Monday, December 8, 2014

How To Maximise the Heat in a Food Jar

A few mummies have asked me what they should do if they want to pack hot soup and stews for their children. The solution is simple - use a food jar. They come in different sizes, so get one that you are sure your child can handle the weight and operation of.


This is a Thermos Foogo, one of two I have (the other is out with Takoyaki, haha!). I bought them fairly cheaply at Jusco in Malaysia when they were having a super sale, so the price, converted from Malaysian Ringgit, was about half that of what the major department stores in Singapore were charging. Great deal!

There are many brands of thermal food jars out there, among which the most popular and recognised-as-effective brands are Tiger, Zojirushi and Thermos. You gotta admit it, the Japanese know how to make it right since they use this so much!

Whether you purchase a "good" (read "expensive") brand or a cheaper brand that may lose heat faster, there's one important thing you MUST do to maximise the heat retention of your jar. 

Before you put your soup or stew into the jar, ALWAYS pour boiling water into the jar, cover it up and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

This allows the inner walls of the jar to heat up so they don't start cooling your hot stew or soup down as soon as it is poured in. After about 5 minutes (or as long as it takes to heat up the stew/soup itself), pour the hot water away into a mug and use it for washing stuff. Mine usually has a metallic taste after that so I don't use it for cooking or drinking.

I have tested this with Takoyaki and she said the food was still rather hot by lunchtime. 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Whaddya Know... It's Never The Last Till...

School ends. Although I realise it should actually be "The Year Ends", because I never know what may assail me to bento for fun in the holidays. Ha ha.

But here is the last for the school year at least. I loved giving him a proper box this time instead of the sandwiches I've fallen on the last couple months.


And of course he loves his bratwurst d:)

On a side note, I found some pretty Christmas-themed wax paper at Daiso to add to my ever-growing bento wax paper collection. Muahahaha!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Spaghetti Shrimp Aglio Olio


Made with quick-cooking angel hair spaghetti, here's another of RM's favs. Keeping things simple, I only sliced some red and yellow capsicum and cucumber to go with it.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Chicken in a Pocket

If you've been bentoing for some time, you most probably know about this cool pocket sandwich maker, a cheap but useful implement obtainable from Daiso.


I realised I could use just one slice of bread instead of two (if someday I discover I only have one slice left, haha) to make a dumpling-style pocket.

RM's chicken pocket school recess bento

All you have to do is fold that one slice over on itself (with the filling inside) and press down on the pink part as per normal.

Takoyaki's class outing bento

The little brown patties in Takoyaki's box are Quinoa patties. She doesn't like quinoa on its own but these quinoa patties taste almost like beef patties. I'll share the recipe another day.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Clear Pantry waaiiiiiiiit a minute...

I just have to concede that I ran out of ideas and foods. And was too lazy to brainstorm.


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Bangers and Spaghetti

Actually we had mash for dinner but he preferred to bring spag today instead so I indulged him. Cooking angel hair spaghetti is a snap anyway.



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Sino-Jap Bento - Cold Udon with Chinese Stir-fried Greens and Surimi

The weather see-saws between rainy and hazy-hot every few days so I wasn't sure whether I should give it to him or not. It's always a gamble, and I was lucky this time. Lovely hot sunshine for Roast Meat to enjoy his cool noodles.



Tuesday, October 14, 2014

TLC Bento Day

Roast Meat has no school for the rest of this week thanks to PSLE marking days, so I channelled my energy and TLC towards making a bento for Takoyaki (who, alas, will no longer have PSLE marking days holiday). Although I've lost much of my mojo for kyaraben, I'm not adverse to making use of the tools I have to sweeten things up a little d:)


Menu:
Cut and "stamped" cheese sandwiches
Taiwanese sausages
Fruits and cukes

I loved packing this box up with food. Takoyaki can eat a lot if she's in the mood. Gone are the days of trying to find a smaller bento box for the pitiful amount they could eat in lower primary. Hang on, I've got one more Mouse who has yet to hit the system...

Friday, October 10, 2014

Finally Friday - Clear Pantry Bento

Friday is very much a Clear Pantry Day for me. Partly because my battery is almost flat by then, and partly because Thursday is when my part time cleaner comes and cleans up our pigsty, so I try to keep the kitchen clean after that by NOT COOKING d:) (What a great excuse, haha.)


Today's menu:
Weet-Bix Bites which are just the right size for bentos
Apple wedges (nothing fancy, I'm pooped)
Broccoli
Cheese sticks (cut from a block of cheddar cheese)

Happy weekend! We shall spend ours revising for RM's Science paper, so probably not that happy or relaxing....

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Crustless Quiche

Which is what I made with the extra filling and eggs for Tuesday's Mini Quiches. No crust this time, lazy.



Menu:
Flower onigiris with furikake and quinoa
Crustless quiche
Cukes
Tomatoes
Grapes

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Terrific Tuesday - Mini Quiche

After the half-success of the Bacon & Egg Cups, here's my next "mini" challenge to myself - mini quiches. Inspired by my friend Yee-fun Lee who made them recently for her daughters' bentos, I finally took the plunge on the weekend.

Mini quiches cooling

The verdict is "yummy" by all, so we're good to put this into bento rotation.

Two Quiches And A Salad


Thursday, October 2, 2014

Kimchi Chicken Pocket Sandwiches

For the last school day of this week (for Roast Meat, since tomorrow is the Children's Day holiday), RM requested for these sandwiches which I think I once made him... last year? at home.

He wanted TWO pocket sarnies, which I originally agreed to give him, but then I remembered that one pro of bento is portion control. RM is somewhat overweight so overeating is definitely a no-no.

Hence, I just packed whatever could fit snugly inside his box, and honestly this should be mighty filling for a 10yo's recess.


This is a 650ml box.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Cold Asian Noodle Salad Bento


Made with:
Boiled fresh udon noodles (rinsed under tap water till cool)
Mesclun salad
Boiled crabsticks and prawns
Dressing - soy sauce, sesame oil, freshly ground black pepper, pinch of stevia (you can use fine white sugar)

All mixed up and topped with roasted sesame seeds.


Monday, September 29, 2014

Made Myself Wake Up To Bento This Morning


Menu:
Pizza (dunno what flavour)
Fried chicken drumlet (wrapped with piece of foil)
Salad

Zombified...

Friday, September 26, 2014

Finally Friday - (Just a simple) Bento

It's the end of the week and I'm just looking to use up some of my stash. Like the Viennese sandwiches from M&S (RM's favourite and I won't deny I'm rather partial towards them), the cucumber rounds and the apple. Added a ham flower (last seen maybe two years ago?), a wedge of cheese and some pistachios in the green foil.

Let's call it an individual-picnic bento.


Thursday, September 25, 2014

Honey Master Chicken over Pasta

I can't believe it's been two years since I last gave my kids a Honey Mustard Chicken bento. Made up a batch last night (leftover from a big pack of boneless chicken legs, half of which I used for steaming with Chinese preserved mustard veg 梅菜) especially for today's bento.


I know everything looks rather yellow and brown but as long as it's tasty and nutritious right....?

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Cold Matcha Udon Bento

On this hot, hot summer day (yah right, it's summer all year round in Singapore!), the kids brought some cold udon for their school meals. Topped with shredded cucumber and sausage hearts, this meal was sure to cool them down. Unfortunately, Roast Meat had a bout of coughing and wheezing, so bad that I had to go bring him home from school. Note to self - no more cold food till he recovers.


The dipping sauce was frozen in separate boxes.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Bacon & Egg Cups Recipe

In the wonderful world of Pinterest, I found a recipe for Bacon & egg cups as well as a mini frittatas baked in a muffin pan. Wanting the best of both worlds, I combined both recipes into one and here is the result.


They were a hit with Roast Meat and me, but not Takoyaki or her dad. Here they are in bentos.

RM's Monday Bento

Takoyaki's Tuesday Bento

Recipe for Bacon&Egg Cups
~Makes 12 cups~

Ingredients:
12 rashers bacon
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
pepper to taste
one medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 cup grated cheese (I used up some mozzarella, but any cheese would be good)

Method:
Preheat oven to 180C.
Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin cases and lay one rasher of bacon around the inside of each case.
Combine all the other ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well.
Divide equally among all the bacon "cups", taking care to prop the bacon up with your fingers as you are pouring the batter in.
Bake about 15-20 mins or till tops are golden brown.

Next time I will add some sliced olives, and perhaps some milk. No salt because the bacon is mighty salty.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Teriyaki Meatballs Don Bento

Last night, I tried out a new recipe that I'd found on Pinterest some time back. Teriyaki meatballs!


Planned overs (which almost didn't make it into the bento because there were some hungry wolves around) for today's bento don't look so pretty but still taste pretty great!

Teriyaki Meatballs Bento
I was glad to be able to give RM a yummy last bento for this term, because I am certainly looking forward to not bentoing these Sep hols!

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Hotdogs! Ugly stuff

I've always felt that hotdogs are one of the most obscene-looking foods, but dang! They do taste good d:)


They look really obscene, don't they? Try as I might I simply couldn't find a better way to arrange them. Also, I was in a pickle about the sauces, because I ran out of packet ketchup, so my husband suggested using plastic wrap. Great idea! I also put some mustard in another twist so the kids can have their mustard kick.

These are the last bentos for this term. I'll only be back after the September one week hols! Have a great hols, y'all!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Merciful Monday - Shrimp Paste Rice with Chawanmushi

Many thanks to Delci, the founder of Facebook bento group EZBentos, for sharing how to make these bento-sized steamed egg portions some time back. I found these cute silicone steamer cases from Daiso that are specially designed for this. These are thicker and sturdier than my silicone cupcake cases. Just put the lid (comes with the cases) on and steam for about 10-15 mins on low heat and it's done! If you don't have these, just use thicker silicone muffin/cupcake cases that fit into your bento boxes and cover with small pieces of Al foil.


Today's Menu:
Shrimp paste fried rice (this is becoming a staple in our house)
Chawanmushi
Cherry tomatoes
Apple wedges

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Guilty Thursday - Instant Ramen

I ran out of carbs to cook d:( Well, Roast Meat's happy. I did add some leftover shredded chicken from last night's dinner and lots of veggies and fruits.


Monday, August 25, 2014

Monday Already??

I just realised that my last post was exactly one week ago. The rest of the week was bento-free, other than a very simple breadroll-and-chicken set for Takoyaki, as last Friday was Roast Meat's birthday. Hence, from Wednesday on, I was running around procuring ingredients to bake cupcakes for his celebration in school. Phew... Glad it is all over. It was a rather trying week for me as I was having some gastroenteritis on top of running around for some Parent Volunteer projects. Two more weeks and I'll be able to watch all my burdens roll down the hill!


Today's lunch menu:
Onigiris with mixed furikake
Tamagoyaki
Cucumber ribbons and cherry toms salad
Grapes

I have found two more bento recruits! Will be meeting with them soon to talk bento. Yay!

Monday, August 18, 2014

Maniac Monday - Sausages and Tom Yum Soup

I ran out of ideas for decor so decided to just mix all the ingredients - sausage, edamame, furikake - together with the rice. Can say it's something like Bibimbap d:P Although everything's more Japanese than Korean.

Last week, I used the Nami box for Roast Meat because it was the best size in this One Piece set to hold some fruits and veg, but he came back whining that "all my friends laughed at me" and insisted that I never give him that box again. Good grief.



I bento-ed for RM but forgot that Takoyaki also needed a bento today. Thankfully, all the staples were sitting ready in the fridge so I just heated up the soup and packed everything into the different compartments. She only gave me 5 minutes before she was out the door!


Takoyaki loves her Tom Yum Soup (my daughter, hee).

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Planned Over Thursday - Kimchi Soup


With Sweet Potato Vermicelli and Five-Spice Grilled Chicken. I got the recipe for the chicken from a Jamie Oliver cookbook and I must say, we really liked it. This will enter our regular rotation of chicken chop flavours, as we have been relying on Cajun seasoning for wayyyyy too long.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Thankful Tuesday - Chimera Sausage and Ghost Onigiri

Did you have a good rest over the long National Day weekend? I ate something that caused a violent allergic reaction in my body and was in horrible pain for 24 hours, but thankfully it cleared up on its own so I did not go to the doctor. 

And hence I felt rather in the mood to beautify things a little.


The little ghost there has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the current Lunar Month. I'd wanted to do a Totoro like I did once but lacked the motivation to do all the details beyond cutting the nori so I changed it to a Pacman type ghost.

The onigiri contains some pork floss and the rest of the food are some chimera sausages made up of cherry tomatoes, cucumber and bratwurst.

Bon appetit!

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Wainy Wednesday

What a great day to sleep in. It's usually hot and hazy this time of the year in Singapore but these past couple of months have been mostly rainy and breezy. I'm thankful.


Planned over from last night's dinner - Panfried Cajun Chicken Chop over rice, with spinach salad and grapes. There's some homemade vinaigrette dressing in a separate sauce cup. Roast Meat's favourite dressing.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Maniac Monday is Bread and Bun Day


Bread onigiris for Takoyaki with chicken wings from Ah Ma.



RM wanted this teriyaki chicken bun from Mugiho bakery. Less work for me, yay!

Friday, August 1, 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Baked Tempeh

This is a new family favourite - Tempeh (a fermented bean product originating from Indonesia), bacon, onions, olives (missing this time), and small potatoes tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and baked.

Unfortunately, both these bentos were eaten at home because Takoyaki forgot to bring hers and Roast meat was ill.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Finally Friday - Natto Rice

Today's main feature is the slimy, stinky Japanese food that some like and some hate - Natto. Natto packs a lot of good bacteria and also protein, plus it keeps outside the fridge till lunchtime, making it a perfect food for bento. We all love it d:)


On the side are some checkerboard apple wedges, broccoli and tomatoes.

And Takoyaki asked for a light box as it's "Hokkien Prawn Mee" Friday at her school d:\ 


But she only eats the noodles and passes the prawns to her friends. Chey. So that's why I have to pack in the protein, fruit and vegetable factor.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

No Time, No More Target

I ran out of time to prepare a lunch bento for RM (procrastination - my undoing) and didn't have any planovers or leftovers so this had to do.


Instant "Mee Goreng" noodles to which I added a scallion omelette, cherry tomatoes and apple slices to up the nutrition factor.

Oh, but he was overjoyed to see instant noodles. Once in a blue moon, as he well knows.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Thai Shrimp Paste Rice in a Bento

Fly Lice again?? Well, it's just some leftover rice, enough for only one person, so why not just...? RM likes it anyway. He's the only one, other than myself, who appreciates the lovely smelly aroma of fried shrimp paste. Phew~

Thai Shrimp Paste Rice Bento

It was Sunday and I had rather more energy than usual so I cooked some porridge for Takoyaki to go with her requested "braised soy sauce egg" 卤蛋.


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Traffic Light Bento

Although the theme wasn't planned.

Takoyaki asked me for a bento (this doesn't happen often) so I happily cooked everything from scratch since I didn't have any planned-overs. Another reason I was pleased to cook is that my new kitchen is designed for better workflow and also windy so it's really a breeze (pun intended) to culinarise in it.

Unintentional Traffic Light Bento

If it was for Roast Meat I could insert some of my traffic signs picks but I'm pretty sure the Secondary School girl wouldn't appreciate it d:P

Today's Lunch Menu:
Honey baked ham over rice
Kimchi
Tamagoyaki (first tmgyk in new house!)
Grapes

Very eclectic.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Happiness is...

When I can just pack a bento with little or no work. Generally from using planned-overs.


Baked chicken legs over rice.

Monday, July 14, 2014

What My New Bento Drawer Looks Like

One of the most serendipitous things about our latest move is that I am able to dedicate part of my kitchen to bento supplies. I planned ahead when I was designing my kitchen cabinets (after moving house about once every 3 years in the last 13 years I've more or less learnt what to do and what not to do) and was rewarded with at least two full drawers to house my bento supplies. 

Yes, AT LEAST two full drawers because some stuff is spilling out into nearby shelves due to my still-inefficient organisation. For now, the drawer that houses the bento boxes is neatly packed and a pleasure to behold (to me). Here it is.

Bento boxes organisation

Everything is available at a glance and can be easily pulled out, compared with my previous place where the boxes were stacked on a shelf and I had to remove the top ones to access the lower ones. And don't get me started on the boxes at the back! Those I barely touched because they were so hard to reach.

I'm thinking this drawer can still be further organised with the strategic placing of some drawer dividers but that will have to wait as I still have junk around the house to declutter and unpack. I also intend to give some of these boxes away as I doubt I will ever use them again, due to their shape or size.

The drawer above this one houses my bento tools and other supplies. It's not done yet so I haven't taken a pic but I hope to soon, after I find a couple of baskets to fit the designated space.

Viva la Bento!

Easy Riceballs to start the week


With ham and cheese rolled up flower buds and the usual sides.
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