Kabocha Somen and Miso Soup with Wakame

Sean has been under the weather these past few days and his appetite has been suffering as a result. He likes soup, so I made him miso soup that has a combination of red and white miso with tofu, green onions, and a lot of wakame. I also made him somen which is actually made with pumpkin giving it a neat yellow color, though it has very little pumpkin flavor. As a last minute addition I added in a fried fish cake ball and decorated it to look like a mini pumpkin.

Candy Corn Bento with Sesame Chicken

Today’s lunch is the last Halloween bento post because Paige has a class potluck tomorrow. I asked Paige for suggestions for her bento today and she came up with candy corn! As a kid, candy corn was the one candy at Halloween that I really didn’t like and would gladly give it away. I loved (and still love) anything chocolate although my favorite as a kid was Snow Caps. Little drops of chocolate goodness with white nonpareils stuck to the tops. Yum!

The candy corn is made from kamaboko which I cut using an egg shaped cookie cutter. I pressed the sides of the cutter in to make it narrower giving it the candy corn shape. I sprayed the bottom of candy corn with yellow Color Mist and then cut a thin strip of kamaboko for the center and sprayed that orange. Finally I finished it with eyes and mouths cut from nori.

Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween!

Tortellini with Marinara Sauce and Pumpkin Garlic Bread

I went to Costco this weekend so we are now well stocked with our usual purchases like tortellini, rotisserie chicken, and of course toilet paper. Paige requested (one of her favorites) tortellini with marinara sauce for lunch today. I also made her pumpkin shaped garlic bread with eyes and a mouth cut from cheddar cheese and filled the other container with grapes and a few veggies. Hope you all had a restful weekend!

Trick-or-Treaters Bento

Last week I made Max, the King of all Wild Things, and I thought that I would use the same idea to make kids with bear costumes for a Halloween themed bento. The bear costume is made from an egg sheet and the faces are cut from bologna. I also made a small pumpkin patch below the trick-or-treaters with carrots and thyme (for the vine). I also cut out a few pumpkin shaped carrots. Paige requested the same lunch of chicken katsu and homemade bacon, which was great because the katsu was already prepped. I just had to pull a few pieces from the freezer last night to thaw, so that I could cook it this morning.

Here is the recipe for the Chicken Katsu Bites:

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into 2 inch chunks

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

1 cup flour

3 eggs

1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon sugar

3 cups panko + more for packing

Oil for frying

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel, then season with garlic salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the flour and shake off the excess. Beat the egg with the water and sugar to make an egg wash. Then dredge the floured chicken in the egg wash and then liberally coat with panko. Deep fry until golden and cooked through.

To freeze, line a container with a thin layer of panko. Place uncooked breaded chicken in the container in a single layer. Sprinkle with another thin layer of panko and place another layer of chicken on top. Repeat process, cover, then freeze until needed.

Paige likes a ketchup sauce with it and the recipe is as follows:

1 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/8 teaspoon pepper

For those interested in the homemade bacon recipe, Dan said that he got it from the L.A. Times letter, The recipe for maple-cured smoked bacon. Dan uses Grade B maple syrup for the recipe and during the smoking process, he uses a kamado oven and wood chips which adds to the flavor of the bacon. I am definitely going to try out the recipe using Dan’s tips. I have an ancient kamado oven, which looks nothing like the picture on the kamado link, but it still works great! The recipe also gives instruction on making it in an oven if you don’t have a smoker. Thanks Dan for the link and your tips.

Flowers with BBQ Chicken Bento

Paige’s bento today consists of rice, flowers made from egg sheets and kamaboko, sliced bbq chicken and a few veggies. I have been using the egg sheets quite a bit because they are such a versatile medium as well as easy to make. I’ve been a big fan of simple these past few weeks and I think it shows in my bentos.

However, I did have an idea for an easy Halloween bento. I came up with the idea this morning after I made Paige her lunch so I just used the same bento. I made the ghost’s eyes with the egg sheet and nori for the eyes and mouth. It was quick and easy!

Pumpkin Patch Bento with Kalbi and Chap Chae

Paige had a lot of fun yesterday at the botanical gardens and came home telling me about all of the different things they saw. Being the girly girl that she is, she was most impressed with a tree called the Lipstick Tree. Paige excitedly told me about how they make lipstick (and other cosmetics) with the seeds of the tree and how their guide even demonstrated the color by rubbing some of the seeds on herself. Apparently it is also used as a spice and food coloring as well. Paige also came home with a bunch of mosquito bites too. Unfortunately I forgot the bug spray.

Any way, last night we had kalbi for dinner, so I saved a few slices to cook this morning for Paige’s bento. I added in a small portion of chap chae, rice, and furikake (stored in the little monkey container). The pumpkins are made of kamaboko dyed with food coloring and decorated with nori and fish sausage.

Lipstick Tree (photo from Wikipedia)

Ghosts with Fried Mandoo and Shiitake Mushroom Soba Bento

Over the weekend I made a huge batch of Korean mandoo. We ate mandoo soup for dinner on Saturday, then fried mandoo for dinner last night, and I also froze a bunch of uncooked ones for a later date. By preparing the mandoo two different ways, I saved on time and my family didn’t get tired of eating the same thing. Today’s bento consists of fried mandoo over a bed of soba and sauteed shiitake mushrooms and to keep in the Halloween theme, I made a couple of ghosts with thick slices of kamaboko cut with a tulip shaped cutter.

Mandoo Soup!