winter garden greens bento

 

Hi bento pals! Today's bento reflects the green bounty in our January Santa Rosa garden right now. I really dislike cold weather, and send this sunny, temperate bento as a warming greeting to all of you currently caught in the current "Arctic Vortex"--shudder/shiver!

 

Flowering Thai radish--the flowers have a mildly spicy taste:

 

 

Kale does amazingly well in this climate and is so good simply sautéed with garlic and olive oil:

 

 

"Japanese Big Leaf" spinach:

 

 

In the bento: a heart-shaped frittata with garden kale, red onion and creamy Port Salut cheese on crisp multigrain toast, French breakfast radish, freshly-picked along with garden arugula, spinach and mixed lettuces grown from Italian "misticanza" seeds. A dressing of walnut oil, whole grain mustard and a touch of orange marmalade in the little heart container, juicy Granny Smith apple slices for dessert.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

new year inner richmond explorations

 

Hello and Happy 2014! Jamison and I celebrated New Years Day with a Korean meal in San Francisco's Inner Richmond neighborhood. A spectrum of banchan:

 

 

Bulgogi and Galbi ready to grill:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This area is fun for foodie shopping and window-gazing, housewares browsing and people watching, with an incredible variety of mostly Asian restaurants, bakeries and dim sum specialists here.

 

 







 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In today's bento, savory grilled beef slices are layered with a type of spinach we are growing in the garden for the first time this year: "Japanese Big Leaf"--it has a nicely mineral-rich flavor and deep emerald color.

 

 

Yellow pickled radish and the edible flowers of our daikon radish add color and texture to lunch which also includes rice tossed with rice vinegar and a real treat of the winter citrus season: Cara Cara oranges. Happy cooking and bentoing in 2014!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



cambodian beef salad bento

 

Hi friends! This bento features a wonderfully spicy and lime-tangy beef salad that we love picking up at our favorite Asian market here in Santa Rosa--happily the owners prepare several Cambodian dishes for take out, and this is a delight.

 

Crisp romaine lettuce and two mango bunnies round out the meal.

Have a lovely weekend!