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Yesterday’s bento was a very traditional Japanese one with the exception of the salad!

The rice part was “maze gohan/mixed rice”, that is it contained chunks of chicken, bits of “gobo/burdock roots”, carrot and fresh ginger, the whole seasoned with “shiro goma/white (actually light brown) sesame.

The “tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette” contained chopped “shiso/perilla leaves/ (Rowena, next time you make an omelette, think about it!).
Plenty of lettuce was provided to wrap the tamagoyaki in.
A salad of azuki beans, baby cucumber, corn and “hijiki/sweetened seaweed” and a few olives completed the dish.

As for the salad (seasoned later with dressing I keep at work), it consisted of fresh Shizuoka cress, mini tomatoes, more lettuce and pieces of chickory on a bed of finely chopped vegetables.
The little orange bits you see were my dessert: home-dried “kaki/persimmon”!

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Yesterday’s bento was in the “Open-sandwich” mode again!
Before I explained the “main dish”, the “side dish” in the small round box contained brocoli and balck olives spaghetti salad (the Missus feard I didn’t have enough!).

The ‘main dish” included sticks of cucumber, carrot and ham with chickory and lettuce leaves, orange and red mini tomatoes and a “pot” of dip-dressing I had made myself the ight before for the trout-salmon pie (posting coming soon!). The dressing consisted of fresh cream, a little olive oil, lemon juice, chopped shiso leaves, salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

The bread baked the night before and toasted in the morning was cumin bread!

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Yesterday’s bento was back to “open sandwich bento”!

The “main dish” was a bit complex:
From top left around the clock:
Brocoli, home-made chicken ham, lotus roots (boiled) and “tobikko/flying fish roe” salad.
Scrambled eggs
Avocado salad
Red mini-tomatoes, black olives, cornichons, raw ham on chickory leaves and lemon slice
Finley chopped greens
Persimmon wedges
Lettuce

As for the bread (baked the night before and toasted again in the morning): Black and white sesame and small pieces of processed cheese (eventually melted beyond recognition)

Now, to further answer Barbara and Rowena‘s questions about the Missus’ bread recipe, I discovered some more information (not complete, sorry!) after a lot of arm-twisting (I will have to do a lot of cooking this month,…):
Flour: Normal strong wheat flour 9 volumes (total weight unknown) and rye flour 1 volume (total weight unknown)
Water: unknown quantity
Yeast: name unknown
Olive oile: 1 large spoon
Skimmed Milk Powder: 1 large spoon (new secret unveiled!)
Salt: unknown quantity
Try to work it out!

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Yesterday’s (Today’s will appear tomorrow!) bento was definitely “Japanese” and could have, apart of some details, been fit for a vegetarian’s priorities!

The staple rice section included three different “inari sushi/Sushi in grilled tofu pouches”:

1) Sushi rice (shari) mixed with “tobikko/flying fish roe”.
2) Sushi rice mixed with black and white sesame and “hijiki/sweet seaweed”.
3) Sushi rice mixed with minced Japanese-style cucumber pickles.

The “maki/rolls” are “natto/fermented soy beans” maki. Now, Rowena, these little leaves are actually “shiso/perilla” sprouts! Very popular here in Shizuoka Prefecture!

The “o-yatsu/accompaniment” included on a bed of finely chopped greens, yellow plum tomato wedges, mini red tomatoes, black olives, walnuts (for dessert), lettuce, home-made chicken ham (equivalent of turkey ham, but with chicken), processed cheese and more perilla sprouts!

Frankly speaking I was full for the day, but who am I to complain with such a good half! (I’m receiving a lot of stick with days with my comments on the Missus! LOL)

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Yesterday being a National Holiday (which I spent in bed with a cold &%##$#) this week will see only one bento of note!

The “staple dish” consisted of Tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette containing tobikko/Flying Fish roe and finely chopped thin leeks/hosonegi,

The nigiri/rice balls were wrapped in fresh shiso/perilla leaves, either containing furikake/dried Japanese seasoning or o-kkaka/dried bonito shavings and hijiki seaweed.

The Missus had added a few deep-fried renkon/lotus roots. I just love those! Do not bother with whatever junk food under the name of renkon. The real product is so much tastier and healthier!

The “main dish” included fresh cucumber, celery, mini tomatoes, black olives with mayonnaise, kara-age chicken/deep-fried chicken with a little lemon for extra seasoning.
Dessert was fresh figs peeled and cut to size. They are dead cheap in Shizuoka as the Prefecture grows them until very late in the year!

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The Missus had my health in mind when she devised today’s bento!
The doctor having warned me on my rising blood pressure, she is cutting on salt. Which is perfect with me, as I do not favor over salty foods very much!

Accordingly, I discovered many vegetables in the main dish:
celery (Shizuoka produces 50% of all celery in Japan!), endive/chickory leaves, carrot sticks, lettuce and olives. Some tartare mayonnaise was included.

The minuscule tomatoes are called “Ameera Rubbins”. They are very sweet. Only two farmers in Iwata City, Western Shizuoka, produce them in the whole of Japan!

The Missus had marinated the chicken legs all night long before deep-frying (actually shally-frying) them this morning. A piece of lemon was provided for extra seasoning.

As for dessert she included persimmon wedges and mini-kiwi fruit (above pic) grown in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The bread had been baked the night before and toasted this morning. It includes black olives, chopped mint leaves and processed cheese.

Now, to answer Barbara‘s question whether the Missus shared her bread recipes, unfortunately, my other half (Rowena might have a few things to say about that! But she also knows I had a hard time “stealing” the Missus’ fried chicken recipe!), like most Japanese wives, is very cagey and possessive about her recipes.
As a rule I’m not allowed inside the kitchen, except when I wash the dishes (sometimes) and when I cook for her!
As for bread, she uses a bread baker gadget (more than 200 US$) which does absolutely everything from fermenting to baking!
Now, I know that she used rye flour and wheat flour at a 1 to 9 ratio and always adds a lttle olive oil with the water.
Once the dough has been completely leavened, fermented, raised and kneaded, the gadget will “call her”. Only then, will she add things like cheese, herbs and so on!
And then the gadget will take over again!

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I do not usually publish The Missus’ bento on Friday when I have to take the train to University as they are very simple sandwich affairs.
But for once, she decided to bring some variety, which meant extra things to carry!

Rice balls contained umeboshi/pickled Japanese plum and o-kaka/fine bonito shavings.

The nigiri/rice balls were “wrapped” in two shiso/perilla leaves each, as nori/seaweed would get soggy before I could eat them. Very tasty and healthy!

The “main dish” consisted of (from left): home-made pickles (not really visible, sorry!), fried sausages, plum tomatoes, “tamagoyaki”/Japanese omelette (she sweetend it honey on purpose) and wedges of “kaki”/persimmon for dessert.
I had a pack of vegetable juice to help it down.

Now, Japanese trains everywhere in the world are not very clean places for obvious reasons.
The Missus, like most Japanese ladies is very cleanliness-conscious. She makes a point to ensure that I carry “wet tissues” with me all the time. I certainly cannot fault her for that as I did have to eat with my fingers!
These are very common in Japan, and I always carry a couple. I wonder if my European/Asian/African/American friends know or use them!

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Today’s bento was a “rice bento” as it is Tuesday!
It was a return to basics!

The “main dish” nigiri/rice balls, all wrapped in fresh “shiso”/perilla leaves were of two kinds:
one with ume/Japanese pickled plum,

the other three contained “o kaka”/very fine bonito dry shavings and processed cheese. The combination might sound a bit outlandish, but it is very popular in Japan!

The brochettes/”kushiyaki” you see on chickory/endive leaves are “negima”/ “negi” for leeks and “ma” for maguro/tuna. The Missus put some “wasabizuke” on them for extra seasoning. This “wasabizuke” is wasabi leaves and stems pickled in “sake kasu”/sake white lees. Extravagant! A piece of lemon was added for more seasoning.
In the middle are home-made sweet ginger pickles.

The Missus has got this habit to put my dessert (fruit in this case) in/on the salad. Not a bad idea actually. Finely chopped greens, plum tomato, fresh cress from Shizuoka, potato and tobikko/Flying fish roe salad leftover from yesterday inside chickory/endive leaf and pesimmon/”kaki” wedges.

Now, did you know that persimmons have the property to prevent bad/strong breath?

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Since the Missus has started baking her own bread again, the “Monday Bento” has followed the same pattern: “Open sandwich bento”, which actually I eat with a fork at the office, breaking bread in pieces along!

The “main bento” consisted of left to right, top to bottom:
Kaki/Persimmons wedges for dessert, finely chopped veg salad, smoked ham.
Lettuce (supposed to go go between bread slices), halved boiled egg (I wonder how I can put it between dlices of bread, lol), plum tomatoes.
Ham slices, cornichond and black olives, salad of potatoes, corn and tobikko/flying fish roe.

Freshly baked bread (and toasted again) including ham and cheese (melted away inside) and waknuts.
I don’t mind lying to the Missus and tell I loved her “sandwiches” as long as she bakes such bread!

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Today’s lunch box is a bit of a repeat, considering it is more a combination of what I had before.
But I’m not one to complain!

The nigiri/rice balls contain beans and hijiki seaweed.
The Missus put the beans and hijiki seaweed on top of the rice before closing the lid and steaming the whole lot. Once ready, she will stir all ingredients before shaping the balls.
Home-made light rice vinegar pickles can be seen in the middle of the nigiri.
On a bed of lettuce she laid some fried veg including soft pimentoes, bricolo and Eringe mushrooms. She added some mini steamed “syuumai” (not home-made!)

The salad consisted of luccola and other light greens topped with plum tomatoes, yakitamago/Japanese omelette and presimmon wedges and mini-kiwi (with a red heart) slices for dessert!

Pretty full, I can assure you!

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As I need bento on Mondays and Tuesdays, the Missus has began a new pattern withrice on Mondays and home-made bread on Tuesdays. Incidentally bento is always sandwiches on Fridays when I go and teach at university.

Today’s main dish was chicken “sasami/breast fillets” she fried with ktechup, basil and what else (she would never say anything!) served with cornichons, boiled egg on a bed of chopped greens with lettuce and chikory leaves and a few plum tomatoes.
I used dressing stored in the fridge at work.

The bread she made last night waswalnuts bread.
She calls it an open-sandwich bento, but she would be surprised to find out I just break the bread and eat a piece at a time with the main dish.
As for dessert I had “mikan/mandarine oranges” from her family’s garden.

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Today the Missus definitely combined East and West!

She made “temari zushi”. S
The rice balls are called as such they mean “balls made by hand”. Which does not help!
The balls are smaller and round with their top covered as “nigiri”.
She steamed the rice with knobu/seaweed fro Rishiri Island (Hokkaidou). She made balls and covered them with smoked salmon topped with capers. The home-made pickles are mini-melons.

As for the salad, on a bed of finely chopped greens she put two chicory/endive leaves filled with eggs and vegetables salad, a couple of plum tomatoes and a few wedges of persimmon for dessert.

Just enough to last the day!

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My other half said this morning: “Today I’ll make an open sandwich bento!”
“Great and thanks!” (and a wet kiss…)

Actually it turned into a bit of an extravagant “open bento”!

The “main sandwich ingredients” included a almost soft-boiled egg (impossible to eat between two slices of bread!), a lot of cress, a few fresh endive/chicory leaves containing lightly boiled crispy/crunchy mini-asparaguses, plum tomatoes, cornichons, duck confit (she took it out the freeze and fried it until the skin was crispy light brown), and fried potatoes (not French, please) she had suteed/fried in the confit fat. Now, I gave up making up sandwiches!

“Haddock in the Kitchen” might be interested to know that the Missus baked the bread yesterday.
The bread contained shredded carrots, chopped mint leaves and crumbled walnuts. I have to admit that it was a beauty. Therefore I ate it bit by bit as I consumed my bento along!

Now, I will this opportunity to introduce the dressings I usually keep in the fridge at work:
The “white” one is a Japanese Kewpie Caesar Salad Dressing (Gold Type).
The “orange” one is a Soken non-oil dressing containing green shiso, herbs and lemon.
Both are light and tasty enough and all ingredients are described on the back!

Well, this time I had plenty of dessert! (I suspect the Missus was emptying the fridge…)
Kiwi fruit, Kaki/Persimmon and Nashi/Japanese pear and asome walnut!

Alright, I know I’m spoiled!