For today's lunch, a bento with a Nordic inspiration that reflects the pretty new snow that blanketed our area overnight...
I lived in Scandinavia for a few years and loved the tradition of decorative open-faced sandwiches there. In my bento version, toasted multigrain bread is topped with (from upper left): cream cheese, herring with dill sauce, cucumbers and fresh dill, salmon pate with dill and yellow pepper, salmon pate with a green apple heart, and finally cream cheese, herring, yellow pepper and more green, refreshing dill (can you tell I'm a fan of this herb?):
Red cabbage cooked with wild plum preserves and sliced kumquats, romaine, lady apples also for lunch.
We are putting out sunflower seeds for the birds and attracting a lively array of feathered friends--so fun to watch the parade of wrens, sparrows, chickadees, cardinals and even crows come to nibble, animating the pale winter landscape with their alert expressions and darting flights from seeds to tree branch and back again.
Here's a small "bird bento" of seeds in the snow!
26 comments:
It made me smile! I love the "bird bento". We like attracting birds of all sorts to our bird feeder. The cardinals come very early in the morning, must be to get the worm...but I don't think the even eat worms. :D
I love open face sandwiches, of course with the toppings you have I wouldn't mind if they were covered. The apples are too cute, just the right bento size!
Have a great Wednesday!
Delicious and well presented bento, Jenn. Hope I can eat this..hehe..mouth watering!
My neighbour love to feed birds too...they are feeding them with multigrain rice, to the pigeons!!! Therefore, there are so many pigeons all around my house during the feeding time...hehe.
So pretty.. love the look of the dill against the background, almost like pine trees on a wintry day! And that bird bento is so sweet!
Hi Lyndsey, so happy to read this made you smile :D Cardinals are so cool, love watching them with new-wave hair styles and cute orange beaks...a mated pair have made a nest in a shrub next door and are regular seed "customers"!
Lady apples are indeed bento-perfect, just love tiny edible things. Have a great rest of the week!!
Hi Emily, so kind of you! Thanks for sharing your bird story, that was cute!
Hi Megg, I LOVE your description of the dill...maybe that's part of my it seems so perfect in wintery foods? Jamison made a bean soup with TJ's 17 bean blend for dinner with mushrooms and it was awesome ;)
Looks yummy and healthy to me..
And how sweet of you to prepare a bento for the birdy.. tweet tweet.
I can picture the peaceful morning where we just got up and listen to the bird sing..:)
The bird bento?Its very kind of you :)
Love your bento, the color and the food must warm up your day :)
Teehee! Did the birds make away with it or did the squirrels beat them? The squirrels here are much more adept at seed stealing than the birds.
Love the 4 squares bento. Wonderful snowy day enjoyment!
Exquisite! Keep warm... Tweet-tweet!
Hi Bobo, such nice comments I enjoyed reading them, thank you!
Hi Sysyl! Thank you, its been so chilly here for us and the birds! Have a great day :)
Hi sherimiya! Yes indeed, squirrels love these seeds, too, so its always just a matter of time before they arrive and settle in to vacuum them up! Thanks and have a lovely Thursday :)
Thanks Debra!! Tweet-tweet!
Jenn, love everything in this square box! This bento looks so warm for a snowy day :)
Hi Lia dear, thanks for visiting with these sweet comments!
Love the bird bento, that made me laugh. Dill is one of my favorites too, and I love the idea of open faced sandwiches in a bento. Each of the toppings are wonderfully presented. Stay warm, Jenn!
Thanks, SB! Glad you liked my little wildlife bento, birdies need lunch too, right? I understand its pretty chilly in your part of CA right now too, so you stay warm and cozy as well :D
I really wish that you were my neighbor so that you can "school" me how to make beautiful and "artistic" bento *I mean it Jenn :D*. Even if we can hang out together for capturing good photos, do they sound really nice? ^^
Tee hee, sounds great Ta, hope you can teach me to create such kawaii bento effects as yours! And you know how much I love your dazzling photos :) Happy weekend, my friend.
Gorgeous and yummy bento! :) Those teeny apples are great, my kids really love them.
Hi Susan dear, thank you!! Yay for tiny bento sized (and healthy) foods, right?
We've taken the bird seeds back in because is getting more spring like! Of course winter might return any day, but I'm feeling optimistic anyway.
Lovely Scandinavian bento Jenn! Such cute apples -- are they sweet or sour?
You know, I always have a hard time finishing a whole bunch of dill... not my favourite of herbs! So any suggestions you might have are welcome! ;)
Hi Gnoe,
So nice to read that signs of spring are coming your way! The apples are pleasantly sweet with just a little tartness...
I've found dill to be very nice over soups and stews (such as lentil, esp. with a dollop of Greek yogurt). I wonder how it might work as a zingy pesto (pesto-making being such an effective way to use up herbs...)?
Enjoy the winter thaw for me :D
Dill, in winter! What a delightful and fresh respite from the winter. How lucky we are that it is available nearly any time of year. With my husband being Danish, I can certainly appreciate this Nordic inspiration. "Inspireret af denne kreativitet og kulinariske færdigheder."
Hi Robin! Yes, green herbs help light up winter with aromatic freshness, don't they? So cool that your husband is Danish--has this influenced your cooking?
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