The Naked Truth: the salacious secrets of Bento presentation

Hello Ladies, Gentlemen, Dames, and Dollfaces everywhere!

Now, to me, it’s part of the human animal to read into everything – and I mean everything, for some hidden meaning. We’ll analyze an offhand comment or an email to death, or agonize over an outfit, wondering what something ‘really means’.

It’s an obsession. An unhealthy, totally fruitless endeavour, undertaken in the hopes of seeing what we want, and reading past what we don’t. And I, my dears, am here to thoroughly enable this addiction.

Whether you’re a plain-jane, a sensible-sally,  or a cutesy- chloe with your bento box, there’s more to the way you dress it up and take it out than what meets the eye.

 Plain-Jane

(credit: Freeimagefinder.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I don’t want to shock anyone, but in my experience, Plain-Janes tend to actually be Plain-Johns. Usually, these bento boxes are filled with left-overs slopped in from the night before, with little care in terms of arrangement, health, or portion sizes. With Plain-Janes, let’s just say it’s a wonder there’s a bento at all. Now, let’s be honest – everyone has been Jane at one point or another, rushing around in the morning after a whirlwind night, trying to put something – anything, really – together. So let’s not knock the girl (or boy), for a less than stellar arrangement, but give them a hand for attempting it instead. Bento can be daunting!

Slightly scatterbrained, Plain-Janes are not what their name describes – in fact, generally, they’re anything but. Partying, playing sports, participating in volunteer activities, pursuing their dreams – Jane’s enthusiasm is shown in her (or his) love of life – not left-overs. Their adventurous personalities and driven nature might mean their bentos tend to leave a lot to be desired, but in all other things, Plain-Janes tend to be powerhouse players, willing to go to the edge.

Sensible-Sally

(Credit: Justbento.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Folks, this girl is busy. She is too busy for your nonsense, too busy for your chit-chat, and certainly too busy to spend an additional half hour cutting rabbit ears into apple slices or specially molding Onigiri (rice balls) and punching faces into nori for her lunch. This doesn’t mean that Sally doesn’t care – or that she doesn’t like nice things.  Sensible-Sally Bentos are still remarkably healthy, colourful, and portioned, with a few easy embellishments to set off the delicious meal manufactured by her.

A Sensible-Sally is the Katherine Hepburn of the Bento world,  snappy, bright, and sassy, without being overdone, because this girl works hard, and plays hard, and doesn’t need you to approve of her capability or her choices. Especially not when it comes to her lunch. You could take her on, if you felt brave enough, but with this girl, it’s best to have her as a friend, rather than an enemy.

Dependable, capable, snarky and smart, she’s no show-off, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t shine.

Cutesy-Chloe

( credit: http://www.aibento.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where you looking for Audrey Hepburn? Well, you’ve found her. Adorable, polished, and charming, Cutesy-chloe’s take joy in the whimsical side of life – and it shows in their Bentos. From Hello-kitty Onigiri, panda food-picks, and flower-shaped food-cutters, this is a girl who goes all out. Whether on bento or a birthday party, this girl is devoted – some might even say a little obsessed. But, she’s got energy to burn, and is easily bored, so time-consuming, detailed tasks keep her mind sharp and her hands busy. Cutesy-Chloes are, more to the point, creative chloes. They love composing their bento so it looks just right – everything beautiful and appealing.

And, maybe, just maybe, they’re a little bit ‘look at me!’, but, if you made a work of art, wouldn’t you want to show people? A Cutesy-Chloe may be a little extravagant, or a little wierd, with an addiction to andy warhol-style pop art and anime, but nonetheless, they’re warm, caring individuals with addictive personalities – watch out, because you might just get hooked.

 

 

I know me, I tend to be a little bit of all three, depending on the day – though I’m deffinitely leaning towards 60% Sensible-Sally and 40% Cutesy-Chloe, on average. That’s right, I bento and tell. So which kinda girl are you? Let me know!

XOXO,

Betty.

A Sneak Peek at the next full-length post!

Just like in Burlesque, with bento, presentation is everything. The way you dress up your lunch says a lot about a person. We’ll strip Bento styles down and get to the naked truth!

Also, I’ll show you some simple ways to dress up your Bento box (and yes, Glitter is optional) with a few simple How-to’s.

Guest Bento: A lesson in traditional Chinese cooking

Hello ladies, gentlemen, dames, and dollfaces everywhere!

Now, I am as averse to domesticity as the next feminist – My floor remains unvaccuumed in the presence of cat hair, and my baking skills are spotty
( pies, yes – cake? only if the Betty making it happens to have the last name of Crocker) – but in some things, I concede.

When it comes to the decadence of a home-cooked meal that can out-stripe anything bought in a restaurant or by take-out – That kind of domesticity is divine.

If you, like me, think there’s something adventurous about foraying into the wilds of a cookbook, then you’ll be thrilled with the first in a new series of Bento posts – Guest Bento – and the inaugural post featuring the amazing talents of my friend Diane.

We all have friends we’re jealous of – be it for their looks, their talents, or their killer dress-sense – and Diane is one of those people for me. I love her with about 95% of my heart; the other 5% is reserved for the green-eyed monster of pure jealousy over her amazing cooking ability. Normally, I consider myself a cut above (maybe even two…or three) when it comes to cooking, but Diane is a whole other animal in the kitchen. She has a way of taking the simplest of ingredients and elevating them beyond conception.

Also, she multi-tasks like a boss.

Frying tofu in hot oil in one hand, while deftly placing Yu-Choy in boiling water in another, a third hand seems to appear out of thin air as she sauces the tofu, and in a sudden, calm, zen-like move, tosses the blanched Yu-Choy into a colander, all as she tell me chinese cooking tips and secrets from her mother’s kitchen. She likes to joke that all Asians are secret-ninjas, but with her – lets just say I’m pretty sure it’s not a joke – at least not where food is concerned.

Guest Bento: Diane’s Traditional Chinese Lunch

• Blanched Yu-Choy
• Cabbage fried rice
• Grilled Tofu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Simultaneously ridiculously healthy, economically efficient, and sinfully good, this meal is deffinitely one to slip into the cookbooks.

Cabbage Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups Dry rice
• 1 egg
• 1-2 cups thinly sliced cabbage
• 1/2 cup green onion
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Begin with dry rice (a day or two old). Using a tip from Diane, place rice in a microwaveable bowl and heat for a minute or two on high to make the rice malleable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

crack the egg into the rice and mix.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coat the rice as much as possible in the egg, breaking up chunks of rice where you find them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile, heat your wok or pan on high heat (Diane suggests using a wok because it distributes the high heat evenly), and add oil. When your pan and the oil are hot enough (little bubbles will form in the oil), add the egg and rice mixture into the pan and leave it to brown.

According to Diane, this should take roughly 1-2 minutes, checking regularly for a golden brown coating. When you notice your rice is browning, begin moving it around and adding the cabbage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toss the cabbage and rice so that the cabbage is easily dispersed throughout.

When you notice the rice is beginning to get dry (the shiny moisture from the egg is disappearing) add the green onion and toss throughout.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove from heat and set aside.

 

Blanched Yu-Choy

ingredients

• Yu-Choy
• Oyster-sauce

If you’ve never experienced Yu-Choy, I have only one thing to say to you: Get thee to a Chinese Grocery! While it can be a hard vegetable to find, when blanched, it is tantalizingly tender with just a hint of sweetness – It doesn’t take much by way of seasoning to create a delectable dish. A hint  however, for those of you looking to impress your Asian partner (or their parents, grandparents, extended family, what-have-you), from Diane, a Chinese-Canadian:

When you’re feeding Asians, especially Chinese people, don’t overdo the oyster sauce. Just don’t do it – it’s bad news.

Because oyster sauce has a high salt content and is hugely flavourful, a teeny-tiny dollop will do – don’t coat the Yu-Choy (delicious all on it’s own) and hide the flavour of the vegetable under a heavy dose of oyster sauce – you won’t be impressing anyone with your domestic skills then – certainly not your Asian partner (or their parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins – you get the idea).

Because simplicity is the rule in Diane’s kitchen, this recipe is so fool-proof, even the most ditzy dame could pull it off without breaking a sweat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Begin with freshly washed Yu-Choy. Cut off about an inch from the stalk – the ends have a tendency to get a bit woody.

About halfway along the vegetable, the leaves should begin. Cut the leaves from the stalk to ensure that the stalks are given the extra cooking time they need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Place the Yu-Choy stalks in a pot of boiling water. Another great cooking tip from Diane’s Mother’s Kitchen:

When blanching vegetables, the rule of thumb is that the vegetable should only stay in the water as long as it takes the water to return to boiling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When the water with the stalks begins to boil again, add the leaves to the pot with the stalks. The water will cease boiling. When it re-boils for the second time, remove both the leaves and the stalks from the water.

Drain the Yu-Choy in a colander.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a bowl, mix Yu-Choy and a small amount of Oyster sauce and set aside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Tofu

Ingredients

• Tofu chunks
• Sriracha (better known as Rooster-sauce to us non-asians)
  
• Oyster Sauce

Tofu can be a pain to prepare. Luckily, Diane will give you a simple, pain-free method to cook it to perfection. As a vegetarian, I never actually enjoyed Tofu until sampling a teen-tiny chunk from Diane’s lunch at work – normally, I find it to be wierdly elastic in texture with a faint plasticky after-taste, something I, on my own have never been able to alter. If you, like me, have trouble coming to terms with Tofu, this recipe is deffinitely for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The key to this dish, Diane says, is extremely high heat, and enough oil. Heat a wok or pan (again, between the two, the wok is the better option), with oil on high heat. When it’s hot enough (little bubbles begin to form in the oil), lay the tofu chunks flat in the pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allow them to sear on each side for about a minute, or until golden brown ( I suggest checking often – with such high heat, you only have a small window of time to go from golden brown to burnt).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When both sides are golden brown and a thin, crunchy crust has formed, toss in a little Oyster sauce and Sriracha (Rooster sauce) to taste – Remember, all of us non-asians, go easy on the oyster sauce – a little will do the trick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once all the tofu chunks are coated in the sauce mixture, remove from heat, and serve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Chinese food, not the westernized stuff you find in a buffet, is simple, clean, and healthy – and now, thanks to Diane, you know how to cook it. So go ahead, make your co-workers jealous with your divine domestic skills, you kitchen goddess, you (or god – we’re equal opportunity ego-boosters here at Bento Betty)!

XOXO,

Betty and Diane.

A Whirlwind week and Radish Mice

Hello Ladies, Gentlemen, Dames, and Dollfaces everywhere!

Have you ever had one of those weeks that remind you of the monsters from an old 60’s B-movie horror, along the vein of ‘Evil Space Monsters From Mars Are Here to Eat Your Women!’? If you haven’t you’ve probably never actually held down a job had a blessed life. I envy you.

Like the Blob, work this week just seems to get bigger and more important, and then even bigger and even more important, until it consumes the rest of my life. If you can imagine in your mind for a moment, that the Blob/work in question is also a very persistent serial killer, then what would be imagining is almost exactly how my week has been.

So, in being stalked by the all-consuming beast that is work, I haven’t had all that much time to Bento, as I am wont to do. I made a cute little mini-enchilada bento on tuesday, which I forgot to photograph (sorry!), and I ended up making a gorgeous french-inspired omlette bento with radish mice! (not mice that only eat radishes. that would have been an awkward thing for a vegetarian to explain at the company cafeteria…) Radish mice are radishes cut with a paring knife to resemble mice. And yes, this I took a picture of.

Omlette Bento

•  Spinach and cream cheese omlette made from organic, free range eggs (if you haven’t treated yourself to top quality eggs, honestly honey, you need to. They are incredibly fluffy, golden and delicious!)
• Spinach
• Artisan bread
• Radish mice
• Carrots
• Tomato summer salad
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Raspberries

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Betty’s guide to building a better radish (mouse).

It sounds difficult to do, but it’s actually pretty simple – first, you need bunch radishes with the tops attached, not the little bagged radishes. Look for ones that have long, trailing roots, because those roots will be your mice tails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prune the leaves with a paring knife, and carve away the red skin around the leaf base (opposite from the root) into a point. This is your mouse’s face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, take the paring knife and cut two tiny wedges out of the red skin above where you’d like to place the mouse’s eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

remove the bits of radish, and using another radish, cut a medallion from it, and cut it in half (these halves will be the mouse ears).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take one half and wedge it (rounded edge up) into one of the tiny wedge cuts you created. Do the same with the other half. Now your mouse has ears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, using two sesame seeds, carefully place the eyes onto the main radish, below the ears, and voila! Radish mice!

You learn something new every day.

And, for your viewing pleasure mom, a pun just for you, reader-darlings, a game of Cat and (radish) Mouse!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s like my very own monster movie, featuring my Cat, the devious and delightful Elwood Blues! A monster movie that doesn’t remind me of my extremely stressful work week! dammit. I think I lost the game.

Now, guys and dolls, not only do you have the skills to modify your meal to magnificence, you’ve also got the makings of a pretty decent horror flick. Don’t say I never gave you anything!

XOXO,

Betty.

Let’s Bento, baby!

Hello Ladies, Gentlemen, Dames, and Dollfaces everywhere!

This is the inaugural post of Bento Betty, a personal devotional to divine deliciousness, delectable lunches, and daring (and yeah, a little bit dirty) dancing, all in the efforts to get healthy, and even more fabulous than before.

More than just an animal print lover (I never met a leopard print I didn’t like), I’m a lover of animals themselves. This however, is not the reason I’m a vegetarian (who occasionally eats fish). That debacle came about during a college summer job in – you guessed it – a butcher shop. It’s a traumatic and gross story, and I’ll save you from the terrible tale. Suffice to say, this blog will feature easy to prepare Vegetarian Bentos.

Not sure what ‘bento’ is, or why it’s becoming a trend for penny-pinchers, wieghtwatchers, and foodfiends the world over? Simply to say that bento is a japanese-style boxed lunch defies the art and the love that goes into making bento. It can be based around a variety of cuisines, tastes, and styles, but the consistentency of bento lies in the loving arrangement of healthy, delicious, flavourful foods.

Built in portion-control, homemade money-saving, and foxy, innovative cooking makes Bento a whole lot more than a boxed lunch. Follow this link, and read Makiko( of Just Bento fame)’s blog post for more.

While Makiko give’s you a breakdown of bento basics, I’ll give you the tips and tricks learned from a busy (and occasionally lazy) white girls’ initiation into the world of bento.

However, before I give you my Beginner Bento Tips and Tricks, I’m gonna lay some knowledge on you. Bento, like burlesque, bubble baths, and boxes of chocolates, is all about taking care of and loving yourself in the best way possible. A beautiful boxed lunch made by you, for you, filled with the things you like, ready and waiting for you in the middle of a tough day of work is a little bit of public self-love. It’s food exhibitionism, and you’ve got to be okay with that, because babycakes, you deserve it.

Betty’s  Beginner Bento Tips and Tricks (in no particular order)

1. Don’t underestimate the power of left-overs. The modern soul is both busy and lazy, which makes whipping up a whole new meal for lunch a little bit crazy for the masses. When you’re cooking a delicious dinner, make extra for the next day’s lunch. Foods like risotto, cornbread, chili, quiche and burgers can all be transformed into different eats, if you feel the need for versatility, and a lot of traditional or even transformed left-overs can be stored in the freezer for the lazy morning after the even lazier night before
2. Be a boy-scout (or a girl-scout): Always be prepared. The weekend is a great time to put in a little extra effort to create prime bento eats (and pre-made dinner during the week for the days you don’t want to cook too much), especially if they’re time consuming or involved. Even spending a little extra time planning your weekly menu, or the night before can make a difference between a bad cafeteria lunch, or a blissful bento the next day.
   
3. Love your self, love your food – Make it healthy and delicious. It’s easy to buy pre-packaged fatty foods, or to slack and stick in a few slices of pizza. And let’s not kid ourselves, because sometimes a body just needs a little bit of sinful, comforting foods. But that shouldn’t fill your bento box all the time. Healthy, seasonal, and (dare I add organic, local, sustainable) fresh fare. Not only will your slimming waistline thank you, but so will your skin,your digestion, and your tastebuds.
   
4. Size matters – use proper portions. Bento boxes come in a variety of different sizes for different kinds of eaters: kids, ladies, and even manly men can have their own size, which makes it tough sometimes to know not only how to pack a bento, but how much of what to pack in a bento. Follow the national food guide for ratios, borrow Just Bento’s portions, or you could follow mine: (which is generally)  Vegetables/Fruit (3), Carbohydrates (1), Protein (1). 3:1:1
   
5. Bits and bites: Finger food. Bite sized veggies and fruits can really uplift a simple bento box, and provide a hungry stomach something to snack on during the day. Not only that, but they’re easier to pack, provide a healthy filler, and give some color to even the most blah box.
6. Do your homework. My friends think I have an unhealthy obsession with research. They aren’t wrong. But that doesn’t mean I’m not right. When you find yourself bored on a weekday, browse through blogs, foodie websites, and your favorite chef’s webpages to get new recipes, creative ideas, and a whole new palate for bento boxes, so you can always keep things fresh, instead of getting bored with the same rerun meals.

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be providing recipes and pictures as I prep my bentos for the week. Hopefully you’ll take a gander at what I’ve got cookin’.

Love,

Betty.

Hello world!