Bento/was making up recipes as I go along

[Guest guest]

Oh, Janine, a few of us on another list have been getting all excited

about bentos! I just bought one & some supplies for myself and I love

it. I want to learn to carve fun things out of veggies & fruit to

include in my bento box.

 

Yes, that web site is terrific. Lots of inspiration. Glad you're a

kindred spirit! Cinzia

 

, Janine Acevedo <janine

wrote:

>

> Oh. My. Gosh. I currently do not have the perfect bento, but I do have

> a sort of bento-ish container. I just love the Japanese aesthetic of

> all those adorable little sections for cute food. I have a Japanese

> lunch box that has Sumo wrestlers on it. My husband thinks that it is

> weird. There is a website, I think it is my vegan lunchbox? About a

> mom who packs a vegan bento for her son, like, every day and posts

> about it!

> Janine

>

>

> On Feb 10, 2009, at 10:49 AM, Heather Butler wrote:

>

> > Oh Janine do you bento too???

> > Heather

> >

> > There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a

> > miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

> > --Albert Einstein

> >

> > ________________________________

> > Janine Acevedo <janine

> >

> > Tuesday, February 10, 2009 1:45:37 PM

> > Re: making up recipes as I go along

> >

> > I want to hire you!

> > I love that I'm not the only one who loves bentos.

> > Janine

> >

> > On Feb 10, 2009, at 7:30 AM, Heather Butler wrote:

> >

> > > Hi everyone, I did some cooking this week for lunches and had a

> > > really nice time just making recipes up as I went along. I used to

> > > do this quite a bit before becoming a vegetarian, but have been

> > > relying more on recipes since I changed over. I really love cooking,

> > > and making things up, it's a creative outlet for me. So I made 3

> > > mushroom brown rice, and fried tofu with peas and egg, for my

> > > lunches. They were quite simple to make, for the rice I first took

> > > three different kids of dried mushrooms, and put them in a covered

> > > pot to simmer for 20 minutes. I drained them (saving the water in

> > > the freezer as ready made mushroom broth!), and then cooked them in

> > > a little oil, a little garlic and a lot of ginger. I also added a

> > > little spoonful of apple juice concentrate and tamari sauce. I

> > > wouldn't normally have used the apple juice concentrate, but at the

> > > time I was planning this whole ginger stir fry LOL. In the end it

> > > was a nice contrast to the smoky and

> > > salted mushrooms. Anyways, when the mushrooms were done I added a

> > > bunch of cooked short grain brown rice and cooked it for 5 minutes

> > > or so folding everything together.

> > >

> > > For the tofu I took a block, sliced it in half the long way and let

> > > it drain on paper towels while the mushrooms were cooking. Then I

> > > cut it into cubes and stir fryed it in oil for a bit. I removed the

> > > tofu for a bit while I cooked a scrambled egg, then added it back in

> > > along with a cup or so of peas. I added some tamari sauce and mixed

> > > it all well.

> > >

> > > Both dishes were incredibly easy and very yummy. I put pictures up

> > > of the finished meals in my bento boxes in the photos section. Each

> > > one actually has the exact same portions, but one container has

> > > everything squished in to the side, and the other doesn't. Anyways,

> > > that was my vegetarian cooking adventures for the week. What are you

> > > all up to?

> > >

> > > Heather

> > >

> > > There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a

> > > miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

> > > --Albert Einstein

> > >

> > >