Lunch at home

As usual, it's been a crazy week or so with school wrapping up. Last weekend, we had the NanoExpo 2010 poster session and our spring choir concert. Both went extremely well... and I ended up winning the poster session! Sunday, we had lunch with Rob's family in Belle Fourche... and so far this week, we've been up early enough to actually eat at home before coming to school.

While I've been having a lot of fun packing lunches, there's nothing like a casual lunch at home. Today we had split pea soup and turkey sandwiches, nothing fancy. But, when you add a glass of wine and enjoy your lunch with someone you care about, it becomes a much more special occasion. It was a little weird drinking red wine before coffee, but it was well worth it. I lounged around the house after lunch, caught up on my internet reading, lingered over my coffee, and then sauntered to school in the 60 degree weather. Despite the 25 mph "breeze," it was a gorgeous walk.

Tonight, though, it's time to get back to cooking. I have a few peppers and mushrooms in the fridge that could use some love. I have sausage in the freezer and a bag of lentils in the cupboard. Perhaps lentils and sausage? What about the peppers and mushrooms? I also have polenta and a huge chunk of Parmesan. Hmm... so much to think about.

Oh yeah... and I should probably think about the exam I'm working on. =)

Bento #9

I made two completely different bentos today. The large containers for both of our boxes were still at school in the fridge, containing leftover garlic spice chicken. The only containers I had available were the ECOlunchbox containers, which don't work particularly well if you have a need to divide your food. Nonetheless, I had one leftover grilled chicken breast in the fridge, and enough pasta for one lunch.

Rob's lunch today was identical to Bento #7 - I packed garlic spice chicken in the small round container, nestled it in the main box and filled the rest whole wheat tortellini and Brussels sprouts, covered liberally in Parmesan and salt and pepper. Rob supplemented his lunch with the leftover chicken from the fridge at school.



My bento probably sounds a little lame, but it was delicious! Since I had boiling water already, I poured half a bag of edamame (in the pod) into the pot to cook once the pasta was finished. The other half of the chicken breast was packed in my round container with Asian zing sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings. Once the edamame was done, I packed it in the remaining space with freshly ground sea salt. Mmm... tasty! It was also very high in protein and kept me satisfied until almost 6:00.



Supper tonight was also very tasty. I bought a pound of ground buffalo last week that needed to be used up. Rob was sound asleep on the couch when I got to his place, and he wasn't particularly enamored with the ground buffalo idea. Apparently he prefers the animal making up ground meat to "moo" when it's alive. I guess buffalo don't "moo." Since Rob wouldn't be eating my buffalo burgers, I crumbled about 2.5 oz of bleu cheese, added a good handful of shredded sharp cheddar, and spiced it with Montreal steak seasoning. After mixing the cheese thoroughly with the burger, I made two 1/4 lb patties and four 1/8 lb patties. I grilled everything up, nuked some veggies, and had a melty, rich, tasty burger topped with extra melted cheddar, buffalo wing sauce, and nestled on a whole wheat bun.

The rest of the meat I put in the fridge, and I fully intend for the four little burgers to be "sliders" for lunch tomorrow. Mini whole wheat pitas will make good vehicles for serving, too. I can't wait!

Tally's, a tiny lunch, and happy hour

Rob and I started out the morning right with breakfast at our favorite restaurant downtown: Tally's Silver Spoon. My usual order alternates between the mini breakfast with an extra egg, or the eggs Benedict, depending how hungry I am. I'm a huge fan of their eggs Benedict, largely because I'm too lazy to make hollandaise myself. Rob was brave and tried the crepes with scrambled eggs and ham. (His usual is the two egg breakfast with an extra egg.) While they were probably tasty (he didn't share!), it wasn't quite enough food for him. Meanwhile, my eggs Benedict addiction left me stuffed.

Speaking of breakfast, I would like to call attention to Tally's coffee. I don't know what they do to it, or where it comes from, but this stuff is the best cafe coffee I think I have ever consumed. Seriously, it's so good and tasty, you'd think it contained MSG. Hmm... maybe it does? Nah...

One more commercial for Tally's while I'm at it. They've recently undergone a change in ownership, and the new chef is a young stud from Le Cordon Bleu in Portland. I am a terrible person and still haven't gone there for dinner... BUT the weekend brunch designed by the chef is AMAZING. I've had pork cassoulet topped with a runny egg and foie gras. (A meal I wish I could preserve in memory for all time, it was that good.) I've had a savory waffle topped with mussels, salmon and shrimp with a runny egg, roasted red pepper coulee, and some other delicious sauce I can't name but I can guarantee it contained butter.... If you don't make it to Tally's for dinner, at least try their weekend brunch!

For lunch, Rob and I stopped at the Miner's Shack for chili and a salad. I ate veggies and skipped the chili, in anticipation of happy hour beers and food.

I was in the middle of some frustrating work at school when 5:00 happily rolled around. Lori and I went out for happy hour at Minerva's. We ordered a couple of Fat Tires, honey BBQ wings and pizzas. Minerva's makes a thin crust pizza that is quite delicious. Lori tried the chicken cordon bleu pizza and I got one of my favorites, the LaBella. I stole a piece of Lori's pizza and it was quite tasty - chicken, ham, cheese and breadcrumbs with a white sauce. I still prefer pizzas with marinara sauce and dug into the LaBella - pepperoni, portobella mushrooms and sausage. As usual, the conversation was great. (I'm really going to miss her when she gets the job at Sandia.)

My delicious foodie day was concluded with an equally delicious nap on the futon at my place. And, I'm currently hatching a lunch plan of pasta salad and leftover chicken (from the bentos on Monday)....

My Bento Boxes

Since I'm awake and trying to avoid the work I should be doing, I thought I should take the time to post pictures of the bento boxes I own, just in case the links I provided in the first post disappear eventually.

My bento is the Urara Dragonfly Bento set by LubeSheep. Yes, the brand name is weird, just go with it. The large container is 330 mL and the small container is 250 mL. It's cute! I've also discovered that if I pack it "correctly," the small size is more than enough food.



Rob's bento is the Liberty Men's Bento set, also by LubeSheep. The large container is 550 mL and the small container is 450 mL. Some bento users out there claim you can fit a sandwich in the top box, which is largely why I purchased it. I'm not quite sure how. It will barely hold half of a sandwich. Oh well, it's the right number of calories for Rob to eat for lunch, according to the bento box guidelines on Lunch In A Box.



Finally, we both have a stainless steel ECOlunchbox that we purchased at REI. I don't know the size in mL, but I do know that it perfectly holds a sandwich with a few veggies along the side, and it has a separate, lidded round container which works for additional veggies or yogurt, etc.



This begs the question... what's for lunch tomorrow?

Bento #8

I love fresh pasta. While I learned to make it this fall, and discovered that it is fairly easy and truly yummy, I don't often take the time on my own to make it. Consequently, I have fallen in love with Safeway Select's whole wheat fresh pastas, particularly the four cheese tortellini. I'm also addicted to Steamfresh frozen veggies. I know there's probably something inherently evil about nuking veggies in the bag they're frozen in, but until I'm told the carcinogens will kill me, I figure the nutrition gained by regularly eating veggies is far better than nothing.

I made two bentos this morning by taking advantage of both tasty conveniences. I had grilled three chicken breasts last night on the Foreman. I loosely filled the large containers for both my box and Rob's box with diced chicken (about 1.5 breasts), and covered it in a little spicy garlic wing sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings. Meanwhile, I boiled two servings of tortellini and nuked two single serving packages of Brussels sprouts. When the pasta was done, I tossed it with olive oil, covered it in salt, pepper and freshly grated Parmesan, and packed it with the Brussels sprouts in the small containers.

I don't regularly microwave my bento - largely because I don't know if they are designed to handle a microwave. I wasn't sure how Rob would fare eating cold pasta and chicken, but he didn't complain. In fact, I was complimented on the tasty lunch! At least something went right today... stupid grad school.

Bento #7 and the Welsh Rarebit

I was suspicious that I would have a hard time making a nifty lunch every day. Sure enough, after Easter break, it was super difficult to get back to making a regular lunch! Thursday for lunch, I packed my dragonfly bento with leftover sushi from our trip to Ichiban the night before. Friday, I made a turkey on rye and packed it with a Ziplock bag because my bento was at Rob's house!

However, this week, I think the most important food event was the Welsh Rarebit we had on Wednesday night. I'd made hard boiled eggs a couple days before, and I decided to attempt making cheese sauce from scratch for the rarebit. Mmmm..... can I say delicious?! Rob even loved it, and said he far preferred to Hollandaise. I have a new favorite cool weather supper. =)

Welsh Rarebit recipe
Adapted from Alton Brown, Toast Modern episode

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 teas. Dijon mustard (Grey Poupon)
1 teas. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teas(ish) Kosher salt
1/2 teas(ish) freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. Fat Tire
3/4 c. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 c. (6 oz) shredded Cheddar (I used a bit more!)
4-5 shakes of Tabasco

4 hard boiled eggs
6-8 slices of Virginia ham (I used deli ham)
2 slices dark Rye or Pumpernickel

Alton's directions were spot on, so here they are: "In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, being careful not to brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add beer and whisk to combine. Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth. Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth; this will take 4 to 5 minutes."

While cheese sauce is cooking over low heat, toast bread, heat ham and hard boiled eggs. (I diced the ham and eggs and warmed them in a fry pan over medium heat.) Pile ham and eggs on toast, cover liberally with cheese sauce, and serve with more salt and pepper as desired.

Italian sausages and peppers over polenta

I've been contemplating dinner with sausage and peppers over polenta for a couple of days. I've had a three-pack of peppers in the fridge that needed to be cooked, and I bought Italian sausage a couple of days ago... so, here's the invention that led to a delicious supper:

Italian sausages and peppers

Note: This recipe would probably serve four handily. I made far more sausage than we needed for the two of us, just so I could get it all cooked. Rob and I ended up eating 3 sausages in one sitting + about 1/3 cup (dry) polenta + a small bunch of kale.

8-9 Italian sausages, hot or mild
1 large yellow onion, sliced thinly in half moons
12 oz dark beer (New Belgium 1554 is tasty)
2 Tbsp stone ground yellow mustard
1/4 tsp each cumin and chili powder
1/2 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
1 each red, orange and yellow bell pepper
4-6 oz. baby portabello mushrooms
15.5 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved

Heat a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Heat about 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add the sausages in a single layer, and brown on one side. Flip the sausages. Toss the onions on top of the sausages and pour in about 10 oz beer. Simmer about 10 minutes, or until sausages are done.

Remove sausages from the pan and set aside. Turn up the heat, add the mustard and spices, and (mostly) caramelize the onions. If you run out of liquid, use some of the reserved beer or tomato juice. When onions are nearly caramelized, add peppers, mushrooms and tomatoes. Simmer until peppers are tender, stirring occasionally. Nestle the sausages on top of the vegetables, cover. Turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile, cook polenta according to package directions, and finish with a handful of parmesan and a pat of butter. (I use Bob's Red Mill polenta.) I also cooked some kale.

Serve with a scoop of polenta, a couple of sausages, a pile of kale and a good scoop of the pepper mixture. Garnish with more parmesan, if desired. Delicious with a dark beer. =)

Bento #6 and the rest of the week

Bento #6 was completely unoriginal, since it was identical to Bento #5! I did add a side salad from the Shack though. Mmm, salad.

Thursday, I gave a presentation at school, so I ate a late breakfast and skipped lunch. We had Buffalo Wild Wings for supper. Mmm. I think the mango habanero sauce would be awesome for cooked chicken bentos. The spicy Asian sauce was quite tasty too!

Friday was Good Friday, and I sat at home waiting for skis to arrive, so no bento. Probably no new bentos until Tuesday...

Bento #5 - Mini quiches

After doing a lot of reading about people packing mini quiches in their bentos, I decided I had to give it a try. I was talking with a friend from school, and we came up with the idea of baking mini quiches in a mini muffin pan and using wonton skins as the crust.

I bought wonton skins from Safeway and Hormel Real Bacon crumbles (too lazy last night to fry bacon!). After spraying the muffin pan with Pam, I carefully filled each of the 24 muffin cups with a wonton skin. I put a little (~ 1 tsp.) shredded cheddar in the bottom of each, and topped that with a little (~ 1 tsp.) bacon crumbles. I filled each muffin cup with about 1 - 1.5 Tbsp. of scrambled egg. It ended up taking 6 eggs for the 24 mini quiches. Then I baked them in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. They were tasty! R and I ate 6 of them last night before I packed them in the fridge.

In the future, I would blind bake the wonton skins for a minute or two so the bottom of the crust is a little crispier. Otherwise, no major changes. I can see a lot of variations on this theme in the future!

Lunch today consisted of 3 mini quiches nestled in the 330 mL container with lettuce and a Laughing Cow Garlic Herb cheese wedge. The bottom (250 mL) container contained a little leftover rice, chili and cumin spiced black beans, and about 1/3 of a sliced avocado.



Lunch is delicious! Be careful opening the containers though: the avocado stuck to the top and it was a little messy to carefully extract it from the top. The bottom layer needed salt... which I happened to have at school, so I was covered.

Bento #4

Monday's bento was a leftover bento. The top (330 mL) container was filled with a couple pieces of leftover General's Chicken from Saigon Restaurant, baked beans from the Safeway deli, and a Babybel cheese round. The bottom (250 mL) container was carefully packed 1/3 full with rice, and the remainder was filled with radishes, carrots and the last of the snap peas.

At lunchtime, I bought a cup of tomato soup from the Miner's shack. I mixed the rice in with the soup (cold rice is weird for me), and enjoyed the rest of the bento. The addition of soup was so filling that Rob ate half of my veggies!

Bento packing is getting faster! It only took 10-15 minutes to put this one together.

Bento #3

Friday's bento was much quicker to pack. I made R's sandwich first - turkey, Swiss, and lettuce - and packed it in the ECOlunchbox with sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes. The small container was packed with radishes, carrots, and a few more sugar snap peas.

My bento was made with leftover beans and tuna from yesterday. I wisely lined the container FIRST. I made a small cup out of a slice of Swiss and packed it with tuna. Then I lined the rest of the large (330 mL) container with lettuce and filled it full of white kidney beans, grated parmesan and a cherry topper. I packed 4-5 spears of sliced asparagus in the spaces. The small container (250 mL) was filled with half a plum, carrots, snap peas, radishes, and blueberries to fill the gaps.

Total time for both boxes was about 25 minutes. Not bad!