New Lunch Set!

     I've been checking out this new product line from black + bulm lately, and I finally decided to spring for a few of their products. They are very clever lunch containers and accessories. One of the items i purchased was this nifty lunch bag. It is pretty simple looking, and at first glance may not seem anything special....

      But if you check out the diagram on the packaging you can see that it opens up to be a little table cloth, or even can be used to sit on the grass.

      Another great item I found was this book of recipes. They seem fairly simple and tasty and there are lots of great pictures to help inspire people!

     So, I didn't try one of the recipes yet, but I was really eager to try the container, so in this box, I have some leftover beef bourguignon that my sister-in-law made (very, very tasty), some slices of baguette, a few cherry tomatoes, and in the other small container is pickled cauliflower. One of the nice features about this container is the removable inner containers (which also have their own lids). I can now easily remove the beef and reheat it in the microwave seperately. Also the container with the cauliflower can be used for sauce instead. Additionally, you can remove both and just use the whole container for another dish. Here you can also see the opened bag, and the cute fork (which has a side that can cut like a knife).

     The container closes up nicely, and has a little loop for the fork.

Very clever and convenient! I am very excited about this new product and look forward to trying new ones and the recipes from the book! Until next time, happy munching!

Decidedly Dumplings

Before work today, I cooked up some pork and cabbage dumplings. I boiled them for 7 minutes and then fried them in a pan for a bit with a bit of olive oil. While they were boiling, I also stir-fried some mushrooms, and napa cabbage. I laid these as the base in my lunch. I also mixed together a sauce with soya sauce, vinegar, garlic and sesame oil and a touch of sugar, and poured it over my dumplings at the last minute after I had turned off the heat, I let them simmer a bit in there and then scooped them out and into my glass container. I coupled this meal with a pair of my favourite chop sticks.

I put it all in this cute neko (cat) bag.

I am very excited to eat this lunch! I think know it will be tasty! Plus, the bag is super cute. I also included a bit of sesame dressing to dip things in should I feel inclined. This was honestly, a very easy lunch to prepare and I would say it probably took little over 10 minutes. My co-workers are always surprised when I tell them that I made my meal in the morning before work, but it doesn't take much time to create something interesting and tasty. You'd be surprised with what you can do in 10 or 15 minutes. If you don't work well in a time crunch, then there is always the option of preparing things before you go to bed. You only need to set aside some time when you find it most suitable, and you too can make a bento, or even just a nutritious lunch, versus buying a lunch. 

Until next time, Happy Munching!

New Ventures

When I go to the Farmer's Market on Sundays, I really get inspired to try lots of new things. Lately, I have been trying to cook things that I have never done before, and try new meats and vegetables that I see at the market. I am trying to remember to take pictures of these things to share with you all.

My mother was so surprised when I called her and told her that I was cooking lamb. It was really unusual because my parents had never served lamb when I was growing up, and I have probably eaten it about 3 times before... I also had a bit of a moral dilemma over it, admittedly. I didn't like the idea of meat from baby animals. It might seem a bit silly or trivial, but I tended to shy away from things like veal and lamb because of this (even though I had eaten them both before), I didn't buy them or cook them.

I know my husband likes lamb, and his family cooks lamb/mutton so I had eaten it at their house twice, and I had seen lamb at the market a few times and I am very curious, so I wanted to try making it for myself once. I put aside my concerns, and decided to buy a boneless leg roast.

I got up early before work and  chopped up some fresh rosemary and I patted it onto the lamb, with some salt and pepper. I also cut up some rainbow carrots, potato and onion and put them around the roast, with a few sprigs of rosemary. It looked delicious already...

I left it cook on low all day while I was at work, and I came home to a delicious smell in my home. I carved up the roast

and I scooped out the vegetables with a slotted spoon.

Everything was very tasty! I also strained the juices for gravy. It was great to see that my experiment had worked out! It tasted good, and I have to say, the vegetables were my favourite part. I decided I liked them lamb, and it turned out well, but in my honest opinion, this is not my favourite meat. But it was a great experience, and I am glad I tried it, and I am not completely writing it off. You never know, I might try something else next time I am inspired to try lamb.

I hope I have inspired you to try something new! It's different when you cook something yourself, you can tweak it anyway you like and you can be honest with yourself about how much you like, or dislike something, and I think you are more likely to like something if you do it your own way, because you know yourself and your preferences. Don't be afraid to try new things, or things you might have written off before! There's always more than one way to do something and you might like something different than you've tried before.

Until next time, Happy Munching!

I made a lot of shepherd's pie, and it was good, so I decided to take it for lunch today! It didn't transfer into the container beautifully, but that's okay, I know it will taste good either way.

In the top tier of this bento, I included some diced fruit salad, some sour cream, a small cheese, fruit snacks and a mini kitkat bar.

This is a new bento box I bought the other day, it is microwave safe so I was excited to try it out.

As you can tell its Hello Kitty, which I love. She's just so cute. Anyways, I packed it all up and it has this really handy handle that clips onto the side on the containers which serves not only to make it easy to transport, but also clips the containers together!

Well, that's all for now,

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Shepherd's Pie

While sitting at lunch with a co-worker today, she had shepherd's pie for lunch. I was inspired to try making it myself, since I had never done so before. I had eaten it before, of course, but never made it. 

On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items for my pie, when I got home, I started working my magic on it.

First, I started by mixing together some ground pork and ground beef. I spiced it, added some bread crumbs, and mixed it together well, I began to brown it in a pan while I prepared the next layers. I sliced up some mushrooms, cafe and white button mushrooms, and I also chopped up an onion. I strained and microwaved a can of corn and combined it with some leftovers of corn and a touch of fresh salsa that I had mixed together for a meal the day before. Once the meat was cooked, I lined the bottom of a glass pan with it, and I began to cook up the mushrooms and onions. They were the next layer in my pie. I also did not want to waste 45 minutes making potatoes, so I admittedly used instant. I keep these on hand  because they are easy to use, and I buy the kind made from dehydrated potatoes and when I am done making them, they taste delicious. I added fresh chives and dill and some lemon juice to the potatoes, and I added the layer of corn on top of the mushrooms. I then added the thinest layer of cheese and began to spread out the potatoes. After the potatoes came more cheese. 

I baked it in the oven for a bit, mostly to melt the cheese because everything was still hot and was already cooked.

 When it came out, I couldn't wait to try it. I wanted to try to take a picture of the layers for you to see, but it wasn't easy.

I also served it with some sauteed rainbow chard on the side. I had picked this up from the farmer's market, and I had never tried it before.  It turned out very tasty.

While eating, I thought to myself that a great way to make this vegetarian could be to substitute the meat for something like spinach or chard, I think they would taste good together, you could really use any vegetable, or if you like meat, use any meat you like.

I really enjoyed making shepherd's pie, it was so delicious, I only ate it with a touch of sour cream because the flavours were amazing. Previously, I had definitely eaten shepherd's pie with ketchup, but it had never been like this. This is truly my own rendition of it. You can incorporate your favourite foods and flavours into shepherd's pie. Why not make it your own? Try it!

Until next time, Happy Munching.

Happy Halloween!

This year, my husband had to work until 7pm on Halloween, so I was getting set for the kids by myself this year. It was really fun, although there were a few obstacles, and everything worked out great. I had already decorated a few days before hand, I just had to add the finishing touches... some strobe lights and some creepy music, and some candles... and let's not forget the pumpkins!

It had been a long time since I had carved a pumpkin by myself, I usually pick out what I want and my husband carves it. This year, we hadn't had time to carve them early, so it was up to me to carve at least one!

I carefully selected a pattern, but I didn't want anything too easy or too boring, and I though to myself, I know exactly the perfect thing.... Jack Skellington. The Nightmare Before Christmas has been a favourite movie of mine for so long and when else can you carve the Pumpkin King's visage on an actual pumpkin? So I set out to carve him up! It was definitely tricky, especially the mouth, and my hand was so tired afterwards, but it was worth it!

I snapped this picture and sent it to my husband at work to show him what I had carved! I left the second pumpkin for him to do when he got home. I put my pumpkin outside and waited for kids to start coming and there were way more than last year! 

When my husband got home, he started on his pumpkin while I made dinner. When he was done, we brought his outside to join mine and took some pictures:

I had picked out a Jack Skellington pattern for him too, but a different looking one. It was neat. They looked great all lit up. One had a light in it that changed colours and the other blinked on and off.

They looked awesome on our step, and we got lots of compliments on them.

We brought them in at the end of the night, and I took one last photo... and then I moved on to use what I had harvested from them... PUMPKIN SEEDS!

It had been a long time since my parents had cooked up some pumpkin seeds after I had carved a pumpkin as a child, but while I was carving our pumpkins, I was impressed with how great these seeds looked and I wanted to use them. I looked up some tips online and I set them out on a baking sheet to dry overnight.

The next evening, I tossed them in some olive oil and some salt, pepper, and roasted red pepper and garlic spice, and spread them out on a sheet and put them in the oven at about 250 for a bit over an hour, checkin on them periodically.

They turned out delicious! Crispy and flavourful! The spices even seemed to have caramelized a bit in the oven, they had such a wonderful taste to them. I was glad that I decided to roast them!

What did you carve in your pumpkin this year? Did you roast your pumpkin seeds?

I hope you had a Happy Halloween! I know I did!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Turkey Dinner Bento

After Thanksgiving, we all have lots of leftovers available, and they usually make great lunches, and even dinners as we clear them out of our fridge over the week. 

Now, these leftovers don't make the most beautiful bento, but they sure are delicious. 

I've included buffet carrots (carrots with a cheese sauce, onions and topped with some crispy bread), stuffing, turkey and mashed potatoes. I included on the side (but didn't take a picture of) some homemade gravy. I put this in a microwave safe container because I like my turkey leftovers served hot.

I made a turkey all by myself this year for the second time in a row. It's still a new experience, and I am learning a lot, and I really enjoy trying these things. This year, I covered the top of my turkey in bacon strips. Everyone kept telling my how I had to try it,  and well, I would say it was a tasty trick. I am not sure how much it really enhanced it from last year's version, its hard to tell because I bought a different type of turkey this year, too, but I liked how it turned out!

Enjoy eating your Turkey Dinner leftovers!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

A Throwback, Nutritious and Delicious

We've pretty much all had this before.... peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but, it doesn't have to be that boring. I like to make mine interesting by using peanut butter and apple butter. The more rich flavour and thicker texture pairs really well with the peanut butter. I paired my sandwich with some green pepper, broccoli and mushrooms, and some cocktail tomatoes and some dressing.

This meal is a bit of a throwback to school days, but it really is nutritious, easy and delicious. It is a pretty well-balanced meal, and I think that we shouldn't easily dismiss PB & J. Mix it up, remake an old favourite and try some OLD things sometimes! You might be surprised at how much you missed them!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Super Simple Lunch

We don't always have a lot of free time in the mornings when we are heading out to wherever we are supposed to be, whether that is school, work or an appointment, sometimes we throw together something quick, or completely miss the opportunity to make a lunch to bring.

This morning was one of those days for me and I threw together this very quick and 4 item bento. I have included a red bean bun, some pickled radish and carrot, a boiled egg and some asian pear.

I would most definitely not call this a perfect bento, but I would say that this is a good example of something quick and easy that one can throw together that rates fairly well as healthy and will let you make it through the day.

Next time you are in a rush, consider having some easy to grab pre-made or even pre-prepared items on hand. I was glad that I had some boiled eggs ready in my fridge and some of the buns. That way when I was in a rush, I just had to grab them, no cooking required. We don't always have time to make a lunch from scrap in the morning, or time to make something great the night before, so I would really recommend this type of method to anyone who might tend to be rushed in the mornings. ;)

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Ramen!

Mostly everyone in their life has tried instant ramen before, whether they realized what it was or not. Instant ramen is something most people think of as a poor student's diet, or an easy meal, something lumped in with Kraft Dinner and such usually. I believe instant ramen is highly underrated, and has much potential to make a delicious meal.

Today, I wanted a delicious bowl of ramen with more than just noodles and broth! I thinly sliced up some mushrooms and napa cabbage and I also took a few pieces of thinly sliced beef from the freezer that I usually use for hot pot, I placed these things on top of the raw noodles in my bowl and poured boiling water over top of them. I covered it with a plate for the recommended time, and when it was cooked, I threw in my soup base (this is my preferred method of making it). Out came this delicious soup!

I really encourage you to try making instant ramen something more than a poor student's food! Try adding vegetables and thin cuts of meat you like! You can use ham, or any pre-cooked meat if you prefer, you can even add a boiled egg! Anything goes! 

I hope I have inspired you to reconsider instant ramen and to try something new! Until next time, Happy Munching!

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I made homemade spaghetti and meatballs last night, and I am taking the leftovers for lunch today. Everything besides the pasta is homemade. The neat thing about these meatballs is that they are turkey meatballs. My husband was so surprised when I told him. They were delicious. I added spices to the turkey, and some sun-dried tomato and garlic breadcrumbs that I had made from a baguette, and I rolled them up into nice little balls, put them in a pan and roasted them in the oven. I also made the sauce using the usual things I like, such as diced tomatoes (I used canned ones because its much easier), tomato paste, mushrooms, onions, an assortment of spices and such. 

You might notice I did not use a cute bento box today, sometimes when I know I am going to have to microwave my lunch, I use a more standard container like plastic or preferably glass, because not all of the bento boxes are microwave safe, and some that are, I just would prefer not to microwave them.

This is a great lunch and a definitely a leftover you do not have to try to remake into something interesting! I look forward to making this again sometime! 

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Matching Set

I made a sandwich with dry all-beef salami and some swiss cheese, using another one of my reusable BPA-free sandwich bags. They are rather cute.

To accompany this sandwich, I included some soya beans, a chocolate covered cookie dessert, some beef jerky and...

Some veggies (baby corn, mushrooms and cucumber), and some sesame vinaigrette dip.

I have been wanting to try out this bento box since I got it, it is very adorable with a matching band and...

 A matching drawstring bag. They make a very nice set.

Well, that's all for now, until next time, Happy Munching!

Dinner by Hubby

     For our date night, my husband made me dinner. Now, this is really a pretty rare thing and if he does make me dinner, its usually Kraft Dinner, hot dogs, Hamburger Helper, and you get the picture! So I was very impressed! He picked up these ENORMOUS tuna steaks and even made up his own marinade for them (I believe it was some oil, some salt and pepper and some ponzu) and the barbecued them. He also cooked up these noodles he found at our local asian grocery (which I absolutely love to frequent), and he even made them in a way different than the package explained. So way to be creative! I was very impressed and it tasted great. :) Keep up the good work, hubby!

That's all for now, until next time, Happy Munching!

A Healthy Selection

I recently purchased some BPA free resuable sandwich bags and I was very excited to use them. Today, I made a chicken salad sandwich, I made the salad mix last night and this let the flavours really develop. If you are interested in my chicken salad recipe, please check out my previous blog  where I showed you how I made it. 

I also included  some healthy snacks, mushrooms with sesame vinaigrette dressing (in the pink polka-dot container), some beef jerky cut up small, some dried mango and a cheese snack.

Together they make a cute pair!

I also added these delicious gummy bears my brother brought me back from Germany. They are really tasty!

Well, that's all for now, until next time, Happy Munching!

Best of Luck Bento

   I had my first day of my new job today! I wanted to start off my week right, so I made this adorable and very delicious bento.

I used this cute sakura shaped bento with two tiers. 

I remade left overs of bbq steak (sliced very thinly) and sauteed vegetables (mushrooms and bok choy) into a stir-fry with rice. I also used some fresh salsa as sauce with my vegetables. I made sure to season this well because I planned to eat it cold.

I included halva (this is a dessert type item made with tahini, this particular one has chocolate, too), a mochi, a stalk of celery with peanut butter, some fruit snacks and a Vache Qui Rit Cheese (a.k.a. Laughing Cow Cheese).

     This lunch was not only nutritious but also delicious and easy to eat. It was a good lunch to keep me going through the whole day!

     When you pack nutritious, good food, it can give you the energy to get through the day, and keep you full until dinner time! You can also pack some healthy snacks (like celery with peanut butter) to ward off hunger mid/late-afternoon. Until next time, happy munching!

A Plethora of Flavours - Hot Pot

     Since my 1st post about hot pot, I have had it several more times since then. I wanted to provide a new post that was a bit more intensive and a close up on hot pot. This now seems to be a fairly common meal around my house. It is great because it is simple, fun, and nutritious.

     There was a brief period where our usual store did not have the hot pot soup base we usually use in stock. We tried a couple others, but we discovered that they either did not compare (way too bland), or were way too spicy. It is important to have a soup base that you like because it is going to flavour all the ingredients you put into the pot. Our favourite base is very easy to prepare, all the ingredients are in the bag (it comes with the stock, some spices and things), and you just need to add 20 cloves of garlic and some green onions and some boiling water. It is very flavourful (and actually not very "garlic-y").

This is how it looks (it's boiling in the picture)

     We have also found some new ingredients that we like to use.... and some older ones that have stayed the same:

These are our new ingredient!

Yam Noodles!

We tried these one night and loved them!

They cook very quickly and we do it in a small metal basket spoon-type thing.

They are in little bundles, so its great because you do not have to try to fish them out of the pot.

Another great ingredient is cauliflower! It takes a little longer to cook, but it is very tasty.

(Broccoli is also good, but I didn't have any yesterday)

Peas & Carrots!

I like to use snow peas, they are yummy and cook quickly.

Also, I like to use baby carrots because it not only saves on preparation time, but thin slices of carrot tend to fall apart when cooked through. These take a bit longer to cook, but I believe its good to have a balance of quick and slow cooking ingredients.

Another ingredient not to miss is mushrooms!

I like to use a mixture of different mushrooms. Tonight, I used white button and portobello. But I often use cremini and I've also used shitake and king oyster. I find it is best if you cut up the mushroom, this makes it more appropriate sized to eat, easier to pick up, and faster cooking.

Napa cabbage is another great ingredient. It cooks quickly and has good flavour. You can use other types of cabbage too, but this has been our favourite. 

Another great ingredient that I didn't use last night is bok choy. There are a few different types, don't be afraid to try them. I often use Shanghai bok choy. 

This is one ingredient we rarely vary. Udon! It is very delicious when cooked in the hot pot. You can buy it packaged just like this. It is very quick to cook, and easy to eat!

Shrimp! We buy cooked frozen shrimp. Its best to try to cook these in the metal basket because they can get lost and hard to catch in the boiling hot pot. If you get frozen cooked shrimp its best because you basically just need to heat the shrimp up in the hot pot. 

Meat! We like to get beef and lamb. We buy the meat frozen and thinly sliced. This is important because otherwise it would take forever to cook. Now, you can buy the same kind of meat you would use for fondue, but you might have to thaw it first because it does not come apart easily when frozen. The nice thing about this meat is that it is in rolls so it is easy to pick up and toss into the hot pot. We buy this at our Asian grocery store.

Now cooking hot pot is super easy... just throw a bit of everything into the pot and watch it cook!

When it is ready, fish it out with your chopsticks, or a metal basket spoon.

Lastly, ENJOY!

Now, it is very common for these cooked ingredients to be dipped into sauces. What type of sauce you like is up to you. My husband doesn't use any, but I love sesame vinaigrette. Other great options are hoisin sauce, satay sauce, soya sauce, and in Japanese hot pot (called shabu shabu) they dip it in a beaten raw egg! 

     Hot pot is a delicious meal that is very sociable. It is very easy to prepare, and full of nutritious ingredients and best of all you can control those ingredients as you like! There are also lots of restaurants that have hot pot. If you are curious about it, I highly suggest you go out to one of those places and try it! 

     Until next time, Happy Munching!