Bento #15: Mini hamburgers (03.31.09)

Bento for Tuesday, March 31, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Mini hamburgers (recipe courtesy Just Bento, here) in doenjang sauce
* Carrot and broccoli kinpira (Just Bento recipe)
* Collard greens seasoned with rice vinegar and soy sauce
* Steamed rice with umeboshi and black sesame seeds

Bento Menus (March 31-April 2)

Preview for next week - sorry, orders have already been filled for these lunches.

Tuesday, March 31st Menu:
* Mini hamburgers (beef and tofu) in doenjang (Korean bean paste) sauce
* Vegetable sides TBD
* Steamed rice

Wednesday, April 2nd Menu:
* Shrimp and veggie stir-fry in black bean sauce
* Steamed rice
* Fruit TBD

Thursday, April 3rd Menu:
* Indian-style potato and vegetable curry
* Another veggie side TBD
* Basmati rice

Bento #14: Blue mac n' cheese (03.26.09)

Bento for Thursday, March 26, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Blue mac n' cheese, with optional hot sauce
* Berebere-spiced sweet potatoes
* Collard greens seasoned with garlic and apple cider vinegar
* Salad greens (in some lunches; not pictured)

(Excuse the poor quality; it was a very gray day today and I had to use the flash)

Bento #13: Herbed root vegetable and white bean turnovers (03.25.09)

Bento for Wednesday, March 25, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Herbed root vegetable and white bean turnovers
* Hard boiled egg
* Salad greens with mandarin orange segments and white sesame seeds; balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing
* Green grapes

Bento #12: Wafu gyoza (03.24.09)

Bento for Tuesday, March 24, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Wafu gyoza (recipe from "Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese home kitchen" by Elizabeth Andoh)
* Stir-fried vegetables: green cabbage, baby corn, carrots, and sweet red pepper, seasoned with soy sauce and a little gochujang
* Steamed white rice with black sesame seeds
* Dipping sauce for the gyoza (in small bottle) - rice vinegar and soy sauce

Bento menus for next week (March 24-26, 2009)

After a week's hiatus, our bento lunches are back! Here are the menus for this coming week. Orders will close tomorrow at noon because of the half-day for the inservice, so get your orders in (and your boxes, if you can) before then! A hard copy of this menu, with a sign-up sheet, is on the table in the upstairs kitchen at school.

Tuesday, March 24th Menu:
* Wafu gyoza - Japanese-style steam-fried pork and vegetable dumplings with wakame seaweed
* Stir-fried vegetables TBD
* Steamed rice

Wednesday, March 25th Menu:
* Herbed root vegetable and white bean turnovers
* Hard boiled egg
* Salad greens
* Fruit TBD

Thursday, March 26th Menu:
* Blue mac n' cheese - Pasta in a blue cheese-spiked white sauce, topped with minced green onion and chopped walnuts
* Berebere spiced sweet potatoes
* Collard greens
* Grapes

Mr. Chen's Challenge

For Bento Society members:

I have mentioned this idea to some members but wanted to blog about this: the idea of having you submit your favorite dishes from Mr. Chen's for me to make a version of for a future bento lunch. I realized that I haven't included a Chinese item in your bento lunches yet and this would be one way for me to do that.

One word of caution, though: I've heard that stir-fried rice noodles do not necessarily hold up well in bento - they tend to dry out. I am up for trying any stir-fried dishes served with rice, though!

Let me know what you would like me to make, whether in person or by leaving a comment on this blog or a note in my mailbox at school.

No Aidan Bento for Week of March 16 - 20, 2009

Notice to Bento Society members:

Next week, Aidan Bento Society will be taking a week off. I will post the menu for the following week next Wednesday, March 18th.

I will also post a sign on the shelf in the upstairs kitchen (behind the table) to make sure that everyone receives notice of this.

In the meantime, I invite you to think about my idea for a Mr. Chen's Challenge!

Thank you for your participation in the society so far! I hope that you have been enjoying your meals.

~Jamie

Bento #11: Yaki onigiri and tamagoyaki (03.11.09)

Obento for Wednesday, March 11, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Yaki onigiri - "grilled" (actually pan-fried this time) rice balls (seasoned with soy sauce - basically followed notes at Lunch in a Box, here - mine were not pre-frozen). Some are flavored with miso, others with soy sauce
* Umeboshi (for a description of potential health benefits, see here)
* Tamagomaki - rolled sweetened omelette
* Hijiki and carrots - recipe here
* In some lunches, as pictured: Japanese-style potato salad and raw green pepper slices
* In others: stir-fried green cabbage with soy sauce, sesame oil, and black sesame seeds

Bento #10: Pork katsu and potato salad (03.10.09)

Obento for Tuesday, March 10th, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Pork katsu (breaded pork cutlet) on a bed of shredded green cabbage
* Bulldog sauce (to go with the katsu)
* Japanese-style potato salad with mustard (recipe loosely based on Maki's here at Just Bento - no tofu mayonnaise, no cucumber, and I substituted green onions for white onion)
* Steamed short-grain white rice, hinomaru style, with black sesame seeds

Bento #9: Mini Veggie Frittatas (03.05.09)

Obento for Thursday March 5, 2009:


Bento contents:
* Mini vegetable frittatas (I based it on this recipe - really only for the method; the ingredients were my combination)
* Roasted root vegetable medley from CSA (new potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, winter squash)
* Salad greens with soy-sesame-rice vinegar-honey-olive oil dressing (dressing not pictured)
* Red grapes

Bento days in Japan

In bento-related news...

Here is an interesting article, published in the Asahi Shimbun a few days ago, on 'bento days' - a tradition that has been growing in Japanese schools, from elementary to university:

'Bento day' catching on with schools, kids

On bento days, students prepare their own bento lunches, with varying degrees of help from their families. Advocates of such programs believe that participation encourages family togetherness, incurs self-reliance in the students, and contributes to healthier eating habits.

*Menu edit for tomorrow*

I wanted to give everyone who ordered a lunch for tomorrow (and happens to read this blog between now and then) a heads-up that I have altered the menu somewhat. The main will be the same, but instead of Spanish rice (which I think made the whole meal a little too heavy) we will be having a roasted root vegetable and squash medley.

Here is the new menu for tomorrow, Thursday March 5th (changes in bold):

* Mini veggie frittatas (2)
* Roasted root vegetable and squash medley
* Salad greens
* Orange slices

This first week of the Aidan Bento Society has been going well! Thank you for your feedback. I'm glad to hear that you've all been enjoying your lunches so far.

Bento #8: Tuna Tofu Miso Mini Burgers (03.04.09)

Obento for March 4, 2009 (picture is of N.D.'s bento, in her Laptop Lunchbox):


Bento contents:
* Tuna tofu miso mini burgers (Just Bento recipe - recipe here)
* Steamed white rice
* Carrot kinpira, again, made fresh this morning (for recipe, see Bento #7)
* Steamed broccoli

Bento menu for Tuesday, March 10, and Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Here is the currently scheduled menu for March 10 and 11 (no bento delivery on Thursday due to conferences). Main items marked in boldface type. You can sign up in the upstairs kitchen from this Wednesday until Friday (I will be taking all bento boxes home with me at 3:00 pm on Friday).

Tuesday, March 10th Menu:
Pork katsu - breaded pork cutlet
White rice
Greens, TBD
Other vegetable TBD

Wednesday, March 11th Menu:
Yaki onigiri - crispy rice balls with filling - either seasoned salmon or Japanese pickled plum (umeboshi)
Vegetable sides TBD

I will post the menu and sign-up sheet in the upstairs kitchen tomorrow (Wednesday).

Bento #7: Teriyaki chicken with vegetables (03.03.09)

First bento for the Aidan Bento Society, delivered earlier today (S.C.'s bento is pictured):



Bento contents:
* Bite-size chicken teriyaki (from Just Bento, recipe here)
* Braised baby bokchoy
* Carrot kinpira, just a little spicy (from Just Bento, recipe here)
* Steamed brown rice

Bento boxes to browse

For the budding bento enthusiasts out there curious about what's out there in terms of bento boxes (i.e. other than the Container Store offerings), here is a page that might be fun to peruse (on this lovely snow day, or any day):

I Love Obento

Here's a sample single tier box from their site:


And a two-tier box (you pack the rice in one layer and the sides in the other):


One of my favorite stores in Tokyo is Tokyu Hands. I probably spent the good part of an hour in their bento box aisle(s) last time I was there, in June 2008.

If you're curious, here are some photos of Tokyu Hands and other bento products, from Flickr (some of the pictures have notes):

Bento-making tools
Kits for cutting shapes out of nori (the toasted seaweed used to make rolled sushi)

And here's another cool site (I know, so many sites...):

Bento Business

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer variety of supplies and boxes out there.

Snow Day: Message about tomorrow's bento lunches

For Bento Society Members:

Since school was canceled for today, I'm unable to collect the boxes from members who weren't able to bring me their boxes on Friday (one reason why paying me when you receive your box is a good idea, as well as giving me your boxes before the weekend!). Therefore, I'm unfortunately going to have to cancel your order if you haven't given me your box already, apologies for that. What timing, eh?

If, however, you were able to get your box to me by Friday, then your bento will be delivered tomorrow as planned, assuming that school is in session.

Thank you for your understanding. In the future if something like this happens again I will have your phone numbers with me and will give you a call to let you know if an order has been canceled.