I wrote about my organization previously; I have since acquired A LOT more bento items (thank you Ichiban Kan!) and had to update my methods and storage a bit. Its not too different, but different enough that I thought an updated post was warranted. Especially now that I actually own STUFF - most especially with the latest Ichiban Kan order. I swear that store will be the death of all my disposable income so long as they have great bento items to buy. I’m grateful I’m not near one of their stores in person or who knows how much of my money they would end up with!?
First up my bags and napkins (kinchaku and furoshiki):
The bags and napkins are just laying within this metal bin (Target Dollar Spot) for easy “grab and go”. And because I bring additional items besides just the bento box sometimes 2 bags are needed, its nice to have them all at my finger tips so I can decide which I am going to use.
More after the jump…
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Sigh…I have to put numbers next to these orders now. How much of my money are they going to end up with?! And because of all these new items, on this order and the last, I had to re-organize my bento and bento accessories storage methods - I’ll be posting that shortly so stay tuned! Now on to the fun!
Like before the order came within a week and was packaged very well. They know what they are doing and not much has changed! A+ as always! It helps that I buy mostly plastic items!
Up first is all of the Natural Lunch line - drink bottles, a green and a beige bento box (different than ones I currently own), bags, belts and eating utensils. One of these bottles is going to live permanently at work (due to regulations regarding our liquid refreshment containers) so I don’t have to worry about storing all of them.
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Rice Cake to snack on
Cubed pork chop
frozen carrots
Stuffing
Plain Pocky
Very boring…sure. But very filling.
Chinese Dumplings - Lamb Filled with frozen green beans and 2 fishes of soy sauce
Rice with Katsuo Fumi furikake (bonito & sesame seeds furikake)
Rice cakes
Marble Pocky - Kaoru Rum Raisin flavored
A frozen palm cake (Thailand) - its only got 3 ingredients: rice flour, palm sugar and coconut. But for some reason even though I like all those separate from each other I didn’t like this. Oh well.
I’ve already written the (semi) complete history of these books. This edition was written by Rafael Steinberg.
I have used this cookbook from time to time as it includes what some think are traditional Japanese or Chinese recipes. Its a very nice cookbook where Island foods are concerned and definitely full of yummy things.
Each image links to a larger picture if you want to read or use the recipe.
Each spiral bound book measures 9 inches by 6 inches and is about 1/4 inch thick.
More pictures, recipes and information after the jump…
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No mean woman can cook well. It calls for a generous spirit, a light hand, and a large heart.
~Paul Gauguin
Americans are just beginning to regard food the way the French always have. Dinner is not what you do in the evening before something else. Dinner is the evening.
~Art Buchwald
The art of cooking is among the most intimate things that we can do for another.
~Chef Charlie Trotter
In the end, your creativity - perhaps even your outrageousness - will determine the final result.
~Bobby Flay
I used to love the way everyone talked about food as if it were one of the most important things in life. And, of course, it is. Without it we would die. Each of us eats about one thousand meals a year. It is my belief that we should try and make as many of these meals as we can truly memorable.
~Robert Carrier
There is no technique, there is just the way to do it. Now, are we going to measure or are we going to cook?
~Frances Mayes
When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
~John Ruskin
This post is my 100th posting! Granted a few in there were a total waste of reading space or were just little updates but I am at 100 now. I hope I have 100s more posts to come!
I was ravishing hungry when putting this together, and had no change for a midnight snack attack from the candy machine!
Carrots
Applesauce
2 hardboiled eggs, shaped like a bear and a fish - I wanted to show my co-worker
Salt and pepper and hot sauce
Meatloaf “cupcake”
Baked potato with butter and green onions
Yup, another order from Ichiban Kan. They got in a few things I really wanted and while there I added other stuff I didn’t need but still love! Just like last time it came well packaged and fast - a week from the time I ordered to receiving it.
The Tenmari blue lunch box, elastic band and kinchaku (bag) along with a pink Tenmari kinchaku and 2 elastic bands (just so I have an extra one). I already have the pink Tenmari box, chopsticks & case, furoshiki and insulated bag but I have wanted to flush out the set for awhile now. I really need to stay away from Lube Sheep 2 tier boxes however…I’ve got 3 and other than the pattern they are pretty much interchangeable!
More pictures of stuff after the jump…
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Pommes frites are just french fries - but since I don’t make them like traditional french fries I like to differentiate them so I can keep the recipes separate. Not only that but by using the term pommes frites I tend to think of them in a slightly better frame of mind, foodie wise, than french fries (which seem so McDonald’s like to me).
This is a twist on a very classic worldwide pairing - mayo (or even mayo and ketchup mixed together) with fries is VERY traditional, its not overly common here in the USA however. So try it next time if you haven’t yet. Its wonderful! Nearly everyone I have urged to try it loves it, they just never heard of it before.
In parts of Utah, Nevada and the Northwest USA there is a popular sauce usually called fry sauce (with a recipe here). My paternal grandparents and a few members of my extended family lived in Utah and then Oregon for a long time when I was a kid (and a chunk of them still live there) so I am familiar with it and always have been, I like it just fine, but its about the spicy for me!! Plain ketchup mixed in just isn’t enough spice.
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Asparagus, it was going bad and needed to be eaten NOW
Broccoli bites (broccoli mixed with cheese and breaded - not fried though)
Baked flounder
Some plain Pocky
I’ve already written the (semi) complete history of this series of books. This one was written by Emily Hahn.
Each image links to a larger picture if you want to read or use the recipe.
Each spiral bound book measures 9 inches by 6 inches and is about 1/4 inch thick. And this one was well used before I got to it - its been well used since by me.
More after the cut including full photos of select pages.
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The secret of good cooking is, first, having a love of it… If you’re convinced that cooking is drudgery, you’re never going to be good at it, and you might as well warm up something frozen.
~James Beard
New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin.
~Mark Twain
Don’t let love interfere with your appetite. It never does with mine.
~Anthony Trollope
A recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.
~Madame Benoit
What you eat and drink is 50 percent of life.
~Gérard Depardieu
Food can look beautiful, taste exquisite, smell wonderful, make people feel good, bring them together, inspire romantic feelings…At its most basic, it is fuel for a hungry machine.
~Rosamond Richardson
If man be sensible and one fine morning, while he is lying in bed, counts at the tips of his fingers how many things in this life truly will give him enjoyment, invariably he will find food is the first one.
~Lin Yutang
I honestly think this is one of the first things I ever learned how to make. I’ve been making these since I was a little girl, possibly because they are very easy for kids to make and they happen to be the perfect cookie for summer as they don’t heat up the house. They are also one of my mother’s favorites.
This particular recipe came to me via a 1977 church cookbook from the First United Methodist Church in Omaha. The cookbook, according to the information inside, was printed to raise money to re-build their church after the fateful 1975 tornado that wiped out most of town. My parents remember that tornado (and events surrounding it) very well (it was 6 years before I was born). As a result this cookbook is probably one of the best I have ever used in my life, encompassing so many different recipes from so many different types of backgrounds. I intend to showcase it after I get done with the Time Life series. Until then enjoy this recipe from the “Youth” section.
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa (use the best you can find, it makes a difference)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine (margarine works MUCH better due to the oil content)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth is best, chunky is great but hard to mix in)
3 cups quick cooking oats
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I love making bread pudding in the summer, especially for summer breakfasts when the heat of the day hasn’t hit yet. It takes a lot of eggs and milk so I usually only make this when they are on sale. This is also very good for Thanksgiving and Christmas when I tend to ramp up the spices and richness.
(1) 12″ loaf of day old French bread, cubed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional, I prefer not putting this in)
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 cups evaporated milk, milk or buttermilk (depending on preference/availabilty - I prefer evap. milk)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
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