Today saw a rare occurence in that the Missus prepared a double bento for me!
Let me explain: As I have to submit to a camera scan of my stomach (you know, those long thin things they force through your gullet!) I’m not allowed to eat anything after 9:00 p.m.
As I usually have dinner at around 9:30 due to late work hours, the Missus included a small “6:00 p.m. dinner” (I can’t really call it a lunch box! LOL).

Lunch was served in that interesting box with a bamboo lid I have described before:
Three different “o-nigiri/rice balls”, one with an umeboshi/pickled Japanese plums, another one with Japanese cucumber (both wrapped in fresh shiso/perilla leaves) and the third one with fried “shirasu/Sardine whitebait”.

Two kinds of deep-fried chicken fillets cuts were provided with some lettuce. One kind was fried with white sesame seeds, the other with bits of shiso/perilla leaves.
The tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette came in a cylindrical shape instead of the usual rectangular one. This done is done by “rolling” it into a sushi roll bamboo sheet just after it has been cooked and kept pressed inside until it has completely cooled down.

As for dinner I was provided with potato and ham salad to which the Missus added plum tomatoes, cut processed cheese, walnuts, sweet peas in their pod and more lettuce!

I’ll be hungry tonight!

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The Missus did not want to take a picture of today’s bento because, as in her own words, it looked too “brown”.
I ignored her protests because bentoes are simply looking brown sometimes,e specially when you include deep-fired items.

She deep-fired first soft pork strips after dipping thme into a sauce mix of hers and breadcrumbs, and then slices of renkon/fresh and peeled lotus roots in exactly the same way.

As for the rice it was plain steamed rice with which she later mixed chopped Japanese pivkled cucumbers.
A boiled eggs, plum tomatoes, lettuce and shredded veg completed the lunch.

For more salad and dessert, shredded veg, “tankan” oranges from Yakushima island and walnuts!

Simple, tasty and very satisfying!

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Our little “differences” of the past two days seem to have spurred the Missus into a creative mood as far as my bento was concerned (Elin and Lojol are going to throw things at me!).

I will talk about the rice later.
The boiled egg appeared as “mimosa egg” this time. Some lettuce, “ameera rubbins” tomatoes (sweet and small, only grown in our Prefecture) and some shredded “takuan”/yellow pickled daikon.

The pinky things are “Chikuwa/Fish paste steamed around a stick to give them their tube shape”.
These particular ones are called “Sakura Chikuwa” because of their pink colour.
The Missus pushed some cut cucumber into two four cut pieces of them. As for the other two she pushed in a combination of shiso leaves, cucumber stick and “umeboshi/pickled Japanese plum” flesh. Similar to some sushi maki!

Now for the rice.
The Missus steamed the rice with a little dash of dashi stock, soy sauce and sake. She placed the contents of a tin of smoked oysters in oil on top before closing the lid and steaming the whole. Once ready, she mixed the contents inside the pan while they were hot (important!). She later added boiled broad beans/”sora mame”, Chinese pickled veg and black seame seeds.

As for the salad (to which I added dressing stored at work): on a bed of shredded veg, cheese, salad beans and more cut veg.

Took a big bottle of liquid yogurt for dessert.
Might as well as have an argument every Sunday evening!

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Today’s bento had a little “history” behind it.
To tell the truth, the Missus had gone to bed in a real bad temper the night before (why? Don’t ask me,…). So, Missus or not, I still need my bento (mind you, I could always buy it, but that would make things even worse!). So I cooked the rice myself. That seemed to appease the Missus (after all, if a man starts cooking, a Japanese wife feels pretty useless,…), and when I realized I hadn’t put enough water and came up with rice a bit too hard, she took over.
-“Don’t worry, I’ll fix it. I’ll make Oomuraisu/Omellette Rice!”
I’m not one to argue in such moments!

As for the garnish, she put some salad I had made the night before consisting of cut avocado, mango and pieces of broad beans (boiled) with a mixture of mayonnaise, Thai spicy sweet sauce, basil, parsley and Italian parsley on small leaves of chickory/endive. She added home-made chicken ham (chicken breast first boiled, then marinated overnight) with English chutney pickles, lettuce, tomatoes and walnuts.

She fried the rice with some bits of chicken ham, veg, ketchup and spice before envelopping it into a thin omelette!
With yogurt for dessert, it made for a big hearty meal!

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Today Wednesday is not a usual “Bento Day”, but sudden commitments making it impossible to come home for lunch, I asked the Missus to prepare a bento. She did not seem to mind and actually appeared content to enjoy a day (morning) in tranquility!

Becsue the rice was plain steamed rice, she fried plenty of thin soft pork slices in sauce and added some boiled and cut salad green pea pods.

As for the garnish, on top of a bed of shredded vegetables (you cannot really see them), she placed cornichons, large plum tomatoes, boiled broccoli, tamagoyaki and Na no Hana/Rape flowers and boiled shirasu salad sprinkled with black sesame seeds.
“Shirasu” is a local Shizuoka fish, a kind of sardine consumed vey young.

Today’ tamagoyaki/Japanese Omelette contained shredded cheese and parsley!

In place of dessert (I still have Yakushima oranges at the office!) she included some “mozuku-su/もずく酢”, seaweed preserved in sweet vinegar for a healthy additive!

A healthy, fullfilling bento!

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After that long trip in Yakushima ( 2 more postings to come!), the Missus concocted a “simple” traditional bento keeping the calories in mind!

Therefore the three nigiri/rice balls were of medium size, one with umeboshi/Japanese pickled plum and a little black sesame, and two with fried salted salmon. She added a few cornichons.

As for the “garnish”, she included boiled brocoli, fresh pimento, a plum tomato, and her excellent Tamagoyaki/Japanese Omelette. She had added sweet pork miso to the eggs, thus creating a new and interesting taste.

No need for dessert!

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Today’s bento could have been called “leftovers bento”!
And for once I did participate to its making, unwittingly I must admit!

First the rice part consisted of rice steamed with curry powder, spices and a little olive oil. The Missus mixed it with some of the fine ratatouille salad I had made for last night dinner! Quite tasty, I must admit! LOL

As for the garnish, she provided me with a boiled egg, plum tomato, cornichons, trevise, lettuce, and water cress.

The meat part was a bit of an innovation. The Missus thawed pieces of frozen tuna, seasoned them a little first, then fried them on one side, turned them over and while they cooked she placed cheese on one and spiced veg tomato sauce on another one. Once cooked they formed an interesting “sandwich”!
No dessert this time. I expect a big dinner back home tonight! LOL

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Three bento in a row! Some people are going to get fed up with reading these articles! LOL
The reason was that we saw heavy rainfor the third day, and I did not feel like having to come back home and travel back to work four times in one of those rancid-smelling buses!
Just to tell you how inclement the weather is, I actually ran out of umbrellas at home and had found myself carrying no less than three of them back home fromthe office last night!

So I put the poor Missus at work. Actually I suspect she was not so unhappy about that, what with being given an easier day at home before going to work in the afternoon!
She checked what was in the fridge this morning and came up with a real sandwich bento (yesterday’s was an open-style one!). The meal still qualified as a packed lunch as the sandwich was wrapped into sandwich paper and a box of salad was added. LOL

She came up with this hearty double-decker fit for a big (I’m big only around the waist! ) man’s appetite (mind you, some youngsters might be left still hungry after that!):
On the first slice of toasted bread she lay some lettuce, then a thick layer of avocado salad paste she made when she discovered the one left in the fridge. She added some small shrimps (found frozen in the fridge) she had fried beforehand. On the second layer more avocado paste with sliced boiled egg and black olives.
She closed the lot with one more slice of bread toasted with cheese (the other two slices had been toasted as they were).

As for the salad box, boiled broccoli and plum tomatoes on a bed of Trevise lettuce.

I’m not going to complain!

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Yesterday’s bento having been a solid one, the Missus kept the calories in mind when she prepared today’s bento this morning while I was having my morning (Japanese) bath!
The bread had been bought at the local supermarket (soft English style with “seeds” ) and toasted.

As for the main dish:
Beans and corn salad like yesterday.
Boiled broccoli, plum tomatoes and lettuce (hand-broken).
Home-made chciken ham slices, a specialty of the Missus) with English sweet pickles.
French pickles
Tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette. Since the Missus made the make to say she wanted to experiment, I ask for it every time!

For dessert, a mixture of fresh strawberries, kiwi and mini banana.

Still got full!LOL

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Today’s lunch box was devised for a big appetite!
Just in case you make a mistake, the banana featured in the picture is a mini banana from Ecuador, not a full-sized one!

As for the rice part, the Missus first made fairly large nigiri/rice balls with steamed rice mixed with Japanese cucumber pickles and black sesame seeds. She them wrapped them into thin pork slices, brushed the pork with a tare/sauce she had prepared beforehand and fried the the balls whole. She let them cool down before wrapping them in a shiso/perilla leaf. She provided me with some French pickles for the final touch.

I needed a fork to eat the salad as chopsticks would have taken a bit too long (or was it planned?): on a bed of finely chopped vegetables (mainly cabbage) she placed boiled broccoli (flowers and stems), lettuce (hand-broken, not cut) beans and corn mix, Ameera Rubbins mini tomatoes (very sweet, grown exclusively in Shizuoka), a half half-boiled egg sprinkled with black sesame and black olives. Made for some appetizing colours, I must admit!

A very satisfying bento, I agree!

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With temperatures falling back to normal in somewhat (comparatively) cold weather, The Missus kept to the classic kind of bento this morning.

The staple part was rice steamed with beans (including the beans juice/soup) and hijiki/sweet seaweed, to which she added fried “shiozake/salmon preserved in salt and Chinese pickles.

As for the accompaniment, it was mixture of European and Asian fare:
From left to right: Aubergines/egg plants and pimento fried in Chinese spicy sauce with white sesame seeds, “tamagoyaki/Japanese omelette containing cheese and tobikko/flying fish roe (quite tasty!), small fried spicy chorizo sausages, mini tomatoes, boiled Romanesco broccoli and cress (all vegetables grown in Shizuoka).

A hearty and tasty lunch (I will have to an official compliment one day! LOL)

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