Valentine Dinner Turning to Bento (as Expected)

Healthy Valentine dinner?

Minestrone soup

Soy milk stew with mushroom, pork, and sesame oil

As expected, it became a part of the bento box for the following day...

Why not?

Have a nice day!

Day 24 Rice balls Montreal style bento

Weight: 172.0 lbs (-0.8 lbs)

Prep. works for the field trip to Montreal. The rice balls "Montreal" style (how?). Which do you prefer on the train? Rice balls or sandwiches?

The rice balls "Montreal" style (how?)
Ingredients:
2 cups brown rice
2.5 cups veggie stock
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sake or dry white wine
1 chopped carrot
3 green onion, chopped
1 shitake mushroom, sliced
1/2 green hot pepper, sliced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp cinnamon
Red paprika powder, a tiny bit

Rinse brown rice gently. Put all ingredients in the pot. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer until rice soaks all the juice. Aroma of this rice = a therapy.

Day 20 Green Celery Curry Thai-style Bento

Day 20

Weight: 171.5 lbs (-1.3 lbs)

Happy Curry Friday!

Green Curry loaded with celery.  The curry paste freshly made from cilantro roots, shallots, coriander seeds, etc.  Aroma of all ingredients was competing against each other in the pot, but cilantro ended up taking the lead.

  

Lettuce sauteed with cilantro sauce (chopped cilantro, lemon juice, and fish sauce.

Green pepper sauteed in a leftover "pork chop" juice.

Pressed barely cooked in coconut milk, ground sesame, and "spicy sweet sake sauce" which came out pretty interesting and attractive-looking for winter.  So, here is a recipe for "spicy sweet sake sauce." 

Ingredients:

1 cup sake or dry white wine

1/2 Green hot pepper, sliced

2 tbsp Brown sugar

1/4 lemon

1/2 tbsp paprika powder

Just mix them all and leave them alone in the fridge for 2-3 days.  They will draw the conclusion on their own, not you.

Day 18 A Trace of late night happy hour bento

Weight: 170.5 lbs (-2.3 lbs)

Visited the Buddhism temple in Bangkok in March 2011.  Monks there are supposed to be strict vegetarians.  However, in a pile of food donation, there were instant noodles with "shrimp" flavor.  Respectfully thought, "Maybe, only flavors are OK."  

In NYC, left overs from late night happy hour may consist of a piece of brioche from "Lobster" BLT and a spoonful of extra spicy horse radish from "shrimp" cocktail.  After consuming a few glasses of Pinot grigeo, these leftovers were transformed to biscuits which is reminiscent of happy hour at Palm restaurant.   

Jasmine rice cooked with soy sauce, sake, and left over juice from "pork chop".  Topped with fried onion, ginger, green onion, and lime. 

 

Soy beans cooked with green apple and sake (infused with ginger, thyme, and red pepper).  Topped with red ginger.

Don't wash the pan used for soy beans - sweetness of apple and sake still lingered in the pan.  Add veggie soup stock and sea salt.  A little bit of onion oil.  Topped with chopped green onion.