Monday, January 5, 2009

Jan's Monday Bento



I packed: wasabi meatloaf with tsukemono of lemon celery on the side, braised brussels sprouts in orange and ginger sauce, and black cherry jello with ginger cookies.

People either love or hate brussels sprouts it seems....these I had fun with because I wanted to fight the cabbagey scent with the orange and ginger. I seared them in a tiny bit of oil, then squeezed the juice of one fresh orange over them and let them simmer on until almost tender:

I had used one of my favorite tools to get a tablespoon of orange zest; this 'zester' I bought at one of those Pampered Chef parties where you basically have to buy something and this was about the cheapest thing, sigh. But it really works well:

The zest and the ginger went in for about 5 minutes of simmering and that's all.
I got the recipe for the lemon-celery tsukemono (fresh veggie pickles) from this lovely little book:

It seems these 'pickles' are really lightly flavored, slightly preserved fresh veggies which add a savory touch to Japanese lunchboxes. Most of the recipes here are super fast and easy. I plan to use these cute little sticks for my pickles of the future:

I have to admit I am having a blast with this whole Bento concept!! Now I am off to look at everyone else's Bento sites for more ideas. Here's to your good health and beautiful lunches!

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