french spinach salad bento

Hi bento pals! A simple bento for today with a French-autumnal feel: spinach leaves lightly dressed with French walnut oil, topped with butter-sautéd baby pear slices and decorative pieces of Gruyère cheese. Crab salad with Dijon mustard dressing on heart shaped toast and a bright chorus of raspberries for dessert...

Have a happy Thursday!

chicken and ginger pickle bento

Hi bento pals! A simple and traditional bento for today, with brown rice, honey-mustard chicken, Japanese pickled red ginger (beni shōga), crisp broccoli, orange pepper and a bright slice of lemon. Hope your week is going well--we are starting to get some refreshingly cool days here with beginning hints of fall color, can't wait for the maples to turn scarlet and gold...

persian sandwich bento

Hi bento pals! We recently visited a wonderful Persian bakery and market in our area called Nemooheh. They are renowned for a rich selection of Persian sweets, including baklavas in several honeyed nut combinations and refined, golden shapes.

Nemooneh also carries a full range of Persian groceries, including pickles, spices and flavored waters, nuts and dried fruit...

Some luscious pastries unwrapped at home:

 Today's bento was inspired by subtle and exotic items from this shop, including spicy "torshi" or vegetable pickles which I blended with thick Greek yogurt to make a spread for a leg of lamb and tomato sandwich on Barbari bread. Dill and green olives, romaine, dolmeh and scallions also in the bento. Lunch ends on a sweet note with fresh green figs and almond baklava.

Jamison captured this lovely image of a butterfly visiting a bright pink zinnia in our garden. Zinnia have been wonderful attractors of both butterflies and hummingbirds this summer. Have a great weekend, happy cooking!

late summer fried rice bento

Hello friends! I'm gearing up for a very busy week this Sunday evening...Monday's bento features a melange of farmer's market and elements of a yummy meal yesterday at our favorite Szechuan restaurant, China Star.

Leftover rice from dinner is stir-fried with market okra and bright peppers, and in the little bowl is a portion of garlicky "Crystal Shrimp." Baby golden tomatoes and tender-sweet figs round out lunch. Have a great week!

rainy day panini bento

Hi bento pals! Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been a little under the weather recently. Speaking of weather, the last few days have brought an incredible amount of drenching rain to our area.

On this wet and gray afternoon, I used a lovely b-day gift from my mom--a panini maker--to make turkey kielbasa, sliced green fig, radicchio and provolone panini sandwiches. They were oh so good! It will be fun to try other melty, savory, toasty combinations with this great device...any suggestions?

Wishing you a relaxing and fun upcoming weekend!