Archive for March, 2007

Fruit cup jello jigglers in everyday containers

In a variation on the homemade juice gelatin cups I made earlier, you can also put fruit into these for a nice visual touch (and better nutrition). These are thicker than regular jello, more like jigglers, so they hold up at room temperature for several hours in a packed lunch. I used 100% fruit juice (apple, pear and passion fruit) and Knox unflavored gelatin (1.25 cups juice or a little less to one envelope of gelatin for a firm but not hard texture), put pieces of fruit in the cups in the fridge container first, then filled with the gelatin liquid. Keep a stash of these in your refrigerator to grab and throw into a lunch in the morning when you’re short on time.

I also wanted to show that you don’t have to have special Japanese food cups to make these: the clear plastic containers are 1oz and 2oz. plastic “souffle cups” with lids that I picked up at Smart & Final (125 cups for about $2.25, 125 lids for about $1.75). I’ve also seen the same sort of thing from the Solo brand at kitchen or party supply stores. The white round plastic container with mango in it is actually a 1 oz container that held a single serving of cream cheese (from CostCo). You could also use cupcake liners (foil or coated paper) — be creative.

The condiment cups with lids can either be thrown away or washed and reused, depending upon your dedication to waste-free lunches. A variation on gelatin would be to make mini-flans (or puddings), and pack them in these cups with lids and a cold gel pack (like the Japanese miniature pudding cups from Kiku that make an appearance in so many bentos).

Caution: Don’t add fresh or frozen pineapple, kiwi, papaya, guava, figs, or ginger root to these or the gelatin won’t set up properly.

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Published by Biggie on March 23rd, 2007 tagged for kids, glutenfree, lactose free, parenthacks, recipe, tips, tutorial or how to | 49 Comments »

Speedy chicken lunches

Morning prep time: 5 minutes per lunch (15 minutes for 3 lunches). We had leftover smoked and roasted chicken, so I made chicken salad for dinner last night. For speed, I microwaved all of the frozen rice for all three lunches at once. I’m also trying to use up our fruit before it goes bad (a hazard of buying lots of fruit at once). My lunch also had:

a small barrel-shaped onigiri (rice ball) that I made with pre-frozen rice. It had been shaped like an animal or something, but that shape didn’t fit in today’s box, so I reshaped it with wet, salted hands and wrapped it in a strip of pre-cut nori. Freezing rice in certain shapes doesn’t commit you to using it in the same shape — just nuke it and reshape as you like.
a cherry tomato wrapped in thinly sliced onion and smoked salmon, skewered with a pick to hold it together. I used a little V-slicer to slice the onion quickly (no need to dirty a cutting board and knife). I saw this recipe in a Japanese cookbook and thought it had promise, but I can’t say I was overly impressed with the result. It tasted just okay and was a little messy putting together. Capers would improve the flavor.
a wrapped cheese triangle

I wound up watching one of Bug’s little friends this afternoon during playgroup. She always gets excited about Bug’s bentos, so I made her a little snack (on left) to supplement her lunch. They’ve got the same fruit (blueberries, grapes and strawberries with slits cut into them for easy toddler eating), pre-frozen rice (frozen shaped as both animal onigiri andthe box), and chicken salad or roast chicken. The rice is sprinkled with furikake (flavored savory sprinkles for rice), and I brought along an individual pack of Anpanman furikake that the kids enjoyed dipping their rice (and cheese sticks!) into.

Post-game analysis: I should have given both of them roast chicken to make them equal and to make it easier for little hands to pick up and eat (without needing a fork).

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Published by Biggie on March 21st, 2007 tagged bento, for kids, glutenfree, onigiri or sushi, poultry, rice | 9 Comments »

Speedy pancake lunch: freezing pancakes

Morning prep time: less than 5 minutes. The other weekend I made blueberry buttermilk pancakes for breakfast, so I made some extras in mini sizes at the same time and froze them for easy breakfasts and packing in lunches. Bug’s lunch also includes cream cheese in a little container with spreader (for the pancakes — probably better for a toddler than maple syrup), a strawberry with slits cut into it so Bug can eat it easily, grapes and a cheese cube. Little cheese cubes are great gap fillers that stabilize the lunch for transport. Packed in his 270ml Thomas the Tank Engine box, so it was a little small according to the bento box size guidelines — I shared some of my lunch with him.

For best results freezing pancakes, first cool them thoroughly after cooking. Wrap each pancake individually in plastic wrap, put in a freezer bag, and use a straw to suck the excess air out of the bag before sealing. To eat: If you allow these to thaw naturally they can lose fluffiness and collapse, so first remove the plastic wrap from the pancake, wrap in aluminum foil, and reheat in a toaster oven or oven. (source: Shufu no Tomo) EDIT: I microwaved a couple of these recently until warm and these particular pancakes didn’t collapse.

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Published by Biggie on March 20th, 2007 tagged bento, for kids, freezing, phyllo or pancake or other | 16 Comments »

Speed Bento Technique: Freezing chopped herbs

Speed Tip: Pre-chop and freeze your most commonly used herbs and aromatics for when you’re cooking a dish in a hurry. I’ve got green onions (scallions or spring onions), cilantro (coriander) and parsley below. I still keep fresh herbs on hand for normal cooking, of course, but it’s nice to know I have a frozen stash when I’m running around getting ready in the morning. These are best used within three weeks, according to the Shufu no Tomo book on freezing. The green onions will come in handy when I’m making the scrambled egg purses.

To properly prepare the aromatics for freezing, first wash them thoroughly, spin dry in a salad spinner if you have one, then lightly pat with paper towels to dry thoroughly. Moisture is the enemy here as it’ll degrade flavor and make it difficult to take out a small portion of herbs at a time. Next, line small freezer containers (Tupperware, etc.) with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture. Chop the herbs as usual, fill the containers, cover and freeze. If you don’t have little plastic containers you can also use a freezer bag, or wrap small portions of herbs in plastic wrap to put in a freezer bag (use a straw to suck out any excess air from the bag before sealing and freezing). Don’t thaw before using, just use frozen in cooked dishes as texture will be softer than when fresh.

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Published by Biggie on March 19th, 2007 tagged freezing, parenthacks, tips, tutorial or how to, vegetarian | 23 Comments »

Sandwich lunch and collapsible sandwich cases

Morning prep time: 5 minutes per lunch (15 minutes total). On Saturday all three of us went out for the day and brought sandwiches packed in collapsible sandwich cases and a little bento box for my son. I previously wrote about collapsible sandwich cases here, and recently picked up a smaller one at a local Japanese dollar store for $1 (Sanrio stores sell them as well). Both hold one full-size sandwich, cut in half or thirds. Sandwiches are actually a popular item to pack in children’s bentos in Japan — Japanese kids’ bento cookbooks show a surprising number of them.

Lunch prep was sped up by using store-bought fresh chicken salad from CostCo; it’s with lettuce and Jarlsberg cheese on toasted whole wheat bread. We also had little tomatoes, cucumber and bell pepper sticks with low-fat ranch dressing in little containers for dipping.

The top of the sandwich case:

My husband’s lunch went into the larger sandwich case; the deeper case is able to accommodate a sandwich cut in half, more vegetables, a whole tangerine and a cheese triangle. I like that this Sanrio case has a movable divider that the $1 case above does not — it stabilizes the lunch for transport nicely. I put elastic bands around both boxes to be sure the lids didn’t come off, and stacked them inside of a deep carrying bag. After we ate, I was able to fold the sandwich cases flat and put the sauce containers into Bug’s empty bento box.

Bug’s lunch of half a sandwich and veggies went into the bottom layer of a 600ml two-tier box. He really likes finger food and dipping things, so this was a big hit with him (”more sandwich?”) and he practically inhales those cheese cubes. Not shown: a tiny pick to hold the little tomatoes for dipping — otherwise they fall into the dressing and frustrate Bug.

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