Reorganizing of Bento boxes and accessories

In a previous post, I was grumbling about how I was unable to access Biggie's blog and somehow she tracked my problem, tackled it and now I can have 'limited' access!

Not through any fault of Biggie's because I found that I only have limited access depending on which browser I use. If I use FireFox (which is my default) then I cannot view or post any comments. If I open Safari, I get to see everything.

I'm not very IT savvy and I can't understand this, if anyone has a solution, can you please let me know. I know that Biggie has exhausted all avenues and so have I. Nevertheless, ever since I've been able to view Biggie's blog, I've been scavenging her old posts and archives! You can never learn too much from her, the guru of Bento in blogger world!

I particularly liked her post on "Reorganization of lunch gear storage". It's a problem very close home!

I don't know about you, I have an overflow of Bento stuff that's driving me crazy! I have them stuffed into all nooks and corners of my *dry kitchen cabinets. In one of my posts' entitled "Looking for space for my Bento boxes", Lyvvie of Obentobaby made this comment, read here.

Since then, I've been looking for ways to reorganize my Bento gear. This is my third time reorganizing so there really isn't a one time solution to this because 'reorganization' is going to be a continuous process.

My basic requirement for reorganization is to take up as little (dreaming here) space as possible and the fluidity of my movements accessing my Bento gear. I wanted them all in one spot but couldn't completely sacrifice space already allocated for other storage.

Since my last reorganization, I used two shelves with multiple drawers which I could fill with some Bento boxes and some accessories.

See here:
But, I still had left overs stuck in different places and some morning's I'd go crazeeeee looking for a particular item I wanted.


Yesterday I bought two multiple drawer shelves and a handyman's accessory (for nails, screws and small items) nine drawer shelf.

I repacked and reorganized all my Bento gear and this is what I got.

The right side shelves was from my last repacking process. Actually these two shelves were re-cycled from my crafting days where I put huge rolls of ribbons in it. Now the ribbons are all boxed up.

You can see the bottom three shelves contain only Bento boxes. The top three contains paper and silicon cups, egg molds and Onigiri disposable boxes and 'stock' e.g. bento straps, wiener cutters, etc.

In the new shelves on the left, I've packed into them, more Bento boxes.

The handyman's accessory drawer shelf was the best! Top layer contains all the food dividers (baran), small sauce cups and shoyu containers and Onigiri face molds. (Notice I put anti-slip knobs under the shelf).

Second layer has little boxes for soba dips, dried fruits or frozen canned fruits, the middle drawer for various picks and the third drawer for more picks and mini forks.

Finally, the last bottom layer has a mix of face punches and more wiener molds.

This morning when I was packing #2's Bento, all I had to do was pull out the drawers containing the baran and food picks out to use. It was a very organized morning!

This is how I keep the Bento bags and insulated bottle bags, hang it against the fridge.


I recycled this cutlery holder to keep my Bento straps in one place for easy access.

I keep my Japanese recipe books and current reads in this mobile basket which I roll around the house where ever I prop myself for a read with my cup of green tea! Hehehe! Lazy, I know!

I had to push the two fridges all the way to the side wall before I could 'acquire' this spot to 'hide' my mobile library!

See the green clip file with the pen? It's all my homework for each morning's Bento. Scribbles and dribbles, lots of illegible pictures and notes......


Finally, I have lots of space in the one last cabinet shelf which I use to store my cutters, Oshibori boxes, more Onigiri molds, cutlery, zip lock bags, stock, etc, etc.



*dry kitchen - you know, some friends from Taiwan, Hong Kong and some western countries tell me that only in Malaysia do people have two kitchens. One wet kitchen and one dry kitchen.

They tell me that it's 'uniquely' a Malaysian problem! Please, share with me your opinions.

BENTO #107

Pink, Pink, Pink! #2's box has a Salmon paste sandwich with some skewered cucumbers and crabsticks. I tried to skewer the 'stick kind' of cheese but it split so I omitted it.

The right side box has endamame beans, an orange and some Japanese cake. Easy peasy!


Look out for lunch post today.

BENTO #106

This morning's bento was easy. I made preparations last night by boiling the Cha Soba and dipping sauce. All I needed to do this morning was to dish them into the Bento box.

In the left box are twirls of Cha Soba and a box of frozen dipping sauce. In the yellow container, there is sesame seeds to compliment the Cha Soba. The sauce bottle is for the Gyoza.

In the right box, are two pieces of Gyoza and some salad tossed in Parmesan cheese. Simple!

The kids like "Mamee monster" and I bought a pack yesterday. I don't like them dipping their (dirty) fingers into the packet and putting the noodle bits into their mouth. I filled the triangle "formula containers" with crushed "Mamee monster" so that they can dispense shots of it into their mouth without touching with their fingers.

I added a pack of Ice substitute to keep the Cha Soba cool because my kids won't eat it warm! Tsk! Tsk!


To maintain the coolness of the ice substitute, I also used an insulated furoshiki.


Ready to go!

BENTO #105

For today's lunch bento, I grilled a piece of Cod fish, blanched the same vegetables which I used from this morning and wrapped a lettuce to hold them. There was some rice in the same box.

In the front box, was a slice of pizza, some caramelized ginger and leftover braised vegetable roots. This morning, when I logged in to Biggie's site, I was in for a surprise. She announced that she had reached her one millionth hit. To commemorate her one millionth mark, she has created a page for community announcements of packed lunch blog events & contests.

And she mentioned Bento Pet's Bento Competition! Wow! Was I excited! Biggie is like the pioneer and authority in packing Bento in Blogger world and it's really an honour to be mentioned in her site.

While we're on the subject of "Bento Pet's Bento Competition", please send in your entries soon. We have approximately two weeks before the competition ends.

Refer details here:

BENTO #104

Today is #2's first day back to school after 10 days. *swoons and wipes forehead* Last night before she went to bed she reminded me about wanting salad for her Bento. My week long and forgotten salad was rotting and I threw them away this morning.

I put together some carrot sticks, French beans, baby corn, baby tomatoes and some dried cranberries for the left box. There is no dressing, she'll have to experience the taste first hand and for added flavor she can eat them with the dried cranberries - it's a little tangy so it's got an extra kick.

In the right box I packed dates stuffed with almond, some more tomatoes, a tub of Mini Mooh Rupp cheese and some baked crisp bread. I'm learning not to over stuff food into #2's Bento because after last week's experience of having to eat from the Bento's, I realized that it's a lot to have to eat for break time.


If you have time to come back to browse, I'll be packing my lunch bento later for uploading.

Have a great day!!

BENTO #103

#2 has finally *phew, sigh of relief* completed her 3 day stint at KL Convention Center playing a supporting cast in a local musical. She had a long weekend and this morning we attended a funeral. #2 anchored the keyboard for the funeral Mass at church. The grandfather of one of her team mates passed away and she felt strongly about being present to offer him support.

After that, she went back to school for a Choir meeting. I made her lunch bento and took the shot with a stalk of Sunflower from a bouquet that a 'fan' gave her on the 2nd night of the musical performance.

In the left box, I fried some tonkatsu and had some onigiri cylinders topped with black sesame seeds. There was a tub of tonkatsu sauce.

In the right box I had some braised vegetable roots (Gomoku-ni) consisting of burdock (gobo), carrots, daikon (raddish), lotus root, 1 block of konnyaku and shiitake mushrooms. Actually the recipe called for chicken but I chose to give it a miss. I blanched some broccoli and cauliflower in salted water and drizzled some Japanese Kewpie Mayo on it. Pickles is a definite must and I added some shiba zuke and finally to appease her sweet tooth, I put in two nimm2 soft centered citrus sweets.

BENTO #102

Yesterday was an insane day because I had to run un-imaginable number of trips to settle outstanding errands. I'm making up this Bento for yesterday because my next run begins in the afternoon and I need lunch.

Remember? Hubs is still in Aussieland with #1. #2 is downtown @ KLCC for her second day performance and "Miss Picky eater" and I don't share the same menu! So, Bento, I must!

I made a 'sushi sandwich' today. I buttered a slice of bread, put some tomatoes, some salad, asparagus (the last lot) and a squeeze of Sweedish Creme Salmon (from Ikea - looks like toothpaste). I topped a piece of Nori with a slice of cheese and smothered it with Mille wholegrain mustard. Then I rolled it in the plastic cling wrap and sliced it into half.



Today's Bento has some rice topped with black sesame seeds, two pieces of Gyoza, my absolute favorite Gobo Kimpira (last lot *sniff, sniff*) and the balance of some blanched Asparagus spears .

In the front box, I filled the hard triangle plastic container with Natto, the two halved sandwiches and a Hello Kitty hard boiled egg - was trying out my new mold bought on-line from New Stylish Tokyo.


Look at the frozen Natto before it thawed. Mmmm.....DELICIOUS!!


Now, let me tell you how my lunch tasted. I had a bite of the sandwich first. Not a good idea to add the salad. The first bite resulted in drawing out all the salad. It left my sandwich with a hollow in the center. *Note to myself - pack this without salads* The taste was good though except with the little struggle of the salad.

Next, I had a piece of Gyoza, this is a sure win because I've kinda perfected the recipe and it was delicious. The rice was eaten with the natto and Gobo kimpira and was the most satisfying mouth full from the entire meal.

Honestly speaking, I didn't eat the Hello Kitty hard boiled egg. I was too stuffed up and even the 'cuteness' of the egg couldn't tempt me. *Burps!* Excuse me! *Burps again* What a wonderful meal!

I don't know why but I feel so satisfied and happy after I have my Bento. I'm sure that it's not because "I" made it. It's more like the excitement and anticipation of the flavour that I experience with each bite of the 'unexpected?'. This is amazing and addictive.

Looks like it's going to be two Bento's a day from next week onwards! Yippee!!!

Recipe for Miso egg plant

Pan-fried egg plant with Miso - (Nasu No Nabeshigi)

Ingredients:
(A)
6 egg plants - cut into rounds about 1cm
Oil - 3 Tbsp
Sesame oil - 3-4 Tbsp
(B)
Miso - 3 Tbsp
Mirin - 3 Tbsp
Sake - 3 Tbsp
Water - 2 Tbsp
Sugar - 3 Tbsp
(C)
Toasted white sesame seeds - 2 Tbsp

1. Mix (B) together in a bowl until smooth.
2. Pan-fry (A) egg plants in oils till brown on both sides.
3. Pour mixture (B) over the pan-fried egg plants. Cook until the sauce thickens and egg plants are well coated.
4. Serve on a plate topped with (C) toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Recipe for Burdock Kimpira

Burdock Kimpira (Kimpira Gobo)

Recipe:
Ingredients:
(A)
150 g burdock root (gobo)
1 small carrot
(B)
1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame oil
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp sake
2 Tbsp shoyu
(C)
1 1/2 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds
Dried Japanese red chilli (optional)

Method:
1. Scrape burdock root and cut into julienne strips.
Note: The burdock root turns black easily when exposed to air so you need to keep it soaked in water (like what you would do for potatoes).

2. Pour sesame oil onto skillet and saute the (A) burdock together with the julienned carrot for a few minutes until tender but not soft.

3. Mix the (B) liquids and sugar together and pour it into the skillet and continue cooking under medium fire until almost dry.

4. Toss in chopped dried Japanese chilli and top with toasted sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

BENTO #101

I've always thought that green and yellow is an ideal match in terms of color? I tried to theme today's bento in those colors.

In the left box is some plain onigiri rice topped with some ume furikake. In between the rice, I slipped in some takuan. I filled the huge silicon cup with Burdock kimpira.

In the right side box, there was a foil cup filled with asparagus, spring onions, beaten egg, shoyu, mirin and mayonnaise - baked in an oven toaster. For vegetables, I had steamed baby corn. I steamed some Japanese sweet potato for desert.

For more desert, I had dried cranberries which I put into the small "froggie" box.

Now, let me share with you how my lunch tasted. The onigiri cylinders went well with the Burdock kimpira, it was crunchy, flavorful and spicy because there was dried chillies in it.

The baked egg was really good. I think the mayonnaise added to it's flavor and this is definitely going to appear in future bentos because I'm sure #2 is going to like it too. The corn was 'ordinary' but the Japanese sweet potatoes were awesome. So, so sweet, as though dipped in syrup!!

The dried cranberries had a tangy taste to it so again, it was a good finish to a simple meal.

I am going to post up the recipes for yesterday's miso egg plant and today's Burdock kimpira. I think they are delicious and certainly worth trying out.

P/s
I sent this bento post to Coffee & Vanilla for their Wholesome Lunchbox monthly food blogging event.

More reasons to Bento

I was checking my mail this morning when I came across some interesting articles on primary school pupils 'eating healthy meals'. According to the Press Association, research has found that more pupils are 'eating healthy meals' - read here.

However, where primary school pupils numbers are on the increase, the Secondary school students numbers are on the decline. According to the same article "Teenagers are independent young people and changing entrenched eating habits does not happen overnight. They need food education and encouragement from schools to change their eating habits."

And so true it is. Eating habits does not happen overnight, parents like us can vouch for that statement. It is a life long process beginning from an early age. Like what the Chinese saying that goes "You cannot straighten an old bent tree or You cannot teach an old dog new tricks."

The statistics in the article relate to schools in UK where the new Government rules require greater use of fresh ingredients cooked from scratch. The only setback is the escalation of food prices which deters purchasing of quality dinners.

Pupils prefer to 'choose junk food' because it's cheaper and the queues are shorter. Read here. Quote: "Our research found that local takeaways in the school fringe were undercutting the school canteen by offering child-sized portions for £1.

"This meant that for the equivalent price of a school meal, pupils could buy chicken and chips or a whole pizza and still have money left over for a drink or sweets."

In a bid to keep the pupils within the school compound, a UK government minister said this "Children should be forced to stay on school grounds at lunchtime in a bid to stop them eating junk food". Education minister Kevin Brennan insisted the restriction could help tackle obesity and prevent tensions with those who live nearby.

As a parent I find this statement amusing. In a country like UK where there is so much said about freedom of rights and development, they are trying to use 'force' on their citizens?

Hahaha! What a joke. Isn't healthy eating habits, behavioural patterns and accountability part and parcel of our responsibility as parents to our own kids. You don't need to agree with me, this is solely my own opinion. Any moron can see that trying to 'force' anything on any people in any part of the world cannot work!!

Part of the reason my daughters insist on bringing their Bento to school is because of the long queues at the canteen during break time. The local Malaysian school system breaks for 15-20 minutes including the time taken for the kid to walk from the third floor downstairs and another 10-15 meters to the canteen and that again take the same route back to the class within the stipulated time. No wonder, sometimes, my kids either have to wolf down their food and risk a tummy ache from lack of chewing or leave the balance for after school to consume!

One of the reasons that has made me a 'frenzied bento packer' is because in Malaysian school canteens, the most salable foods are nuggets, fries, nasi lemak and junk food.

Read here for more insight about how, quote: "food bought by pupils outside school provided at least 23% of their daily energy requirement and was often high in fat or sugar.

The top 10 foods bought in local shops included fizzy drinks, chocolate, sweets, crisps, cakes, biscuits and chips.

BENTO #100

Today, I made myself some fancy sushi. I simply mixed some sakura denbu into the rice to add some color to compliment the carrot.

I blanched some watercress, spun dry them in a salad spinner and topped them with lots of black and white sesame seeds and rolled them up in a Nori sheet. I learnt this from a Macrobiotic summer camp which I attended years ago in US organized by Michio Kushi.

There was some shiba zuke (pickles) and left over carrot sticks.

In the right side box, was an orange and some miso simmered egg plant.

Since I am the one eating it let me tell you how it tasted. The fancy sushi was quite a bland mouth full but it went very well with the strong flavor of the miso egg plant, in fact it was delicious. I also complimented the fancy sushi with the shiba zuke and it was good.

The Nori rolled watercress is a sure win because it's been my favorite for years. The trick here is, you need to spin it very, very dry and allow to air dry for a while before rolling it up. Don't over cook the watercress or else it'll be mushy, it has to be still crunchy - blanch stalk first and then the leaves.

The carrots obviously tasted like carrots - sweet and crunchy. The orange added a nice tanginess to the end of a delicious bento meal.

I like this and I think I shall embark on making bentos for myself. *nods head in agreement* Yeah! It's a great idea!

BENTO PET'S BENTO COMPETITION

Today, 8th July, is supposed to be my 100th Bento post. Incidentally, 29th July 2008 commemorates my blog’s first anniversary. I’ve been cracking my grey cells in hope to find some interesting topic to commemorate this milestone in my life.

Unfortunately too many things are happening at one time and I’ve been hit by all life’s challenges all at once!

• Hubs and #1 leaves for Australia in a couple of hours to participate in the World Youth Day celebrations from 15th – 20th July in Sydney.

• #2 has incessant rehearsals at ungodly hours for the upcoming musical which debuts on 11th July and runs till 13th July.
  

• The Mega sale has just started and things are being sold at ridiculous prices.

• My blog has reached it’s 100th Bento post and is one year old on the 29th of July 2008!

Admittedly, all this is good, so I’m going to CELEBRATE to COMMEMORATE this wonderful occasion with a Bento competition. I know it’s not anything new, Bento competitions are quite rampant in Bento blogs but I’m doing this because I want to encourage and provide some incentive to Bento enthusiasts.

I notice that many people start to Bento and after a period of time, the passion dies off. This includes me, especially when life's' challenges become too difficult to handle and when we become busy elsewhere and we tend to take leave from Bento.

To get back into the Bento-action is almost impossible sometimes. I've gone through that roller coaster and it almost cost me the closure of this blog. *shivers at the thought*.

After sending Hubs and #1 off, I sent #2 to KLCC for her rehearsal. I shopped for a while and managed to get some stuff for the Winners Prize haul that I am putting up for the Bento competition. I also picked up some things from the 100 Yen store and I hope it's good enough to lure you Bento enthusiasts to submit a Bento for Bento Pet's Bento Competition.

The reason I am having this Bento competition is basically an incentive for people who are currently packing Bento. Please don't hate me. I am setting some criteria because I enjoy visiting Bento sites that are regularly updated and it inspires me that some people are so passionate about Bento-ing.

I've seen submissions for Bento competitions come in from first timers and even Bentos that don't really qualify as Bento - a sandwich and a fruit doesn't constitute a Bento (my personal opinion).

I feel disappointed that the regular Bento packers are not recognized because theirs was not a kyaraben (character) Bento. Don't get me wrong, I love kyaraben bentos. I am awed by what all the Japanese super mums are churning out for their kids. It's an ART form of it's kind flowed only from the love of these selfless mums.

But what about all the other 'regular people' who pack 'regular bentos'. I see them posting up on their blogs day after day, week after week and months after months. I'm inspired by their effort and their own creativeness. I feel their passion in updating their blogs with their Bentos - also made with care and much love. I want this competition to be for people like "us" - regular people packing regular bentos. I hope you understand.

Often we (yeah! I feel so too) get excited when someone drops a comment and it inspires us to keep going. When there is silence, we continue to plod on until the next challenge comes along to break our spirit or to inspire us to continue. I'm sure many of us Bento packers feel this way.

So, all said and done, I hope you don't get angry with my comments, which are solely my opinions and not meant to insult anyone.

The criteria for Bento Pet's Bento Competition will be:

• You must be currently packing bentos.
• You currently own a blog, please provide your blog link.
• Your blog must have at least blogged about ten bentos made by you.
• You may make a new bento for this competition or send in an old picture of Bento made by you. You may add some kawaii accessories, e.g. food picks, sauce bottles etc.
  
• This competition does not accept Kyaraben bentos (THOUSAND APOLOGIES). You can however have shaped onigiri or other food stuff using cutters or shapers.
  
• Describe your bento components. It does not necessarily have to follow the 3:2:1 formula but require some variety.
• Please provide your name and which country you are from.
• Entry deadline will be the date of my blog's first anniversary. i.e. 29th July 2008.
• (edit) Please e-mail to: japanesehomestylecooking@gmail.com
• (edit) Please link back to this post: http://onabentofrenzy.blogspot.com/2008/07/bento-pets-bento-competition.html
  
• (edit) If possible please include this icon
  

• (edit) More than one entry accepted but only the best, if selected will be posted.
  

I know that by putting up this post, I'm opening myself to much criticism. I plead for your understanding and ask of you to support my quest to promote and affirm 'us', the regular Bento packers.

So, for the rest of 'us' please send in your bento's ASAP (as soon as possible) to win this:

One packet of kawaii bag clips.
One pink Hello Kitty bag.
One pack of 4 pieces Hello Kitty color pencils.
One white 2 tier Bento box - 500ml capacity.
One Tulip wiener cutter.
One scoring wiener cutter.
Two face punches.


One insulated Winnie the Pooh bag (yellow).
One Rainbow Pooh Bento Box with divider (yellow) - 440ml capacity.
One Rainbow Pooh fruit box (yellow)- 200ml capacity.
One two tier Lube Sheep Bento box (blue) - 610ml capacity.
One packet of Japanese sweets.
One packet of dried Fu.

A close up look at the face punches.

One more close up shot.

All these items will go to the first prize winner of the Bento Pet Bento Competition. I will ship to the winner in any part of the world.


p/s
Sorry no Bento today. No more energy after shopping for this Winners prize haul!

BENTO #99

My #2 has rehearsals at ungodly hours for a musical which she's involved with. The musical begins this Friday (11th) and runs up to Sunday (13th).

Only yesterday I realized that I had signed a letter addressed to her school headmistress to excuse her for ONE WHOLE WEEK! Oops! I didn't read what I signed, but...even if I had read it, I wouldn't have a choice because there's no other option. *sigh*

So people, no Bento for one week!! Aiyah! Cannot lah! *thinks of what to do*.


I'll just have to eat the Bento myself. Yeah! I'll treat myself to my Bentos! How about that? I think it's a great idea. Hehehe!

I didn't have to rush to make my Bento so I took my time and tried to make some 'designer' sausages. The first one on the left is supposed to be a bird. Next to it are little lambs "baaa baaa baaa!" There is Mr. Octopus with a hat and the last one is supposed to be a rabbit? I had fun cutting them into shape and it was easy!



I lined the box with carrot flowers, packed some cucumbers and squeezed in a cup of corn kernels topped with cheddar cheese. Actually, I cut the corn kernels off the cob because the fibers from the cob sometimes get between the teeth and can be quite irritating.

I fried some asparagus spears wrapped with bacon and the balance left over strawberries dipped in delicious chocolate. I cut up the left over carrot bits to create a 'fountain' effect in the cup of asparagus spears to rid the dull brown colors.

After taking the photos, I sat down to eat and found that it was really 'too much food' like what #2 is always telling me. Seriously, while posting this, I am still struggling to finish my strawberries and corn. I am so FULL!!

This Bento box is certainly too big and the wrong size! It's capacity is 580ml and according to this, I should be using a 700ml box. No way! I'm sure #2 won't even have enough time during recess to eat this. Well, this is a good experience for me because if I didn't have to eat from this Bento, I would always be worried that my kids don't have enough to eat. Another day, another lesson!

By the way, the strawberries dipped in chocolate was divine!!

BENTO #98

Hmmmm.....I wonder how #2 will react when she sees Salmon in her salad. I'm guessing that she'll be happy because it is, after all her favorite fish!

She couldn't finish yesterday's Bento. It was too much, she said. Part of the orange and some croutons were left over. I need to remember that she's a small eater and that I shouldn't try to 'sneak' more food than necessary into her Bentos!

I used the same mixed salad that I bought on Wednesday. In it has a mixture of Baby Romaine & Lollo Rossa/Red Leaf. I bought the mixed pack because it's more economical than buying individual packs and not being able to finish before it all wilts away.

This morning I tossed the mixed salad with corn, freshly fried Salmon, plump cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese and extra virgin olive oil. This is a delicious end to the week!!

In the other box, I sliced oranges and golden kiwi and placed them in a silicon cup. The monkey container is the teeniest-weeniest tub of Japanese Kewpie Mayo ever!! Next to it is the ever-favorite banana sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

Bon Appetit!