Convention Bento

My boyfriend and I are going to Anime Weekend Atlanta tomorrow, so I decided to pack us some lunches!

For lunch, Josh is having roast beef and cheddar on some home made pandesal that his mom made.  I also gave him some hard candies, a chewy bar, a cupcake,and some sun chips.  As you can see, there are no frills, just simple foods I know he'll eat.

My lunch however... Top left are sauteed greens (kale, chard, spinach) with carrot, asparagus, and a simple dressing made of soy sauce, rice vinegar, and mirin. In the bottom are: 2 fig bars, sweet omelets wrapped in seaweed and garnished with a grape tomato, and a pandesal filled with pimento cheese, garnished with a spinach leaf and a grape tomato.  The top right is filled up with sweets: hard candies, a shortbread cookie, dried apricots, banana pudding, and sprinkles!

I'll be wearing lolita tomorrow so I wanted to pay homage to the film Kamikaze Girls that got me into the style.  I decided to do so via my bento.  Idk if it is clear in the picture, but for Ichigo's side (top left), I did a sort of grungy, messy looking food and even tried to cut the carrots in the shape of skulls.  And then on Momoko's side (top right), well I just copied her own philosophy on food:

For the bottom portion of my bento, it's just stuff that I personally like--no theme.  Unfortunately I think I put too much soy sauce in the little omelets so they are more salty than sweet... I'll have to try to make them again another day and adjust the seasonings.

I went kind of quick and did not measure anything again so i don't really have any recipes to offer.  Sorry!

dad lunch

i started to make my mom a lunch but then she said she was going to work from home tomorrow?  So this is what dad is having:

salad shaker w blueberry balsamic vinaigrette 

cupcake, kind bar, hijiki salad (not fully rehydrated yet in picture so it looks kinda yucky!)
ants on a log, carrot slices, celery sticks, pimento cheese, and hummus

i didn't really measure anything for the salad dressing or the hijiki salad and those were the only things i really made from scratch for this lunch, so i can't really provide recipes?? oops sorry.

Frittata, Cupcakes, and Sausage

Thursday's Lunches

The primary part of tomorrow's bento is the broccoli-and-cheese frittata left over from dinner.  To fill space around the slice of frittata, i put a little piece of leftover sausage on a toothpick with a grape tomato, and snuck a piece of coffee candy in the other corner.  For mom's lunch, she wanted two portions of salad, so I gave her a mix of chard, kale, and spinach, with some blueberries sprinkled throughout.  I also gave her half of a kind bar for dessert.  For dad's lunch, he has triscuits and hummus, and for dessert, a cupcake and the other half of the kind bar.

Recipe for the Frittata:
1 cup of cooked broccoli

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 9" pie pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray.  Spread the broccoli and shredded cheese evenly across the bottom of the pan.  In a separate large bowl, combine eggs, cream, salt, and pepper.  Whisk it together until it's very well combined, then pour it over the broccoli and cheese.  Bake for 30-45 minutes or until you can stab it with a knife and have it come out clean.

I used this recipe for the cupcakes, subbing in a mushed up banana for 1/2 cup of applesauce (the recipe itself calls for 1 1/2 cups of applesauce and i only had 1 cup and a banana that needed to be eaten).  I also made my own frosting in lieu of the cream cheese one given in the recipe.  Here is the recipe for my frosting:

8oz tub of Marscapone cheese
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

Use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer.  Stir together the marscapone with half of the powdered sugar.  Gradually bring up the speed until it is just incorporated.  Reduce the speed and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Once again, gradually bring up the speed until you see soft peaks form on the end of the whisk when you lift it up.  Let the cupcakes cool completely before you frost them, and top with sprinkles, if desired.  This recipe should be enough for ~12 cupcakes, but you can prob stretch it to 16 if you're stingy with it.

Taco Tuesday and Pasta Salad Wednesday

Wednesday's lunch consists of blueberries, pili nuts, pasta salad, and a choice of frosted miniwheats or mixed greens.  The recipe for the pasta salad is as follows:

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

1 tbs olive oil

a drop of lemon flavored grape seed oil

4 stalks of asparagus, cut into small pieces

4 grape tomatoes, each cut in half

4 chunks of marinated artichoke hearts, broken up

1 tbs of balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package, drain, and set aside.  Do not rinse.  Meanwhile, heat the oils in a small frying pan, and add the asparagus.  Add a pinch of salt and a bit of pepper then saute until the asparagus pieces are bright green.  Once proper color is achieved, add the tomatoes, and saute until they are a bit soft and can be squished easily with a wooden spoon.  Remove pan from heat and scrape everything in the pan into a medium sized bowl.  Add the artichoke hearts, pasta, and balsamic vinegar to the bowl.  Give it a good toss and taste it.  Add salt and pepper as you see fit.  Let chill before serving.

Taco Tuesday Pasta Bake

ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef

2 tbs of taco seasoning

1 lb of tricolor rotini

1 stick of butter

1 tbs of all purpose flour

3/4 cups of heavy cream

1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup pico de gallo, drained of liquid

4 slices of cheddar cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Cook the rotini according to package directions, drain, and set aside.  Do not rinse.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat then add ground beef and taco seasoning.  As the meat browns, break up any chunks with a large cooking spoon.  Once mostly browned, add 1/2 cup of water and cover.  Let it finish cooking while you prepare the cheese sauce.

To make the cheese sauce, melt 1/2 stick of butter in a small sauce pan.  Whisk in the tablespoon of flour.  Once incorporated, add the cream.  Once incorporated, add the shredded cheese a little bit at a time.  Add a handful of cheese, whisk it until it's all melted and thoroughly incorporated.  Add more cream if it gets too thick. When the sauce appears homogeneous, stir in the pico de gallo.

In a large casserole dish, combine the sauce, meat, and pasta.  Stir it up to make sure it's all mixed together, then smooth the top so it will cook evenly.  For the topping, melt 1/2 stick of butter in the microwave and mix with 1/2 cup of panko.  Lay 4 slices of cheese down the center of the casserole, then sprinkle the panko mixture around it.  It should look like this:

Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top has melted and the panko has browned a bit.

For a vegetarian option you could use some kind of meat substitute for the ground beef or just omit it completely.

Pierogies

Tuesday's Lunch

Tuesday's lunch consists of cheese-and-onion pierogies, grape tomatoes, a caramel sea salt Kind bar, and a salad mix of kale, chard, and spinach, topped with blueberries and grapes.

For the pierogies, I used this recipe for the dough, and for the inside I made a hella batch of mashed potatoes.  I made so many mashed potatoes.  I prob used 1/4 of the batch for the actual pierogies and I made hella pierogies with that dough recipe. I made a lot because I was going to serve the extra with dinner, but it still ended up being way too much mashed potatoes.  Like, I used 6 giant russet potatoes when 2 or 3 prob would have gotten the job done. I don't suggest using the measurements I used since it ended up being so much, but I will list the ingredients and directions in case you feel comfortable eyeballing it.

Ingredients:

diced onion

butter

salt to taste

potatoes, quartered

heavy cream

butter

sour cream

shredded cheese

pierogi dough 

Melt a small amnt of butter in a small frying pan and add diced onions. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are brown and caramelized.  In a separate pot, boil water and add lots of salt. Add in potatoes and boil until potatoes are v soft and easily punctured w a fork.  Drain and remove skins from the potatoes.  Put potatoes back in pot and add in the dairy ingredients.  Mash it all up, add more heavy cream, and whip the potatoes w a hand mixer.  Make sure the potatoes are already fairly smooth and very moist or you're hand mixer will start making weird noises and stop working.  Stir in your carmelized onions.

To make the pierogies, bring another pot of salty water to a rolling boil.  Cover a cutting board with flour and have a small cup of water nearby.  Grab a small chunk of dough and roll it into a ball with your hands, then, using a rolling pin, roll it out flat on the floured surface. Roll it out to a small oval.  Put about a tablespoon amount of the mashed potato mixture into the center of your oval, wet the edges of the oval, then fold it over and pinch the edges together to form a little dumpling.  Drop it in the pot and star tthe next one.  You'll know the pierogi is cooked when it floats to the top of the water.  It doesn't take long, maybe 3 minutes. When it starts to float scoop it out with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl.  You can serve them hot and or cold, or fry em up later in a pan with butter.

Pierogies are a bit labor intensive and take a long time, but they are a good crowd pleaser and make great snacks for later.

Breakfast-- Saffron Rice

Saffron Rice w Salmon Furikake

Saffron Rice:
1 tbs of butter

1 tsp turmeric

2-3 threads saffron

salt to taste

cayenne pepper* to taste

1 cup of basmati rice

In a tiny cup or ramekin, soak the saffron threads in a tablespoon of hot or boiling water. Rinse the rice a few times and then drain as much water from it as possible. Melt butter in a small sauce pan.  Add in turmeric, salt, and pepper and let cook until fragrant.  Add rice and give it a good stir, letting it saute for a minute or two.  Add 1 cup of water and the saffron. Stir. Cover and let cook over medium heat, undisturbed, for 7-10 minutes or until water is completely absorbed.  Top with furikake before serving.  A fried egg might also be good but i'm too hungry to wait~

Ham & Cheese

Monday's lunch consists of soybean salad, coffee shortbread, and ham sandwiches.

For the sandwiches, I used sliced cheddar cheese, sliced deli-style ham, rosemary mayo, and onion bread.  To make the rosemary mayo I simply chopped up some fresh rosemary and mixed it into some mayonnaise.  I used to volunteer at a vegetarian restaurant that made the best sandwiches with rosemary mayo so I wanted to try to make some at home.  The onion rolls are from my sister's work but the cheese and ham are just from the grocery store.  I cut the edges off so they would fit in the bento box.

For the soybean salad, I thawed frozen soybeans and then made a dressing with soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds.

You can find the recipe for the cookies here.

A quick, simple lunch!

Oops

such a valuable bread

sooooo i never went to the store and i had to rewrite my menu for next week?  good news is, now it includes dinner.  I won't post it in case I end up having to change it again though.

I did try my hand at yakisoba bread, as seen above.  It is OK, would have been better if I had proper noodles and some cabbage and real sauce.  This is made with ramen noodles, carrot shreds, green onions, and mushrooms.  I also didn't have oyster sauce so I put a drop of fish sauce in with some (probably anicent) hoisin sauce i found in the refrigerator.  The bread is ciabatta that my sister brought home from her work.  I cut a slit into it, rubbed some butter on the inside, and then toasted it before stuffing it with noodles.

It looks good, though right?

Bento Recipes shall resume Sunday

should he take or refuse such a valuable bread?

I'm going to start making lunches for my parents again next week.  My projected menu is:

MONDAY:
vegetarian scotch egg, soy bean salad, fresh fruit
TUESDAY:
yakisoba bread, greens salad in a mason jar, brownies
WEDNESDAY:
soft pretzel, carrot salad, muffin
THURSDAY:
mini calzone, pasta salad, fresh fruit
FRIDAY: 

veggie sandwich, homemade potato chips, yogurt parfait in a mason jar

but I haven't gone to the store yet so this all could be subject to change!

Spiced Coffee

My sister got me a french press for my birthday and I use it at minimum twice, maybe 3x a day.

this is the general set up by my desk.  French Press and a giant mug.

spice blends

Lately I've been trying to "spice things up".  I like to put a few pods of cardamom and other goodies that I pick out of Penzey's mulling spice blend in with the grounds and let it brew together then add milk and sugar.  It's very nice.  I'd like to buy a jar of just whole cardamom to use bc that is the best part.

And since it is basically Autumn now, I thought I'd try my hand at making my own PSL homebrew. For the PS I did not measure anything but used the following ground spices for my blend:
allspice, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger.  Supposedly there is a v specific ratio you are supposed to do but i did mostly cinnamon and then a few good shakes of the rest.  For the L I put about half a teaspoon of the spice blend in with coffee grounds and let it brew.  Then I add milk and sugar.  Not really a latte (cafe au lait maybe?), but good enough to keep me away from Starbucks.

Coffee Bean Shortbread and Cottage Pie

coffee bean shortbread

ingredients:

2 sticks of salted butter

1/2 cup of sugar

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of very finely ground coffee (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F and line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment.  Cream the sugar and butter in a stand mixer.  Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time.  Stir in coffee, if using. To form the coffee bean shape, take a small lump of dough and use your hands to roll it into an oblong shape.  Press the thicker end of a chopstick down the center of the cookie.  Place cookies about 2 inches apart from eachother.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Allow to cool completely before serving.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 stalks of green onion, sliced thinly
3 stalks of celery, diced small
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small bag of some sort of frozen vegetable medley, thawed
1 small bag of frozen peas, thawed
1 lb ground beef
2 small cans of V8 (original flavor or low sodium)
1/2 cup of chicken broth
3 large potatoes, large dice
salt to taste

about 1/2 teaspoon each of the following ground spices:
cardamom
coriander
pepper
fennel
sage
turmeric
black pepper
paprika

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet, medium heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until clear. Add spices and garlic and cook until fragrant (abt 1 minute).  Add the vegetables and saute for a bit.  If your blend includes cauliflower, pick it out after it has absorbed some of the spices and set it aside (the cauliflower will go into the mashed potatoes).  Add the ground beef to the skillet and break it up as it browns.  Once it is browned, taste a small piece.  Add salt and more spices if needed.  Add the V8 and chicken broth. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer while you make the potatoes.
Bring water to boil in a large pot with lots of salt.  Once a rolling boil is achieved, add in potatoes.  Allow to cook until potatoes are soft enough to easily pierce with a fork.  Drain the water and put the potatoes back into the pot.  You can remove the skins from the potatoes now if you'd like, i prefer to leave them on.  Add in 1/2 stick of butter, cauliflower (if using), 1/4 cup of milk, salt and pepper to taste, and about 1/4 teaspoon each of turmeric and garam masala.  Mash everything up until mostly smooth and everything is a uniform yellow color.  Pour the meat mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish.  Spread the potato mixture over the top of the meat.  Use a fork to make a hatch design across the top of the potatoes.  Bake, uncovered, at 350F until the top is crispy and golden, about 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool a little (at least until it's stopped bubbling) before serving.

Hot Dogs and Rice

This is (inspired by) something my boyfriend's mom makes.  It's traditionally made with ketchup and onions but I think that's gross so I just use garlic and barbecue sauce.  I usually make it for lunch or as a snack.  This recipe is for 2 servings.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
6 hotdogs*, sliced
2-3 tablespoons of barbecue sauce

Directions:
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and let it cook for about 1 minute.  Add the hotdogs and let cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes or until done.  You'll know they are done when they are heated thoroughly and start to get dark and curl up, like this:

Now add the barbecue sauce and stir it up until the oil and sauce are thoroughly combined.  Serve immediately over white rice.

Note:  This might not be very good in a bento as it tastes best when it's hot.  It keeps well and tastes fine reheated though.  It could probably last up to 3 days in the refrigerator but I've never had it stick around long enough to find out (it usually gets eaten up within the day it's made.)

*For a vegetarian option, you could maybe use some type of veggie dog. I've never tried it so I can't say I recommend it. I've only ever had Smart Dog brand, which tend to have a very subtle flavor that i imagine would get overpowered by the strong flavor of the barbecue sauce. Also I feel the texture/consistency would not lend itself well to browning properly.  For those two reasons I don't think a vegetarian version of this dish would be very palatable. If I ever get a chance to experiment with it I will post my results.  Until then, heed my warning: it might be gross.

My Sister's Baby Shower

here are some pictures of things I made for my sister's woodland themed baby shower!

 

I designed and drew the signage, made the punch, and the hedgehog cheeseball.

The punch ended up being a big hit, and it was very easy to make but takes some preparation. The recipe is as follows:
ingredients:

1 gallon of unfiltered apple juice
1-2 tablespoons of whole mulling spices
2 liter of ginger ale

A day ahead, pour the unfiltered apple juice into a large pot, cover, and let it come to a light simmer (doesn't need to boil). You can make a small pouch with some cheese cloth to keep the spices contained, or use a large tea bag, tea ball, other similar contraption.  When the apple juice is nice and hot you can add the spices, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, and let the spices steep for an hour or two (longer is better).  Remove the spices, remove the pan from the heat source.  Let the liquid cool down, transfer to a plastic container, and let it chill in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.  Shortly before serving, transfer the juice to a punch bowl, and top off the bowl with the ginger ale, however much it takes to fill your punch bowl.  If you have extra gingerale leftover from the first pour, you can add more whenever the bowl starts to look low.

Hedgehog Cheese Ball

You see these all over pinterest and some definitely look better than others.  I think mine is pretty successful because I made the face small and used slivered almonds for the quills instead of sliced/whole. The recipe I used for the cheese ball itself I modified from Amy Sedaris's book, "I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence", which is one of my go-to books when I need party help.  I rewrote the directions in my own words because I found hers to be a bit too vague.

Cheese Ball (base):
1 stick of butter*
1 8-oz package of cream cheese*
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar*
2 tablespoons grated onion
fresh ground black pepper to taste

first combine the butter and cream cheese.  if you decide to use a standmixer (recommended), use the paddle attachment. if you like to live life on the edge, you can probably get away with a spoon but it will a lot more work.  After the butter and cream cheese are thoroughly combined, add in the shredded cheese, grated onion, and pepper and stir until everything appears to be evenly distributed throughout the cheese.

To make the hedgehog, you'll need:
serving platter
cheese ball base (recipe above)
plastic wrap
3 whole black peppercorns
hella slivered almonds
fresh ground black pepper to taste
a few sprigs of rosemary

1. Get out the dish you intend to serve the cheeseball on.  Choose wisely because you can't change your mind later.
2. Dump your cheese mixture into the middle of the plate, forming a mound.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl so nothing goes to waste.
3. Drape a small sheet of plastic wrap over the cheese mound and shape it into a short, fat teardrop. Make sure it's all smooth, no cracks or dips.  Once you've got it shaped up nice you can discard the plastic wrap.
4. On the pointed end of the teardrop, arrange the three peppercorns to make the eyes and nose (see picture).
5. About an inch back from the eyes, start sticking in the slivered almonds.  Try to use just the longer pieces of almond and stick them in about half-way so they're sturdy. It's easy if you go in rows and then go back to fill in the gaps with any extra slivers.
6. Grind some pepper over the top of the cheese ball, but make sure not to get any on the face.
7. Use a paper towel or napkin to wipe up any mess around the plate. Place the rosemary on the plate, however you like it.
8. Get a new sheet of plastic wrap and lightly drape it over the plate (don't make it tight against the quills or they'll get messed up.)
9. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
10. When ready to serve, put out some crackers and/or vegetables cut into matchsticks either around the edge of the serving plate or on another plate to be placed nearby. Be sure to have a cheese knife near or on the platter as well.

TIPS:
~don't make the face or body too flat or long or it will look like a gross rat.
~try to place the slivered almonds close together and use as many as possible.  sparse quills will look lazy.
~keep in mind that, if you do it right, it will take a very long time to make so don't put it off until the last minute or you'll still be putting in quills while your guests arrive.
~don't just leave the cheese knife stabbed into the cheese ball when you go to serve it. unless ritual animal slaughter is part of your party theme, then go ahead.  but otherwise, leave the knife on the side of the plate.

***Good brands for nondairy substitutes: Earth Balance (butter), Tofutti (cream cheese), Daiya (cheddar cheese).***

Fried Tofu w Peanut Sauce

This is a quick lunch i made last night on the fly.  I don't really have a recipe because i didn't measure anything.  I will list the ingredients though.

served with two hardboiled eggs and a hotdogtopus.

First i patted dry the tofu then cut it into strips.  Then i dredged the strips in flour and fried them with about a tablespoon of sesame oil, over medium high heat until the tofu was a light golden brown.

For the peanut sauce, I sauteed a couple cloves of garlic in another tablespoon or two of sesame oil.  then i added about a half cup of peanut butter, a splash of soy sauce, ponzu, and rice vinegar. stir it up until its all combined and the peanut butter has melted.  then i added about a cup of water and stirred until combined, this way the sauce won't form a solid chunk when it's cold.

to make the hot dog octopus, first cut a hotdog in half.  then cut the legs by slicing quarters into the hotdog twice so you have 8 legs, but only go half way up the body so there's still a sold chunk at the top.  fry the hotdog in a little bit of oil, turning occasionally.  the legs should curl up on their own.  this doesn't really work with veggie dogs, so you'll have to use real hot dogs that are made of meat.

Dad Food

Long time no blog!  I've been in Tulsa without a kitchen so I haven't been able to cook anything outside of a microwave.  This is the second day I've made lunch for a parent... yesterday I made inarizushi, cold soba noodles, and a green salad for my mom and dad.  Nothing spectacular or worth blogging about, just a random assortment of things i found in the pantry/fridge.  Today's lunch is just for my dad, since my mom told me she had tuna salad to eat.  This is what I made:

Carrots and homegrown green beans sauteed in ponzu, sesame oil, and a splash of rice vinegar. 

 My dad told me he loves raw tofu with just ponzu sauce, so i made that and added some sesame seeds for garnish.

 this bottle was full when i left for Tulsa.. I guess people have been using it!!

 Bento was looking a little plain so I decorated with some leftover cupcake picks from a Peter Rabbit cupcake decorating kit.  In the top right corner is a couple slices of my dad's favorite bread.

 This is my dad's favorite bread.  It is from Kroger.

...And I made a special treat for me to enjoy while I do the dishes ;)

it's salted caramel flavored whiskey from a distillery in Gatlinburg, TN, mixed with plain almond milk.  It kind of tastes like a white russian but with caramel instead of coffee flavor.

Not sure what I'm going to be making tomorrow yet, but I'll have more time and i'll be cooking for both of my parents again, so I'll try to include something recipe-worthy.

Red Snapper, Fudge, Tea Eggs

Wednesday Bento

I had kind of a bad day, so I'll just go straight to the recipes.

Poached Red Snapper

1 shallot, minced

1 tablespoon of butter

3 cups of Pinot Grigio or other white wine

2 small fillets of red snapper or other fish

salt to taste

Melt butter in large, shallow sauce pan.  Sautee shallots until clear.  Stir in pinot grigio.  Add salt and bring to a simmer.  Let it do its thing for a few minutes before adding the fish in.  Meanwhile, put the kettle on.  When the wine has started to lose some of its alcoholic flavor, add in the fish and pour boiling water into the pan until the fish is completely submerged.  Cover the pan and let the fish cook in the water/wine mixture for about 6-7 minutes, until fish is flaky but not tough.  When fish is fully cooked, remove from pan.  Discard poaching liquid and add a tbs of olive oil to pan.  Put the fish back in the pan over med-high heat for a minute or two to let the skins crisp up.  Let cool before putting it in your bento.

Tea Eggs

2-4 hardboiled eggs

1/4 c soy sauce

1 tbs of mirin

1 tsp of ponzu

4 earl grey tea bags

2-3 pieces of whole star anise, more if you're using broken pieces

1 cinnamon stick

black pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste

combine all ingredients in a heat-proof (i use glass) tupperware, and then fill all the way up with boiling water, ensuring that eggs are completely submerged.  Put the lid on the tupperware and give it a bit of a shake to ensure ingredients are all mixed up with the water and not settled on the bottom.  Let cool on counter then move to refrigerator.  Let steep for at least a couple hours.  The longer you let them steep, the stronger the flavor will be.

Probably Vegan Fudge

10 oz bag of dark chocolate chunks

14 fl oz can of coconut cream

First check the ingredients of the dark chocolate chunks to make sure they don't contain dairy, if you are particular about that kind of thing.  If you're not then whatever just dump it in a bowl.  Pour in the coconut cream and give it a bit of a stir, then pop the bowl in the microwave for about 1-2 minutes.  Take the bowl out and give it a really good stir with a whisk until it appears to be a thick, homogeneous mixture.  Grease up an 8x8 baking pan and pour in the chocolate/coconut mixture.  Cover with plastic and place in the freezer for like an hour, then demote to the refrigerator until fully set and you're ready to serve.  Keep cold.

extra touches:

i put the fish on a bed of sticky rice (short grain white rice mixed up with some seasoned rice vinegar) and included some little containers of soy sauce. i also sprinkled some honey-roasted almonds over the fudge and added some cherry tomatoes in the section with the tea eggs to act as an edible filler.

Quick Snack 2: Miso Soup

Miso soup can be made a lot of different ways with a lot of different ingredients.  It can take hours to make, or seconds.  I like the way that takes seconds.

you'll need:
-hot water

-a mug

-miso paste (whatever is your favorite kind)

-dried wakame

directions: drop a couple heaping tablespoons of miso into your mug and sprinkle in as much wakame as you like (keep in mind it's gonna expand so don't put in too much).  pour in enough hot water to fill the mug. stir it up and wait a little bit for the wakame to re-hydrate. drink it while it's hot!

Picnic-style Salads and Introductions.

I don't think I properly introduced myself or the blog yet.  My name is Claire.  I'm 23 years old and I've basically never worked a day in my life.  Since my parents go to work every day so I can continue to live in their house and spend their money on toys and games, I thought I'd give back by making a huge mess in the kitchen every day.  Really, it started when, for several days in a row, my dad came home saying he didn't want to eat dinner because he had a late lunch that made him feel sick.  My dad has his share of health issues from various causes, giving him a slew of dietary restrictions, so it makes sense that eating at the "crappy little deli downstairs" as my mom calls it, would make him sick every day.  So I started making bento-style lunches for him to take to work.  After about three days of this my mom got jealous, so, as of yesterday, I started making lunch for both of them.  I decided to make this blog to showcase my efforts and recipes, as well as serve as a log of my successes and failures (see: Irish Soda Fail ) for my own personal reference.  Of course, after this Friday, I'm going to be visiting my boyfriend and his family in Tulsa for a month with no kitchen.  So expect a long hiatus after Thursday.  Sorry, mom and dad.  I'll resume upon my return, and yes, I will apply for some jobs as well.

Bam. Introductions. Done.

Moving on to today's (tomorrow's?) menu.    My parents have their bento boxes with them at work right now, so I'll have to wash and pack them when they get home.  So no pictures of the finished product in this post yet because, well, it's yet to be assembled.

That being said, I've already cooked everything that I'm going to put into their bento for tomorrow. I like to cook early in the morning (around 10/11 am, after I get up) because otherwise I will procrastinate and have to make everything after dinner and be up until midnight making 3 things like I was last night.  Today's theme is PICNIC FOOD.  Which means various kinds of "salads".  Purely by coincidence, everything I happened to make today is vegan.  You can add animal products to these recipes if that bothers you.

FIRST SALAD:

Tofu "Egg" Salad (for sandwiches)

Ingredients:
1 block silken tofu, drained

2 chopped scallions, whites included

1/4 of a large green bell pepper, diced up small w seeds removed

1 tablespoon of rice vinegar

vindaloo seasoning to taste

hot curry seasoning to taste

1 teaspoon of turmeric for color

1 tablespoon fresh lemon thyme (just the leaves)

salt and pepper to taste

Put the tofu in a large bowl and break it up a little bit with a wooden spoon.  Add the vinegar and spices and give it a good stir.  Stir gently if you want it to stay kinda chunky like real egg salad, or just go at it if you don't care.  Once everything is combined (you'll know because it should become a pretty uniform yellow), stir in the scallions and bell pepper.  Transfer to a tupperware container and refrigerate until you're ready to use it or eat it or whatever you plan to do with it.

SECOND SALAD:

Roasted Turnip and Potato Salad

ingredients:

roasting bits:

3 small radishes, washed and quartered

4 small red potatoes, washed and quartered

olive oil for pan and for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste

arrange veg on a greased up, foiled up cookie sheet, as above.  drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper as you like it. Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for like 40 minutes or until you can easily puncture through one of the quarters with a fork.

dressing:

1 tbs olive oil

2 tbs of balsamic vinegar

1 tbs of chimichurri spice

when the veg are all roasted up, slide them into a bowl and mix 'em up with the above ingredients.  I strongly endorse buying the chimichurri mix and putting it in everything you cook.  It is especially good in soups.

Anyway mash up the veg a little bit with a wooden spoon while you mix in the dressing ingredients, let cool, then transfer to a tupperware and eat it later.

THIRD AND FINAL SALAD:

Daikon and Apple Slaw

2 apples (any kind.  i don't know what kind i used.  the cheap kind?)

1 chunk of daikon about the size of one apple

1/4 c dried wakame

2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar

1 tsp lemon grapeseed oil

1/4 c coconut milk

relatively the same size

wet ingredients

cut the apples and daikon into matchsticks and try to do a better job than I did. While you're choppin, put the dried wakame into a cup, add just enough cold water to cover it, and then cover the cup with a saucer.  let sit until all the water is soaked up.  combine all ingredients into a large bowl and stir.  transfer to a tupperware and refrigerate until you're ready to eat.

SIDE NOTE: i used some "fancy" ingredients in the above recipes, and I realized they probably aren't common pantry ingredients in most households. But they should be because they are all fantastic, which is why I provided links to where you can buy them.  They maaay seem kind of spendy if you are a cheap ass like me, but they tend to last a while (good spices are always a practical investment, and just a liiittle bit of the grapeseed oil packs a ton of flavor so it will last you like forever).

Ube Bars, Zaru Soba, and Inarizushi

Today's ingredients all came from Buford Highway Farmer's Market, the local international supermarket.

I'll start with dessert first, because this is the dish I am most excited about.  It features ube, or purple yam, a Filipino root vegetable introduced to me by my boyfriend's mother.  It's probably one of my favorite foods.  It's sweet and starchy with a much milder flavor than your typical sweet potato.  My parents have never tried ube before, so i wanted to make something simple that would showcase the natural flavor of the ube without having it get bogged down with too many other flavors in the mix.  I wanted to make something like lemon bars, and came up with this recipe.

purple yam bars
crust:
3/4 c butter cookie or graham cracker crumbs
1/2 stick melted butter
 combine the cracker crumbs with the melted butter and & press the mixture into bottom of greased 8" x 8" pan. I used these:

because i had a lot of them in the cabinet, leftover from my last buford hwy trip, but you can use any sort of cookie or sweet cracker crumbs.


filling:
2 large purple yams. cut into pieces
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon of flour
1/2 of a 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add the yams.  Boil for about 20 minutes or until tender.  The water will get really dark and cool looking like this:

  Drain and run under cold water. Peel the skins off of the yams and discard.  Transfer yams to a large bowl. add coconut milk to yams and mash. stir in egg, then flour. pour over crust, spread evenly. bake at 350 until knife comes out clean, ~25 min.  Finished looks like this:

The ube bars are the most labor intensive of this bento, the other two dishes are very quick and easy.

Zaru soba is cold buckwheat noodles with a very simple sauce.  My lazy recipe goes like this:

INGREDIENTS

1 package or bundle of soba

soy sauce to taste

mirin to taste

dashi or other fish sauce to taste (optional)

sesame seeds

1. cook the soba noodles according to package instructions.
2. drain and rinse with cold water. set aside.
3.  in a small bowl, mix up a hefty splash of soy sauce with another hefty splash of mirin.  add a little dashi or fish sauce if you're into that.  also add a little bit of cold water so the flavor of the soy sauce isn't too strong.
4. either put the sauce in a separate container to accompany the noodles or just pour it into the same container as the noodles.
5. garnish with toasted sesame seeds.

My inarizushi recipe is even easier because I used premade ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:
inarizushi no moto
microwave rice bowl
seasoned rice vinegar

1. microwave rice according to package instructions.
2. mix in a little bit of seasoned rice vinegar into the rice.
3. stuff the inarizushi no moto with the rice.
4. that's all!

Irish Soda Fail

Today my family went to the Renaissance Faire while I stayed home to catch up on some chores.  It's the Highland celebration this weekend, so I thought it would be nice to bake a nice Irish Soda Bread to include in my parents' lunch tomorrow.  I'm not sure if I can serve this one, though. The recipe wasn't bad, the texture came out real nice, but I dun goofed on measuring the salt--I put 1 tablespoon instead of 1 teaspoon.  The whole thing tastes like a mall pretzel.  But I'm pretty sure with the right amount of salt it would be pretty tasty, so I'll post the recipe I used here--for posterity, if anything, as I may try again with it on a later date.

The ingredients i used may seem a bit unorthodox if you're familiar with the traditional recipes of irish soda bread.  It's the end of the week so the cupboard is a bit bare. Being completely out of milk and eggs, I searched for a vegan recipe and found this one from Hellyeahitsvegan.com.  Of course, I was still missing some of those ingredients but I made do with what I had.  Here's my adaptation:

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 cups Rice Milk
1.5 tablespoons vinegar
4 cups all purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
0.5 cups sugar
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 TEASPOON salt
4 tablespoons of butter



DIRECTIONS:
preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  In a small bowl combine rice milk and vinegar and let it sit while you work on the next few steps.  In a much larger bowl, sift together flour, sugar, soda, and the TEASPOON of salt.  Use a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture.

 create a well with the flour mixture and pour the ricemilk mixture into the center.  Give it a bit of a stir with a big spoon so that everything is just incorporated before you dump it out onto a large floured surface. I found the dough to be a bit of a big wet mess so I dumped a bunch of extra flour on it before I started kneading. Knead the dough as little as possible, then plop it onto your parchment lined cookie sheet.

 With a serrated knife, make a big X across the surface of the dough.  Put the pan in the oven and bake for around 35 or 40 minutes. It should come out looking like this:

 Let cool a bit before you dig into it.

Next time I bake this I will most likely use real milk, but probably any unsweetened nondairy milk would work if you like to keep things veg (in which case you'll want to sub some earth balance or whatever in place of the real butter but i suppose that's a given).