Roasted Chicken and Eggplant with Sweet Miso Bento

This is a sympathy bento.

As in "Honey, I'm so sorry you got called in on your day off and maybe this bento will make it better."  And yes, farmer's market Chinese eggplant fried in coconut oil, with the addition of sweet local bell peppers, green onions, and a creamy sweet miso sauce DID make it better. I scored some serious Wifey-points. Also, I had fun.

Bottom tier yummies:  

Boiled yellow squash leaves and Hubbie-favorite fried eggplant and peppers with sweet miso and mead sauce. Mead = honey-wine, and we just fermented our first batch at home using some local honey. I used this in place of the mirin that is traditionally used in the Japanese recipe with excellent results. Very exciting, but I digress. Them tasty veggies are atop a bed of white rice. Of the non-Paleo variety. Yup.

I did soak said pearly grains for two days in water with a splash of vinegar, thus vanquishing most of those pesky phytates (which can block mineral absorption and cause inflammation.) My health situation has made me a bit of a health nerd, but it's workin' out for me.

Top tier yummies: 

Roasted chicken breast, steamed bok choy filled with scrambled eggs, super-cute baby bok choy bits (also steamed), raw carrots leaves, and mixed pickles (cabbage and eggplant.)

This is how I made the boy choy cups for the scrambled eggs. I'm not sure I've ever used my melon baller for melons, but it's handy for plenty else. I had this great plan to pour the raw egg mixture in these cups and then steam them to make veggie-cup-custard-thingies. 

How'd that work out? Awww, egg all over the counter. Drat. So I scrambled another egg and added it into the cups post steaming. Still good! Easy for grabbing with your paw and putting in your maw! 

I'd also like to admit this: I did all of the prep sitting down at my coffee table while listening to a book on CD. I have some chronic fatigue issues. I can bento, but only if I get to do most of the work while on my bottom. If you're reading this and you can relate, drop me a line! I'd love to hear from you!

Breakfast Sausage and Country Fries Bento

Good morning! I've made an other breakfast-lunch bento! What's that? Brunch? Nah...Breakfast-Lunch.

Update/explanation for the uber-lag on posting: I've been whooping butt against some pesky infections. Apparently some bugs thought they'd make a nice cozy home for themselves in my body while my immune system was laying low. Nope, wrong.

So I've been healing and detoxing and eating very simply (read: boring food.) This is the first bento I'd made since...whenever I posted last. Long time. A blessed burst of energy + plenty of inspiration from our local farmer's market = BENTO TIME!

What we got here:  

*Homemade breakfast sausage patties (2/3 turkey, 1/3 beef, tasty seasonings) pan-fried with a bit of ghee and glazed with maple syrup and coconut aminos (it's like soy sauce, but without the soy. Good stuff.) 

*Ginger pickled carrots. Fulla probiotics: bonus.

*Yellow summer squash flowers and fresh shiso leaves. I added a few drops of coconut aminos to the cut parts of the squash flowers for additional "pop".

And here: 
*A variety of fingerling potatoes from the farmer's market. So yeah, that's a pinkish potato. Fancy stuff. I took these wonderful Washington-grown taters, cut 'em up...THEN FRIED THEM IN BACON FAT. Yes, indeedy. I went there. Your welcome hubs. 
*Also featured: some kind of snazzy broccoli like greens (the nice lady told me their name and I promptly forgot it). These are steamed and tossed with a light and refreshing lemon-miso sauce.

That's all folk!

Mexican Scrambled Eggs and Blueberry-Oatmeal Bento

I know I've given a great start to my husband's day when I send him to work with a breakfast like this. I feel very grateful that we are able to have access to a variety of healthy foods. I hope my posts help to inspire others to create nourishing food for themselves and those they love, because it's a great joy to do so! What foods are you grateful for today?

Top tier of bento: Green salad (romaine, micro-greens, cucumber) with apple parsley dressing in a small container, roasted almonds, cheese puto, oatmeal with protein powder and blueberries in an apple cup.

Bottom tier of bento: Roasted asparagus (chard stem hearts,) pickled daikon, Mexican scrambled eggs (chard leaf.)

I had half an apple leftover from when I made my apple parsley dressing, so I hollowed it out with a spoon and filled it with cooled oatmeal! As you can see, the apple cup is the perfect size for a bento!

My Bento Recipes

Roasted asparagus (2 servings as shown)

The hearts are made from red chard stems that I trimmed. I'm happy to have been given the inspiration for yet another use for what would otherwise be compost! A touch of oil will keep them from drying out before lunch.  

Ingredients:

7 stalks asparagus

1 teaspoon EVOO

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

* Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

* Cut asparagus into 2 1/2" pieces and toss with the EVOO and salt.

* Bake for 15 minutes.

Mexican scrambled eggs (1 portion as shown)

Fluffy eggs with melt in your mouth cubes of ripe avocado and salsa, mmmm. Topped with cheddar cheese flowers. I used a toothpick to add hot sauce for the flower centers. The eggs are contained in a red chard leaf.

Ingredients:

2 egg

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

1/4 ripe avocado, diced

1 tablespoon hot salsa

(cheddar cheese and hot sauce for garnish)

Directions:

* Beat the eggs very well with the salt.

* Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.

* Add the eggs and scramble (I like to use a silicon spatula for this.)

* When the eggs are still half runny, add the salsa and avocado, gently folding them into the eggs.

* Pull from the heat when the eggs are still a little wet. They will continue to cook from residual heat and this prevents them from over cooking.

* Let cool and top with cheese.

Rolled Omelete with Bacon and Nori Bento

This is a example of what I hope to make more of in the future: Paleo Bentos. What does that mean? It means this lunch has no grains, beans/legumes, sugar or dairy. I look forward to creating more bentos without rice (wonderful bento staple that it is,) even though it means I'll probably never master character bentos! If you've made a grain-free bento I'd love to see it, or challenge you to try creating one!

Top tier of bento: Lemon pickled persian cucumbers (lemon zest twists,) baked spaghetti squash with tomatoes, fried garlic, and herb olive oil (chard leaf, parsley leaf, plum blossom.)

Bottom tier of bento: Celery and chard stem kinpira, rolled omelette with bacon and nori (carrot flowers with nori,) broth simmered spinach.

My Bento Recipes

Baked Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes, Fried Garlic, and Herb Olive Oil (1 serving as shown)

Fried garlic is wonderful. Not only is it very tasty, but slowly frying it infuses your cooking oil. These crispy little flavor chips also add to the presentation of any dish you'd add garlic to!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon herb infused olive oil (or regular, use what you've got)

1/4 cup diced tomatoes (I freeze some in a large ice cube tray as you can tell from the picture)

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons chopped parsley, or other herbs

1/4 + 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup baked spaghetti squash

Directions:

* Heat the olive oil over medium low heat and add the garlic slices.

* When the garlic is beginning to look golden remove from the oil. It's easy to over crisp these!

* Add the tomato, parsley and salt and cook until heated through (or defrosted) and saucy.

* Mix the sauce into the spaghetti squash and top with the fried garlic.

* Cool before packing or make ahead of time and put in the fridge until needed.

Lemon Pickled Persian Cucumbers (2 servings as shown)

A little bit of lemon juice and some knife work transforms leftover salted persian cucumbers into a new side dish. I find that just a little change is enough to keep meals exciting when it comes to using leftovers.

Ingredients:

half recipe salted persian cucumbers, sliced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Lemon Zest Twists

 Celery and Chard Stem Kinpira (1 serving as shown)

This recipe works really well with a variety of vegetables. If you eat chard you're likely to have leftover  stems and this is a great way to prepare them.

Ingredients:

1 stalk celery, cut into 3" pieces and then into "matchsticks"

2 chard stems, ditto

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon coconut aminos (or tamari)

1/2 teaspoon maple syrup

1/8 teaspoon Japanese 7-spice (shichimi)

Directions:

* Heat the oil over medium high heat.

* Add the vegetables and saute for 5 minutes or until softened and a bit caramelized

* Add the tamari and maple syrup and cook another minute

* Sprinkle with the Japanese 7-spice

Rolled Omelette with Bacon and Nori (about 2 servings as shown)

I don't own a tamago-yaki pan, which is what is used to make Japanese style thin, rolled omelettes. So I got creative and made this using a square baking dish on the burner. I am absolutely amazed that I was able to pull off making this. Also, the end result looked a mess before I packed it into the bento!

Ingredients:

3 strips bacon
3 strips nori
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

* Cook the bacon and remove from the pan while it's still a little soft.
* Beat the eggs with the salt.
* Use the bacon fat in the pan to cook the omelette, layering in the bacon and nori (check out this Youtube video so see how a Japanese omelette is made here.)

Pork Belly with Enoki and Ginger Bento

It's been a very long time since my last post. Disclosure: I have autoimmune disease (which is part of the reason why our home is gluten-free.) Recently I had a bad flare up. So healing and self-care became my number one priority and it's been a long recovery process. 

What's exciting is that I've dived into the autoimmune protocol diet, which is a modified Paleo diet. Not only is it gluten-free but also free of all grains, dairy, nightshades, nuts/seeds, and eggs. What a list huh? But it's working and I'm happy to say I'm starting to feel better. I made and photoed this bento before my flare up. It feels good to finally get to posting again! 

For more information on the autoimmune protocol please check out these amazing blogs:

thepaleomom.com and autoimmune-paleo.com. 

Top Tier: Pork belly with enoki mushrooms and ginger, pickled eggplant, roasted asparagus (pickled daikon stars,) chocolate drizzled sesame seed crisps. 

Bottom tier: Salt pickled persian cucumbers with nori, spaghetti squash with herbed kalamata olive oil and aged parmesan (red chard stems, parsley leaves.)

I'm experimenting with using baked spaghetti squash as a pasta replacement, which is common in Paleo circles. Because I didn't have marinara on hand, I worked with what I did have to make a a savory blended kalamata olive and herbs olive oil for my sauce. Sprinkled with a little aged parm, you've got a grain-free pasta! (Or omit the cheese to keep this recipe Paleo-friendly.)

The garnish here is made from red chard stems that I trimmed to have a heart shape. For me, finding creative ways to use foods is part of the fun of making bentos. I love seeing what other people come up with too!

My Bento Recipes

Pork Belly with Enoki Mushrooms and Ginger (1 serving as shown)

The mellow earthiness of enoki mushrooms pairs well with the richness of thinly sliced pork belly (or bacon.) A touch of heat from ginger goes wonderful with the pork. Topped with fresh black pepper, and and small bunch of fresh mushrooms. I used red chard as a divider cup.

Ingredient:

1/2 pack enoki mushrooms, bottoms removed, cut into 1/3

1/8 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1 small clove garlic, grated

2 oz thinly sliced pork belly (or nitrate free bacon), cut into 2 inch pieces

1/2 tablespoon avocado oil

1/4 cup stock (I always use super gut healthy home-made bone stock!)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh pepper

Directions:

* Heat a small pan over lowish-medium heat and add the avocado oil.

* Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.

* Add the enoki mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes.

* Add the pork belly and saute for 5 minutes or until it's no longer pink.

* Turn the heat up to high and add the stock, salt, ginger, and garlic.

* Cook another 1-2 minutes while stirring or until the liquid has cooked up.

* Let cool completely before packing.


Salt Pickled Persian cucumbers with Nori (3 servings as shown)

These persian cucumbers are wonderful salted because they are a bit sweeter than standard cucumbers. To fancy things up I partially peeled them and wrapped each piece with a strip toasted nori.

Ingredients:

2 persian cucumbers (I find these at Trader Joe's)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Strips of nori

Directions:

* Use a peeler to remove half of the skin of the cucumbers to create a striped effect.

* Cut the cucumbers in half and then into 1 inch pieces and place in a bowl.

* Sprinkled the cucumbers with the salt and use your hands to mix the salt in evenly.

* Let sit for at 15-30 minutes (depending on your preference for softness versus crunchiness.)

* Toast some nori and cut into thin strips.

* Rinse the cucumbers (if desired, if you like salty skip this)

* Wrap each cucumber piece with a strip of nori. (I find that the moisture from the cucumbers is enough to secure the nori in place. But if you're having trouble a dab of mayo will help.)

Salmon Rice-ball and Ginger Pork Belly Rolls Bento

This bento combines comfort foods  (salmon rice-ball, steamed rice cake with cheese, and pork belly rolls) with loads of raw nutrition. The rice-ball is packed in a special sheet of plastic that keeps the sheet of nori separate from the rice until you're ready to eat it. This way you can enjoy the crispness of the toasted nori as you bite into your tasty onigiri. For more information, and lots of good pictures, look here. The wrappers can be found at some Asian stores or you can make your own by using freezer wrap.

Next to the rice-ball is a cheese puto. It's a steamed rice cake made with coconut milk that hails from the Philippines. I purchased some at an Asian deli, which are usually great places to find gluten-free items as most of the selections are rice based.

Bottom tier of bento: salted and grilled salmon rice-ball, cheese puto, ginger pork belly rolls, sliced persian cucumber, pickled eggplant. Oh, and cute tiger. "Peekaboo."

Top tier of bento: green salad (cucumber, micro-greens, romaine lettuce, Thai seasoned almonds) with apple parsley dressing, kimchi, plastic flower.

My Bento Recipes:

Ginger Pork Belly Rolls (makes 4 rolls)

Many of the meat recipes used in Japanese cooking involve meat that is thinly sliced. Because of this our local Asian store carries an amazing array of all natural meats cut in this manner. For this recipe I picked up some local pork belly that was cut like thin bacon. You could substitute uncured bacon, adjusting the amount of tamari in the recipe depending on the saltiness of the bacon.

Ingredients:

2 slices uncooked pork belly, cut in 1/2

1/2 tablespoon tamari

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger juice

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup stock

Directions:

* Mix the tamari and ginger together in and marinate the pork belly for 10 minutes.

* Remove the pork belly and roll the pieces up (you can use a toothpick to secure them if you wish.) 

* Reserve the marinade.

* Heat the oil in a pan with a lid over medium low heat.

* Place the pork rolls in the pan and cook 2 minutes per side, or until crispy, for a total of 8 minutes.

* Add the stock and the reserved marinade to the pan.

* Cover with the lid and let cook another 8 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time.

* Remove the lid, turn up the heat to high and cook 1-2 more minutes or until the sauce is very thick and the rolls are well coated.

* Let cool and remove toothpicks.

Apple Parsley Dressing (makes 1 cup)

This refreshing dressing is adapted from a recipe in Ani Phyo's book Ani's Raw Food Asia. Because she uses it atop a Korean salad I paired it a side of spicy kimchi. 

Ingredients:

1/4 cup packed parsley leaves

1/2 apple

1/8 cup raw apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

* Remove the core from the apple and dice.

* Blend all the ingredients in a small blender until creamy and smooth.

* Pack some dressing in a small container for your salad. The remaining dressing will keep 4 days in the fridge.

Scrambled Egg Curry Bento

A colorful medley of vegetables give this bento 'zazz. But the star of the show is my scrambled egg curry. My husband loves Japanese curry, which was the inspiration for this recipe and a big hit. Another of his favorites is kinpira, a popular Japanese dish  with an earthy sweetness.  Kinpira is most commonly made with burdock and carrots,  but I took that flavor profile and applied it to celery and asparagus: yum.

Left tier of bento: cucumber and micro-greens salad with citrus dressing, carrot and hijiki salad, celery and asparagus kinpira.

Right tier of bento: rice-bran pickled daikon, scrambled egg curry (sliced green onions) over rice.

My Bento Recipes:

Scrambled Egg Curry
Curry: now it's for breakfast too! This Paleo friendly bento dish is sure to become a staple in our home.

Ingredients:

white part of 4 green onions, sliced (or 1/8 cup diced onion)
1/4 carrot, small dice
1/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned is fine, it's what I used!)
1 teaspoon coconut oil, or vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Directions:

* Whisk the eggs together with the salt until well combined.
* Heat the coconut oil in a pan over medium low heat.
* Add the onion and carrot and saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
* Add the curry powder and cook for a minute or until fragrant.
* Add the tomato and cook for 5 more minutes or until most of the moisture has cooked off.
* Add the egg and cook while constantly stirring to break up pieces.
* When the egg is fully cooked turn off the heat and let cool.
* Garnish with sliced green onion.

Celery and Asparagus Kinpira
I was delighted to discover that kinpira can be made with other vegetables because I don't often have burdock on hand. Now I will continue to play around with new veggie combinations! This recipe has a refreshing Spring element thanks to the asparagus.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of matchstick cut celery
1/2 cup of matchstick cut asparagus
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon tamari
1/2 teaspoon maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon shichimi

Directions:

* Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat.
* Add the celery and asparagus and cut for 5 minutes.
* Add the tamari and maple syrup and continue to cook an other minute.
* Turn off heat and sprinkle with shichimi.

Shichimi: Japanese 7-spice.