My first tamagoyaki

I followed Maki's instructions on justhungry.com, and I think I had fair results. I sent the photos off to my soon to be niece in Tokyo (she is marrying my nephew) and I am sure the two of them will have a laugh at my first try. It's not perfect, but I am content. I tried a new cooking technique and at least did not end up with scrambled eggs!

First 2 tbsp of egg mixture in the pan...


Rolled over and next layer of eggs....


the final result, looks like a burrito if you ask me! If I had a bamboo mat I could shape it better, but saran wrap worked for me.



The final result in my bento....

My nephew (B), who is stationed in Japan, sent me bento boxes! I had told him (and his Japanese fiance) that I was trying to learn more about bento and they sent us these boxes, and assorted other items that will be helpful. Then they sent photos of the lunches his fiance (M), makes for him. I could learn so much from M! I hope someday they will come to Texas and I can have a lesson, in person.

Well, here is my latest bento:

 
 

I think M's bento is ever so much more appetizing. My nephew is a lucky man.

Easter Sunday bento

We decided not to celebrate Easter twice this year. For once we will only celebrate Orthodox Easter on April 27th. It worked out great, we relaxed and the grandkids had Easter festivities at the other Grandma's house. I did get the urge to cook, when I discovered our HEB (grocery store) was closed and I had to fix lunch for Monday with what I had in the house.
I came up with a Tandoori chicken with leftover greek yogurt, and a sort-of tabbouleh with Manchego cheese, tomatoes and green onion. Mexico meets the middle east so to speak.



We are all looking forward to Orthodox Easter and our favorite foods: Pashka (cheese), Kulich (bread), Mama's blini (crepes, which I have not mastered yet) and piroshki (yeast bread rolls filled with a meat mixture). Yummy. Everybody's favorite is the bread and cheese, even my new son-in-law is a fan, and it is sure very different from the food he grew up with in Puerto Rico, but he loves it.

We are the quintessential American family comprising 6 ethnic and/or racial groups, sharing our foods and customs across the board. We are proud of our various heritages and holidays, celebrating Russian Orthodox Easter, Cinco de Mayo, 4th of July, Dia de los Muertos, Three Kings Day, Martin Luther King Day, and various saints days (Catholic, Orthodox and Episcopalian). We ARE America, we are what makes our country so special and so great....a mix of cultures, ideas, love and faith. Our children and grandchildren are the future of our nation, and the colors of our nation. We are so proud of all of them.

So, in the spirit of rebirth, in this Easter season, please take time to let new ideas take wing. It is time for us to discuss where our nation needs to go, how we put our dreams into action, and how we work for a future for ALL of us, no matter our color, or belief system.

To quote Barack Obama (who we support):

In the white community, the path to a more perfect union means acknowledging that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination - and current incidents of discrimination, while less overt than in the past - are real and must be addressed. Not just with words, but with deeds - by investing in our schools and our communities; by enforcing our civil rights laws and ensuring fairness in our criminal justice system; by providing this generation with ladders of opportunity that were unavailable for previous generations. It requires all Americans to realize that your dreams do not have to come at the expense of my dreams; that investing in the health, welfare, and education of black and brown and white children will ultimately help all of America prosper.

In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world's great religions demand - that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Let us be our brother's keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister's keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.

Messed up molded eggs

Well, I tried, but I should have cooked the eggs longer. Live and learn. Lunch consisted of emptying out the leftovers.
Colcannon left over from St. Paddy's Day, left over Greek olives, molded eggs and dried fruit.
Check out the eggs with the leaky yolks, LOL.

O'Bento for St. Patrick's Day

Now, Obama took the Texas caucuses, so we have some time off...but just 3 weeks, so I'll be calling folks in Pennsylvania to remind them that those of us with PA roots know who should win the primaries in PA. For Bento folks....Go Obamasan!

Back to cooking....

My Irish background is "forcing me" to put this recipe up. It's the absolute best corned beef recipe ever. Adapted from Cooking Light, and much loved in our family. Just serve with colcannon, or steamed potatoes and some Irish soda bread and Guinness or Killians, or beer of your choice. Green if you dare...and green Kool-aid for the kids. [I am pretty sure you can squeeze left overs into a bento box, just be creative, and don't forget the shamrocks!]

Guinness Braised Corned Beef

• 2 cups water


• 1 cup coarsely chopped onion


• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrot


• 1 cup coarsely chopped celery


• 1 cup Guinness stout


• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar


• 1/4 cup tomato paste


• 1 tbsp. dried dill


• 1 (14 1/2 oz) can beef broth (preferably; low sodium, as the corned


• 8 black peppercorns


• 3 whole cloves


• 1 (3 lb.) corned beef brisket, trimmed of excess fat

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except corned beef in a 5-6 quart slow cooker,


2. stirring until well combined. Top with corned beef. Cover and cook on low


3. for eight hours or until beef is tender. Remove beef and cut diagonally


4. across the grain into 1/4' thick slices. Discard broth mixture.


5. Serve with colcannon, and brown soda bread, and of course more Guinness.

recipe location:
Guinness-Braised Corned Beef @ Group Recipes

and....

Colcannon

By Shirleyoma (from grouprecipes.com) --send her an email if you like it

Cook Time: 20
Prep Time: 15

1 1/2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped green cabbage
1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
2 cups boiling water
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/8 teaspoon finely ground pepper


1. Place potatoes with cold water to cover by 2 inches and ½ tsp
salt in large saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add cabbage and boil for 10 more minutes until potatoes are
tender.
4. Meanwhile, place green onion in sieve, pour boiling water over
them and drain.
5. Add drained onion to a medium saucepan with milk, butter,
remaining ½ tsp salt and pepper, bring to a boil then remove from
heat.
6. Drain cooked potatoes and cabbage and return to large saucepan.
7. Beat on low speed with hand held mixer until coarsely mashed.
8. Increase speed to high and gradually add milk and onion mixture
and continue to beat until potatoes are light and fluffy.

From http://www.grouprecipes.com/

Oh! My bentos ARE broken !

Who knew Texas would be in play for the primaries? Not me. So now, every spare moment, and only one successful bento box lunch later, I am still campaigning for my candidate. I am tired, I have been sunburned, and I have missed the entire event (once) because I was outside (as a volunteer) working the line of folks waiting to enter the venue to see Barack Obama.

I am glad to support Sen. Obama, I do it for my grandchildren, because we need HOPE back in the USA, and someone to inspire the young people of this nation, who will then be empowered, inspired, and ready to lead their generation. This is not a political blog, but I felt I needed to explain why I am not adding much to this site right now. Texas is so important right now, and I have been working for my candidate of choice. If Obama is not your choice, that is fine, I believe it is time that all of us become respectful of each others' beliefs, without becoming critical and nasty. All of us, for our own reasons support the person we believe in. That does not make any of us less patriotic or whatever, it just adds to the flavor of what made our nation great, and can do so again, post Bush.


I am also precinct chair in my county, so I can't mix my job a precinct chair with my politics. I have been extremely careful not to do so, but it has been frustrating because I had a lot of information that according to the rules, I could not use. So, I did not use it at all. I only hope others in my position were ethical as well.

Now I find that Sen. Clinton, has told her adherents to disrupt the caucuses . This really pisses me off! In the past, we all have tried to do our best during our caucuses. Now Sen. Clinton had decided (apparently) to try to mess with the caucuses. I find that unfair. We DO have rules in Texas and she should abide by them,and not tell her adherents to attempt to subvert them.

Tough Caucus Strategy
3:31 PM Sat, Mar 01, 2008 | Permalink
Christy Hoppe E-mail News tips

Hillary Clinton and her campaign is pushing for precinct captains for Texas' 8,000 Democratic polling places. They need to train folks to lead the caucus sessions that will determine more than 60 delegates after the primary voting is over.
In training materials being handed out by the Clinton campaign, it is clear that they want to control those caucus sessions.
The materials say in part, "DO NOT allow the supporter of another candidate to serve in leadership roles."
It goes on to say, "If our supporters are outnumbered, ask the Temporary Chair if one of our supporters can serves as the Secretary, in the interest of fairness.
"The control of the sign-in sheets and the announcement of the delegates allotted to each candidate are the critical functions of the Chair and Secretary. This is why it is so important that Hillary supporters hold these positions."

source: http://trailblazers.beloblog.com/archives/2008/03/caucus-strategy.html

No bento, too busy

Last Sat. blockwalked for Obama. Monday....the GI illness arrives, a day later than my fellow block walker. For Super Tuesday I made a chocolate chili, but did not feel well enough to go to the event, and watched at home.
This is the party I missed.
BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.


Then, Wed. my B-I-L arrived and we took him out to dinner, ho-hum restaurant, Ciao Lavanderia in San Antonio. Won't go there again, I don't care if it is Chef Vatel's.

Thursday night, ate closer to home at the Welfare Cafein Welfare, Texas.



Here we are:



We dined on the best weinerschitzel, etc. German Texas has to offer. My California B-I-L, was astounded at the quality of the food in rural Texas. Hey, we know how to eat here! Live music (which was fantastic) provided by the Welfare Fathers.



We ate the following:

Chicken Fredericksburg

Chicken breast sautéed with peaches, jalapenos and onions. Finished in a white wine cream sauce. Garnished with crumbled pecans. Served with spätzel and vegetable.

Smoked Pork Tenderloin

Lightly smoked medallions of pork tenderloin finished on the grill. Topped with sun dried cherry and molasses glaze. Served with potatoes and vegetable.

and I had:

Holstein schnitzel


Topped with lightly grilled lean black forest ham, asparagus and a “sunny side up” egg, garnished with lemon, capers and anchovy.

Notes about the envy of the workplace stir fry

Too salty, otherwise the veggies were good and cooked to crisp tender, which was perfect. I think I will try a different sauce next time. My home-made hoisin turkey meatballs went with the veggies very well. I am stuffed!

A superbowl day of prepping bento box food

I found an idea on foodnetwork, "Envy of the workplace gingered vegetable stir-fry" so I made it up for work on Monday.
I forgot and took a picture before I added the napa cabbage on top. Basically we'll steam the vegs in the container [sliced shitake mushroom caps, julienned carrot, julienned daikon, broccoli flowerets, scallion, garlic and ginger] microwave the sauce [chicken broth, rice wine, sugar, cornstarch, salt] then mix together. Accompanying the veg stir fry will be hoisin turkey meatballs, a slice of ciabatta, lite baby bel cheese, and for my hubby, 2 mini pumpkin muffins and an apple (fill him for that 12 hour shift).

Since we are having a guest later in the week, my B-I-L, and activities on Tues night while watching the super Tues primary returns, I decided to cook ahead. The Tues. activity is a chocolate themed party (Valentines day is so close it seemed to be a good idea). We went to a similarly themed party a year ago, and it was all very sweet stuff. So, I found Tyler Florence's recipe for Beef Chili with Red Beans and Chocolate. I made it today and we ate 1/2 for our family superbowl party. On Tues, it will be turned into nacho dip for the party. There is chocolate in it, and at least it is not another dessert. Besides, it is a very good chili.

On Tuesday lunch will consist of Morroccan Carrot and Goat cheese sandwiches with Carrot and Daikon salad. (Foodnework)

Wed lunch: Roast beef and couscous rolls with sweet and sour carrots. [Foodnetwork and Martin Yan Quick and Easy.]

I made all the food that could be made ahead today, the tapenade for the sandwiches, the carrot and daikon salad and the sweet and sour carrots. That combined with making the chili took about 4 hours of time. Clean up was easy. My husband, who really appreciates the lunches, did the dishes!

Hopefully this week will go well, and my ideas, thanks to Food Network and Martin Yan, will turn out and be tasty.

This is a learning experience every day. It's a lot of work to move from TV dinners and canned soup to fresh food daily, but I think it's worth it. Better for us and it tastes better.

Looking forward to my B-I-L's visit, we will be taking him to Ciao Lavanderia an Italian restaurant in an old laundromat his first night in town, then after that he is my willing victim for home cooking.

From an "all chocolate" party on Super Tuesday for the primary returns to Ciao Lavanderia, such adventure and fun! Crossing my fingers for the outcome I dream of on Super Tuesday.

Now if only our Siamese cat Mr. S. would come home, I would feel relaxed enough to stop blogging and go to bed. Mr. S. has been missing for 4 days, his max. Usually he comes in after 3 days, particularly if I send our boxer out to look for him. Our dog, who is the cat's best friend, will look for him and usually brings him home. But, not this time. I think a neighbor is keeping him, as he has been coming home fatter and fatter. Last week he lost his collar, so evidently it was removed or because he became stuck it automatically loosened, as it was supposed to do. Dunno, but miss the stupid cat.

Monday sandwich bento

 
Pita, ham, cheese, celery, hummus, tomato, carrot, yogurt..our first bento where we counted calories. This week we are eating more fresh vegs and counting calories. Wonder how well we will do? It does look pretty. X and O are cut out of cheese. Of course, I put a fortune (folded paper) in hubbies bento, LOL.

No bento today, I participated in the MLK March

San Antonio's MLK march is the largest in the nation, about 100,000 people usually attend. This year, from the top of the hill near the end point, when looking back I could not see the where the march ended! The march route is 3 miles long.







It was fun to see old friends marching with various groups, and to make new friends too.

Busy, busy, have not posted...here's the last few

Left over apple/turkey sausage and rice, green beans and tomatoes, cherries, and my oatmeal with lingonberries.











Turkey sandwich, cherries, sweet pickles, my breakfast oatmeal and V8 juice.

Ok, I seemed to have gained about 3 pounds so it's either the rice or the quantity of food in the bento box. I need to come up with something else.
Learning as I go along. I may dig out my WW stuff and see what I can figure out.

Behind on posting bentos

Ah yes, late again. The story of my life. Too much to do, and too many events to attend to.
Photos to be posted Sunday. May all your bentos be beautiful.

Bento box #2, a little more involved

First, I had to cook the food, so I used my rice cooker (which is missing it's steamer basket) and my bamboo steamers.















Then, I got out my new find, Lundberg wild blend rice, which is beautiful...see?


I read about this rice in my bible, The Ultimate Rice Cooker cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufman.









Then, I got my green beans ready to steam and added my marinated chicken breasts to the steamer.



Ok the chicken looks ugly, but it tastes good. The recipe is from my rice cooker cookbook. The chicken is marinated in Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, herbes de provence and olive oil. Green beans are self explanatory, I guess.





So, the steamer gets put together with the beans on top so I can take them off once they are crisp-tender.
















Here is what the steamer looks like all put together. And, the most astute of you will note that I don't have a wok. My house has a way of "disappearing" items of clothing, cooking tools, socks, homework, and sundry other items. Where the wok went is anybody's guess. Obviously, I need to drive into San Antonio (tedious drive) and get a new one, or order one online. Small town living is great except when you need "stuff."
















Now for the green beans. They are steamed and ready for step 2. Again from my rice cooker cookbook, they are sauteed in a small amount of butter and olive oil with onion, celery, parsley, basil and bell pepper.














Final step, making the gingered tomato relish.












So, dinner was great! Now to put the leftovers in the bento box. Complete with a fortune cookie fortune stashed in hubby's lunch to make him smile! Working in the hospital can be so stressful that something to make him smile is a something I feel is most important. We have been married for 35 years, so we have learned just a few things here and there. Besides, using a bento box and fixing his lunch gives me a chance to do more than leave him a nice note on the back door telling him to have a nice day, love you, etc. [He gets up at oh dark thirty in the morning, I don't, so I stay up later than he does.]

This one is pretty, with lots of color. We'll see how I do with the salmon that I have planned.















I have had a great time so far, and we both love our lunches. Our motivation is spurred on by the fact that my sister and her husband both got food poisoning (Salmonella) from a TV dinner. Their illnesses were so severe that they were hospitalized. It motivates me even more to make ALL my food from scratch. I have mostly made everything from scratch from the time my children were born, but in my older years got a bit lazy, but not any more!

My first bento box

 
Not fancy, and not pretty, but it worked. Left over Farmhouse macaroni and cheese, our favorite turkey meatballs, cherries, baby bell cheese, weight watchers snack cake (for my husband's sweet tooth), and a green salad. I also included left over home made waffles and syrup for breakfast.
For me, it was too much food, but my hubby loved his, which also included some juice. Since he works 12 hour shifts, he needs more than I do.
As I was making these, I was talking to my sister and explaining bento boxes to her. I thought she would remember them since she was a teenager when we lived in Japan, but evidently she was too interested in boys to pay attention to some things (lol).

Delay in posting first bento box

My Aunt Eleanor, is gravely ill tonight, She is nearly 90, and has pneumonia. They took her off the ventilator tonight, and she will likely pass away shortly. My excitement about my first bento box takes second fiddle to my feeling of loss. I will post pictures tomorrow, I just can't do it tonight.
My Auntie was a Veteran of the US Navy, a nurse, and a kind and gentle woman who was devoted to her collies. She maintained our family home and the family farm in upstate NY.
A picture of a portion of the farm, by my cousin Carol:



Dearest Aunt Eleanor, we love you, and you will be missed.

Supplies!

Big day today, picked up two of the grandkids (ages 5 and 7), and went to the Habitat for Humanity Re-store to look for french doors. There were none. Habitat has opened 3 stores in San Antonio, all a long distance from each other. We will drive 40 miles to the other side of town to check the other store, another day. It was time to eat and since were were in downtown San Antonio, what better place than Mi Tierra! My little grand daughter just loved it,she thought the ceilings were so beautiful with the pinatas, the papel picado,
everything all shiny and golden, strung with little lights. She said, "it's like a party grandma!















We indulged in a beef taco, refried beans, rice, fluffy hot tortillas, huevos rancheros plus porkchop; steak and eggs, and hamburger and fries. A last artery hardener for grandma and grandpa before we embark on a healthier eating style.

We were celebrating the X-man's birthday (now 7 yrs old), so of course we had a quick Alamo tour and views of the San Antonio riverwalk.

















Then, with our tummies full, it was off to buy supplies for bento boxes.

After much deliberation and a poor selection of lock and lock boxes, here is what we came up with...
















So, it was time to take the tired kiddos all the way back to Boerne. We are still doing arts and crafts in the kitchen as I write this. I guess tomorrow I will have to get busy figuring out what to put in the boxes for lunch on Monday.

Will I be able to do this thing called Bento?

I found a bento blog by accident, Lunch in a box, and after reading the blog and doing more research, I was intrigued. Then I found the just bento blog and just hungry and more and more, and I was hooked. I was so excited that I got my co-worker hooked too! LOL. We both like to cook, and we love to try new foods, so we were off! This week we spent every lunch break reading bento blogs and looking at containers. We even took a "field trip" to a Japanese grocery store near where we work! We came home with lots of goodies, and absolutely no experience. So back to the blogs!

Wednesday, I started rummaging in my kitchen to see what I had for containers that would be suitable, nada, zero, zippo. I have lots of containers, but no lids, or lids with no containers. Is there a gremlin lurking in my big plastic container drawer? My co-worker,DeeCee found fresh-fit through one of the blogs, and we both see a shopping trip in our future over the weekend. We live about 45 miles apart, in 2 different counties, so we'll be shopping at opposite ends of the city. Wonder what we will come up with by Monday morning?

I hope to learn from all the bento bloggers and their gorgeous photos, and hope that by Monday morning I will have 2 containers with lids so I can make beautiful lunches for hubby and me. One goal, besides pretty lunches, is weight loss. So here goes!