Weekend Prep for Obento and More

I spend a weekend to prepare some dishes for Obento. Most of them are vegetables. Here are some examples from last weekend.

• Pre-cut and boiled Kabocha squash for freezer
• Pre-washed, boiled, and cut Kale for freezer

• Baked Sweet potato (Wrap a potato in a piece of foil and bake it in a 425F degree oven for about 1.5 hr. I slice the potato and cut-out in fun shapes for my princess)

• Oven Baked Kabocha squash with olive oil, pepper and salt

This is Obento for my husband on March 24

• Chicken Sandwich with frozen organic chicken patty, lettuce, tomato, mustard & Mayo, home baked Challah bread
• Green salad with sweet pepper and tomato (not shown)

Here is Obento for my husband on March 25

• Japanese steamed rice with Hello Kitty Furikake topping
• Cucumbers and mini-tomato
• Garbanzo and white beans, tuna, Kabocha square in tomato sauce
• Steamed broccoli
• Baked Kabocha squash

Bonus - my little princess with her first pair of sunglasses and Hello Kitty handbag (her birthday gift from her grandparents)

Hello Kitty Furikake Bento

My little princess likes to top her Japanese steamed rice with Hello Kitty "Furikake". My mother sent a set of five-flavor Furikake package from Japan. This morning, she had some. I took the left over Furikake for my Obento.

• Japanese steamed rice with Hello Kitty Furikake (Tamago flavor)
• Salad with sweet pepper, tomato, and lettuce
• Baked sweet potato
• Kabocha squash, garbanzo and white beans in tomato sauce

Happy Lunch!

Obento during the last week

I am so behind of my Obento posting. My husband and I have been under the weather and recovering. I baked Challah last weekend (my once a month Challah baking). Mira loves my home baked Challah. It takes a half day from start to finish (I bake six loaves once a month), but it's worth the effort. Every Friday evening, we have a lovely loaf of Challah on our Shabbat table.



Took "Challah" for a blessing and had the roll for our afternoon snack.



Here is March 16 Obento for my husband.

• Japanese steamed rice with Furikake topping
• Vegetable Miso Soup
• Sauteed Veggies
• Lentil salad with French dressing
• Kale salad
• Tomato
• Apples with honey
• Kiwi fruit

Here is March 18 To-go breakfast for my husband.

• Soft scrambled eggs
• Cheese
• Cucumbers
• Peppers, Mayo, Ketchup for taste
• Ciabatta (Italian bread) bun

Here is March 19 Obento for my husband.

• Japanese steamed rice
• Carrots and cucumbers
• Beef and Veggies (I marinated grass-fed beef over night with graded onion, graded carrots, soy sauce, mirin, garlic, ginger, apple sauce)
• Vermicelli with veggies with sweet red peppers

I found this glass container on-line. I used to pack his Obento in a Ziplock container, but did not like the fact that he warms up his Obento in a microwave in the plastic container. I love this.
A perfect size - does not retain color or smell. Dishwasher and microwave safe. I like the clear lid (compare with Pyrex version) comes with this. It's made in Italy. You can find this product from several different on-line stores. I got mine from Amazon.

I hope my husband and I continue to recover and feel better soon.

Busy week Obento #2

Busy week - teaching all day on Thursday and Friday. Had a great class! I was very tired at the end of the day since the whole family has not slept through the night since last Saturday. My little princess has been under the weather and wakes up 2 to 3 times per night. While you are teaching, you still have to get up and going. Yes, I was up at 5 am, repeated the same routine as yesterday. I probably look like a zombie by now.

Here is my Obento yesterday:

• Japanese steamed rice with Yukari Furikake topping
• Veggie Miso Soup (rice and miso soup are my comfort food...)
• Lentil salad with onions, carrots, kale - dressed with home made French dressing
• Steamed broccoli
• Tofu stake curry flavor (dust firm tofu with a mixture of curry power, flour and peper - cook with a little amount of canola oil)
• Salad with kale, "Ito Kon nya ku," fish flakes

Here is my Obento today:

• Japanese steamed rice with Yukari Furikake topping (Yukari topping is so good when you have a small appetite.)
• Veggie Miso Soup
• Japanese omlet with green onions
• Cucumbers
• Salad with kale, "Ito Kon nya ku," fish flakes
• Steamed broccoli
• Baked Sweet potato (serves as a small dessert)
• Boiled bean sprout topped with curry sauce (low budget item!)

Everyone in my family is under the weather :-( Hope to rest this weekend.

Obento in a busy week

This week has been a challenging one. My two-year old has been sick since last Saturday, so my husband and I are taking our turns to take care of our child at home. My blog is behind of the schedule, but I've been taking pictures of my obento.

Wednesday - I stayed home with her until early afternoon. Here is her lunch.

• Onigiri: Japanese steamed rice balls wrapped with sea weeds
• Steamed broccoli
• Baked sweet potato star-shape
• Steamed meat balls
• Vegetable and tofu Miso soup
• Apple juice

She did not have much appetite, so I baked her favorite banana muffins (with soy milk, organic beet sugar, egg, wheat flour, and canola oil). My husband gave her in the afternoon for a snack. She ate more than a half! Yay.



Oh, my husband wake up little late, so here was his to-go breakfast sandwich made with home baked Challah, scrambled eggs and cheese.



Here is my Obento yesterday.

• Japanese steamed rice with sweet fish topping
• Miso soup with tons of veggies
• Japanese omelet with green onions and fish flakes (Dashi maki)
• Home made Daikon radish pickle (nukazuke)
• Tofu and Tuna in light soy & mirin sauce
• Baked yams

It has been a busy day. I'm ready to go to bed now...

Hello Kitty Onigiri (Ouchi) Bento

My little princess is under the weather today. I made her Obento at home (Ouchi). A packet from my mother arrived in the morning (just in time for lunch!), and it contained a lot of presents for my little princess' birthday on March 15. One of them was a set of pre-cut sea weeds in a shape of Hello Kitty :-) So cute! I had to use them. Here is my princess' lunch today.

• Onigiri (Japanese steamed rice balls with Hello Kitty sea weed cut-outs)
• Kiwi fruit
• Star shaped baked sweet yam
• Miso soup with veggies and tofu
• Apple juice

She loved the Hello Kitty onigiri :-)


Hope she feels better soon.

"Supper Recreated" Bento

It's Friday. Yay! I had lunch with my friends to celebrate one of the "Ladies" birthday. I always think on her birthday that spring is on its way. Her birthday is on the same date as the Japanese Girls' Day. Here is my husband's Obento. Main and side dishes are recreated from the supper dishes. With regard to the decoration, this Obento is too simple. Excuse, excuse. Please allow me, it's Friday!

• Japanese steamed rice with Furikake topping
• Organic Chicken in tomato sauce (with lots of veggies)
• Pasta salad with steamed cauliflower

As I posted on the FB earlier, I purchase a whole chicken and cut in pieces at home. It saves $ and reduces packaging wastes. For this dish, I cooked with Kabocha squash that gave the dish sweetness and nutrients. Carrots, onions, and some other veggies from my refrigerator went to the dish.

Pasta salad - I had some leftover pasta. Cut them in small pieces (I use a Kitchen scissors. Time saving!), add steamed cauliflower, toss with some Mayonnaise and Ketchup. It tastes good at cool or room temperature.

Happy Friday and Shabbat Shalom.

Leftover Thursday Bento

I had a lunch meeting. No Obento for me, but for my husband.

• Japanese steamed rice with Frikake topping (two kinds)
• Pasta with vegetable tomato sauce
• Steamed cauliflower
• Based Kabocha squash

I was checking some cooking books (Obento cook books) in Japanese Amazon website. It appears that preparing Okazu (main and side dishes for Obento) night before or even for an entire work week has been introduced as "cost effective" and "easy to pack Obento boxes in the morning". Well, that's what I have been doing...yay, I was doing something right and very Japanese, I guess. I steam veggies (a whole head of cauliflower and broccoli, for example) and bake sweet potatoes and squash on weekends.
According to these books, you prepare dishes that last for a week (and of course, they have to taste good for several days, too), prepare one or two dishes per day - in the end, you have a variety of dishes to choose from for your everyday Obento. I agree. I also apply this way of cooking for my dinner.

Vegetable Bento

My guilt free bento making continues... here is my Obento.

• Japanese steamed rice with Yukari fukikake topping
• Vegetable Miso Soup with turnips, broccoli stems (I save them. They are yummy and nutritious!)
• Baked Kabocha squash
• Fish flake salad with home made "Nuka zuke" pickles
• Steamed cauliflower
• Sauteed mushrooms, cabbage, and onions.

Today is Japanese Girls' Day - "Hina Matsuri". I was too tired to make special dishes for dinner :-(
I'll try to make Sushi and other dishes this weekend to properly celebrate the Girls' Day. My daughter's "Hina dolls" have been displayed in our family room. I'll post some pictures of the dolls and dishes later. By the way, my profile picture is one of her doll - the princess.

Happy "Hina Masturi" for my girl friends!

Quick Bento

Here is my quick obento.

• Japanese steamed rice with Yukari Furikake topping
• Tofu Miso soup
• Baked Kabocha squash
• Sauteed chicken and veggies
• Eringi mushrooms, cabbage, onion sautee
• Carrots
• Steamed cauliflower

My husband overslept a little bit this morning. No time to eat breakfast. While he is in a shower, I quickly packed our Obento and prepared his breakfast to-go. I had a 1/3 loaf of Challah (home baked), so made a warm egg & cheese sandwich. I also prepared fresh brewed coffee in a thermos mug to go with it.

Reversing My Guilt (from weekend's indulgence) Bento

Feel guilty :-( from weekend's indulgence. Had a great time dining out with my husband - from a glass of wine, deep fried appetizers, main dish to chocolate fudge cake. It was unusually heavy meal. I did not exercise (I had a sharp pain in my left ankle over the weekend). So, today is "let's reverse the guilt" Bento.

• Japanese steamed rice (less than usual)
• Potato soup
• Fresh fruits (apples, oranges, kiwi)
• Steamed broccoli and cauliflower
• Fish flake salad with veggie pickles

During my lunch hour, I went to swimming. It was great - did not feel the pain in the water!

For my husband, I packed some leftovers and veggies.

• Japanese steamed rice with Furikake toppings
• Yakisoba
• Steamed broccoli and cauliflower
• Sauteed chicken and "Eringi" mushrooms
• Carrots

For dessert and snack:

• Apple
• Hamantashen Cookies (for Jewish holiday of Purim)

My daughter dressed up as a cow girl for Purim yesterday. When we arrived at the synagogue, her boy friend showed up as a cow! How perfect is that :-) We had a good time.

Happy Monday!