cozy cassoulet flavors bento

Hi bento pals! Yesterday was dark, rainy and windy, the perfect kind of day to be indoors and make a cozy casserole. After reading several recipe options on Epicurious, I found this one for an easy cassoulet with savory, smokey flavors...made a few changes to the recipe, omitting the lima beans, substituting organic andouille chicken sausage for kielbasa, and adding olive-oil browned chicken thighs, baby bella mushrooms and red wine.

Our kitchen was filled with spicy, warming scents as we enjoyed dinner to the sound of rain...

Sauteed fennel slices rounded out the meal--I love how they take on a sweet and caramelized quality so easily after a few minutes in the skillet.

Today is radiant, clear and mild, the air cleansed by the rain, plants and trees seem happy with all the moisture they soaked in...

Lunch made use of the abundant cassoulet leftovers, plus chanterelles for more autumn flavor! Fennel complements the smokey flavors...as does an endive filled with Gorgonzola dolce, walnuts and a touch of walnut oil--yum!

Radish and baby endive, tart green apple, mango "flower", crystallized ginger and a madeline cookie with orange preserve glaze also in the bento. Edible garnishes include flowering thyme, fennel fronds, oregano and a tiny viola!

baby tako bento

Hi bento pals! Another warm and beautiful weekend enjoyed here with deep blue skies and radiant maples, ginkgos and oaks flying their colorful leaf banners. A long walk around the neighborhood was rich with intense autumn colors...

For Monday's lunch, a simple bento with seasoned baby octopus from Hana Mart, an excellent Japanese market in D.C. we visited this weekend...

Stir-fried asparagus, buna shimeji mushrooms and yellow pepper with baby romaine and oba leaves for green contrast, and mandarin orange, blackberries and Granny Smith apple slices to finish the meal sweetly. I'm waiting for this persimmon to ripen...love the prettily shaped, embossed leaves on top!

Have a super week ahead!

golden november bento

Today's bento reflects amber-golden tones from the vibrant and mild November we've enjoyed thus far. Lunch features a curried chicken salad, bright with healthful turmeric and studded with almonds, pistachios and apples.

Thin slices of bright rainbow chard stems and edible viola blossoms accent the salad along with a "ginkgo" of tart Granny Smith apple. For more autumnal golden flavor, pureed Kabocha squash with ginger and some golden beet flowers. Yummy pumpkin-spice bread topped with cream cheese, pumpkin butter and pistachio surrounded by a "mosaic" of candied ginger and papaya pieces for dessert....

Lunch companion: a little Japanese owl!

Golden kitty reflects autumnal beauty...

Warm afternoon light shining through amber-toned trees

Have a great Thursday, friends!