by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Mushroom, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Potato/Squash, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Blistered Kabocha Bento
野菜揚げ巻き弁当

09

Finally our new BENTO boxes arrived from Japan!

This metal one is for Terry.

I never thought the one I had was girly, but when Terry told me that he wanted a “manly” BENTO box, I could see that the kitties on the lid were probably not very appropriate for a 40-something male (lol).

14

13

I really like this brand.

It’s a beautiful simple design.

The only negative thing is that it easily shows fingerprints.

But it’s a minor problem.

I just need to be careful right before we take pictures.

17

Love the retro looking logo on the back, too.

11

One of the main dishes of this BENTO box is this blistered Kabocha.

No need to peel the skin.

Delicious!

12

The other main dish was this soy curd vegetable wrap.

10

The lunch does look “manly” in the “manly” box!

15

I’ve started my Sashiko (Japanese traditional embroidery) project #3.

Can’t wait to finish and show it on the blog.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Mushroom, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Peppers, Root vegetable, Vegan, Vegetarian

Daikon Steak BENTO
大根ステーキ弁当

19

I still haven’t gotten my new BENTO boxes yet, but I didn’t want to wait.

So, here is my today’s lunch BENTO.

13

The main dish was this Daikon steak.

The secret ingredient was rice-malt seasoning.

This was my first time to try this seasoning, but it was absolutely wonderful and took my soy sauce-based sauce to the next level.

10

14

The main dish number 2 was garbanzo and mushroom soft fritters.

15

The side dishes were this curried onion and green peppers, and creamy tomato coleslaw.

16

This is what the whole lunch looked like.

12

22

16

I recently made this napkin.

This is called “sashiko” a kind of Japanese traditional embroidery.

This was my first try, and I wasn’t sure if I had enough patience to finish, but actually I really enjoyed the entire process.

I already have another sashiko project planned (I’m waiting for threads), and I can’t wait to start it.

20

Daikon Steak

5~6 about 1/2 inch thick daikon slices
canola oil
sauce
– 1/2 cup water
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1~2 tablespoons mirin
– 1~2 tablespoons sugar
– 1~2 tablespoons shio-koji (Japanese rice-malt seasoning)
– salt and pepper

1. Cook daikon slices in water in microwave for a few minutes; I cooked mine for two minutes each side, but the cooking time may vary.
2. Sautee the daikon in oil both sides, until browned.
3. Add the sauce. Turn heat down to low-medium heat, thicken the sauce, and let the daikon absorb the sauce.

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone!

Stay warm.

We’ve got about 6 inches of snow so far, and it looks like more is coming…

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Leaf Vegetabes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Fried Pea Dumpling Bento
グリーンピース揚げワンタン弁当

14

Another vegan bento box.

This time it’s a bit more adult-like compared to this Panda Bento 1 or this Panda Bento 2.

13

The main dish of this Bento box is the fried pea dumplings.

Crispy and delicious!

10

Braised Hijiki seaweed.

11

Turmeric cauliflower olive salad.

12

Sesame spinach.

18

I really enjoy making Bento.

It’s fun to think about how to fill a box and make it look nice.

15

I just recently ordered a couple of new Bento boxes.

They are coming from Japan, and I’m so excited!!

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Bread, Potato/Squash, Sandwich, Vegan, Vegetarian

Panda Sandwich Bento
パンダサンド弁当

09

I was so excited to make these sandwiches.

I got this panda sandwich kit a few weeks ago, and I hadn’t had time to try until yesterday.

10

This is how the whole face looks.

Isn’t it adorable?!

These are pretty easy to make, and I was quite surprised at how clearly you can stamp the facial features.

These are jam sandwiches (lingonberries and tropical fruit), but you can basically add anything that is not too wet.

Ham and cheese, cheddar cheese and mango chutney, cream cheese and herbs, peanut butter and fruit… possible variations are endless.

14

In the other layer of this Bendo box were potato salad and Buffalo cauliflower.

I usually don’t, but this time I wanted to put in as many vegetables as possible so I added carrots and onions to my potato salad.

Well, when I think of it, my mom used to add these veggies to her potato salad, too.

15

I’ve made Baffallo cauliflower before, but this time I succeeded in making them vegan.

These are so good that even I would want a glass of beer to wash them down (lol)!

17

Panda Sandwich Bento

Panda sandwiches (I used this kit)
– white and whole wheat bread slices
– jam, or other fillings
Baffalo cauliflower (I used this recipe, but used corn starch instead of eggs)
Potato salad
– potatoes
– carrots
– onion
– dressing (white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, mustard)
– chives

19

With Terry’s suggestion, I toasted some of these Panda sandwiches with cheese inside.

They turned out pretty good as they kept the facial features well, but you do get some brown spots on the face. I do like the toasted crusty bread, but the “burned” spots may make some kids not too happy.

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Bento/Lunch Box, Pasta/Noodle/Rice, Peppers, Vegan, Vegetarian

Panda Bento
パンダ弁当

18

Another weekend and another Bento lunch box.

06

Before I talk about the obvious two black and white guys in the first picture, I want to talk about the main dish of this Bento box.

This is a Japanese product called Just Like Meat made of only soy beans and brown rice and has a meat-like texture when cooked.

I cooked them first in salted boiled water, soaked them in soy flavored soup, sauteed/browned, and then served with sesame soy teriyaki-like sauce.

The texture is amazing, and I love the simple ingredients.

I tend to stay away from “vegan meat” but because of these reasons, I have to say this is probably one of my favorite vegan meat products.

16

In this Bento box you’ll also find roasted pepper cabbage salad, lemon marinated persimmon, and peas.

15

Okay, now let’s talk about these guys.

So I found this product that you can use to make panda bears with rice and seaweed.

Even though I bought it, I was a bit skeptical.

Well, this is genius!!

It worked and it was fairly easy to use.

I still need to improve my face-making skills, but they turned out pretty good for the first try. Won’t you agree?

The only problem is that you hesitate to decide which part you eat first (lol)!

19

Panda Bento Lunch Box

-Panda rice: cooked white rice, salt, Japanese roasted seaweed sheet (nori)
-Sesame ginger fillets: Just Like Meat, salt, soy sauce, sugar, Trader Joe’s -Sesame ginger soy dressing/marinade
-Roasted pepper and cabbage salad: cabbage, salt, roasted pepper salad from Costco
-Marinated persimmon: sugar, lemon juice, persimmon
-Peas

I’m on Instagram.

by : Reiko Beans/Lentils, Bento/Lunch Box, Vegan, Vegetarian

Edamame Veggie BENTO
枝豆ハンバーグベジ弁

18

Making BENTO box lunch has become one of the things I really enjoy doing on the weekend.

13 12

Curried Cabbage. Maple Glazed Carrots.

11 14

Edamame Patties. Chinese Garlic Scallion Pancakes.

I continue to be committed to keeping our BENTO vegan.

16

Everything was packed into my favorite black x red BENTO box.

17

Grapes and persimmon.

I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve purchased some cool BENTO stuff the last few weeks.

I never wanted my BENTO to be cute.

But a panda sauce container and bear picks?

Come on, who could resist them (lol)!?

23

I got pig and fish-shaped sauce containers as well.

These are more traditional versions.

25

This is a larger sized BENTO I made for Terry.

27

Right now I really don’t have any other BENTO box that would be a good size for Terry.

This doesn’t look bad, but this is a disposable plastic container, so I want to get him a real BENTO box.

He wants something “manly”, so I’m thinking of getting him some type of metal (probably stainless) one.

I almost decided on which brand and size to get.

It’s a Japanese brand so it will probably take a while before I can use it, but I’m excited!

20

I’m on Instagram.