Pieces of Earth Foods

pre-made, store bought, sushi & surimi: california rolls, spicy surimi, surimi and shrimp ebi along with soy sauce, ginger and wasabi packets, of course. A small box of edamame, a blood orange and I threw in a few Pocky just cause I like chocolate

Very colorful!

rice cakes
yogurt

udon noodles with tomato wedges and tsuyu sauce

homemade meatballs (will post the recipe eventually I am sure!)
frozen broccoli

Pocky

tortillas

rice cakes
yogurt

grapes
star shaped egg
sugared seaweed
carrots

chicken & coconut

Pocky

The original source for this recipe was from a church cookbook, a church I only occasionally attend - the Unitarian Universalism Church in Omaha, NE. This was from last years cookbook entitled “Taste of Time”. The woman who submitted it stated that this was her mother-in-law’s recipe - she is a native of Guam. Turns out if you were to pick the *one* recipe that signifies Guam, this is it.

I also submitted a few recipes to the cookbook, all of which you will see coming up in the future.

2/3 chicken breasts, cooked however you like & shredded or 1 pound of cooked, crushed shrimp if you prefer

1 bunch of green onions, diced

1/4 to 1/2 cup diced green chilies, canned or fresh (may substitute jalapeños if you prefer)

1 to 1 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut (I buy mine from the bulk section at an organic store)

1 cup lemon juice

Mix together ingredients to taste. Chill and serve with warm tortillas. Its just that easy and simple.

Its very good in the summertime or to take on a camping trip. And its very much a recipe you can alter to your own tastes and preferences. I recommend you start with less and add more of each until you achieve a balance you like.

The pinnacle of all cookies, also one of the hardest to get just so. And it seems everyone has a preference, thin/thick, chewy/stiff, soft/thick, etc. This is how I like mine. Puffy and soft, but not too soft, chewy and thick. Fantastic out of the oven, but SO good the next day.

1 cup butter or margarine, softened (I usually use margarine)
1 cup brown sugar (I prefer the taste of dark but light is fine too)
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugars until throughly mixed and fluffy, about 3 mins or so. Works best with a stand mixer or hand mixer but you can do it by hand with a wooden spoon, it just takes longer. Add the vanilla, eggs, baking soda and salt. Mix until completely incorporated, again with the mixer.

Add the flour and mix using the mixer until the dough is throughly mixed, but don’t do it too long. You do not want massive amounts of air in the cookies, so just mix until completely mixed and homogeneous. Add the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. You don’t want to break up the chocolate by using the mixer.

These cookies do not spread much so you can make them as big or as little as you like, but I usually use about a large tablespoon of dough. Drop each cookie unto a cookie sheet, giving space between each. A standard home size cookie sheet usually produces 12 to a batch, thereby this recipe produces about 42 cookies, give or take.

Bake each batch for 7 to 11 minutes. But pay attention! The first batch will take longer and each successive batch changes that time. What you are looking for is a slightly doughy top, cooked, a tinge of brown on the top but not completely brown and just slightly underdone. This is a batch just taken from the oven:

The cookies will continue to bake internally while they cool. As soon as you pull them out of the oven use a spatula and put them on a cool surface to cool completely. If you leave them on the hot cookie sheet you will have burned cookies in no time. Between batches make sure you let the cookie sheet cool enough so you can handle it with a bare hand. Any warmer than that and your cookies will not cook completely.

The same batch as above, in the same spot on the counter, after sitting and cooling for a few mins:

Eat and enjoy!

I don’t remember which website someone commented about these on, but I heard about them and had to have some. They are $1 Target (the Target Spot “dollar” area) silicone Easter baking cups. Four Targets and two days later I have one set of 6 cups. One. I would have preferred another set or two just in case. I’d like to save my coated paper cups from Japan for other things, not to mention what a waste on the environment the paper cups can be.

These are, however, VERY thin and collapse beautifully in a bento box. Can’t wait to try them this week. And frankly for a buck they are much better on the pocketbook than some of the “authentic” ones from Japan.

crab filled onigiri (which I didn’t eat)

Strawberries and grapes
fruit “dipping sauce” (bought from a grocery store deli)

Cheese Soup

1 pkg. (16 oz.) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrot blend
2 cans (28 oz. total) chicken broth
1 lb. (16 oz.) VELVEETA, cut up and cubed

PLACE vegetables and broth in large saucepan; cover. Bring to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 min. or until vegetables are tender.
MASH vegetables with potato masher to desired consistency.
STIR in VELVEETA; cook 5 min. or until VELVEETA is melted and soup is heated through, stirring frequently.

2 crab filled onigiri (which I didn’t eat)
Udon noodles with tomato wedges and tsuyu sauce

Tempura battered snails
hard boiled egg
frozen green beans

Pocky

And of course, the rice cakes and dried mangoes. Yes, lots of carbs but what I was in the mood for today.

I am absolutely starving today. No idea why, so I’m packing more for my lunch/dinner tonight than usual.

2 crab filled onigiri using my new rice mold
clementine
hard boiled egg molded into a star, sorta (eggs were too small)
tomato wedges
a fish container of balsamic vinegar for tomatoes
a small container of hot sauce for the tamagoyaki

tamagoyaki

Tahitian Vanilla and plain chocolate Pocky

a daifuku (red bean rice cake)

I’ve also got the mandatory dried mangoes and rice cakes along with some pink lemonade to drink.

UPDATE:
I hated the daifuku. I tried to like it; I really like red bean paste. But there was something about this “cake” that I hated. It was mushy and sticky and too much of a good thing I think. Never again.

Last week I purchased a few things from Jbox for my bento-ing. I couldn’t find any of this stuff locally and finally broke down and bought it all online. It was fun getting it though! It was shipped via airmail and from the time of purchase to receipt was only 9 days. Not bad at all. Excellent service and packaging! Yup, even some Japanese ads as filler. And the selection has been fantastic. I’d like to buy almost everything they sell!

From left to right, top: rice mold (small rectangular size - used in sushi mostly); crane and sakura blossoms printed, coated paper cups; Hello Kitty condiment cups; and decorative partition (or sushi) grass.

From left to right, bottom: boiled egg molds (heart and star); onigiri rice mold; and mini sauce bottles.

Of all this I was most looking forward to the sauce cups and bottles and the onigiri rice mold. I’ve been making due with mini ketchup bottles I found in a local deli but they are just too big (and glass!) for a lot of things. These smaller ones should do the trick. And it means I can bring hot sauce with my bento goodies. Perfect! And as for the onigiri, sure I can make mine by hand but I am just not that good at it and the triangles will fit better in my boxes.

Late last week (Friday), before even receiving this stuff, I also placed another order for some monkey condiment cups (with spoon spreaders) and another bento box. Should be shipped today sometime. Can’t wait!

I overslept and had only 10 mins to throw everything together so I had to scrap my original meal idea as most of it was uncooked.

Mini hot dogs
pummelo (a type of grapefruit) drizzled with honey and balsamic vinegar
carrots and cucumbers
Pocky
clementine

meatloaf, made into a “cupcake” size
sweet potatoes
crab filled onigiri, frozen and thawed
Pocky sticks
clementine
rice cakes, dried mangoes and lemonade

I had an employee function to attend at my place of employment so I had to literally have something already put together (which I had done with this the day before). As always it was fantastic.

Heart shaped french toast pieces with tamagoyaki
Fried potatoes with onions and peppers
yogurt
rice cakes and dried mangoes
good ‘ole coffee, of course

It was all very good, and only my second attempt at tamagoyaki.

Tonight’s bento lunch/dinner:
grilled salmon
sweet potatoes, chunked
hard boiled egg
crab filled onigiri
yogurt
lemonade

I’ve also got a few rice “cakes” and dried mangoes to complete the meal tonight.

Sure not as cute as some of them, but it smells so good!

Company Website
Amazon’s purchase link

My previous mention of my purchase of a “silverware” set spurred me to post this. I have seen many people suggest these for use instead. I have a few that I use exclusively for camping and have for a year now. It has draw backs.

1. The knife is useless. Its slightly less “sharp” then the edge of a metal fork. Mostly it just threatens to cut your tongue. Which hurts when it does eventually happen.
2. The knife portion is backwards if you are right handed. Its difficult to use.
3. The shape of the spoon is perfect for use, but the curve makes using the fork awkward. Its also slightly bulky feeling.
4. You must clean it each time you switch between knife, fork or spoon or else you end up with food on your hand.
5. No chopsticks, obviously, which I prefer when eating noodles.

But again its perfect for camping for all these reasons! I eat very specific foods that I reserve just for camping, and it works beautifully. But its too much work with the foods I eat in my bento everyday. There are also far less pieces to keep track of on site when camping. I love using them for the few days a year when I do go camping, but everyday in my bento would get on my nerves.