jpg

A very simple yet effective bento decoration, suitable for all types of bento.

inarizushi1.jpg

In case you don't follow Just Hungry (though, if you want to know about basic Japanese cooking techniques you really should :)) I've substantially updated the inarizushi recipe that I originally posted more than 4 years ago. The new article describes in detail how to make your own inarizushi skins, which, if you can get a hold of the aburaage (fried tofu skins), is not hard at all. The technique is useful for people who have had trouble with the infamous Eggs in Treasure Bags recipe!

Fun with sweet dessert bentos

gp6-1.jpg

This is a guest post by Smalerie, who blogs about bento making and her other hobbies in her blog Boston Bento. Here she shows us how to make fun sweet dessert bentos to share with friends...or, well, I guess you could reserve one for yourself for a super-indulgent occasion too ^_^; -(maki)

A modern French garden bento

gp5-fb.jpg

A guest post by Fossettes of Bentolunchbox, one of the most popular French bento blogs!

Adorable bento-themed stationery. And did you know you can advertise your bento-related Etsy (or Zazzle, Artfire, etc.) store for free?

bento_64_500.jpg

Bento Contents:

  • 1 cup/220ml brown rice, 240 calories
  • About 100g / 3.5 oz Miso marinated pork made with lean pork, 160 calories
  • 1-egg tamagoyaki with nori, 110 calories
  • Spring greens namuru made with a mixture of baby spinach and arugula (rucola, rocket) leaves, 50 cal
  • Carrot and zucchini flowers (plus the leftover bits), 10 calories

Total calories (approx): 550 (how calories are calculated)

Time needed: 15-20 minutes in the morning

Type: Japanese, decorative

This bento shows a couple of ways of using up those awkward leftover cut-off bits of nori, vegetable and so on that you end up with whenever you make decorative cut-outs for your bentos.

Miso Marinated Pork (butaniku no misozuke)

butamisozuke.jpg

Something for the omnivores! Pork is the most popular meat in Japanese cooking, but so far I haven't posted any (non-bacon) pork recipes on Just Bento, though I do have a couple over on Just Hungry that are bento-friendly, such as tonkatsu (breaded and fried pork cutlets). This classic sweet-salty, intensely flavored miso marinated pork is really well suited to bentos. It is similar to miso chicken, but a bit more complex in flavor.

Still sick

  • Posted on: 18 March 2009
  • By: anon.
I woke up early today to prepare the bentos but I found out not only that I was still sick... but that most of the veggies I had in the fridge got spoiled!

Sick!

  • Posted on: 17 March 2009
  • By: anon.
I'm sick since last friday. So no bentos. Awww... >_< at least I'm staying home instead of going to work!

Travelling the world from your kitchen with bentos

gp-mosaicacollage.jpg

This is a guest post by Iliana (aka Mosaica), who blogs about her daily life at The Daily Mosaica.

In life I often find myself embracing contradictions, and with regard to planning and preparing bento lunches, it appears that I am, at least, consistent. At times I am purely focused on taking a given recipe, often a Japanese recipe, and rendering it as authentically as possible given the constraints of my semi-rural existence in Vermont, a small state in the northeast of the US.  For instance the bento from last week where I made inarizushi -- this meal nourished me on a number of levels: it was completely delicious,  it tied into a fascinating bit of cultural history, and it expanded my culinary repertoire. While I do miss the days when I was more of a globe-trotter, I've come to really appreciate how traveling via recipes from far, far away can give real pleasure --to my nose and eyes and tastebuds, as well as to my intellectual bits.

On the other hand, I'm also a bit of a fiesty girl, and I like to kick up my heels, as it were, in the kitchen, and for me this manifests itself as a willingness to play with food, to be led by my nose, or intuition, or a gut feeling that mixing this with that might just be yummy. That's what this post is about: Taking ingredients which are traditional in Japanese cuisine and dressing them up in flavors from around the globe: Tibet, Denmark, Africa, India, and beyond. In addition, if you start from a perspective of your own preferred ratio of carb to protein to veggies and fruit, I encourage you to include entirely new ingredients to add fresh flavor and interest to your bento meal. During the five weeks of the Bento Challenge, I was inspired to see how many of us were using foods and flavors from our own backyards to create delicious new twists on the bento theme.

Quick tip: Cooking pasta and noodles in just a little water

pastalittlewater.jpg

A few weeks ago, there was an article in the Food section of the New York Times about cooking pasta in a reduced amount of water (registration required), written by Harold McGee aka The Curious Cook. (In case you don't know, Harold McGee is a very interesting food writer, who approaches cooking from a scientific angle. If you are of a geeky bent or love reading about the hows and whys of food in general, I highly recommend his book On Food and Cooking.) The gist of the article is that it's possible to cook pasta in far less water than is usually recommended, and that you can even start from cold water!

While the rationale in the article for reducing the amount of cooking water is to save energy, I was intrigued by the possible time saving benefits, especially when making bentos.

Just a few notes for people who are subscribed to this site by email (everyone else, just move along):

Bento Sized Mini Quiches

This is a guest post by jokergirl, who blogs about vegetarian and pescetarian bentos at WereRabbits.

"Go ahead, bake my quiche."
Queen Magrat, Lords and Ladies

As a pescetarian leaning heavily towards full-time vegetarianism, finding the right protein for my bento is often a strain. I'm not a fan of soy meat replacements to boot, so often I look to eggs as a handy protein packet to put in my bento. Luckily, scientists now say that eggs are good for you again, so I'm not worried about cholesterol.

These mini-quiches are a tasty and healthy freezer staple for those times when boiling an egg or making tamagoyaki seems like too much effort. Each one of them contains about 1-2 tablespoons of egg-vegetable mixture, equivalent to about half an egg (plus a bit of milk).

Here are a few bentos I have used them in:

Apple Bunnies and More: Decorative Apple Cutting Techniques

applecut1-500.jpg

Apples are such great fruit - available almost any time of the year, inexpensive, and handy. While simple apple slices or even a whole apple are welcome additions to a bento box, if you just spend a few minutes cutting the pieces in decorative ways, they can really perk up your bentoscape, as Tracy showed us in the last post.

We sort of grow up in Japan knowing how to do some fairly simple apple cutting techniques. (Or at least, I remember my mother and aunties doing this sort of thing when I was little.) Here are some that you could use, from the basic to the more complicated.

How bentos help Tracy happily lose weight

This is a guest post by Tracy, aka Crazed Veggie, who blogs about bentos, amigurumi and personal rants and raves at CrazedVeggie.com. She's lost 50 pounds (22.7 kg) so far since June of last year, and uses bentos as part of her successful weight loss program!

gp2-montage.jpg

The story goes a little something like this. I've been overweight all my life. Struggling with the weight had been an everyday thing and I've never known anything different. Two years ago I decided to become vegetarian. I did this due to ethical reasons (I just couldn't go on knowing that an animal had to die for me to shove food in my mouth!). Once I became dedicated and seen how easy it was for me to make such a massive change in my food habits, I decided that I was going to watch everything that I ate and not destroy my body any longer. I joined a calorie counting website and went on a mission to lose weight. That was June of 2008, and so far I've lost 50 pounds!

I began incorporating bento box making into my weight loss program in January. As soon as I began researching the history behind them and the many websites and blogs dedicated to them, I knew this was something that I just had to be a part of.

I've just added a Bento links feature to the site. You can see it in the left sidebar. My thinking is that this is better than a blogroll, which can go stale; instead I'd like to bring you freshly cooked bento related links of interest that I've found around the web. Here's the RSS feed link. I'm using delicious to manage this, so you could just follow my bento tag there if you're a delicious user. (And if you have something you think I should link to, just send it to me there or Twitter me.)

My Version Of Spanish Tortilla (Omelette)

tortilla1.jpg

This is my speeded-up, Swiss-influenced take on a Spanish classic.

¬¬

  • Posted on: 6 March 2009
  • By: anon.
No bento today! My husband forgot them at home... and with the lids open cuz I leave them open so they cool down (i leave the house earlier than he does). So the rice was completely spoiled... We had to have lunch in a restaurant which wasn't bad but... awww :_( He feels terribly bad for it. Poor thing! <3

Healthy Egg Sandwich Breakfast Bento

This is a guest post by Diana, who blogs about her healthy eating ideas at Soap and Chocolate.

gp1-sandwich1.jpg

Not everyone eats breakfast as well as lunch at the office, but for those of us who begin work at 9am after a whirlwhind of exercise, showering and primping, it's convenient to be able to pack a bento-style breakfast the night before in order to cut down on the morning rush time. We all want to preserve those precious minutes of sleep before the alarm goes off!
 
One of my favorite homemade to-go breakfasts is an omelette sandwich and fruit. This can be done with a myriad of mix-ins and spreads, but for the purposes of this post, I've gone with a Mexican theme, just to step out of the bento box a bit.

Guest Post Articles

Periodically we feature articles by guest authors. Here is the list of all guest posts.

If you're interested in writing a guest post for Just Bento, please read this page first, then contact us. (Note that we aren't looking for posters for March anymore, but the requirements still apply.)

#8 - 20090303

  • Posted on: 3 March 2009
  • By: anon.
This is today's food. I had to fry the rice and add it some curry powder as it came out a little dry, I don't know why cuz I cooked the same as always and froze it with Maki's tip.
Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

#7 - 20090302

  • Posted on: 2 March 2009
  • By: anon.
wanted to go vegan this week so I tried to make lentills croquettes (I think it's called falafel) with some curry flavor. I'm beggining to get used to waking up early everyday. This is so fun! *n_n*
Taxonomy upgrade extras: 

Buchimgae or Chijimi (Jijimi) with Kimchi

chijimi1_500.jpg

Buchimgae or jijimi or chijimi is a thin, savory pancake from Korea. It's similar to a Japanese okonomiyaki, but is a bit less complicated to make. (Also closely related is pajon, a pancake with lots of green onions.) It's basically a pancake-like batter holding together a lot of vegetables and other ingredients. It's a great way of using up leftovers, and holds up a lot better than okonomiyaki as a bento item I think. It makes a nice change from rice or bread based bentos.

Here are two batter recipes. One is a traditional one using wheat flour and beaten egg, the other one is a vegan and gluten-free variation. Use the one that suits your needs. The traditional one is a bit lighter and crispier, and the vegan one is denser.