Making sushi out of boredom

I must’ve had a stroke or something yesterday. I spent all night in the kitchen perfecting these suckers…

• 2 cucumber nigiri
• 3 shrimp nigiri
• 3 smoked salmon & wasabi nigiri
• 2 carrot & wasabi nigiri
• 5 smaller maki rolls with cucumber, carrot & wasabi
• 7 larger maki rolls with smoked salmon, cucumber & wasabi

I made sushi for the first time ever. And it came out really well – if you ask me. ^^ Martin quite liked it also and I barely managed to photograph it before he threw himself at it. Oh, and I used my brand new nigiri mould for the first time! Yay!

The thing is, though, it’s not really sushi. There is no raw fish in here anywhere simply because I didn’t know when it would be eaten. And I’ve read warnings about using fresh fish for sushi you don’t intend to eat right away.

I don’t really like sushi. There are so many things I don’t like that I just keep away from it. I don’t like seaweed and I don’t like raw fish. :S I wish I did… So this one’s for you, Martin. Enjoy!

Ps. I broke my “Cuties” box yesterday. I tried to put the strap back on but there was too much in the box so one of the latches broke. ;_; I cursed out loud for 10 minutes even though I was alone. What a bust. Must be a sign it’s time for new boxes. ;P

Bento # 6 : Chef’s surprise

Today’s bento from the top:

• ABC Strawberry pudding with spoon
• Organic salty pretzels
• Pickled pear and peach bites
• Fried curry rice with onions & chicken
• Happy chef and spooky chef (radish body and hat)
• Apple juice

I feel a bit silly making a bento when I’m not actually going anywhere – and I’ll be eating it minutes later. Just couldn’t help myself. I decided to try a bit of veggie carving and it went pretty well considering I had a giant fridge poking my back the entire time.

The fried curry rice is a variation on a typical Danish dish chicken in curry. It’s like a Danish take on Asian food and it’s very basic. Here’s the recipe (without measurements… you can’t really go wrong):

Ingredients

• Rice
• 1/4 Vegetable buillon cube
• Butter
• Chopped onion
• Curry powder
• Bite-size chicken
• Milk

How to

1. Cook the rice like usual. I like to add the buillon to give it a bit of flavour.
2. Melt some butter on medium heat and fry the onion until it’s soft and see-through. I like to use butter for frying onions and spices instead of oil. Can’t explain why. >_< It’s just bubbly and nice.
3. Add as much curry as you like and keep stirring. By frying the curry you bring out the flavour.
4. As it cooks up you might wanna add more butter. It tends to get dry.
5. Add the chicken and stir every now and then until it’s cooked all the way through.
6. Pour in a bit of milk to make the dish more liquid. It softens the curry flavour so make sure you add enough at the beginning. Adding more later won’t hurt but you’ll need quite a bit more to get the same result.
7. Your rice should be done so you wanna add some of that to the pot. Mix well and you’re done.
8. Enjoy!

It tastes pretty well but looks kinda dull. You can add spring onions – or moody raddish chefs!

Can’t help myself

I’ve gone and done it again. Here’s a list of items I just bought off eBay:

1. Pink “Happy Balloon” 2 tier box w/belt
2. Green “Putifresh Muscat/Grape” 2 tier box w/belt
3. Fish & car egg moulds
4. Classic “grass” food dividers (200 pc)

This time I shopped at “ARAMONOYA“. I noticed the low shipping costs at that particular store so I went for it even though I’m going to France in a week and I might find stuff there. >_< Shame on me I guess. At least I got a good deal. It’s $20 for the whole lot not including shipping – I’m still awaiting the total but it’s not gonna be too bad.

I’ve been a bit busy the past few days and my kitchen is a mess hence no bentos. We’ve gotten our fridge replaced but they didn’t take our old fridge with them so now it’s in the middle of our tiny kitchen taking up all the space. I can’t get too the sink unless I stretch and I can’t get to the pots and pans. Plus I can’t lift the fridge myself so I have to wait for my boyfriend to help me but he’s been working the past two days ALL day.

To keep my bento shakes at bay I went to Asien Marked yesterday and got myself a thai 2-tier steamer, some crazy looking BBQ stir fry sauce, sushi roll-like rice moulds and cute colourful individually packed puddings. The thai steamer almost looks like a bamboo steamer but it’s more wicker-ish. Haven’t tried it yet. I’ll take a picture next time I get the camera out.

That’s what’s new with me. I promise that bentos and posts will be more regular when I get back in school.

Tortellini in milk sauce

I have the summer off, I’m going nowhere, I have no reason to make bentos! ;_; Revenge is sweet, though. I decided to make one of my favourite pasta dishes: Tortellini in milk sauce.

Ingredients

• around 100 grams tortellini with meat filling
• pinch of salt
• ½ vegetable buillon cube
• 2 dl milk
• 1 dl cream
• 1/4 dl flour
• pinch of black ground pepper

How to

1. Cook the tortellini in lots of water and add quite a bit of salt. The salty water will help keep the tortellini firm and you don’t have to add salt to the sauce later on. Two birds – one stone. Once it’s done, drain and set aside.
2. Pour 2 dl water in another pot and add the buillon to make a nice vegetable stock.
3. Turn up the heat until it boils and add the milk and cream.
4. Mix the flour with water so it becomes a thin, smooth liquid.
5. When the sauce is boiling again, add the flour mix while whisking to thicken the sauce. In a matter of minutes your sauce will have the right consistency and you can add the pepper.
6. Turn down the heat and carefully put the tortellinis in the sauce. Make sure every tortellini is covered in sauce.
7. It’s done! Now you can serve it with your favorite veggies. Maybe even add a little grated cheese either during the cooking process or afterwards to top it off. Enjoy.

I had this for lunch. It’s not exactly a bento but I made it nice for my blog. ^^ It’s:

• Tortellini in milk sauce
• Steamed green beans
• Cherry jelly bunny (he’s looking at the greens! Quick – eat him!)

Getting a new fridge on Monday. Finally we got an apointment with the supplier who’s been busy. I can’t wait.

Bento # 5 : Double pork pasta with favourite snacks

This is MY kind of bento. These are all things I love:

• Blushing apple bites
• Organic salty pretzels
• Green banana flavoured jelly from butterfly mold with gold/silver sprinkles
• Double pork pasta
• Grated cheese in Hello Kitty container
• Tamek Sour Cherry Nectar

Yesterday I went to a great little market near the train station which I’ve been serously neglecting even though it’s a real treasure chest of exotic snacks, canned foods, spices, chutneys, jellies, puddings, canned drinks, etc. It’s owned by these middle-eastern types and there’s always this cute little boy working the register. ^_^ Oh, and they have an intimidating fresh meat section that I need to explore once I get the courage.

Well, I bought 3 packs of jelly powder. I took a picture of them ’cause I like the boxes. They were 7 DKR each which is a bit over $1. I also bought the Tamek cherry drinks which has no fizz and makes ‘em perfect for taking with you. I didn’t have bags or transportation so I didn’t get to buy a whole lot but I’ll definitely return soon.

Here’s what I put in the double pork pasta:

• Organic durum wheat pasta
• Tiny macaronies
• Can of diced tomatoes
• Can of tomato puré paste
• Couple slices of ham, meant for sandwiches
• Bacon
• Grated cheese

How to

1. Cook and drain all the pastas. Use any kind you like. Lotsa different types = extra pretty.
2. Cut the ham into bits.
3. Start frying the bacon. When it’s dark and crisp, leave it on a paper towel to absorb fat.
4. Put pastas, tomatoes, puré and ham in a pot and heat on medium. Make sure the pasta is covered in sauce.
5. Add a little grated cheese to the pot to make it sticky.
6. Cut the bacon into bits for sprinkling.
7. Either
   a. serve on a plate. Sprinkle cheese and bacon. Yum!
   b. put a dollop into a bento box. Sprinkle with bacon and put cheese on the side and add just before reheating.

Sorry for the lack of measuring. I didn’t measure the ingredients and I think it’s actually a pretty fool-proof recipe if you think in two-person-dinner amounts. Even if it doesn’t turn out like this it’s bound to taste nice. It’s cheap, it’s tasty and there’s bacon. What more could you want?

I wouldn’t eat it cold, though. Fortunately I’m always near a microwave. And you could definitely add oregano, maybe basil. I simply forgot to spice it up. >_<

Kanelsnegle / cinnamon rolls

Kanel is Danish for “cinnamon” and snegle is Danish for “snails”. These are my homemade kanelsnegle or simply cinnamon rolls. Here’s what’s in ‘em:

Dough

• 50 grams melted butter
• 1 dl. milk
• 35 grams yeast
• 3.5 dl. flour

Filling

• 30 grams soft butter
• 50 grams brown sugar*
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

How to

1. Mix the melted butter and milk to start up the dough.
2. Make sure the liquid is luke warm not hot before you add the yeast.
3. Blend together and add the flour little by little.
4. Then you roll out the dough on a flour-covered table and make a nice rectangle about 1 cm thick.
5. Make the filling by throwing together all the ingredients.
6. Spread the filling evenly on the dough rectangle.
7. Roll it up on the long side so you get a nice long roll with the cinnamon swirl on both ends.
8. Cut the roll up in 1.5 cm thick slices and put them on a cookie sheet on an oven tray.
9. Let it rise for 15 mins and start the oven at 200°C.
10. Bake for 12 mins.
11. Enjoy!

I thought these would be nice for a bento. They have a distinct look and a nice flavour. I actually got some store-bought ones I wanted to use for bentos but I accidentally ate them all before I had the chance. So it was actually a sense of guilt (and a sense of wanting to eat more!) that inspired this baking session.

*Not sure about the name for that in English. But it’s basically white sugar that’s been covered in molasses.

Bento # 3 and 4 : Everyday-fish with rice ‘n bacon

Here are two bentos I made yesterday. One for me and one for Martin.

• Oven-cooked Everyday-fish rolls with rosemary and butter
• Microwaved broccoli
• Apple bites
• Rice with bacon sprinkles
• Animal bottles with soy sauce
• Walnuts and wasabi peas for Martin
• Walnuts and raisins for me
• Toms chocolate drink for Martin
• Multi-fruit juice for me

This is the first time I’ve tried Everyday-fish from Fakta (a Danish super market chain). It’s basically plain and affordable fish without bones or anything odd. Great for picky fish eaters. Plus it’s caught and packaged with the environment and factory workers in mind, it says on the wrapping. Neat, huh!
I did regret garnishing with rosemary. I don’t like rosemary that much and eating it cold just made the spice more prominent. In fact, I couldn’t taste the fish only the rosemary.

I decided to use some leftover bacon to sprinkle on the rice, both for looks and taste. I heart bacon!

By the way, this is the first bento I’ve made that I’ve actually had the pleasure of eating… and it was delish! I can’t wait for school to start again so I can eat these every day. Right now I really have no reason to make ‘em as I’m off for the summer. But try and stop me!

The eBay itch

I’ve only made 2 bentos yet and I’m already itching to buy new boxes. There are so many neat ones and since mine are very small I definitely want to buy some bigger ones.

eBay Express has the best selection, I think, and I’ve been browsing the bentos there for two hours now. I’m thinking I’ll buy a Putifresh 2-tier box and one other which I haven’t decided yet. I also want to get me some egg molds ’cause I love eggs as a snack/dish and it really stands out to me when looking at other peoples’ bentos.

Also, I’d like to get me some silicone muffin cups since I’m into reusable stuff and silicone is nice and flexible for tight packing. But I can probably get those muffin cups in town somewhere.

By the way, I borrowed my dad’s old digital camera which is, even though it’s bigger than a child’s head, better than my phone at taking photos.Get ready for some mouth watering pictures!

Bento # 2 : Moving snack panda

I didn’t plan on making a bento yesterday but then my father called out of nowhere and told me to come help my sister move. I rushed to get ready and managed to throw this together before I left. Who doesn’t need a snack while moving, right?

• Banana and nectarine bites with elephant & seel picks
• Chocolate and M&M covered dinosaur cookie bits
• Hello Kitty container with raisins
• Peach cookies with yoghurt

When I got over to my sis’ old place, my dad was there and he was nearly done loading the truck. In fact, he and my sister were leaving and I was too late for the move. I gave my sister the bento with her to her new place for the unpacking. Heh, I got a text message from her 10 mins after saying “It was GOOD!”. Must’ve been hungry.

I would’ve posted yesterday except I got sort of sick later on. Major headache and major whining. My head’s still throbbing a bit, so I’m not sure if I’ll be making a bento today as well. Let’s see.

Bento # 1 : Deep-fried chicken with love

This is my first bento ever! I made it earlier today for my sister Thit. She’s working at Boomtown (Danish gaming café chain) all day today and I suddenly felt like surprising her with a bento.

I’m sorry about the quality. The picture was taken with my phone since I don’t have a proper camera. So here’s what’s in it:

• Deep-fried chicken in batter
• Ostehaps (Danish soft cheese snack)
• Two peach biscuits with yoghurt on bed of lettuce
• Rice with carrot letters
• Elephant soy bottle on mixed baby lettuce
• Organic apple juice

I’m going to see Thit later to get my bento box back and get my review. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed making it.

I actually wanted more in there but the box is kind of small. Mmm, would’ve been good with some banana and nectarine in there… Okay, I’m making myself hungry now.

Better go make myself something.