Just Because...

Bento: yes; blogging: no.

2008-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been keeping up with bento, although I haven't had much chance to snap pictures, so I haven't bothered writing about it. We had a family event in the shape of a funeral. It was expected, it was time, it was even a bit of a relief, but it was still difficult. And that was right in the middle of Hurricane Ike, which my in-laws weathered OK, although my mother-in-law still hasn't been able to return to Galveston to check on her house. Reports from her neighbors are very promising, however.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Today is leftovers from dinner (meatballs), freezer stock (onigiri), and other stuff (fruits, veggies and a carrot stir fry). Enjoy - they did!

2008-09-15T17:30:00.000-07:00

What is this, the third or fourth week of school? How is it that I'm already getting into a rut? Note to self: research more lunch ideas.

Today, both got pepperoni and mozzarella skewers, corn muffins, veggies and some fruit, although there was some variation in the fruits and veggies, according to individual tastes. She got a sidecar of vanilla yogurt, but I packed quite a bit less for her, since she hasn't been finishing her lunch. This looks skimpy to me, but it looks like it was about the right amount.

Pat, pat, pat

2008-09-10T11:24:00.001-07:00

That sound you hear? That's the sound of me patting myself on the back. My kids are still excited about packing lunch, and are disappointed if I tell them they have to buy lunch at school. Especially if it's Fiesta Bean Burrito, but I'm just not that cruel.

Anyway, here are today's offerings: both got chunks of grilled chicken (leftover from dinner), corn muffins (from the freezer), gold kiwi, and veggies, with cat cookies for dessert and bbq sauce in the small sauce container (for the chicken). He also got a tangerine and a string cheese in his bag. Again, she loves the cuteness, he lives in dread of me sending something that will diminish his 10 year old boy-in-the-burb cred.

Another day, another lunch.

2008-09-09T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here's today's effort:

This is his lunch: carrots and red bell pepper, orange chicken, mini onigiri, lemon grass chicken stix (from Trader Joe's), peanut butter filled pretzels and some chocolate cat cookies. He is still anti-cute, so no picks or little forks, but I just realized I forgot to pack a regular fork. Hmmpph. Well, he has no problem eating with his hands, lucky for him. That's what he gets for not appreciating adorable little accessories!

And her lunch is pretty much the same as his (except no carrots), but doesn't it just look better in a bento box, with accessories? She also has a little case of peanut butter, for the red bell pepper. That's by her request, believe it or not; I wouldn't have inflicted that on her otherwise.

Frozen Assets: Mini Onigiri

2008-09-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

So last week we discovered that we all like onigiri. Great news, but there were some limitations - they had to be the little, tiny, bite-sized, labor-intensive onigiri. I know (from many online sources) that onigiri freezes well, but the instructions were to wrap each onigiri well in plastic wrap. I couldn't see myself wrapping each dice-sized cube in plastic wrap. So here's how I did it:

Fill the onigiri mold with rice.

Smooth out the top - you don't have to pack it in tightly, but it should be full. Put the top insert on, and press down. Turn mold over and push the cubes out.

Lay the cubes out on a piece of plastic wrap, spaced evenly.

Fold the top edge of the plastic wrap over the top of the cubes.

Roll the three cubes toward you, covering them completely in the plastic wrap.

Add three more cubes to the wrap, right next to the first three.

Fold the bottom edge of the plastic wrap up and over the cubes, covering them completely.

Pinch the plastic wrap between the pairs of cubes, squeezing out excess air.

Push the cubes up next to each other.

Press the ends of the plastic wrap under and there you go! These are ready to be frozen!

This may have been obvious to everyone, but I'm easily impressed with myself!

So far, so good

2008-09-05T10:40:00.000-07:00

My school lunch goal this year is twofold:

1) pack nutritious lunches (that the kids will actually eat) more often, and keep doing so all year long.

2) document those lunches on this blog.

After the first two weeks of school, how am I doing? So far, so good. I'm doing pretty darn good at goal number one, but could do better at goal number two. I'm just not great at taking the pictures, since I start to get a bit crazy about getting out of the door. And even when I take the pictures, I'm not putting them all up here. So here's my catch-up post, a gallery of some of the lunches I've packed.

Here is a lunch for my son, with cheese and crackers with pepperoni, fruit salad, celery and cucumbers. (Notice that all signs of cuteness have been removed.) When it comes to packing for him, the hardest part for me seems to be trying to figure out how much food to send. This seemed to be enough for him, although he needed a hearty snack after school.

Here's another for my son, again no cutesy stuff. This is leftovers from dinner, a delicious recipe for roasted vegetable pasta primavera on AllRecipes. I reheated it a little to improve the texture, then let cool to room temperature before packing with an ice pack. Some fruits and veggies on the side, along with some sliced french bread. I spread some butter (actually, Brummel and Brown yogurt spread) on the bread and then sprinkled with some parmesan cheese. The cheese kept the buttered sides from sticking to each other. I also got some chocolate cat cookies from Trader Joe's, so I'd have something sweet to tuck into lunches.

Yes, I've been making lunch for my daughter as well - but lucky for me, she likes the cutesy stuff! Much more fun. This is her kind of lunch, lots of variety, but it turned out to be a little too much for her, so I need to remember to scale back. This is hummus, pretzel thins, baby bel cheese and some chocolate cat cookies on the bottom tier, with a ham and cheddar corn muffin, cucumber slices, grapes and a tangerine on the top tier. She got some chocolate cat cookies in the lid, as well. She didn't eat much of the hummus, and only half the cheese. She did manage to eat all the cookies, however!

And here's today's for her, more teriyaki meatballs, cucumber, carrots and edamame in the top tier, mini onigiri, grape tomatoes, chocolate cat cookies and a cheese wedge in the bottom. The mini onigiri we made with a mold from Ichibankan. This was only the second time we've tried to make it, and this is a much better size for her to eat. We also used a different flavor of furikake (no bonito flakes!) and she liked this one much better. She had so much fun making little faces - I'd love to get a punch now!

So there are some of the bentos I've packed this week and last. I still need to streamline the process - I'm taking too much time in the morning - but the kids are really excited about their lunches now, and that makes it worth the extra effort. Plus I feel like they're getting a better, healthier lunch, and they're more willing to be adventurous eaters - onigiri is new for all of us. Yay for bento!

I'm not just daring, I'm terrified...

2008-08-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

This is my second Daring Bakers challenge. The first month, I was impressed. OK, I was thrilled. I baked a freaking Danish, and it was good. And I didn't even use a Pillsbury something-or-other dough to do it. It was dough from scratch. Suck on that, Jacques Pepin. (Yeah, I am that juvenile.)

Then July happened. July wasn't a good month; we were really busy. And there was family illness. And I didn't have some of the required equipment. And frankly, I wasn't feeling very daring. In part, because I was still feeling rather proud of myself for the Danish (did I mention that it was from scratch?) and I didn't want to kill that buzz by screwing up. So feeling guilty, I passed. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to pass August. It was a good month, compared to July. I could do it - I'd have to.

And so here it is: chocolate eclairs. Once again, my initial reaction was: Do people really make this at home? Daring Bakers: it's not for wimps.

But, believe it or not, I've made choux dough before, inspired by Alton Brown. (He's on my list. You know what list I'm talking about.) I can't even remember what I made, but I know it wasn't eclairs. I do remember being amazed by the dough, and the almost magic way it came together, and then puffed up in the oven.

So I printed out all of the pages of the recipe, and gathered my ingredients, and charted out my time. I've never made pastry cream before, and that was fun. And oh my God, it is good. And I made the dough, and I made a glaze but not the one called for in the recipe. But that was allowed, according to the rules. (You think we don't have rules? Hah!) And to spare you the blow-by-blow, here are the results.
And the verdict? I'd make this again, even without the fear of public shaming, it was that good.

And we're off...

2008-08-27T13:49:00.000-07:00

First day of school! The kids were excited, even though they had mixed emotions about starting school. Friends and teachers: good, homework: bad. Pretty straightforward mixed emotions, but still.

I only got a picture of her lunch today, I had too much to do and not enough time. They were all prepped and ready, but I had invited a bunch of moms over for coffee, and the house wasn't really ready. Oh well. Her lunch is orange chicken, corn muffin, chicken stix and edamame on top, grapes and watermelon on the bottom. Simple, easy and best of all, quick!

Bento Sprint Continues...

2008-08-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

before the bento marathon that is the school year.

Lunch for her: tuna onigiri, meatballs, baby carrots, goldfish and fruit (apples, grapes and cherries). Soy sauce in da fish.

Lunch for him: onigiri, crunchy bridge mix, meatballs, kiwi and baby carrots. Soy sauce in da fish.

My first attempt at onigiri. I didn't plan in advance very well, and I didn't have anything to fill them with. I rummaged through the pantry and came up with some tuna, so these are tuna onigiri. The kids actually liked them, but I think I'll have to practice a bit more. And maybe come up with a better filling. (Maybe some of the meatballs, chopped up, would have been better. D'oh!)

Bento Rehearsals

2008-08-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm going through a dress rehearsal for the school year. I'm getting the concept down, but I need to work on my speed and efficiency. Here are two more bento lunches:

She has ham and cheddar corn muffin, grapes, chicken and apple sausage, apple slices, cheese wedge, and some everything pretzel thins. His lunch is chicken and apple sausage, ham and cheddar corn muffins, orzo and feta salad, carrots and celery, with pistachios as filler.

The ham and cheddar corn muffins I made yesterday and froze. That will definitely be part of the plan, to keep some savory style muffins in the freezer. The sausage was leftover from dinner the night before, but it wasn't a hit with her. And he wanted a cheese wedge with crackers after lunch. I still need to work on portions for him!

Gearing up

2008-08-18T12:40:00.000-07:00

This is the last week of vacation before school starts, and every year at this time, I swear that I'll do better at packing lunches for the kids. And every year I start off great, but by Christmas I'm telling them to buy lunch at school. Which isn't healthy, economical, or a good lesson for the kids. So this year, I'm doing the same thing, but with a weapon on my side: bento.

So this summer I've experimented with bento, but this week, I'm going to kick it into high gear, and practice to see what works, what doesn't, how much is enough, what I can prepare ahead (vital for me!), etc.

Today I have two different bentos. Hers has edamame, red bell pepper, grapes, skewers with pepperoni and mozzarella, and some baby carrots. His has edamame, grapes, some blue cheese dressing for dipping in the sauce container, baby carrots, baby bel cheese, and ham chunks.

The verdict: my eight year old girl will do fine with a lunch like this. There's plenty to eat, and she loves the cute factor. On the other hand, my almost 11 year old boy didn't get quite enough to eat, so I gave him some non-bento food afterwards. And we both agreed that I'll have to be careful not to overdo the cute accessories. Regular skewer-like picks will be OK, the veggie forks are still under consideration, but the ring and balloon picks are definitely out. Not cool for his age. The bento box itself would be OK, but he would really need a sidecar of something to round this out for him.

Another experiment coming this way tomorrow!

Crochet, really?

2008-08-17T10:01:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been a while since I've finished anything in crochet. Not that I'm not crocheting, I just haven't finished anything. But I finally got around to finishing a baby blanket. Not that I have a baby in mind for it, I'm just too lazy to attempt a full size blanket.

So anyway, a long time ago, I decided to make a tunisian crochet entrelac baby blanket. I really liked how it was turning out, but for some reason, I wasn't crazy about the back side of the blanket. So I got it in my head that I needed to line it, the thought of which completely took away my motivation to finish the blanket. Crocheting a blanket I know how to do; lining a blanket involves sewing. I do know a little (emphasizing little) about sewing, but I don't have a sewing machine. Which means, either I sew it by hand, which is not going to happen, or taking it to my mom's house to sew, which means smoky smell (not so good for babies), or imposing on a friend. None of which seemed important enough for a baby blanket which has no baby recipient in mind. So the blanket got put away, with the vague idea that should a baby boy be born, I'd have an almost finished gift lying around.

Well, a couple of days ago, while cleaning up, I took another look at the blanket, and especially the back. And hey, it's not that bad. So it took me all of an hour and a half to finish this damn blanket that's been lying around here for months. Silly me.

It's all in the accessories

2008-08-11T13:49:00.001-07:00

I just got a delivery from Ichibankanusa.com, full of bento goodness. Roughly clockwise from upper left: a two-tiered bento box, mini onigiri molds, little veggie-faced forks, a lidded food container (good for sloppy stuff), a mayo or sauce cup, three varieties of food picks/forks, some happy veggie food dividers, and some furikake. I've never tried furikake, so I'm looking forward to trying this. Maybe tomorrow when I have more time... who am I kidding, I have about as much time as I'm going to have, at least until school starts. Which is only in two weeks!

It's a Blogging World, After All

2008-08-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm trying to blog on a regular basis (just because!), I've entered into another realm, with new customs and traditions to learn. One of those is blog contests. Bloggers - usually far more established than I - set up contests among other bloggers, and even offer prizes. Of course, if you're reading this, you probably already know all of this! (But that's OK, let's pretend that I just gave you some valuable new information.)

So I saw a contest that's right up my alley: a contest for "non-cutesy" bentos. Which is good, 'cause I don't do cutesy. I'm allergic to Hello Kitty. I'm confused by all those Japanese characters. What exactly is a Pikachu, anyway? And I certainly haven't the time or interest in recreating all of this in food. I leave that to those who are far more creative and accomplished than I.

The blog "Not Exactly Bento" is running this contest. There's a very professional looking logo even. And there are cool prizes.

So here's my entry. Yes, it's a rerun. (The networks do it, why can't I?) I'll try to come up with another before the contest deadline, since I get two chances, but this will do for now. This lunch has (clockwise from upper left) lemon grass chicken sticks, grapes, orange chicken over brown rice, green beans and some cherry tomatoes. I love the color of this bento, it was gosh-darned easy, since it was basically leftovers, and it was tasty. What more could you ask for?

Another day, another bento

2008-08-01T09:40:00.001-07:00

My kids just love SoupPlantation. And I love it too, because it's a much healthier alternative to many of the options they get at most restaurants - fried chicken fingers and fries, fried corndog and fries, cheeseburger and fries... I know, I know, by the time they layer on cheese and croutons and dressing, they might as well have had a cheeseburger, but at least they're learning that vegetables can be good choices, too.

Of course, we don't go to SoupPlantation as often as the kids would like, but they do love when we have salad night at home. I make a big salad for each of them, including lots of what my son calls "pizzazz" - all the yummy toppings. It's actually a fair bit of work for a no-cook dinner, but since I'm doing all that chopping of vegetables, I chop a bit extra, so there's some already prepped veggies in the fridge. And that turns into bento quick as can be.

I made the biscuits to go with our salads, and the snap peas, celery, carrots, red bell pepper and hard boiled egg were all salad toppings. I added some salami, cheese and crackers just for a little extra protein and some calcium. My son was hovering over this bento as I was making it, trying to snag tastes, so I'm pretty sure he'll like this one.

Bento catch-up (not catsup)

2008-07-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

I've been making bentos every day for my son, since he's in flag football camp this week, but I haven't gotten pictures of every bento. I'm so into the summer mentality that getting up and making lunches is hard enough; taking pictures is asking quite a bit. But here are two I managed to snap:

Pineapple chicken meatballs from the deli, cheddar bay biscuits (recipe from allrecipes.com), homegrown cucumber, strawberries and brownie bites (made from a No Pudge mix). I highly recommend the biscuits, they totally rock!

This one has a faint whiff of desperation around it: sliced cheddar cheese, crackers, pistachios (in a aluminum cupcake liner), slicked strawberries and grapes. Some of the other ones this week were much better planned, I just couldn't maintain for the whole week. I'll get there, I swear!

Colorful enough, do you think?

2008-07-23T19:52:00.001-07:00

Here's lunch for tomorrow - orange chicken on brown rice, green beans, cherry tomatoes, lemon grass chicken sticks and purple grapes. Just the names of the food are colorful!

Trying to get back into the groove, after two short vacations back to back, and a cold.

Taste: B+ Appearance: C-

2008-07-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

This tastes so much better than it looks. I should have found some more color, just for the sake of presentation, but live and learn. This is some Korean style short ribs (thanks, TJ!) along with some steak cut potatoes, pineapple and a green salad with home grown cucumbers. OK, the home the cukes were grown at wasn't my home (thanks, mom and dad!), but they weren't bought from a store. I need to plan ahead so that I have some colorful sides - maybe some cherry tomatoes, or red bell peppers, or baby carrots... It's not the lack of ideas, it's the lack of planning that kills me, every time.

Look what an hour can do!

2008-07-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've finished a crochet project. Mostly I just like to crochet - the hook flashing in and out of the yarn is so immensely soothing, and somehow, satisfying even if I never finish anything. But when I do finish something, look out. This doesn't quite give that overwhelming sense of satisfaction, since it took about an hour to do (and that hour was in the car, which is very distracting for me), but I am happy anyway.

This is what's called a tawashi, or a dish scrubbie. In Japan, apparently, there are whole books of tawashi patterns, both knit and crochet. This one is really simple to make, but I love the spiral design. I wonder if I'll actually use it?

I made this while we were driving to a guest ranch up in the mountains where we rode horses, ate too much, and took long walks in the country. The kids never stopped, from morning until night, but I stopped several times, and even took naps.

I'm starting to get the hang of this...

2008-07-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is another leftover bento - and isn't it funny that I'm now planning dinner with lunch the following day in mind? This took about 3 minutes to put together, and at least 20 seconds of that was deciding which container to use. I chose my brand new Lock N Lock container, from Organize.com.

I used AllRecipe's Grilled Salmon recipe, and it's delicious. Since I have my new grill, I actually grilled this recipe, instead of broiling like I usually do. (My old grill was not the easiest thing in the world to cook on.) So DH got the leftovers for lunch, along with brown rice (under the salmon), green beans and watermelon. The squeeze bottle has soy sauce for the rice.

In the garden with a procrastinator.

2008-07-06T15:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not a gardener, and I don't have a green thumb. Plants confound me. But every once in a while, I get the urge to mess around in the garden. If I lie down with a cold compress on my forehead, the urge will pass soon enough, but today I decided to do a little spring cleaning in the front garden. Too bad it's summer.

I planted (and transplanted) some False Heather, known around here as Mexican Heather. I love this stuff - dark green, low mounds, and covered in tiny flowers. I only planted three or so a couple of years ago, so I got five more and planted them. Do you think that's overkill?

I also cleaned up the alyssum, which has crabgrass and oxalis growing in it. And I cleaned up around the Indian Feather (guara lindheimeri) which is a beautiful plant, but about 3 times as big as I thought it would get. I think I was supposed to prune it way back over winter, too. Gonna have to do something about that. Maybe. Then I stood around and admired the agapanthus (a dwarf, since I hate those big giant ones) and the lavender and the hydrangea.

Then I lay down with a cold compress on my forehead.

Another day, another bento

2008-07-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

Have I ever told you how much I love Trader Joe's? I really don't like shopping in any form, actually, and grocery shopping is only slightly less tedious than clothes shopping, but I love to go to Trader Joe's. Even though the parking lot at my TJ's seems to be designed with personal injury lawyers in mind, and the carts are from one of Dante's circles of hell. But it has been remodeled twice in the last few years, and now it's one of the biggest Trader Joe's in the chain. I love to wander the frozen food aisles, looking for something I haven't tried before. I love to wander the wine aisles, looking for a good deal. I love to see what the tasting for today is, and of course I love to taste. And I love to see what the new products are.

Orange Chicken isn't a new product, it's a very old friend in this house. And it makes great leftovers. We are also big fans of the Lemongrass Chicken Stix. This leftover bento has the Orange Chicken, rice, Lemongrass Chicken Stix, green beans and pineapple. The little fish bottle just has soy sauce.

And the Trumpets Sounded!

2008-06-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

(Can we start off with a trumpet flourish, please? Thank you.)

So as I have said before, I joined the Daring Bakers online group. I thought I dodged a bullet by waiting till June to start (May was opera cake, if you can believe it). Then I saw the challenge: Danish Braid. Are you kidding me?!? I have trouble braiding hair, let alone bread. And this is yeast bread! With laminated dough! (I had to look that one up, and that scared me twice. First that I HAD to look it up, and then when I saw the definition.)

And June. Ahhh, June. We started off with camping at the beach - no Daring Baking going on there. Then we moved into the craziness off the end of school. Not gonna happen then. But I can't do this with two kids around, who need chauffeuring and refereeing and feeding and everything else. Hmmm.

So feeling a bit like a general planning a D-Day scale attack, I set my sights on the last day of school. The eye of the hurricane in terms of end-of-the-year activity. I gathered my supplies, I read and re-read the recipe, I made my plans. I schemed.

After I dropped the kids off at school, I began to bake. Well, at that point, it's not really baking, it's mixing and kneading and rolling.

First, the mis en place. This was a big undertaking for me, so I needed organization. I'm feeling rather professional. I stop to put on an apron - might as well look the part. I contemplate digging out some classical music.

Then, the mixing. Switch to kneading (not by me, of course, that's what my Kitchen Aid is for). Hmmm. Dough is awfully sticky. Looks more like cake batter than bread dough. Add more flour. Still more flour. Still sticky. Panic sets in. More flour. Agghhh. This is why I don't bake. Chill the dough. Still sticky. Do some hand kneading with more flour. OK, I think it's finally ready. I roll, spread the beurrage, fold, chill. I roll, fold, chill. Repeat. Again. Panic is fading. I think this might actually work out.

The next morning, being the day after the last day of school, is for sleeping in. So naturally I'm up at 6:00 am to get my danish ready for the oven. Believe it or not, it turns out to be easier than getting kids ready for school. Looky here, I'm braiding! This is fun! This is easy! I'm a natural!

I'm an idiot! I forgot to move the rolled out dough to baking sheet before I braided! Panic returns. But lucky for me, I have no confidence in myself, so I'm only using 1/3 of the dough. My braid is small enough to pick up with two spatulas and transfer to the baking sheet. Panic fades again. I brush the top of the braid with the egg wash. I'm feeling rather proud of myself. I brush with abandon.

Next step is proofing. Just let sit in a warmish place for an hour or two. Proofing must be short for idiot proof, I jest to myself. Hmmm. It's rather cool this early in the morning. I'll set my oven to warm, turn it off and let it cool to the recommended 90 degrees, then proof in there with the oven door closed. (Did I mention that I'm a genius?) I double check my oven thermometer with my instant read. Can't be too careful. Tenderly I set my shiny braided dough into the warm oven. I clean, I putter. Check back in half an hour. Agghh! The oven somehow has gotten warmer - it's now 105! Leave the door open and fan with a towel. Double check the recipe to see if I've killed the yeast too soon. Agghh! I forgot to put the plastic wrap over the top. Panic sets in again. Am I the only manic-depressive baker in the world?

But somehow, my plucky dough manages to look puffy and "light to the touch". I bake it for the time, which I check and double check. It turned out a little over-brown (let's not say burned), but it was FABULOUS! I'm a daring baker!

I made two kinds, one with an apple filling, and one with blackberry and cream cheese. The apple was good, but the blackberry was phenomenal.

Maki sushi, take 2

2008-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is the second time I've attempted maki sushi. And for some reason, it seemed a lot easier this time. I don't think it's because of practice, since the first time was about three years ago. I don't remember much except it was kind of a disaster.

This time went much better. It wasn't the most beautiful sushi ever, but it made for a pretty nice lunch. The bigger pieces are kappa maki, or cucumber maki. There's only a few of them because my kids were eating them about as fast as I could cut them. I chased them out of the kitchen before making the rest, which is krab and cucumber. I don't know if there's a specific name for that; probably not.

Stealing your kid's lunch?

2008-06-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

So my husband took the mac-n-cheese bento to work the other day. I asked him, as always, how lunch was. (I need the feedback, I'm not just fishing for compliments. Not entirely, anyway.) He said it was good, and that one of the guys he works with was impressed. Or at least he said "whoa" when DH pulled out his lunch. Although, my husband said, rather sheepishly, this guy asked if DH had stolen his kid's lunch. I guess that means no more mac-n-cheese. Wonder what he'll say about this one?

Another leftover dinner. Oven-fried chicken, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies, and grapes. There's a little container of BBQ sauce for dipping that didn't fit into the box. This wouldn't work entirely for the kids for the same reason the mac-n-cheese wouldn't either - my kids won't eat the mashed potatoes or veggies cold. It's ok for DH; he has access to a microwave, but I would have needed different sides for the kids. Something to think about.

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it's off to bento we go...

2008-06-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

I only just recently started my bento efforts, right before the kids got out of school for the summer, in fact. My timing is, as always, impeccable.

And so my husband will be the guinea pig for my bento efforts for a while. This is a leftovers bento - grilled chicken and apple sausage, mac-n-cheese (not homemade, sadly), and baby carrots. It's looking a bit, well, orange. Note to self: do a better job at color management. Not pictured is the green salad I packed for him as well, with a squeeze bottle of Italian dressing.

Mo' Bento

2008-06-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

Here's another summer bento. This was leftovers from dinner - we had Aidells brand chicken and pineapple meatballs, skewered with fresh pineapple and red bell pepper chunks. I grilled the skewers, while brushing them with teriyaki. For lunch, I re-skewered them on cute little sea creature picks I got from Ichibankanusa.com. The skewers are resting on some fresh red bell peppers, but it doesn't show in the picture (whoops!). There's also some sliced kiwi, grapes and baby carrots.

The Perfect Pizza: A Quest

2008-06-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Last year, I decided that I would master grilling a tri tip roast. Took me practically the whole year, but I am now darn good at tri tip. My family had to suffer through various rubs, sauces, techniques, but I eventually figured out my favorite. It's gooood.

The year before, I decided to learn to cook eggs over easy. Sounds easy, right? Well, for some reason, eggs over easy were my Waterloo. Couldn't get them right. Either the yolks broke (and yes, I was using farm fresh eggs, from my parents' chickens, laid the same damn day), or I undercooked them, or I overcooked them - just couldn't do it. But I devoted some time to them, and now, I can turn them out like nobody's business.

This year, it's pizza. I've tried a couple of times, but haven't quite got the results I want yet. My standards are pretty high; I used to work at a pizza place run by an Italian from Naples, by way of New York. And his standards were very high. Unfortunately, I never paid much attention to the process of making the dough, which is everything. I know the dough was allowed to rest in the refrigerator a few days before they were used, but that's about it. I did learn to shape a pizza, though (no rolling pins allowed!). But I've found that shaping a pizza is much easier when the dough is just right. And I haven't gotten there yet. But I will.

So far, I've tried recipes from Alton Brown, Tyler Florence, and from Pizzamaking.com. Surprisingly, I've like the recipe from Tyler Florence the best so far. I took some pictures, but unfortunately my computer's processor got fried (quite literally; don't turn your computer on without a heat sink - ever), and I'm using my kids' computer, and I'm not going to the trouble of setting it up to upload pictures. But I'll add pictures later. Anyway, to sum up: Tyler Florence wins out over AB. But I don't think he'll be able to go the distance.

OK, edited to add picture. Not my best, I really need to work at this photography thing. It's harder than it looks!

Summer Bento

2008-06-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

So the kids are out of school, and I've just started getting my feet wet with bento lunches. So I've decided that I need to practice over the summer, and by the time school rolls around again, I'll be just aces at it. So here's a summer bento!

We have fancy-cut kiwi (thanks Biggie!), Trader Joe's Mediterranean Hummus, TJ's flax seed and honey flatbread, cherries, and baby carrots. I sprinkled a little freeze dried parsley on top of the hummus because it looked so bland. It's packed in a Lock 'N Lock, using two silicon baking cups. This was my lunch, and it was just about right for me.

Last Day

2008-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the last of of school for my kids - now they're out for the summer. It's a day of mixed emotions. On one hand, we can take a break from getting up, getting dressed, fed, cleaned up, homework gathered, lunches packed, backpacks stuffed, shoes found, squabbles resolved - all before 7:30 am.

On the other hand, they're home. All day. It's a new set of challenges.

Of course, right now, there's mostly relief. I think the teachers conspire to make parents grateful for summer vacation by making the last few weeks of school so hellacious. Year-end parties, special projects, last-minute field trips, performances - parents work a lot harder in the last two weeks of school than kids do. Add to that dance recitals (dress rehearsals, arranging props, fixing costumes, flowers, programs, t-shirts, ACK!), piano recital (blessedly easy, compared to dance), try outs for junior lifeguards, etc. Then a couple of after-school year-end parties.

I'M TIRED. I need a vacation.

And there you go, I have one. All summer long.

Bento-style lunch, for her

2008-06-10T12:20:00.001-07:00

Today's lunch for my daughter looks a little bland. I should have added some of the cherries we have for more color, but she wanted the pretzel gold fish, and I already had the pineapple so...

So for her today it was edamame, pineapple, pretzel goldfish, Trader Joe's Ultimate Vanilla Wafers (YUM!), and tucked in between the cups, half a cheese stick.

This is almost a waste free lunch - there's a wrapper on the cheese stick, and she took a plastic bottle of water. She reuses the water bottle, but eventually, it will get recycled.

Not pictured here (because I'm just not quick enough) is my son's lunch, which looked a lot like this, except without the pretzels, and with some leftover potstickers, and my husband's lunch, which had potstickers, rice, broccoli, pineapple and edamame.

The kids are packed in a Lock & Lock, which I now love. Hubby's was in a cheapo plastic thingy, but it's a bit bigger.

I'm not a bento maker, I just play one on the internet.

2008-06-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

My attempt at bento

I've been reading a number of blogs related to the idea of bento. I love the colors and the appeal of the food, and it's inspired me to try a little harder with my kids lunches. It hasn't quite inspired me to make really amazing bento, but I'll take inspiration as it comes. Sites like Lunch in a Box, and Vegan Lunchbox have been really helpful.

So I have been trying, really. And sometimes I'm even kind of proud. And this morning, I was compelled to reach for a camera. (My photog skills need polishing, too.)

I made two of these, for my kids. They include: BBQ Chicken rollups with corn and cheese inside a flour tortilla, carrot coins and red bell pepper chunks (leftover from salad last night), cucumber slivers (same), half a string cheese, and for dessert, some dried mango. My kids don't often get box drinks, since they're both allergic to apple juice - and it's in just about every 100% juice box - but for a treat they also got some Trader Joe's Lemonade.

My daughter originally wanted to buy lunch today at school, but I showed her this, and she changed her mind. Success!

As another challenge to myself, I'm going to enter this into the Wholesome Lunchbox event at Coffee & Vanilla. We'll see if I can keep it going more than a couple of months!

Darling Baker, indeed.

2008-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I'm a Daring Baker! I've seen posts on various blogs that I've come across about being a "Daring Baker", and I've always been curious. I didn't know if it was just something one could proclaim, or if there was a certification you had to pass, or if someone was running around handing out titles. Turns out, of course, it's a group on the internets (it's a series of tubes!).

When I first saw the posts, I misread the title, and thought they were calling each other "Darling Bakers", which I thought was a bit precious. Daring is more exciting. And now I'm one of them. My first challenge, should I choose to accept it, is to make, from scratch, a -AAAAGGHHH!!! My first month as a DB, and I try to blow it! I'm not supposed to reveal what the secret dish is ahead of time. Luckily for me - nobody reads this blog!

Just assume that it will be, indeed, a challenge. Now I just have to find the time...

Love me some Ravelry...

2008-05-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

I am loving Ravelry - it's the one site I spend the most time on. I love the patterns, love the talk among yarnies, love the discussion forums (where I mostly lurk), love posting my projects...

And I love those little Rav hearts people can put on your projects. I've had several people comment favorably about the baby shower gift I finished up, and some have asked for a pattern. I'm not a designer by any stretch of the imagination, but I also love to try new things, so I wrote up a pattern, best I could, and now I'm waiting for higher beings at Ravelry to hook me up as a designer, so I can post the pdf. Woot!

Lack of commitment, or just nothing to say?

2008-04-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Baby Shower Gift

Obviously, this blog thing is just not working for me. Why the heck not? In a former life, I was webmaster for a $2 billion company. I had my own web page when there were maybe 800 pages on the web - total!

Maybe it's because there's just not much to say anymore. I'm a stay-at-home mom (SAHM, in board-speak) to two great kids, who are of intense interest to me, but of only mild interest to anyone outside our family. Most of what I say has a lot to do with them, to the point that I think I'm boring even my husband. I think I need some outside interests...

Crochet is one of them. So at least I should be able to post about that. I just made a baby shower gift for a friend of mine, and I absolutely loved it. Lucky enough, so did my friend. The booties are sylver's Two Strap Booties I found on Ravelry. The blanket is just a rectangle of a tunisian stitch I found in a vintage pattern, with a linked stitch for the edging. It's done in LB Cotton-Ease. Yummy!

Here we go again...

2007-12-05T19:07:00.001-08:00

I just joined Ravelry, and I was so excited about all the cool possibilities, I decided to add my blog to it. Then I went and read my blog. For the first time in about 3 years. Hmmmm.

OK, fresh start. Out with the old posts, and on to the new. Here we go again...