Gummi Octopus!!!! Can't Stop Dancing!!

Look what I found in the bulk candy bins at Cub Foods!!

They come in several pretty alarming colors, and they taste...sort of permanent, if you know what I mean. I was still tasting today's Gummi Octopus hours later. But how cute is it??! Can you imagine a bento presenting a battle between Octodogs and OctoGummis? The Octodogs would have a size advantage, but the Gummis would be so creepy and techy that they might just win. I will work on this awesome concept.

Meanwhile here was today's bento:



Pork gyoza, roast chicken with nanami togarashi sprinkled over it (this was yum), and a spinach tamagoyaki which I learned about on Cooking with Dog. Fruits in the extra dish.

I love these Cooking With Dog videos for many reasons:

1. You get great cooking tips: like with the spinach tamagoyaki, the cook boils the spinach just for awhile, lets it cool, and then wrings it out like a wet sock. Thus bypassing the problem of soggy spinach leaking through your dish.

2. The narrator: he is so charming! He's a little bit of a worrywort, and will give lots of cautions "Careful not to cut yourself! Uncooked gyoza filling will quickly go bad!" etc. He's also mysterious; the gimmick is that it's like the dog is talking, but who is the guy really? The cook's son? The cook's alter-ego?

3. The dog! He's so well-behaved. He just sits there on the stool while foods pass by his nose, cooking smells waft up, he never lunges for the bowl. In a few videos, he will discreetly drool a little, or whine when the cook chows down on the finished dish.

Here's the episode about making Taiyaki, and it has some terrific tips about cooking dry beans, even if one is not seriously considering the heartbreak of attempting to make a fish shaped bean filled cake inside a teensy little fishy waffle iron ("What Could Go Wrong?" hollow laugh):

Shop Till You Drop (some cash) in Madison Asian Groceries!!!!

Well heavens be praised: my second #1 son graduated from college this past Saturday. This being a general occasion for happiness and celebrating and getting choked up with tears frequently, it also provided me with the chance to revisit Asian groceries in Madison Wisconsin, the scene of much past hilarity and overspending on way-too-good Asian grocery items I cannot find at home.

Here are some of my favorite finds:



Clockwise from left: Dried shiitake at a bargain price, nori, curries green and red, and coconut milk & cream, Mama and Mami noodle soup mixes, and panko bread crumbs - I've never found these before and can't wait to cook some really kick-a$$ fried shrimp with the famous delicate crumb coating that everyone dies for...

And then...



Alluhz my sauzes: Again clockwise from back, Thai hot chili sauce, smoky dark soy sauce, mushroom flavored soy sauce, wasabi mayonnaise in a Kewpie mayo squeeze bottle!!; in the blue bottle, black sesame salt (like furikake?), nanami togarashi (my favorite delicate Japanese red chili peppers ground), prepared plum sauce - bet it will be better than my prune stuff!, and black pepper corns.

And then:



My sweet tooth indulgences:

Sweet layer cakes in pandan flavor??, black coffee candies?, almond Pocky!, crazy good chocolate mushroom cookies, chocolate filled Hello Panda! cookies, and coconut rolled cookies you can just barely see - like Pirouline cookies made in England if you know these. Most of these came from a Vietnamese dominated store that had a verrry dark seafood freezer cabinet, kind of scary.

And last but actually first:



Because one of Avie's video blogs stressed the importance of having a little travel Bento spoon-fork-chopsticks combo, I had to buy this Cinnomoroll one in pink. If Avie told me to jump off a bridge I probably would, assuming there would be some cool reward.

Anyway a wonderful coffee atmosphere exists in Madison so here's two last photos of a terrific coffee and cookie experience from a very emotional weekend:

Obento or Bento?

Which is it? Somewhere in my internet wanderings I read that 'obento' is more respectful. Well far be it from me to disrespect Mr. Bento or his little (rapidly growing!) family of bento-babe boxes...

Here's Jan's Mr. Bento of the day:

Chicken salad with red grapes next to baby greens; polenta wedges fried in a little hot chili oil and sprinkled with nanami togarashi; tomato slices with skewers of dill pickle and sweet pickled peppers; and sweet potato bread with a chocolate coin.

My bento is similar:

but with Mr. Honey Tangerine added, for the monkey in me!

It will be a long day beginning with Nietzsche and ending with a budget meeting. Give me strength, bento!!!