Bentos # 40 & 41 : Brunch and wasabi snacks

I made two bentos yesterday. One for me and one for Martin. I was going on a fieldtrip thing.

• Scrambled eggs
• Fried bacon slices
• Fried brunch sausages
• Lightly fried chorizo slices
• Emmentaler cheese sticks
• Red seedless grapes
• Green banana jelly in animal cups
• For Martin only: Wasabi noodle snack

I’ve never been too keen on wasabi so I only packed some for Martin. I found the noodle snack in Søstrene Grene, Odense. It’s dry noodle bits, like out of a instant noodle pack, flavoured with wasabi powder. They’re supposed to be eaten uncooked.

When I came home from the fieldtrip I was starving and decided to give them a try. After 30 mins I had eaten the entire pack. Maybe it’s time to introduce wasabi to my own meals?

I’m sorry for the lack of pictures in here. It seems I lost a bunch when one of my domains were cancelled. I totally forgot to back them up. And as for these bentos, I can’t take any pics. No camera. I’m getting one for my birthday, my parents promised, and it’s coming up in 1 month and 1 day from now. That’s May 6th.

Oooh, by the way: I got my 3 new HK bento boxes from eBay this week. Awesome! I love em. I’ll be sure to take pics of my entire collection – as soon as possible!

Bentos # 38 & 39 : Hummus and turkey nuggets

• Tortilla bread and hummus for dipping
• Cherry tomatoes
• Chicken nuggets
• Rice with peas
• Extra container with apple slices
• A can of cola for him and an apple juice for me

We bought the hummus at a local fast food joint run by an Eastern European guy called Jamil. To be honest I have no idea where exactly he’s from but he sells amazing home-cooked delicacies like hummus and baba ghanoush. I always forget that his little shop exists but every now and then I have a tasty rediscovery. I hope this time I remember!

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 # 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.

On my mind

Waiting for my bento boxes and all the extra stuff, I can’t help thinking about what I’ll do when I get them. I have all sorts of ideas for snacks and recipes so I thought I’d put some down here.

An important part of the bento are the colorful snacks and side dishes. Here’s a list of some ideas I have for that:

• Lillebror ostehaps (a Babybel-ish type snack from Denmark)
• fun shaped jelly
• small container with nuts and/or raisins
• cut up fruits (pickled peaches, pickled pears, etc – yum!)
• cookies with fun colors and designs
• biscuits with spice, salt or whatever’s tasty
• raw veggies with a crunch to them (broccoli, carrots, …)

Delicious! There’s nothing better than a snack to get you through late morning until you can have your actual lunch. I’ve always thought that working and studying requires brain food. And I personally cannot work with a growling stomach.

I can’t wait to add more snacks to the list, and when I get my bento boxes (any day now!) I’ll probably get more inspired.

On another note, I think I’ll head to the shops today and dig through them for cookware. I still need cookie cutters to shape my foods and maybe a few more mini-containers for snacks, sauce and so on. I’ll get back to you on that.

Meanwhile, happy bento-making!