Bento Filler 04: Tuna Soboro

I woke up early this morning to practice 75 minutes of hot yoga with my coworker.  The key focus during our class was “breathe.”  We allowed our body to cleanse itself from the stress of work, school and any conflicts we may have faced during the week.  Namaste.

Shadow and I will be going to our first Christmas party tonight.  This does not seem to be a normal year for me because I am usually excited for Christmas right after Halloween.  I think school is the culprit.  Shadow mentioned that it would be a dressy party so I will be wearing my favourite dusty rose strapless dress with zebra stripe heels.  I have mixed feelings because I have never met most of Shadow’s coworkers before, but I should be okay.  I just hope I do not fall over and embarrass myself.

This will be my third entry to my personal challenge of trying 10 new recipes from a cookbook before the new year of 2013  This new recipe is from The Just Bento Cookbook by Makiko Itoh. The recipe is called Tuna Soboro, which is on p. 45 for those of you who have a copy. Here is a picture of the recipe:

Here are the results:

I had this for lunch and it was yummy!  It felt like the tuna and flavour was melting in my mouth.  This recipe was so easy to make and the preparation work was really quick. I am so glad I have expanded my quick and easy cooking because it is hard to prepare food on the long days I have school.

Bento Filler 03: Red, Orange and Yellow Peppers with Ketchup

This will be my second entry to my personal challenge of trying 10 new recipes from a cookbook before the new year of 2013. Just like my first entry, this new recipe is from The Just Bento Cookbook by Makiko Itoh. The original recipe is called Red and Yellow Peppers with Ketchup, which is on p. 32 for those of you who have a copy. Here is a picture of the recipe:

Here are the results:

I did change the recipe a little bit by adding sliced orange peppers into the quick stir-fry.  Everything else is cooked according to the recipe.  I was skeptical at first because I have never used ketchup in my cooking before.  Actually, I have not had ketchup in my diet for a long time now so this recipe will be interesting when I try it out for lunch later.

Have a good weekend everybody!

Bento Filler 02: Honey Glazed Carrots

Several weeks ago, veggie bento love participated in a cookbook challenge. During that time I was busy with several research papers and midterms so I was unable to participate. I have some free time for a few more days before I need to start more research papers and before I need to study for my finals. I cannot wait until my last final on December 4th because after that I am free for my birthday and the holidays.

My personal challenge will be to try 10 new recipes before the new year of 2013. I have 7 weeks until then so hopefully I can make it. I will mainly focus on simple recipes for bento fillers, some new baking recipes and entrees. So let the challenge begin!

For my first challenge, I tried a new recipe from The Just Bento Cookbook by Makiko Itoh. The recipe is called Honey Glazed Carrots, which is on p. 32 for those of you who have a copy.  Here is a picture of the recipe:

Here are the results:

The honey glazed carrots were so easy to make and they were tasty!  It is the first time I cooked with honey and I have fallen in love with it.  Yum, yum!

Bento Filler 01: Gomae Green Beans

This is one of my favourite Japanese recipes.  My co-worker taught me this recipe and it was a big hit in our potluck last year.

Ingredients:

• 1 package green beans, washed with stems cut off
• 1 tablespoon dashi
• 1 tablespoon soya sauce
• 2 tablespoon mixed roasted sesame seed (black and light brown), crushed

Directions:

1. Beforehand, crush the seasame seed with a mortar and pestle lightly.  You still want to see some chunks.
2. Lightly steam the green beans to desired texture.
3. While the green beans are hot, mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  If you want more flavour, you can add more dashi or soya sauce.