Bento Box #5: Tortellini with Pesto and Broccoli

Bento Box #5: Tortellini with Pesto and Broccoli
Serves 3
Ingredients

• 2 small heads of broccoli
• 1 family-sized packet of tortellini
• 3 tbsp pesto
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• pine nuts (optional)

1. Slice the broccoli into florets and cut the tomatoes in half.
2. Cook the tortellini according to the instructions. When there are 2 minutes left on the timer, add the broccoli.
3. Drain well and pour into another bowl with the tomatoes.
4. Mix well with the pesto, balsamic vinegar and pine nuts.
5. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Modified from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/9040/tortellini-with-pesto-and-broccoli

This dish was balanced and filling - the pesto and balsamic vinegar don't overpower the vegetables and pasta. It doesn't need to be reheated before eating, which makes it great for the really hot days. I ate two of these in the car and they were delicious even when they were lukewarm. 

The only downside is that the tortellini is expensive - I'll switch it out with regular pasta next time.

Verdict: It's a keeper. 

2 heads of broccoli: $1.66 at Safeway

Packet of Tortellini: $5.29 at Safeway

Pesto, 1/10 of a jar at $3.19 = $0.32 at Safeway

Balsamic Vinegar, 1/10 of a jar at $2.95 = $0.30 at Safeway

Cherry Tomatoes: 1/5 of a carton at $2.99/carton = $0.60 at Safeway

Total Cost: $8.17 for 3 servings or $2.72 per serving

Other entries in this series:

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago
Bento Box #2: Edamame Salad with Rice
Bento Box #3: Edamame Salad with Onigiri
Bento Box #4: Corn and Black Bean Salad

The Lark Embroidery Kit - Abandoned

Remember when this blog was about my crafts? Way back in 2012? I'm getting back into the hang of that.

But not this week! This week, I am giving up on one of my projects: the lark embroidery kit. I haven't touched it in 11 months and essentially, I've lost interest. I was in the passenger seat of car for 6 hours last weekend and I tried to make some progress here. "Progress" here being about 10 minutes worth of poking a needle through Aida cloth.

I'm not going to spending my time on something that doesn't interest me anymore. If I'm going to be doing craftwork, it's because I want to do it, not out of a need to finish.

Apple, Avocado and Cheese Wraps with Corn on the Cob

Apple, Avocado and Cheese Wraps
Serves 3
Ingredients

• 2 Fiji or Gala apples
• 2 ripe avocados
• handful of feta cheese (goat cheese optional)
• handful of walnuts
• 6 flour tortillas
• 3 cobs of corn, husked
• butter, for the corn

1. Boil enough water to cover the corn. Cook the cob for about 8 minutes or until tender. [Or use your normal corn on the cob recipe]
2. Dice both the apples and the avocados.
3. Spoon out the fruit mixture on the tortillas
4. Top with cheese and walnuts and serve, two tortillas per person.

I found a version of this recipe last year but I forgot to write down where I got it from. The wrap has a strange texture - the fruits are soft and juicy, the cheese is dry and powdery. I had a hard time finding walnuts out here so this version lacked protein.

This is another good summer meal - with the exception of the corn, there is no cooking. It just requires a knife and a cutting board.

Without walnuts:
2 Gala Apples: $1.09 at Walmart
2 Avocados: $1.36 at Walmar
Tortillas, 6 of 8 at $1.88/8 = $1.41 at Walmart
Feta Cheese, 1/3 of a container at $1.67/container = $0.56 at Walmart
3 Cobs of Corn: $1.14 at Safeway
Total Cost: $5.56 for 3 servings or $1.86 per serving

Salmon Chirashizushi

This little dish is smoked salmon chirashi-zushi, Japanese for scattered rice. Today, it's sushi rice mixed with smoked salmon, modified from the recipe here. I just cooked 1 cup of dry rice, folded in 1/3 cup of rice vinegar and a pinch of salt and sugar, and scattered the shredded fish on top before mixing up the entire thing. Sadly, the Alaskan Sock-Eye doesn't taste nearly as good as Atlantic salmon so the taste was strange. It was saltier than I had hoped.

I don't have exactly numbers: based on previously dishes, the rice came to about $0.30 while the entire package of salmon was about $6. That's a pretty expensive dish for me (even if it serves 2) and taste-wise, that's not good value.

I think I'll wait to have chirashi at my favorite Japanese restaurant the next time I'm in the mood for it.

Bento Box #4: Corn and Black Bean Salad

Bento Box #4: Corn and Black Bean Salad
Serves 5
Ingredients

• 2 cans of corn
• 1 can of back beans
• 2 avocados
• handful of carrots
• 2 shallots
• 1 stalk of celery
• a few bunches of green onions
• 2 heads of broccoli (optional)
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

1. Wash and chop the avocados, green onions, broccoli, celery, carrots and shallots.
2. Drain the corn and black beans into a colander and set aside together with the cherry tomatoes.
3. Mix in the vegetables, pour the lemon juice over and refrigerate. 

Modified from http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1014/black-bean-salad.aspx

This is my best 'lazy college student' meal. The ingredients can be kept in the pantry or the fridge until needed so I can shop weeks ahead of time. The only time-consuming part is all the chopping and there is no cooking required so it is perfect for the summer. There is a lot of food for the work I put into this and it can keep for days.

2 cans of corn: $2.18 at Target
Can of black beans: $0.82 at Target
2 heads of broccoli: $0.68 at Fred Meyer
Grape Tomatoes, 1/8 of a carton at $4.99/carton = $0.62 at Fred Meyer
Avocados, 1/2 of a bag of 4 at $2.99/bag = $1.50 at Trader Joe's
Carrots, 1/5 of a bag at $2.84/bag = $0.59 at Target

Celery, 1/4 of a bag at $1.79/bag = $0.45 at Trader Joe's

Green Onions, 1/2 of a bag at $0.99/bag = $0.50 at Trader Joe's

Shallots, 1/2 of a bag at $0.99/bag = $0.50 at Trader Joe's

Lemon Juice, 1/10 of a bottle at $1.49/bottle = $0.15 at Safeway
Total Cost: $7.99 for 5 servings or $1.69 per serving

Other entries in this series:

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago
Bento Box #2: Edamame Salad with Rice
Bento Box #3: Edamame Salad with Onigiri

Bento Box #3: Edamame Salad with Onigiri

I used some of the leftovers from the previous post to make this lunch and substituted onigiri (rice balls) in for the rice. It made for an interesting dynamic.

Bento Box #3: Edamame Salad with Onigiri

Edamame Salad recipe can be found here.

For once, I'm not going to write out the recipe for the onigiri. Instead, I'm linking to the site where I get all the answers to my rice questions. It will be better than trying to follow my own weird and wonderful variations.

Tip #1: Cooking Rice (haven't actually tried this yet)
Tip #2: Sushi Rice
Tip #3: Onigiri FAQ
Tip #4: Keeping Onigiri Fresh

I made these the night before and sealed them in a zip-loc bag. It was a lot of rice. I used 1.5 cups of dry rice which translates to about 4 cups of cooked rice. I would definitely cut down to only 1/2 cup of rice next time.

I also found onigiri molds at a Japanese grocery store but this is a good tutorial using only a plastic bag.

The onigiri made a nice snack during the day and both it and the salad were tasty, but they felt like two separate meals placed together rather than an integrated lunch. Regardless, I would make this again.

Edamame Salad: $1.20 for one serving
Nishiki Rice (1.5 cups), 1/20 of a large bag at $12.79/bag = $0.64 at Fred Meyer
Rice Vinegar, 1/8 of a bottle at $2.49/bottle = $0.31 at Fred Meyer
Sugar and Salt, about $0.02 total
Furikake, 1/3 of a bottle at $2.49/bottle = $0.50 at Uwajimaya
Total Cost: $2.67 for one serving

Other entries in this series:

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago
Bento Box #2: Edamame Salad with Rice

Bento Box #2: Edamame Salad with Rice

Bento Box #2: Edamame Salad with Rice
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of dry rice
• 1 package of Trader Joe's Edamame 
• 2 avocados, diced
• 3-4 bulb of green onions, sliced
• handful of baby carrots, sliced, or shredded carrots
• handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1 Gala Apple, diced
• 1/2 or 1 bundle of celery
• 2-3 shallots
• 1/2 bulb of garlic
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice

1. Cook the rice according to instructions. In another pot, cook the edamame and set aside.
2. Fry the garlic and shallots together in a small pan for a few minutes and set aside.
3. Combine the avocado, carrots, celery, green onions, tomatoes and apple pieces in a large bowl. Add the edamame.
4. Pour the garlic-shallot mixture and lemon juice on top.
5. Portion out the rice and part of the salad into a bowl and serve cold.

Modified from http://www.traderjoes.com/recipes/recipe.asp?rid=191

This turned out better than I expected! The rice came out a bit harder than I wanted but that worked well with the veggies after a night in the fridge. Most of the preparation time (45mins or so) was spent chopping various types of vegetables and I wasn't sure if the combination would taste good. I'm happy to say it did.

The key I think is very ripe but too too ripe avocados. This wouldn't have worked well if the avocado was still hard. Shredded carrots probably would have worked better than sliced baby carrots.

The salad came out to about 5 servings so it will make a week of lunches if it came to that. Assuming I don't get tired of eating the same thing over and over again, this is a keeper.

Verdict: Yes, if a bit time consuming to make.

Nishiki Rice (one serving), 1/50 of a large bag at $12.79/bag = $0.26 at Fred Meyer

1 bag of Edamame: $1.69 at Trader Joe's

Avocados, 1/2 of a bag of 4 at $2.99/bag = $1.50 at Trader Joe's

1 Gala Apple: $0.38 at Trader Joe's

Grape Tomatoes, 1/8 of a carton at $4.99/carton = $0.63 at Fred Meyer

Carrots, 1/5 of a bag at $2.84/bag = $0.59 at Target

Celery, 1/4 of a bag at $1.79/bag = $0.45 at Trader Joe's

Green Onions, 1/2 of a bag at $0.99/bag = $0.50 at Trader Joe's

Shallots, 1/2 of a bag at $0.99/bag = $0.50 at Trader Joe's

Garlic, 1/2 of a bulb at $1.29/bag of 2 bulbs= $0.33 at Trader Joe's

Lemon Juice, 1/10 of a bottle at $1.49/bottle = $0.15 at Safeway

Total Cost: $5.98 for 5 servings or $1.20 for one serving

Total Cost for one serving: $1.46

Other entries in this series:

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago

Bento Box #1: Sushi Rice, Stir Fried Broccoli, Carrots and Water Chestnuts, Grape Tomatoes and Tamago
Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of dry Japanese rice
• 1/8 cup of rice vinegar

• 2 heads of broccoli
• handful of baby carrots
• 1 can of sliced water chestnuts
• handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
• vegetable oil

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp of soy sauce
• pinch of sugar

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions. When fully cooked, dump into a small bowl and mix well with the rice vinegar.
2. Stir fry the broccoli, carrots and water chestnuts in the vegetable oil. Optionally, pour in a bit of soy sauce or territory sauce. 
3. Crack the egg into a small bowl and mix with the soy sauce and sugar then cook like an omelette, folding over the edges to make it rectangular.
4. Place rice, stir fried veggies, and tomatoes in a seal-able container and top with the egg omelette. Refrigerate.

I made everything but the omelette the night before and stored it in the fridge. The morning of, I made the omelette, took the lunch box to work and refrigerated it. I warmed the entire thing up in the microwave before eating.

The idea for this box was a good one but the meal needs a lot of work before I pronounce it done. The proportions were way off: too little rice and too many veggies. I used about 2/3 of the pan in this lunch and had the rest for lunch another day. The frying pan should not have been that full. I need a better way of cooking or storing rice - the essential 'sushi rice' quality was lost in the fridge and/or the microwave. The veggies too didn't transition as well as I would have hoped though that might have been the fault of how they were cooked. 

Verdict: This was an alright lunch but needs work. 

The tamago/egg omelette recipe came from http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/1-egg-tamagoyaki-japanese-omelette.

Nishiki Rice, 1/50 of a large bag at $12.79/bag = $0.26 at Fred Meyer

Rice Vinegar, 1/20 of a bottle at $2.49/bottle = $0.12 at Fred Meyer

2 Broccoli Crowns: $0.68 at Fred Meyer

Carrots, 1/5 of a bag at $2.84/bag = $0.59 at Target

1 Can of Water Chestnuts: $0.69 at Fred Meyer

Grape Tomatoes, 1/8 of a carton at $4.99/carton = $0.63 at Fred Meyer

Total Cost: $2.59 for two servings or $ $1.30 for one serving

Egg, 1 of 12 at $2.49/carton = $0.21 at Fred Meyer

Soy Sauce, 1/25 of a bottle at $2.69/bottle = $0.11 at Fred Meyer

Total Cost: $2.00 for one serving

End of Spring Semester Round-Up 2013

I'm back from Ireland and finally re-settled on the West Coast! My experiment in cooking turned out pretty well. I'm keeping 21 recipes out of the 48 I tried.

My favorites? These three:

Salmon and New Potatoes and Corn and Tomatoes

 Winter Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese

Beef and Guinness Stew with Champ

Definitely keepers.

This summer I'll be focusing on lunches - what I'm calling my 'Bento Box Series'. They won't all be Japanese inspired but many will be. I plan on experimenting until I have a couple of tried and true recipes and you all are welcome to follow the show!