Cute Bento Boxes!

I stumbled across this adorable website the other day and I wanted to share it with you all. Seeing these creations makes me want to create my own adorable bento boxed lunches (Is that ok with you, Brad? I bet no one at work would mess with your lunch if you've got a panda rice ball in it!)

The eyes of the panda and other creatures in these bento boxes are cut out of nori with a special hole puncher. Next time I'm at the asian market, I'm gonna keep my eye out for this puncher.

All photos from http://kitchencow.livejournal.com/

Brown Rice Confetti

Crock pot teriyaki beef over confetti brown rice

Trader Joes is selling a great brown rice blend that includes brown rice, black barley and daikon radish seeds. I cooked one cup of the rice blend with 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock. While that was in the rice cooker, I sauteed 1/2 a red onion, 1 red bell pepper, a jar of artichoke hearts, 2 cloves garlic, ginger, salt and pepper in olive oil. After the rice was cooked, I added it to the saute pan and mixed everything together. It was a confetti of rice and veggies, and it was dynamite!

Brad's Tollhouse Cookies

Brad just made half a batch of the original Nestle Toll House cookies (without the nuts). Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best, and these cookies are a reminder of that.

Here's the recipe, just in case you don't have a bag of Nestle chocolate chips to go off of.

http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?id=18476

Alton Brown's Cheese Grits

Brad's mother sent us some organic white grits from McEwen & Sons a while back (see polenta recipe). When I learned that one of Brad's friends from Birmingham was coming over for dinner, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to break out the grits.

To go with the grits, I also made a chicken sausage saute with onion and bell peppers. It went perfectly with the cheesy grits, and dinner was a success.

The grits recipe is from Alton Brown, and it can be found here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cheese-grits-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 
  
• 2 cups whole milk
• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup coarse ground cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded

Buttercake Bakery

Buttercake Bakery is a tiny (tiny!) store located on Pico Blvd in West L.A. Blink, and you'll miss it. Their storefront is so cute--a white awning displaying precious cupcakes that look just like grandma made them.

Buttercake Bakery is known for their lemon bar, but their mini cupcakes and a slice of carrot cake are also worth a try. The carrot cake had chunks of pineapple in it, which I love. Be sure to stop by if you're in the area, and give them your email address--you'll get a free mini cupcake!

Dinner Party in West L.A.

Our friends Arthur and Kelly invited us over for dinner this past weekend, and little did we know, were we in for a multi course feast. Dinner started with various Chinese appetizers, many of which I had never tasted before. These included turnip cakes, kelp with dried anchovies, morning glory salad, tofu, sticky rice, pickled bamboo, and dumplings.

Kelly also made an amazing pumpkin soup that her mother showed her how to make. It contained pumpkin, walnuts and swiss cheese, and all the flavors melded so perfectly. I need to get the recipe for this dish.

After the appetizers, we had melt in your mouth marinated pork ribs and beef, and a Chinese custard tart for dessert. Brad and I also brought some pastries from Buttercup Bakery (pics in my next post). The perfect night wrapped up with some music making. We were so lucky to have been treated to this delicious food!

Pumpkin Soup

Turnip Cakes

Morning Glory Salad

Sticky Rice wrapped in leaves

Sticky rice, unwrapped, with miso sauce

Dumplings stuffed with rice noodles

Tofu

Pickled Bamboo

Chinese Custard Tart

Skillet Tomato

Brad's mother Susan passed on this delicious skillet tomato recipe to me. I made it today for Brad, and we both loved it! The recipe comes from The Cotton Country Collection from the Junior League of Monroe, LA, submitted by Mrs. Lionel V. Swift.

After cooking the tomatoes, Susan takes the skin off the tomatoes and breaks them up with prongs into chunks. I did the same, and served it with panko chicken and a fried egg. They would be equally delicious next to a juicy steak.

Skillet Tomatoes

4 large ripe firm tomatoes

1 teaspoon butter

1 or 2 teaspoons sugar

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley

1 Tablespoon vinegar

2 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Halve tomatoes. Melt butter in a skillet and place tomatoes cut side down. Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Turn over, add seasonings, cover tightly and simmer until tender, 20 minutes or more.

Pink Himalayan Salt

Perhaps you've seen pink Himalayan salt in your local health food store aisle. It is packaged within a beautiful salt grinder as large pink crystals, or in small containers already ground up into a fine powder . It's a bit more expensive than regular sea salt, but I find you don't need as much. It's also so pretty! Pink salt--how feminine :)

Here's some background information I found about this salt online:

Beneficial Properties
Himalayan Pink Salt has a rich mineral content that includes over 84 minerals and trace elements such as: calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron. This salt is recognized for its beautiful pink color, high mineral content, and its therapeutic properties. Regular consumption of Himalayan Pink Salt provides essential minerals, trace elements, balances electrolytes, supports proper nutrient absorption, eliminates toxins, balances the body’s pH, normalizes blood pressure, and increases circulation and conductivity. It can also assist with relief from arthritis, skin rashes, psoriasis, herpes, and flu and fever symptoms.

History of Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt originally formed from marine fossil deposits over 250 million years ago during the Jurassic era. Harvested from ancient sea beds in the Himalayan foothills, this rare and extraordinary salt has been a valuable commodity for centuries. Historically, the Himalayan people used this salt to preserve their fish and meat throughout the year, and every spring they transported the salt to Nepalese valleys for trade. Heavily burdened yaks would carry the salt along narrow sloping paths, mountains, and cliffs in order to sell and exchange the salt for other commodities.
Himalayan Pink Salt is still extracted from mines by hand, according to long-standing tradition, and without the use of any mechanical devices or explosion techniques. After being hand-selected, the salt is then hand-crushed, hand-washed, and dried in the sun.

An Everyday Meal

I literally eat this dish, or some variation of it, almost every day.

Here's what I made today. It takes just minutes on the stove top and it keeps me full for most of the day. It might not be Gourmet, but it kind of reminds me of a Rachel Ray type of meal, and it's pretty healthy. It's a miracle, but I never tire of eating this, probably because I make a lot of different variations of it. Change the vegetables, the spices, the herbs, or substitute eggs in place of beef...

Ingredients:

red bell pepper

garlic (sometimes I add ginger too)

cilantro (I like to use a lot of different herbs. Parsley's a favorite too)

onion

eggplant

extra lean ground beef (sometimes I use eggs instead)

spices (I always vary the spices. Today I used coriander seed powder, salt, pepper)