Bento Bliss

Siam Chicken Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

After Louisiana and its creole cuisine, I continue my world exploration. Today we stop in Thailand with this Siam Chicken. Snowpeas, yellow bellpepper, bean sprouts, chicken, cashew nuts and rice is all we need to make this yummy dish.

Bon appetit.

Jambalaya Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Lunch today has flavours of Louisiana and creole cuisine as it features leftovers from yesterday's dinner : Jambalaya. For dessert, I have the usual suspects : strawberry, apple, clementine and white and black grapes.

Bon appetit !

Salmon Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Baked salmon, basmati rice and coconut lime stirfried veggies.

Beef Terriyaki Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

My two tools to fix a quick meal : a wok and a rice cooker :o) Today's bento has terriyaki beef (with shitake, snowpeas and spring onions), simple basmati rice and the usual selection of fruits for dessert and snacking in the afternoon. No lunchbots box today because I might nuke the bento (without the fruit obviously). But I am definitely hooked on the stainless steel boxes :o)

Bon appetit.

Bobotie Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Today's bento's main feature is a traditional South African dish, which we had for dinner yesterday : Bobotie. It is an oven dish made up of mainly of ground meat (pork/veal in my case), green beans and apple. I didn't make it from scratch but used a spice mix I had in one of my cupboards. However you cqn fnd many different recipes around the net, if you want to give it a try.

The bobotie is accompanied by rice cooked with raisins, a carrot baran and some steamed brocoli.

And as they say in Afrikaans "Eet smaaklik". :o)

And to get you in the right mood :

Cordon Bleu Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Running out of time so the post will be very short. I tried the duo lunchbots today to pack my bento. Not completely convinced by this separation, but I'll have to try a few times to get the hang of it.

In the left part I have a small cordon bleu, with snowpeas and carrots, covered with brocoli rosets. On the right side, I have some basmati rice covered with a mushroom stew (brown mushrooms and shitake, apple and a bit of goat cheese), decorated with asparagus, carrot and yellow cherry tomato.

Bon appetit.

Polpette bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was a bentoless day, but today I am back in my routine ... and **rolling drum** I am packing one of the coveted Lunchbots :o) I found them all on amazon.uk, including the trio and insulated bowl, but for some odd reason they refused to ship it across the Channel. So, I had to continue the search and I found some on a Dutch site, specialised in organic stuff. I still want the trio and quad ones as well as the insulated bowl, but I have a few new boxes to work with now. And did you see? The cover is purple <3.

Today's bento main ingredients are polpette, italian veal meatballs, which are accompanied by some black rice, brocoli, carrots, snowpeas, green asparagus and mini corn slices. I need to buy more fruit today, so I just have an apple for dessert.

Bon appetit.

Uninspired bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

The title says it all. Uninspired. I had great expectations as to my bento planning for this week but somehow it fell flat. So I've just got steak, boiled potatoes and steamed brocoli for lunch and some fruits for dessert. Hopefully better tomorrow ...

Garlic chicken bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Today's bento is composed of yesterday's leftovers so there isn't too much to describe : boiled potatoes, garlic chicken and green beans with a tiny bit of bacon in it. For dessert, I have black and blueberries, grapes, apple and for once, a little piece of dark chocolate.

Have a great weekend everybody and see you back on Monday.

Shrimp Pad Thai Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Another day, another bento ... more noodles and more shrimp. Comfort food par excellence :o)

Today's noodle dish is Shrimp Pad Thai : rice noodles, shrimps, carrots, cabbage, peas, chili and sprinkled with peanut brittle.

Bon appetit.

Garlic shrimp noodle bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Quick bento for today : rice noodles with garlic shrimp, carrots, shitake and baby pakchoi in the lower tier and grapes, blueberries, blackberries, clementine, apple and a little goat cheese in the top tier.

Bon appetit.

Stuffed zucchini bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

After spending a weekend with hot tea, cake (because I bake when I feel crappy), tablets and a box of tissues, I have to go out and confront the world again today. I don't feel up to it. I have been struggling with a very annoying cold for the better part of the past week and despite the amount of medication I throw into the battle, the victory over the germs is still not in view :o(

But I keep going ... I'm not going to let some louzy germs rule my world.

For lunch today, I have a round zucchini stuffed with pork/beef ground meat, white rice, a bit of tomato sauce (tomatoes, olives, zucchini), steamed brocoli florets and a cherry tomato. Fruits are the regulars.

Bon appetit and happy Monday !

Tikka Massala Chicken Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Last bento of the week because it's Friday. :o) Not sad to have the weekend finally arriving. With the Siberian temperatures we have had this week, getting out in the cold has been a chore, so I really look forward to be able to sleep in and stay inside. Moreover they have announced snow for this weekend, and sitting on the sofa under a blanket with some hot cocoa while watching the snowflakes fall down sounds like a great plan :o)

But that's for tomorrow, now back to today. For my lunch, I have some brown rice, chicken tikka massala, an assortment of steamed greens (cauliflower, brocoli, asparagus, brussels sprouts, snowpeas and mini corn) and the usual fruits.

Nothing left to say but to wish you "Bon appetit". Have a nice weekend and see you all on Monday.

Candlemas Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

In the christian (catholic?) tradition, one celebrates Candlemas on February 2. Depending on whether you live north or south of the linguistic border, you will either call it Maria Lichtmis (Flanders) or Chandeleur (Wallonia). But no matter where you are in Belgium and regardless of the name you give to this Feast, a recurrent item is ... the crêpe (pannenkoeken in Dutch).

In order to honor the tradition, my bento of the day holds savoury (for the recipe see this old post) and sweet crêpes. The savoury crêpes are filled with zucchini and ham, decorated with weaved zucchini peel and a little radish and accompanied by some steamed cauliflower and brocoli rosets. Dessert has a little sweet crêpe aumonière filled with strawberry and banana and the usual suspects from the fruit department : grapes, strawberry, apple, blackberries and pomegranate.

Bon appetit.

Fennel Mushroom Risotto Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:00:00 +0000

After seeing Gamene's post featuring fennel, I remembered I still had a fennel bulb in the fridge. I bought it a while back, meaning to prepare it with sometype of fish but never came round to it. Luckily for me, my fridge is an excellent one with the vegetable drawer being at a constant 0 degrees. So more than two weeks after purchase, it was still nice and fresh. :o)

I searched for a recipe that would combine fennel and mushroom as I still had some oyster mushrooms and shitake in that drawer too. And that's when I came across this recipe. Because cups aren't a regular measuring unit over here, I had to wing it a bit as far as quantities were concerned but it came out perfectly. To accompany the tasty risotto (containing shitake, oyster mushroom, fennel, asparagus and spring onion), I cooked some steak and added a little tomato skewer and carrot sakura for a bit of colour. For dessert I have a little sidebox, but I didn't take a picure of it.

Bon appetit.

Falafel bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

A quick bento for lunch today, because I just wasn't up to cooking up something special last night. So, I have some taboule (couscous with cucumber, tomato and spring onion), store bought falafel, curried cauliflower with carrots, brocoli and bell pepper on top and for dessert the regular red and black fruits.

Bon appetit.

Ginger pork bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I am not really happy with the looks of this bento. Kind of like the pull apart bread of this weekend : lovely taste but horrible looks.

In this bento I have some ginger pork (recipe in this old post), potatoes, curried cauliflower, carrot swirls, cherry tomato and radishes. Fruits are well represented with strawberries, cara cara oranges, white and black grapes, blue and blackberries, a piece of apple and some pomegranate seeds.

Hello Monday. Welcome back to the rat race.

Weekend baking : Sugar Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:42:00 +0000

For the first time since I joined pinterest, I tried my hand at one of the recipes I pinned on my Foodie Heaven board. The pictures on the blog looked scrumptious but somehow my version of the pull apart bread doesn't look at all the way I intended it to.

Luckily, although the looks leave much to be desired, tastewise it is perfect. I'l just have to work on the aesthetics of it now.

You can find the recipe over here : Joy the Baker.

Obviously considering the amount of sugar in this, it is far from a diet dessert. You can't have it all I guess.

Nameless Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I couldn't think of any name for this bento a there isn't really anything that sticks out or characterises it. It has all the usual vegetables that are crowding my fridge (brussels sprouts, ramiro pepper, snow peas, asparagus, carrots, brocoli, mini corn) which accompanied by a purple rice onigiri and some veal. Fruits are all blue and red today : grapes, blueberies, blackberries, strawberry and pomegranate seeds.

This will be my last bento of the week. We are having our annual New Year's lunch with the whole office tomorrow in some fancy restaurant, so I don't have to prepare anything for lunch.

Nothing left to do, but to wish you all a great weekend.

See you back on Monday.

Saveurs d'orient bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

As the title already suggests, today's bento is inspired by the Orient and more particularly, Morocco and its cuisine. I made some taboulé (couscous with tomato, onion and cucumber) to accompany a bit of lemon chicken, sprinkled with green olives. I need to finetune the recipe a bit so I will post it later on. The "greens" are mini corn cobs and cauliflower hidden under some carrot slices, brocoli rosets and ramiro pepper slices. The dessert section is composed of black and white grapes, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrant, a strawberry and orange slices.

Bon appetit.

Shrimp Stirfry Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

Again pressed for time last night, so the bento is again an easy stirfry one. The noodles are a killer for my diet, but they are so good :o)

Besides the obvious shrimp, the stirfry also has cabbage, zucchini, carrot, onion, mushrooms and leek. I added some black bean sauce to the stirfry for a bit of extra flavour.

Second tier is all fruit : cara cara orange, apple, redcurrant, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, strawberries and clementine.

Bon appetit.

Scaloppina alla Milanese bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent a nice couple of days off work but am not really looking forward to getting back into the rat race. In order to cheer me up a bit (much needed on this cold and windy winter day, I put lots of vibrant, colourful foods in my bento.

In this Monday bento, I have scaloppina alla Milanese, some black/purple rice (which will probably be a regular this week as I made a batch of it on Sunday), assorted steamed veggies (cauliflower, brocoli, carrots, brussels sprouts, mini corn, snow peas, green beans, green asparagus), radishes and cherry tomatoes. My daily fruit vitamins come from white grapes, clementine wedges, apple, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, redcurrant and pomegranate seeds).

Bon appetit !

Berberechos a la cataplana

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:00:00 +0000

No bento making in the weekends, but that doesn't mean no food is prepared, of course. During grocery shopping yesterday, I came across a little box of cockles in the seafood aisle and I knew immediately what I would make for starters on Friday night : Berberechos a la cataplana, or Portuguese cockles. [Although it is originally a Portuguese dish, I gave it a Spanish name as (a) I don't speak Portuguese but do speak the language of Cervantes and (b) I put Spanish chorizo in this dish].

I am sure that there are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks in the world but this is how I made them.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

* 1 Tbsp olive oil

* 330g fresh cockles (strange quantity but that was the contents of the box)

* 4 shallots

* 4 garlic cloves (you can use less, but we love garlic over here so always use a lot)

* 50g diced chorizo

* 50g smoked ham

* chiseled coriander

* a pinch of chili powder (the original recipe would call for a tsp of piri piri or tabasco)

How-to :

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the diced garlic and shallots, until they are soft but not coloured.

Add the ham and chorizo, season with a bit of chili (or tabasco if you prefer) and cover. Let simmer a bit, shaking up the pan every now and then.

Add the cockles and the coriander, cover and let simmer for an additional 5/6 minutes, shaking up the pan again. As soon as the cockles have opened up, the dish is ready.

Serve hot with some bread.

Ginger & Sweet Chili Turkey Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 06:30:00 +0000

I didn't have much time to prepare my bento last night, so I opted for a one-pan dish, a stirfry. It doesn't make for an attractive view but the taste definitely makes up for it. In the bottom tier , the stirfry has noodles, turkey slices, zucchini, carrots and white cabbage, all seasoned with ginger and sweet chili.

The top tier has a piece of mini pineapple, a clementine, white grapes and a piece of apple for the fruit section. The second half has a mini babybel, raw carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes.

The end of the week, so no more bentos until Monday. I wish you all a great weekend.

Brocoli Stoemp Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Bentobliss / Ceinwyn / Ingrid) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:30:00 +0000

Sakura bento again today and I carried the sakura theme into the food as well. My sakura cutter is my favourite of the bunch, simple but pretty. :o)

As for the contents of today's lunch, I have brocoli stoemp (for more info on stoemp, you can check out this old post), topped with cheese sakura. All around there : diced up chicken chipolata, the usual steamed vegetables (brussels sprouts, snowpeas, green beans, sakura carrots and mushrooms). The fruity vitamin section features grapes, apple, kiwi and clementine.

Bon appetit.