042 - Rice to Riches

On my last trip back to NYC to visit family, a bunch of us had dinner at my parents then headed out to grab some dessert. I tried Pinkberry for the first time. It was good, but it wasn't anything TOO crazy or out-of-this-world. A couple others grabbed some sweets from Rice to Riches. That was good, but I can't get over the texture. =\ I did, however, fall in love with the containers! As soon as I saw them, I knew they'd be perfect for packing bentos! I know it is "ghetto" to reuse these containers, but I couldn't bring myself to let them be thrown out. Plus, we should recycle as much as we can! I doubt that these containers are microwaveable, so only cold/cool foods can be packed in them. I had some leftover dumplings and fish balls (from the noodle soup lunch I made) and shrimp cocktail. It is not by any means a very healthy lunch, but delish!

041 - Reds

We had recently moved our offices and I am still adjusting to waking up earlier. My drive used to be 4 minutes... now, it's 20 minutes at least! The earlier wake-up is making me tired earlier, thus making me less inspired to make anything crazy for dinner and pack a cool looking lunch. I still try to stick to bringing lunch to: 1. save money and 2. eat healthier (vs. fast food and such). My go-to recipe when I feel lazy is pasta, specifically linguini with homemade spaghetti sauce. =) Here she is, all packed for lunch with a side of organic baby carrots.

040 - Yes Chef!

I have been hooked on watching Hell's Kitchen! If you haven't watched it before, it is pretty vulgar but very entertaining. No, I do not get joy from watching these people get ripped to pieces (... well, maybe some) but watching the tasks they have to do just make me want to try! Tonight was bf's turn to make dinner, which means I'm his sous chef. I prep/chop all the ingredients into individual bowls, put all the necessary pots/pans onto the stove top and take out all the necessary cooking utensils. As he works through each ingredient, I put it into the dishwasher... and he thinks its funny that I say "Yes, Chef!" every time he asks for something. Ok, I do play along but it makes it more fun that way. Here's his famous meat sauce over linguini. The broccoli was steamed, last minute, in the microwave since I need veggies for dinner. I use a generic seasoning for all my steamed veggies: salt, pepper, garlic powder, and spritz of olive oil. Yum!
They say practice makes perfect, and so did my cake instructor! I baked a batch of white-cake cupcakes and made some plain-o vanilla frosting (from scratch!), then practiced my star tip piping. These are going to work with my bf since my co-workers already polished off a cake two days ago.

Cake

No bento today! I had my second cake class tonight and we finally got to decorate a cake! Our homework was to bring a cake, torted/filled/frosted so it is ready to decorate. I am smacking myself on my forehead cause I forgot to take progress pictures. My cake is a coconut dark chocolate cake with a light cherry rum filling and citrus enhanced frosting... yea, see why I should have taken those pictures? The filling looked SO good before I placed the second cake layer on. The next step was frosting the cake and... I got crumbs in my frosting. After I torted my cake (split one 4 inch high cake into two layers), piped a frosting dam and spread the filling, I forgot to invert the second layer so the "bottom" of the cake is on top. In other words, my cut side was up when the baked-bottom side should be up. The cake was so moist (and delish!) that my frosting picked up some crumbs. The result is a really nice, smooth frosting job that resembles cookies-n-cream. I am SO happy with how lump-free my frosting job was, but the crumbs just killed it. Plus, I need to make a mental note that it takes a lot more frosting than I think. Oh well... here she is! I had a hard time thinking of a design until it dawned on me that tomorrow is the dreaded April 15 tax deadline date!!! My co-workers should get a kick out of this tomorrow morning.


We are learning how to pipe designs using different tips and filling in designs with stars. Excuse the specks of cake in my frosting... at least you know its chocolate cake! Before today, I never realized how hard it is to pipe designs... my right hand is a bit sore from practicing for an hour, then decorating the cake. What do you think? I know it's not a ooh-ahh design, but you gotta start somewhere right? Here's a close up of the stars...



Next week, we'll be decorating cupcakes and learning to pipe a bunch of other designs. Stay tuned!

039 - the other white meat

I have been dealing with a stinkin' sore throat and as of this past Friday, I lost my voice too. =\ Besides reaching for Halls every hour, I haven't been up to too much. I attended my first cake decorating class last Monday and this week, we will be decorating our first cakes! Pictures to come... but first, here's my lunch for tomorrow. It's not very pretty, but it is delish!

chinese broccoli tips, jasmine rice,
pork sauteed with chives and mushrooms

038 - Comfort food

There's no place like home, especially when it comes to food. I woke up Sunday with a scratch in my throat and it is now a full blown sore throat. As soon as I got home after work, the only thing I can think of is a big bowl of congee. *smiles* That, along with some noodles, was dinner tonight. It's also lunch for tomorrow. I don't have any pretty containers to store the congee, so here are pictures from dinner.

my mom bought me this bowl for homemade soups (she sends me back

to Rochester with batches at a time).

It tastes as good as it looks! Green onion helps spruce it up and give it a "fresh" taste.

I cheated and made this with spaghetti since I ran out of hong-kong

style egg noodles. It came out really good and resembles the Silver Noodle

dish you can get at dimsum. =)

037 - Chick on the fly

The bf's eye is finally healing and he can see clearer each day. It has been almost two weeks since the surgery, and he should be close to 80% in another two weeks. In the meantime, I have been playing nurse/housekeeper/chef/lawn doctor/gf... *whew* With all the beautiful weather, we've been golf junkies at the local course. Good thing that we can always count on whole rotisserie chicken! I had mine over spring mix salad with some organic carrot sticks for dinner (bf had it over rice). Bento? An instant replay with jasmine rice.

I have been slacking with my posts mainly because I have just been throwing leftovers into random tupperware. It was not arranged nicely and too embarrassing to post. =\

a rotisserie chicken leg and some breast; jasmine rice with
furikake; organic carrot sticks, D'Anjou pear

30 to 36 - Playing Catch-up

I am alive! *whew* It has been a crazy two weeks here in the House of Tsang... haha, get it? (It's a brand of sauce... and my name...) I am seven bento posts behind and feel so guilty for not posting even though I have been browsing other fellow bento-ees. Before I start the massive food post, below is part of the reason I have been MIA (besides my long weekend trip to NYC last week)...

The boyfriend woke up on Monday morning with spots in is eye and by nighttime is missing half his vision in his right eye. By the time he made the appointment for Tuesday morning, he had lost about two-thirds of his vision from the top down. Scary! The doctor determined his retina somehow detached and he had emergency surgery to re-attach it. I know this is not necessarily food talk, but I have been taking care of him (in his patched state, see pic) and am quite exhausted. His vision is coming back slowly, but it'll still take some time to heal completely.

And without further delay, here are my bento's!

I forgot where I found this recipe, but it is labeled "Grandma's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup" and is the best soup ever! The recipe will be posted on another day as this post is probably longer than an average person's attention span... =\

#30 left: homemade chicken noodle soup
right: organic carrot sticks, cantelope

#31 beef & mushroom melt (to be sandwiched between a
whole wheat english muffin), grape tomatoes, cantelope

Chicken Marsala is one of my bf's comfort foods, so that is what he got on a rainy dreary Rochester day. There is something about mushrooms sauteed in butter that just makes me drool. <=D

#32 bottom tier: chicken marsala with linguini
top tier: organic carrot sticks, dried wild blueberries, garlic/herb swiss, grape tomatoes

#33 sauteed chicken and potatoes with arugala, organic carrot sticks

I got dragged out to shop on a Monday after work to hunt for suits at S&K's crazy two-for-one sale. After traveling to two malls and trying on about 7 suits (the bf, not I), we bought a nice any occasion black suit and a gray pin-striped suit. He looked good.. *wink*. =) It was late, so I convinced him to eat at Biaggi's (an italian style restaurant). We started with Mussels Pomodoro, as always, and lapped up every last bit of the white-wine butter sauce with bread. Just thinking about the sauce is making my mouth water! After polishing that and the bread basket off (we were hungry!), we barely touched our dinners. Got to love leftovers *smiles*

#34 baked penne with prosciutto and shrimp, organic carrot sticks, cucumbers

#35 fruit bento, courtesy of a get-well "Edible" fruit blossom arrangements. They arrange
fruit like a flower bouquet and it was such a nice surprise! Here is the bouquet:
*big cheesy grin*

#36 pineapple fried rice (w/ shrimp and pork), shanghai bok choy sauteed with garlic

M I A

Sorry for the lack of posts, i have been really busy and just have not had time to log on. I have, however, been packing bentos and taking pictures so those will be posted shortly. =)

029 - Leg Wednesdays

Wednesdays... the famous leg Wednesdays at Buffalo Wild Wings. I was pretty exhausted from work today, so I gave in to the bf's request to order an insane amount of drumsticks. The picture might not do it justice, but this is a monstrous and smothered in honey bbq goodness (that's what I ordered... he prefers the hot buffalo style and mango habanero). The fried rice was inspired by this small korean restaurant at SUNY Buffalo's campus (bf attended UB). I added shrimp and spam to spazz it up, but the typical seasoning includes: salt, black pepper, white pepper, broth, sriricha thai chili paste, garlic, onion, and kimchi. *drools*

steamed green beans, honey bbq drumstick, kimchi fried rice

27 & 28 - snow, snow, melt away...

*yawn* Moving the clocks ahead one hour last night has completely thrown my schedule off today. I woke up later than normal because of the lost hour, and I feel tired already even though it isn't that late! It is probably just all in my head, but I'm sticking to my story... for now. We went to watch 10,000BC today and it was one of the better movies that I've watched recently. Without giving any spoilers, I have to say that parts of the movie are neither geographically or historically correct BUT there is not a dull moment in the movie.

The first picture below was actually Friday's bento that I forgot to post on Thursday night. Most of the contents were just in the fridge, so they were neatly arranged as my snack/veggie tier. The cole slaw is the second last bit of my batch earlier in the week (made with a bit of wasabi mayo, salt, black pepper, white pepper, lime juice). One of my coworkers commented that the pastrami wrap looked like sushi from the way it was displayed. haha... it does, doesn't it? It must be subliminal, but I craved sushi after work and we went out for dinner to cure my craving. YUM!

top tier: seedless red grapes, organic carrot sticks, happy cow swiss, dried wild blueberries bottom tier: cole slaw, pastrami & swiss cheese wrap (1/2 spinach tortilla wrap)

This is my bento for tomorrow! I made tuna salad on Saturday with: 1 can chunk light tuna in water (drained), celery, carrot, wasabi mayo, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder. I think I am addicted to the wasabi mayo... that little kick is just so good! Ended up using only half for my lunch wrap on Saturday, so here is the other half for lunch. I will be spreading it on the 1/2 tortilla wrap with some swiss cheese slices on top, then throwing it in the toaster oven for a minute to melt the cheese and toast the wrap just slightly. Oh, my company has a break room that has both a microwave and toaster oven that comes in mighty handy! I tried this on Saturday and it was so good. It's a nice alternative to the typical cold wrap, especially on these cold days. By the way, we got hit with a foot of snow yesterday. I opened the garage door this morning to find 1.5 feet of snow banked against the door! =O The bf shoveled while I made dinner... he's so good.

clockwise: 1/2 spinach tortilla wrap (in saran wrap), cucumbers, tuna salad,
red bell pepper, dried wild blueberries, granny smith apple, swiss cheese

026 - getting creative with my beta-carotene

As I was peeling the carrot, my lightbulb went off as I looked at the peeler. Instead of the same old boring carrot sticks, I peeled thin carrot strips and rolled several to create my spirals. To secure them and keep from unraveling, I put a single wooden toothpick through the three carrot twists. The corn chowder is not the traditional type of chowder recipe. I sauteed some onion and minced garlic, threw in one can of sweet whole kernel corn, one can of creamed corn, and a half can of water. When the mix came to a boil, I added salt, black pepper, white pepper and stirred in two beaten eggs. Simple soup/chowder that is full of nutritional value. =)

Oh! Before I forgot (sorry yvo), here's a link to the grocery totes on Amazon. They look a LOT nicer than the pictures show, and the plastic bottom insert helps keep the bag from sagging when full. I used it for the first time this past Monday and loved it!!!

http://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Grocery-Assorted-Colors-Printed/dp/B000XSEZFU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=miscellaneous&qid=1204737098&sr=8-1

top tier: seedless red grapes, green bell pepper, organic carrot spirals
bottom tier: chicken, carrot and bell pepper fried rice
side box: corn chowder

025 - chop suey style

This is the what-do-you-have-left-in-your-fridge lunch. Surprisingly, it ended up tasting a lot like "young chow fried rice" and was delicious! I need to think really hard to remember what seasoning/sauce I added to the mix cause I will probably crave it again in the near future. Oh, not shown in the picture is a side of steamed cauliflower because it looked a little blah with the lack of color.

lunch box: shrimp fried rice

024 - my bf can cook!

Yikes, i am so behind with my postings! Last week was a mix of frustration at work and excitement for my short weekend trip. I had these pictures of bento lunches on my camera, but no time or patience to post them. My trip to Virginia was short but definitely sweet. It was planned nearly two months ago to rendez-vous with my best friend from college (a.k.a. drinking buddy). We hadn't seen each other since our trip to Ireland almost two years ago! There was a lot of catching up, a lot of eating, a lot of drinking, and a lot of laughing. It's quite funny because no matter how long it has been since we've seen each other, it seems like just yesterday and there is zero awkwardness. I love our relationship! =) Saturday night was spent at an Irish pub (we are trying to relive our trip) for dinner and a looooong night consisting of Guinness (the best beer ever)in all possible combinations. Guinness straight up... baby Guinness (Bailey's floated on Khalua shot)... Irish car bombs (Bailey's shot dropped in Guinness)... <=) I don't do this often, honest! Now... back to reality... This was yesterday's lunch, which was made by my truly! He had made a huge batch of his famous homemade meatsauce to last through the weekend. I absolutely LOVE his sauce, more so than my own. Yum-mo!

lunch box: penne with homemade meatsauce
side box: cole slaw with wasabi mayo

by the way, my valentines day rose lasted until yesterday!!! this is it on its last leg...

23 - cleaning out the fridge

Well, it's a good thing I made a decent sized batch of baked penne last night! Had a late meeting tonight, so I didn't make dinner. The bf made some chicken and rotini pasta dish for himself, but I will leave that for him for dinner tomorrow night (my bowling league night). I had a wee bit of baked penne left from last night, so it just took some veggie fillers to finish off tomorrow's lunch bento. =) Our weekly lunch meeting has been cancelled until we move into our new office in about one month, so I will most likely have bento's every day unless I have a lunch date with the girls. This lunch is the last of my rasberries... it's ok, they weren't really in season. The only time I had out-of-this-world rasberries was when I picked them myself! There's an apple/berry farm about 25 minutes from my home that we went to last year. It took me about 2 hours to pick two pints worth (I was very picky!... might also be the pick two, eat one that slowed me down...), but they were SO GOOD! I have to remember to go again this coming season.

By the way... I got my reusable grocery shopping totes!!! The pictures on Amazon does not do them justice... they look so much better in person! Super excited to use them on my next grocery restock, which probably will not be until Sunday since I am going away this weekend. Two more days until I'm in Virginia visiting my college girlfriend/drunken partner! =D Oh oh, can't wait. *smiles*

top tier: plain cole slaw mix, organic carrot sticks
bottom tier: more leftover baked penne, steamed broccoli
snack box: rasberries, seedless red grapes, thai peanut sauce (for cole slaw & carrots)

22 - Breaking habits

Do you sometimes find that you fall into a food rut? I don't mean bad food by any means, but I mean when you keep falling back on the "safety" foods. It wasn't obvious until I realized I couldn't stop craving things left and right. Ack! In an attempt to "freshen" things up a bit, our goal this week is to think outside the box. A quick inventory of the fridge found some sweet italian sausage, hot italian sausage, bell peppers, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. The light bulb goes off... baked penne! I sauteed the sausage, peppers, and sliced baby bella mushrooms with some white wine, cilantro, sundried tomatoes and a bit of tomato sauce. This was tossed with cooked penne, layered with some shredded cheddar and baked until cheese melted. Yumm! The only thing I would change next time is eliminate the sundried tomato and use less hot sausage. =)

sausage, pepper and mushroom baked penne, plain cole slaw, thai peanut sauce

snack: rasberries and seedless red grapes

organic carrot sticks (not shown)

21 - primavera

The work week started off slow due to server technical difficulties. We are moving to a new office in about a month and everything is getting moved to a new server... but things didn't go all too smooth with the transition. During our downtime today, my food-lover side came out and I was inspired to try a new recipe. First thing that came to mind was... SEAFOOD! The bf is a true asian... meat and rice, that is all he asks for. But I was drooling over something other than chicken or beef... shrimp it is! I went to the market after work to pick up some fresh shrimp and other groceries for the week.

Oh oh, before I forgot this... I can't wait until the end of this week! I ordered a set of five reusable grocery shopping totes from Amazon. They come in five different colors, plus a thermal hot/cold tote as a free gift!!! I felt kind of guilty for not buying them sooner, so I tried to buy only the absolute necessities until they come in. =D

For dinner/lunch, I know I had some coconut milk and broccoli at home. Do I smell primavera? *smiles* A little bit of onion, carrots, broccoli, shrimp, and coconut milk with a hint of lime over fresh spaghetti. I didn't follow a recipe, but I kind of wish I did. The outcome was good, but I wish I had a recipe nearby just for reference on spices and such. I need to remember that for next time.

I leave you with a pic of the world's cutest kittens...

Nimmie & Nikkie
darn that flash! pardon the scary glowing eyes, they are very cute!

lunch: shrimp primavera with coconut lime sauce
snack: organic carrot sticks, rasberries

20 - California Rollin'

Cheers to a full week back at work! I had a bunch of my coworkers over at my house on Saturday for a poker tournament. Yes, you heard right. There has been a "trophy" and prized "green jacket" that gets circulated to the new poker champion for several years, and we take turns hosting the party. It was my first time hosting at our house (we moved in almost two years ago... two years on 3/10!), so an assortment of finger foods was prepared! I need sure to include all those recipes in my Thursday recipe post this week. All the foods were a huge hit and barely anything was left at the end of the night. I made a few california rolls, but had leftover ingredients so... I made two rolls tonight to bring for lunch tomorrow! Happy Monday all!

california roll (imitation crab, avocado, flying fish roe) and wasabi in red silicone cup

18 & 19 - tis the season

Last weekend thru the first part of last week was a complete blur. I think it was the flu bug going around, but I was in bed with a 102 fever for 3-4 days. The lunches below were packed for Tuesday and Wednesday, both which I ended up calling in sick because I was so dizzy from all the heat and dehydration. Ok, enough about something completely not related bento... here they are! I wish I had a more exciting reason for the lack of posts, like I was whisked away to a romantic getaway to Paris but... nupe... just the flu. BLAH!

I am hoping this week will be a more promising week for lunches! I need to stock up on more chinese veggies for this week. They are almost my staple everyday. I usually just saute it with a bit of olive oil, minced garlic and salt.. that's it! Simple and delicious. hong-kong style egg noodles with chicken and bell peppers; sauteed chinese broccoli

mini apple and mandarin orange

top tier: fried rice with mushrooms and chicken
bottom tier: spring mix salad, laughing cow swiss, grape tomato, bell peppers and rotisserie chicken
l&l snack box: sliced kiwi

17 - leftover love

My bf and I have been dating for a very long time, but he still tries to out-do himself every year. <=) I used to always want to go someplace fancy for dinner, roses delivered to work, and all the other typical gush. But after so many years, doing that over and over gets old and takes the romance out of it. Instead, he made us dinner (ny strips!!!) and we enjoyed it by the fireplace. so romantic!... and warm!!! Like a candlelit dinner, but better! It gets better... guess what I got as a gift?!?! ok ok, it's not an easy guess... it's a season pass for the local golf course!!! OMG OMG! I got into golf two years ago and am completely hooked. The passes allow for unlimited play until October. How awesome is that?! See... no more typical gifts... a gift from the heart of something I love. It was a total surprise! Ok... enough exclamation marks... onto my lunch....

The steaks were just huge and neither of us finished. I cut the steak into smaller pieces, sauteed a bit more to get rid of pink on the outside (I like my steak medium-rare... drool) to go with a warm spinach salad. It will be very hard to wait until lunch time tomorrow!

top tier: spinach salad with grape tomatoes and red pepper feta

bottom tier: new york strip steak

17 - My second love...

I could have melted the chocolate chips and made chocolate covered strawberries for an extra "oomph" effect but.... this was a lot easier! =D Pop a few chocolate chips in, then bite into the strawberry. That is almost the same, isn't it? Chocolate is my go to when I'm feeling crappy... not that I feel crappy about anything, just still in a bit of pain.. and strawberries? That's just the cherry on the sundae.... haha... get it? Ok... the corniness will stop.

Happy Valentine's Day!

organic strawberries and dark chocolate chips

#15 - Jambalaya Madness

I am in a lot of pain in what is suspected to be either an ear infection or a combination jaw & ear infection. why suspected? Because my doctor sucks, and is not available to see me until thursday... 5 days after the pain started! I am looking to switch doctors... but until then, I am going to go back to ice-packing the left side of my face. Sorry... =\ I am so grumpy now...

top tier: bean sprouts, applesauce w/ sprinkle of cinnamon, steamed broccoli
bottom tier: jambalaya with chicken breast

#14 - Steamed goodness

I'm using my new lock&lock bento box!!! It came as part of a 3-piece set of 100ml round, 180ml rectangular, and 600ml square (two shown here). I tested out the leak-proofness last week with soup, and it passed with flying colors. The two-tier bento has made enough appearances on this blog, so it was time to let l&l shine!

To be honest, I had absolutely nothing to pack for my bento except the bit of leftover stir fry noodles shown... or so I thought! Desperate to pack a healthy lunch (or attempt to... noodles is fairly heavy), I am so happy with the results of a well-stocked vegetable drawer and pantry items. The applesauce is organic, made with a hint of cinnamon... it's really good! The broccoli was thrown in the microwave with a splash of water, some minced garlic, salt and pepper. Bean sprouts were steamed in microwave, tossed with sesame oil, salt, pepper and a bit of soy. Yum!

bento clockwise: steamed broccoli, cinnamon apple sauce, beef & wide noodle stir fry, bean sprouts
snack box: happy cow swiss & water crackers

#13 - ugh

Here's to another beginning to the work week! This past week has not been my best. The first part of last week was spend battling the stomach bug, and the second part to an ear infection. Won-der-ful! Hopefully, the ear infection will go away in another couple of days... until then, here's to ringing ears and dull pain.

top tier: sauteed greens with garlic, bean sprouts, pork chop & green peppers with garlic bean sauce
bottom tier: chow mein with shitake & pork strips (red vinegar in bottle)
l&l snack box: happy cow swiss & water crackers

Curry Veggies

Ok guys n' gals... here is my first recipe post! Oddly enough, I rarely follow a recipe when making dinner. It depends on what we have in stock in the house. Carrots? Sure! Baby bella mushrooms? Sounds good! So... yea, you get the gist of it. I try to stay on the safe side by using a pretty set collection of spices and sauces so that the bf doesn't give me odd looks when he takes a bite into dinner. If I strike gold (i.e. we both inhale our dinner), the recipe gets archived... in my head. On my wishlist now is a blank recipe kit (blank book, box w/ index cards and dividers, etc.) so I can file all these recipes away. Soon!
Anyhow, onwards to the recipes! (Yvo - the garlic chicken was really good!... but, it was from a restaurant. I will have to experiment to try and replicate it...)

Curry Veggies (chicken optional)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tbsp. jarred minced garlic)
1 cup raw chicken, diced (breast or thigh)
1 tspn cooking wine (I prefer ShaoXing brand... it's dark and sweet)
1 cup frozen sliced carrots, defrosted
1 cup frozen peas, defrosted
2 potatoes, diced
1 1/2 tbps indian curry powder (bright yellow/golden. it's spicy)
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)
salt
white pepper
sugar

Marinade chicken cubes with cooking wine, salt, pepper, and sugar for about 10 minutes. The cooking wine will help tenderize the chicken pieces.
Place large skillet with oil (I prefer olive) over medium-high heat until oil starts to smoke.
Add onion and garlic while stiring constantly. Don't burn the garlic! Season with salt and pepper.
Add chicken cubes and toss with onion/garlic mixture until outside of chicken is cooked.
Add veggies and potatoes, sprinkle curry powder and sautee until curry turns golden brown and slightly crispy (this cooks the powder and releases more flavor... but beware, the smell is fairly strong).
Pour in half of the chicken stock to de-glaze the pan (be careful of steam!). Make sure to scrape those yummy bits off the bottom... yum.
Add remaining stock and bring to a boil; then cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Serve hot with some rice or baguette!

Indian curry is a lot stronger in smell than japanese curry sauces, but I've found that the reed diffusers do a pretty decent job at combatting the smell. By the next morning, your house should smell normal again. =)
Since I have lunch meetings every Thursday, which means no bento, I will try to make that my recipe post day! Pictures will also try to make its way to these posts. Stay tune for more...

#12 - crock pots rock

sorry for the short post... my brain is fried from work. but i'm planning a recipe post this weekend on some of my bento components (coming soon yvo!)

top tier: yellow bell pepper, happy cow swiss, red pepper feta, grapes, turnip cake

bottom tier: beef stew with carrots and celery, jasmine rice, furikake heart & yellow bell pepper

#11 - rainbow bright

All the different colors in tomorrow's lunch bento makes me so happy! I didn't want to overload on "whites", but the turnip cake only last a couple of days... and I was really craving a wasabi tuna onigiri. After last weeks mistake of forgetting the soy sauce, I made sure it was the first thing I put out. Yum!

top tier: tuna onigiri, raw yellow bell pepper, garlic chicken
bottom tier: curried veggies, sauteed baby bok choy, turnip cake, grape tomato halved

Bento #10 - new years feast!

I had a lunch date with a gf on Friday and made a long weekend trip to NYC this weekend for the upcoming CNY celebrations, but bentos are back for a short work week! CNY is this Thursday and do you know what that means? FOOD!!! *drools* I went home to have the annual family reunion dinner, but this year was a bit different. Instead of mom & dad spending all-day in the kitchen, we had dinner at a restaurant instead. The food was great, but there was sooooooooo much. My family knows that I am deprived of chinese food in Rochester, so I had the honors of bringing a lot with me! My bentos will be so happy this week. =)

Along with dinner leftovers, you are probably wondering what are those white cakes. They are turnip cakes that have little bits of dried shrimp and chinese sausage... yum! Dad makes them the best.

top tier: sauteed broccoli, turnip cake, oyster sauce in bottle

bottom tier: soy-glazed chicken breast, one small spare rib, two slices of steak, soy in fishie bottle

dessert dish: kiwi and mandarin orange slices

I forgot to mention... it's the debut of my lock&lock set! The round container is just one piece of a three-piece set. I was skeptical about the "leak-proof" claim, but put it to the test last week. I poured leftover soup into the round container shown (180ml) and not a drop leaked! L&L rocks.

Bento #9 - Snack

I usually don't pack lunch on Thursdays since my company does lunch presentations. They buy either subs or pizza... yea, not too exciting at all. In order to spice it up a bit (and not eat so much pizza), I will probably snack on this first before the presentation.

I bought baguette that was already pre-sliced, which is a total timesaver! Plus, it ensures even thickness. The baguettes are toasted with a garlic butter mixture (I Can't Believe It's Not Butter - Mediterranean Style, salt, pepper, oregano, garlic and onion powder)... YUM! Ok, talking about it just makes me want it now... but no no no, I just finished dinner! haha...

kiwi, baby carrots, toasted baguette, roasted red pepper hummus, and cherry tomatoes

Bento #8 - greens galore

It was a long and frustrating day at work, so my brain is sort of fried. Thus... not much to say. I am still excited for lunch tomorrow though! It seems like a lot of food, but the top container is all just salad... plus, underneath the pork chop is more veggies. Is this cheating? It's all homemade... =\

top tier: spring mix salad, grape tomatoes, rasberry vinagrette (not shown)
bottom tier: carrots, soy glazed pork chop w/ baby bellas, chinese broccoli (under chops)

Bento #7 - wasa... bi?!

It has been a long search, but I finally found sushi rice at a local asian market. So of course, I had to make some real onigiri with my mold! I read on a fellow bento blog about tuna onigiri made with wasabi mayo, and just the sound of it made my mouth water. *drools* i had the ingredients and i added finely chopped celery for a bit of crunch... whoala! From 1 1/2 cups of rice, I was able to make six onigiri but only fit five in the quart size freezer bag so.... I ate the lone one as part of dinner tonight! The wasabi gives it just the right kick and is oh-so appetizing. The turkey wrap was made with a pesto wrap, but looks kind of dull next to the turkey and onigiri. Maybe I will go with the sundried tomato wrap next time for a bit more contrast. Btw, did you notice the flower and butterfly shaped baguette? *smiles*

top tier: turkey wrap with feta, hummus and spring mix; tuna onigiri
bottom tier: baguette, laughing cow swiss, grapes & grape tomatoes

Bento #6 - say cheese!

is it me or do the weekends always seems too short? i usually try to keep on my feet on the weekends by tidying up the house and running errands, and making at least one gym run. this week is week 2 back on my gym routine, and i typically go three times in the morning at 5:30 before work and once on saturday. that was my routine before i stopped right before thanksgiving (holidays always leads to more eating and less exercising... how ironic). no physical change yet, but i sure feel a lot better! plus, this whole bento thing is making me more conscious of what i eat. i even made it a point to pick up more items to pack into lunch during the bi-weekly grocery shopathon. without further delays, here she is!

top tier: o-jing-uh jigae (squid & tofu in spicy broth), cherry tomatoes, linguini w/ mussels,

bottom tier: garlic toasted baguettes, laughing cow swiss, and green grapes

i can't wait for lunch tomorrow! *smiles*