rainy day fried rice bento

Hello! Today's bento was a quick affair for a busy day, featuring fried rice with veggies, chicken and kimchee (more on that in a moment) and a juicy sweet combo of blueberries and watermelon.

I made the fried rice with an assortment of vegetables, including asparagus, poblano pepper, shimeji mushrooms, golden yellow pepper, plus plenty of ginger (essential!) and diced garlic:

Green, willowy garlic chives and radish kimchee, along with diced chicken thigh were also added to the sizzling wok along with my pre-cooked rice. To give this fried rice an interesting flavor twist, I prepared some Japanese curry sauce (using Golden Curry brand) and poured this over the rice/veggies/chicken...yum! Korean chili oil added at the table.

The bento took about three minutes to compose--I think that qualifies as a "speed bento"! A little orange pepper heart adds more color and cheer, along with homemade butterfly pick.

Rainy wet day here, but full of the promise of winter-into-spring. A sweet dove is nesting near our front door--Jamison took this great pic of her:

Speaking of nests, our house goes officially on the market via our realtor this afternoon!

salmon curry bento

Hi friends! Monday's bento features Coho salmon cooked with ginger, Vietnamese curry powder and coconut milk, sharing the top half of my bento set with rice, green peas, yellow pepper and zingy garlic buds. For dessert: coconut yogurt

(from Liberté--so delicious!) with watermelon butterflies.

We went shopping at Lotte Plaza yesterday, a fav place for hard to find produce (like garlic buds) and Indian sweets. I love their rich colors and succulent textures, especially coconut burfi (with almond, below). 

Happy cooking in the week ahead--we are getting closer to spring all the time!

smørrebrød bento

Hi friends!  Today's bento features a Scandinavian-style smørrebrød sandwich with dill-mustard marinated herring, tart apple slices and edible viola. I recently came across this fantastic resource on the art of smørrebrød: hop on over for an endlessly entertaining and informative guide to this distinctive and tasty tradition, and a wealth of authentic recipes.

Arugula, radish, fresh dill and apple slices share the bento with my smørrebrød. Enjoying a balmy and bright afternoon for late February: much excited birdsong, blooming crocus and periwinkle, green tufts of spring bulbs emerging a few weeks early (a very warm winter for us this year).

Enjoy the rest of the week, happy cooking!