Plain ol' tuna fish, but better

A (mostly) typical American lunch, yet somehow better because of colorful containers. It's like magic!

Also, Sal's class has begun the candies section again, so I have a small container of sweet treats: mango gelees, chocolate caramels, and dried cherry-pistachio nougat. I LOVE HAVING A CHEF FOR A HUSBAND.

clockwise from right:

• a strawberry cut in slices to make it fit and a supremed orange, which is basically cutting away all the pith and membrane and everything, so all you have is the juicy citrus goodness -- Sal  does this for me from time to time when I ask very, very nicely
• two halves of a tuna sandwich (tuna, mayo, sweet relish on 9-grain bread), with red leaf lettuce for the sandwich, two celery sticks to fill the gap between and little carrot shapes for garnish (the cut off ends of the carrots from the other container)
• the ultimate Broke Food*, macaroni and tomato juice...yes, you read that right
• rainbow carrot sticks and dark chocolate covered raisins in the small container
• chocolate Pocky and my salt container (originally stowed in the silverware section), and ice cold water in the drink bottle

*Broke Food is the cheapest possible meal you can make, usually with a minimum of (extremely cheap) ingredients. Ramen and macaroni cheese are the most common, of course, but I'm sure we all have Broke Foods from our college days or whatever.

But it's also one of my comfort foods (hence its appearance in this lunch), probably because it requires no effort whatsoever and is always yummy. I know it sounds gross and doesn't look appetizing, but I promise you it is.

What you'll need:

• macaroni -- salad macaroni (shown) is preferable, with small shell macaroni being a good second choice; elbow macaroni is also acceptable, though not my preference
• tomato juice
• small bit of butter
• salt

Boil the pasta, drain, then dump back in the pot. Stir in some butter. Pour in tomato juice and heat just long enough to bring the whole thing back up to a nice, hot temp. Add salt to taste.

The tomato sauce consistency changes once it's been heated and cooled and reheated, but it's still good as leftovers (and can be rejuvenated with more tomato juice, if you'd like). It can also be added to a soup or stew if you're trying to get rid of the leftovers, or made into goulash by adding hamburger and onion.

Cheating, but still yummy

Cheating today. By the time I got home last night (7 freaking o'clock), I was completely exhausted and had a baby gift to put together still, not to mention feeding the cats and myself. I don't think I had more than an hour of time that wasn't a meeting yesterday, and in fact ended up having to break out my lunch in the middle of a meeting so I wouldn't be eating when the guy from Corporate arrived.

The night before last, I didn't get to sleep until late due to the very nice parallel tension pains running up my back from stress (though I did go to bed at a reasonable hour) and wanted to get to bed earlier last night to try to make up some ground. Just to add a degree of difficulty, I knew I had a meeting right off the bat at 8 AM that was going to take most/all of the morning, which would mean no opportunity to eat breakfast. In fact, that the day would pretty much be a day of non-stop running again, thus, the necessity for a hearty lunch. And since I haven't had time to cook since this weekend, there was just no way I was going to have the lunch I needed without a little help.

So today's lunch comes courtesy of New Seasons deli. God bless New Seasons and double god bless their deli. They offer a nice selection of good, well-made food and though it's not made by me or Sal, it's at least food that I know is fresh and organic (and usually local), with an ingredients list that's both short and pronounceable.

Why am I telling you this? Because I think it's important to share how I make this whole bento thing work for me with the very real challenges that come up daily, and that there are times when I just have to punt. Everyone's choices and criteria and reasons are different, obviously, these are just mine.

clockwise from bottom:

• parmesan breaded chicken breast
• orzo with mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and Italian parsley; roasted brussel sprouts
• strawberries -- yeah, I know, not in season, trucked from California, and in no way as delicious as Oregon strawberries, but I was craving strawberries liek whoa, and so there you go...can you tell that I'm craving comforts? ;)
• kishus with a bit of dark chocolate covered raisins in the little side container
• orange juice (my immune system gets so depressed when I'm stressed that I'm hoping the vitamin C boost will be a bit of a preventative measure)

Unfortunately, I ended up having to go to a business lunch with the aforementioned Corporate guy and other colleagues, what was intended to be my lunch will instead be my dinner. Which is just as well, since I got home so wiped out that having something already put together was a nice little bonus after an especially trying few days. 

But I've just come out of a glorious soak in the tub, with the radio tuned to the local jazz station, candles everywhere. (I used the incredibly luxurious Think Pink bath bomb from Lush that Cat gave me. It fizzes the moment it hits the water and turns the water a lovely shade of pink, then releases a bunch of pink confetti hearts. Bless you bless you, J, for that unexpectedly prescient gift.) Thanks to that the tension pains in my back are considerably less than they were, I should actually get to see Sal tonight (he didn't get home until after 11 last night, just before I had to get to bed, and was up until the wee hours working), I've got this delicious meal to enjoy this evening, and tomorrow and Friday I'll be working from home.

Hurray for surviving the hurricane. ;)

Dental bento (dento bento?)

Just lunch today. I had a dentist appointment this morning, which included some preventative fillings -- i.e., no cavities, they just wanted to protect a couple of places where my bite had chipped away some enamel and needed some protection -- so I don't know if I'll be able to eat this very well. I wasn't thinking about it when I packed it last night, and I actually forgot about my appointment this morning and was late. They were very accommodating, but I'm not so sure they didn't get me back because I got rickrolled while I was trapped in the chair and they were giving me the second shot. ;)

clockwise from bottom:

• simple salad of red leaf lettuce, celery, and rainbow carrots with my little vial of balsamic vinegar and olive oil
• spread made of the smoked salmon from last week mixed with cream cheese and onion-sesame crackers to eat it with
• sweet pickles with a side container of honey glazed peanuts
• mandarin orange
• in the silverware section, strawberry Pocky, and delicious cold water in the drink bottle; oh and another of my pretty new napkins

Since it's been so bizarrely warm (is this really January??), I'm going to mosey on down to Cathedral Park to enjoy my lunch today. A bit of a chilly breeze off the river, but otherwise quite lovely.

Snackage

Snack bento I made for me and ProcrastiGirl Friday night to eat while we watched movies. Includes: rosemary crackers, cheeses, rolls of ham and turkey, dark chocolate-covered raisins, yogurt-covered pretzels, animal crackers, carrots, sweet pickles, and dyed molded eggs in pink and blue.


Deeper still

Well, I lied. Decided to come into the office again today -- I suppose one more day not working on the Big Project O'Doom isn't going to make or break anything, though I'm freaked out about losing another day of progress. But my (electronic) piles on my desk aren't getting any shorter, either, so...into the office it is.

I have an eensy confession to make, btw. I...um.... Well, I think my bento thing is morphing into...A Thing. Like an addiction, maybe? I don't know. Because I now have in my possession a dozen wee cookie/veggie/cheese/whatever cutters of the most darlingest little shapes. And also! A half dozen slightly bigger wee animal-shaped cutters. Send help, you guys. I think I'm in trouble....

clockwise from right:

• Havarti dill and Cotswold cheeses cut into cute little animal shapes, on top of a bed of a few leftover basil chicken sausage slices (on top of a bed of the odds and ends from the cheese shapes) and Applegate Farms pepperoni slices
• the most adorable teensy Pinova apple from our organics bin, cut in half, on top of a layer of baby carrots, with sweet little carrot shapes for decoration (and snacking, of course!)
• Milton water crackers (I love Milton because they salt their water crackers very slightly, and it adds just enough to whatever you're eating with them)
• Fairchild tangerine with some terrifically delicious raisins from our bin delivery yesterday as gap filler
• orange juice in the drink bottle

My resolve not to get sucked into a bunch of bento gear is weakening. It was getting those two bento systems, dammit! Then it was, "oh, here's that cookie cutter thingie from my childhood, won't that make cute cheese stars to brighten things up?" and "oh, here are a few more flickr blogs to add to my list, what harm can it do to check those daily from time to time?" Next thing you know, it'll be egg molds, food picks, and colorful silicone cups in fun shapes. And then...more bento boxes! Heaven help us all.

Falling in a little deeper

School lunch-ish again. And apropos of absolutely nothing, I have a spider bite under my eye, so my eye is all puffy and swollen. Blech. I'll be glad when this week is over.

clockwise from right:

• PB&J rounds (peanut butter, blueberry-marionberry jam on 9 grain bread) with macadamia nuts as gap filler
• more of those adorable satsumas with blueberries as gap filler, which are approximately the same color as the container so the pretty contrast in color is kind of lost here, especially with my cameraphone
• eggs with carrot shapes!
• half a Pink Lady apple, which is my favorite apple variety

Close-up of the carrots on eggs, since the 1st pic doesn't do their cuteness justice, imo.



Long week ahead

In the office all week this week. Well, Monday thru Thursday, at least. And I've been sick since Wednesday, worsening over the weekend, but I can't really take any sick time because I have to do a bunch of trainings for our staff (hence the in-office time). So this week is going to suck, basically. Oh, and I'm just now getting to my lunch -- it's just been that kind of day.

But enough of my griping! Because there's always bento, and that's something to be glad for, isn't it? Yes, yes it is.

clockwise from right:

• garlic-herb crackers (cut in half to make them fit), apple-spice chicken sausage, cheese, hard boiled egg
• carrot sticks and honey-peanut butter dip in the small container, macadamia nuts, and my teensy sea salt container tucked in there
• wee sugar cookies garnished with vanilla-infused sugar that Sal made just for me (awww)
• half a granny smith apple

Kind of a mish-mash of stuff from the fridge. Time for groceries, probably, though I'm not sure when I'll get to it. At least I can do it in my jammies -- god bless New Seasons online ordering & delivery.

Breakfast for lunch

Haven't made a bento for a few days, hence the lack of posts about them. I figured you guys could probably use a break from them anyway, eh? ;) Today has kind of a breakfast theme, as I'd been craving breakfast-y stuff last night for dinner.

clockwise from right:

• teensy little blueberry pancakes, with blueberries as gap fillers; took me a few tries to get the right size that would fit, turns out a not-quite-full tablespoon of batter is the perfect size pancake for the container...so there are many here, but they're snack-sized
• mushroom-cheese-basil omelet, which turned out quite delicious
• steamed asparagus with sea salt
• dried cranberries (little container) and Marcona almonds
• water bottle in the background...too bad I didn't have any OJ

T-day, we hardly knew ye

I think this will be the last of the turkey leftovers. Without resorting to turkey salad, woot woot! (Or turkey croquettes, which a friend posits is the real last resort of T-day leftovers.)

clockwise from right:

• turkey wraps again -- Turkey with romaine lettuce in sun-dried tomato wraps, though this time with a little different spread. Friday's spread was fresh dill aioli that I sort of made. But I much prefer cream cheese as a spread for a wrap, especially with turkey. So I cut up a bunch of fresh dill again and mixed it with cream cheese for the spread.
• my Patented* Dill Potato Salad with a few pieces of broccoli as filler
• truffle-filled chocolates -- handmade by Sal during the "civilian" class he taught yesterday
• Marcona almonds in the little container with the chocolates
• fresh mango

*Okay, not really "patented", and really just a variation (read: simpler version) of German potato salad: boiled potatoes (skins on), lots(!) of fresh dill, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt. The nice thing about this potato salad vs. a regular German potato salad is that it's not just vegetarian-friendly (no bacon), but vegan-friendly (no sugar). (I mean, obviously there are lots of great natural substitutes for sugar, but since this version doesn't even need sugar, it's that much simpler.) And since there are no eggs or mayo as in a traditional potato salad, you don't have to worry about it going bad in warmer weather. In fact, I rather like it served when it's still warm, though the flavors do intensify to a yummy level after a day or two...you just really can't go wrong with it no matter when you serve/eat it. Plus, far healthier than a more typical potato salad!

Bento note to myself today: "Dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Quiet Strength, Discipline." ~ Unknown

This quote comes from a time when I was a believer, but it still speaks to me as a reminder of what I want to be, strive to be. The grace I wish to have, and to reflect outward.

School lunch

Kicking it old school today. As in "school lunch", which is my theme today. Well, only a theme after the fact -- I didn't actually come up with that until I'd finished putting it together last night. The truth is, this is just random stuff from the fridge, since we don't have a lot of groceries in the house. Rather ironic, since I just had a grocery delivery a week ago, but of course that was all for Thanksgiving. Anyway, god bless peanut butter, is all I can say.

clockwise from right:

• PB&J rounds -- peanut butter and marionberry-blueberry jam on 7-grain bread, cut out with a biscuit cutter so it would fit in the box (scraps were part of my dinner last night ;); the jam is homemade from berries picked on Sauvie Island this summer (given to us by one of Sal's coworkers)
• carrots leftover from Thanksgiving snack plate and a small container of the ubiquitous peanut butter/honey dip; the carrots accidentally froze when the fridge got too cold over the weekend, so the dip in this case is very necessary for edibility
• hard-boiled eggs
• lemon curd (leftover from the crepes on Friday) with "fresh" blueberry smiley face; blueberries were picked this summer (also at Sauvie Island) and frozen while fresh, given to us by the neighbors when Sal took over one of his pecan pies

T-day leftovers!

Thanksgiving leftovers -- pretty predictable, no? However, this is the very last of said leftovers. Looks rather ho-hum (and blurry! my cameraphone does me no favors), but trust me, it's oh so delicious!

clockwise from right:

• mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, with the last of the turkey under more gravy
• scalloped corn woot woot!
• pecan pie with a squiggle of crust in the middle
• cheesy broccoli bake
• juice bottle: pineapple juice

Sadly, we divvied up the last of the stuffing last night, the creamed brussel sprouts gave out Saturday night, and we forgot to make roasted sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving altogether. Though really, the last thing I needed here was more food. This is all delicious, but I'm glad I/we don't eat like this every day.

It starts...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA You guys remember that time I said "oh, i will be working from home woe no bento for me"??????

Yeah, I totally put one together anyway. About 5.38 seconds after you all said, "do eeeet!". Actually, it was fun putting one together last night for today. I mean, even though I'm at home, I still get so wrapped up in what I'm doing sometimes that I forget to eat something, sometimes until late, so this is probably a pretty good thing. And did I mention, fun? I did? Okay then.

clockwise from right:

• leftovers from Saturday night (that I made): chicken noodle soup made with a box of cream of portabello mushroom soup that needed to be used up, some carrots, two whole chicken legs that were on sale at New Seasons, an onion, and some fresh egg fettucine from Pastaworks; the parsley was some leftover from the broccoli cheese soup the weekend before that I'd intended to chop and add at the end, but forgot, so we've just been adding it each time we heat up a bowl of leftovers since
• peas! with some colby cheese star shapes*
• hard-boiled egg with a sprig of parsley; small container has raisins and macadamia nuts
• satsuma orange wedges
• drink bottle: pineapple juice

*Here's a funny thing about those little stars. We only have a few random cookie/biscuit cutter type things, and none of them are small. But we do have a little red cutout thing that has four small shapes on it. That particular cutter is, literally, older than I am -- it came in a box of old kitchen items my mom gave us when we got our first apartment and has traveled with us ever since. I've kept it for nostalgic reasons, not because we ever made cute, teensy little cookies with it, or colorful decorations for cookies or cakes, but because my brother and I used it for Playdoh. In fact, I'm fairly certain that if I showed it to my brother without saying anything, he'd recognize it instantly.

A little more color...

Today's bento is a little more colorful than last week's were:

clockwise from right:

• gala apple slices
• smoked mozzarella ravioli in a garlic & chanterelle marinara
• carrot sticks with a teensy container of Italian sea salt on top (for the ravioli); the smaller container has a dipping sauce (for the apples) of peanut butter and honey, and the foil packet along the side of the container has a few bits of Green & Black's hazelnut and currant chocolate
• wraps made of tortillas spread with cream cheese, some slices of Black Forest Ham, and barrel pickle spears...oh, and a cat hair I just found that looks like one of Smaug's, so...protein, I guess

yellow & white

Laptop Lunch today -- I ended up with an inadvertent white/yellow theme today.

clockwise from right:

• pasta dish Sal made for dinner Sunday night: chicken, shitake mushrooms, brussel sprouts braised in cream, w/a sauce made with the braising liquid
• dobos torte, which is thin layers of spongecake between layers of chocolate buttercream, iced with more buttercream and then topped with these caramelized sugar wedge cookie-type things that are like creme brulee, but crunchy, not soft; also, small wedges of ciabatta that were the tops of the slices from yesterday that I had to cut off to make them fit in the bento container
• cheese strips, hard-boiled egg, and the small container inside has macadamia nuts
• asian pear pieces
• drink bottle: pomegranate juice