Back to Bento

I've been trying to get the time to really do some bento again, and I finally did it (after hours of perusing Pinterest in search of inspiration). I used some leftovers to create a similar version of the meatballs and couscous I have posted about perviously.

I had these huge chicken meatballs I made, and some tomato sauce with baby king oyster mushrooms. I made some couscous with chicken stock and garlic and added a little sakura blossom made of cheese (and a few sesame seeds).

This bento is pretty simple, but hopefully I will have more frequent and bento related posts!

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

Chow Mien

Recently, I was inspired to make chow mien! I picked up some fresh noodles, mini corn, mushrooms, broccoli, and beef as well as a sauce mix.  I followed the directions for the noodles (boil briefly and then pan fry lightly) and on the sauce. Everything came together quite nicely and was a bit different than my usual stir fry! It's great to try something new!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Leftover Turkey Stew

After making turkey dinner, I salvaged the leftover turkey and carcass to make turkey stew. I put the carcass in a large pot and covered it with water. I let it boil for about 4 hours (checking on it periodically and adding more water if needed). I then strained all the liquid into containers, let them cool and refrigerated them.

The next day, I poured the stock into the crock pot and added chopped turkey, celery, onion, turnip, carrot and potato. I also added a bit of barley and some spices. I let it cook on high all day.

By supper time, it was an amazing stew with lots of flavour. It was also my first time using barley, I really liked it and I will be using it again in the future!

Until next time, Happy munching!

Apple Pie Time

Thanksgiving is a busy time of year, and I made some of my delicious apple pies!

This year, I bought some cute cutters to make them prettier.

The first pie I made, I used the leaf cutter. Sadly part of the crust broke, but it still looked pretty good.

The second time I was more cautious and I used the apple cutter.


Here is without the inserts:

Here is with the inserts:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Until next time, happy munching!

BBQ Fajita

A long time favourite meal of mine is fajita. This meal can really be enjoyed any time of year... but it is is especially great during the summer, with the beautiful weather and local food. We love to do as much outdoor cooking as possible.

The first important step here is to make the pico de gallo in advance so the flavours have time to develop. This time, I made it with yellow, green and red heirloom tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice,  and sriracha for spice.

 Next, we throw the meat (which has been marinated) on the barbecue (chicken and pork today), along with the wok full of vegetables (peppers, mushrooms and onions).

Once everything is cooked up, we serve it with some additional fixings (guacamole, rice and sour cream) and some warm tortillas.

Everyone has fun assembling their own fajita! 

Until next time, Happy Munching!

You say potato, I say potato

I just want to share with you all these potatoes that I have fallen in love with....

With the nice weather, I like to cook them up in my wok on the grill...

First, you have to cook the potatoes (I usually boil or steam them), then you cut up some smoked boar bacon into cubes (you could use any thick cut bacon really, but the boar bacon really does make it something special) and some minced onions. Sauté the bacon and the onions in the pan and then when the bacon is nice and caramelized and the onions cooked, throw in the potatoes and toss them together and add seasoning.

Give it a try sometime! I hope you like it! 

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Paramount Perogies

 I love perogies, and in the past, I always just ate them in a very ordinary way, boiled and then pan fried... but not that long ago, I developed a new way that I like to eat perogies and I have captured it to share with you.

Essentially, I like to make a sort of stew with mushrooms, onions and diced canned tomatoes. In today's example, I added some slices of flank steak to the stew. I boil my perogies until cooked and then toss them in a pan with butter, garlic and lemon pepper (as usual) and then serve it up with the stew on the bottom, perogies on top and today with a bit of sprouts. I also like to eat them with sour cream (or plain greek yogurt).

This is a really simple way to change things up and make a more balanced meal out of it!

That's all for today! Until next time, Happy Munching!

Campsite Gourmet

 One past time we really enjoy is camping. As soon as the weather gets nice, we begin to plan out when we can take a couple of days and head out to our favourite sites.

Our first camping trip this year, the weather was beautiful and we made this particularly amazing meal. On a whim, I had purchased a one-time-use charcoal barbecue from the camp store and it ended up coming in handy for this meal! We used it in combination with our camp stove!

We made a pork tenderloin, corn on the cob and mashed potatoes. Everything tasted great and enjoying it in the outdoors with the sunshine makes everything even better.

After chowing down on our meal, it was time to make the fire before it gets dark. Time to relax, enjoy the warmth and maybe have some marshmallows or pie iron pies!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Easter Dinner

I really wanted to make something special for Easter dinner. I had a few recipes that I found that I wanted to try. I made a beef roast and a ham. The ham I poured rum over from time to time while it was baking in the oven. I had never made a ham this way, and I was really hoping it would turn out well... and it did. :)

I also made a gravy from the drippings of the roast.

And served it with some roasted potatoes and carrots and some steamed asparagus.

For dessert, I made vanilla and chocolate pudding topped with chocolate covered matzah.

Everything was amazing!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Meatballs & Couscous

You may remember from a previous post that I mentioned a cookbook that I had purchased called Lunch Box Revolution. This is the recipe which I first saw in it, and what really inspired me to buy it. I didn't follow the recipe that closely, but I did read it over. The thing is, I have my own way of doing some of these things (like making meatballs) and I wanted to stick with it!

This dish doesn't look super exciting in my picture, and I apologize, but it really is awesome, and is one of my favourite dishes now. Basically it is just meatballs, a tomato sauce and couscous. I added mushrooms to the sauce.

I really like to make my meatballs with a mixture of pork and beef and to use bread crumbs (preferably panko) along with a variety of other ingredients and variable steps (including anything from adding carrots and onions or garlic, etc). I like to brown them in a pan, and then finish them in the oven.

For the sauce, I just used some canned diced tomatoes and tomato paste, mushrooms, onions and spices.

I find this ratio & steps work great for making couscous, Basic Couscous Recipe, but I like to add butter or margarine (about a tablespoon or so) and use stock instead of plain water. Sometimes I like to add garlic or other spices, too.

This dish is really easy and can really be adjusted as you like. You could easily replace the meatballs with portobello mushrooms, or make them with turkey or chicken.  It's an easy, quick and simple recipe to have in your arsenal.

Until next time, Happy Munching!

Curry

One of my favourite dishes is curry. Typically, when I plan to make this dish, I chop up root vegetables (carrots, potato, turnip) and onion and put it in my slow cooker with some cubed beef. I add beef stock, beer or sake and spices and let it cook all day. 

When I get home from work, I make the sauce (which can be purchased in any asian grocery store). It comes in a block, and I usually boil some water or some of the liquid from the crock pot, and then dissolve the block and cook until it thickens a bit.

I serve it with rice, and in this case, a bit of furikake.

It's delicious!

Until next time, Happy Munching!

A Romantic Raclette for Two

I decided that my husband and I should have a special dinner just the two of us. We really enjoy the raclette, so I got it out and prepared all the fixings!

I marinated three different meats in various ways, each cut into strips.

I also prepared a variety of cheeses

and don't forget the vegetables!

A favourite in my family to eat with raclette or fondue is what we call greek potatoes! These potatoes are peeled and placed directly on the rack in the oven for about 45 minutes. What results is a crispy exterior with a soft interior!

To make things a little more special, I pulled out our nice dishes that we got as wedding presents, and set them nicely.

And last but not least... a bottle of a favourite wine....

Well, that's really all for this entry! Until next time, happy munching!

Happy Year of the Dragon!

   It's Chinese New Year again! This year is the Year of the Dragon! I have been excitedly anticipating this event. :)

      I decided not to break with the tradition we started last year, so it's hot pot again this year! I went out and got some fun decorations for the event.

    After decorating, I chopped up all the delicious things we like to put in our hot pot. I don't think I used anything different than usual this time... so if you would like to know the details of how I do hot pot please reference this post here.

   We had lots of fun and enjoyed it very much. I hope you have a wonderful Year of the Dragon!

   Until next time, Happy Munching!

Healthful Lunch - Salad

       I really love this new lunchbox that I purchased. It has great size and versatility. Today, I decided to make a nice salad in it. 

    This is a pretty hearty salad and will be quite filling! This salad has baby romaine lettuces, snow peas, baby corn, peppers, mushroom and a nice red tomato! On the side, sliced up some montreal smoked meat quite thinly, I will mix it in before I add dressing. In the small container in the right hand corner is the dressing! How handy!

       This was really so simple and easy to do and is going to be a really delicious lunch. I am really looking forward to eating it!

     I hope I could inspire you a little with your salads, and until next time Happy Munching!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's been a pretty nice day.  I just wanted to share with you guys the adorable cupcakes my husband had made for me on my birthday!  

This lovely one was for me!

All the other cupcakes looked like this!

   The cupcakes were delicious and from my favourite cupcake place! These were all chocolate chocolate flavour. The icing is amazing. You pretty much need a fork!

    Anyways, that's all for today! Until next time, happy munching!

Leftover Hot Pot Stir-fry

Occasionally, when I made hot pot, I have left over veggies that are already cut up. This is super convenient and these can be reworked into many, many different dishes. I decided to make a stir-fry because I hadn't made one in awhile. I used baby carrots, napa cabbage, baby bok-choy, cauliflower, broccoli, a variety of mushrooms and snow peas. I plated it on a bed of udon noodles which were cooked in a flavoured broth, and also threw in some shrimp (also cooked in flavoured broth). I topped it all with a homemade sweet and sour sauce with a bit of a kick. 

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

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!