long day ahead

Work on a major Tech Project will keep me here late, so I made sure to pack myself a good hearty breakfast and lunch. But no snack, because I will use that as my cue and excuse to get out at a relatively reasonable time; when my tumbly gets grumbly, I'll assert that it's time for me to go lest I eat their faces off.

Breakfast -- cute animals sidecar

• herb & cheese bagel -- I love these bagels like nobody's business, but they're always sold out at New Seasons when I think to look for them
• plain yogurt with a dollop of strawberry jam in the mini-sidecar

Lunch -- black strawberry box:

• homemade spicy meatballs on a salad of mixed greens, with turnip pieces and radish slices (dressing in a small condiment container underneath)
• honey-roasted sweet potatoes
• Rainier cherries & celery sticks
• honey peanut butter for dipping; yogurt and dark-chocolate covered raisins

happy birthday, sally!

I'm excited about the prospect of all the produce we'll be getting this summer, what with our regular bin delivery, our vegetable garden, and the CSA we signed up for this year. May have to scale back our bin delivery until the garden and CSA peter out in the fall, as it's entirely possible we'll be overrun with fruit and veggies, but that's a good problem to have, no? Still a few weeks yet until we'll see anything from the CSA, though, and it'll be a couple of months before the garden gets going, so no need to panic just yet.

But it does mean that every other Monday, my bentos tend to be a little forlorn as they await the arrival of the next delivery. While we had the grill going last night, I had Sally throw on a couple of chicken basil sausages to use in lunches this week.

Breakfast, cute animals sidecar:

• oatmeal, with Braeburn apple chunks underneath
• butter, brown sugar, and raisins in the mini-sidecar to mix in

Lunch, black strawberry box:

• chicken basil sausage
• julienne cucumber and carrot strips from the weekend's sushi party (see below)
• grilled potato with butter, sour cream, and green onion, leftover from last night's dinner
• Braeburn apple slices
• yogurt and dark chocolate covered raisins
• garlic dill cheese curds

Is there anything better than a gorgeous weekend in the Pacific Northwest? NO NO THERE IS NOT.

All weekend we had temps in the mid/high 70s, blue or mildly cloudy skies, and not a breath of wind. Our roses exploded all over the place in the last few days, and combined with the rhododendrons and azaleas and irises, I'm so in love with our house and our neighborhood I could burst. Next weekend we'll be doing some yard work -- weeding the back bed so the plants my mom put in don't get clogged into oblivion, trimming back the lilacs, pruning the apple tree, planting a few new and replacement things, and putting up the twinkle lights in the trees -- but the yard is in good enough shape already that when Sister, Guy, and the Fabulous Miss M came for the weekend, all that was needed was to set the patio chairs out for us to while away some time soaking up the gorgeous, gorgeous weather.

They came for Sal's birthday -- which is actually today; Happy Birthday, Sally!! -- and we had a nice, easy-going time with family to celebrate. Did a bit of running around Saturday-- to Portland Nursery to pick up the gift certificate and two black and blue salvia my mom had reserved for his gift -- then to Steinbart's so the boys could get all atwitter over brewing supplies. We stopped for lunch at Grilled Cheese Grill, which Guy hadn't yet been to, and though we had to wait in line thanks to the street fair going on down the block, we managed to have a yummy lunch all around. Back home to put Miss M down for her nap, and we passed the time at our wonderful table under the apple tree, which is all you really need in life, frankly.

After a run to New Seasons for supplies, and back home for a snacky interlude of bread and cheese while Miss M ate her dinner, she was off to the pre-bedtime ritual of jammies, storytime, and a goodnight song. Meanwhile, we got things ready for Sal's requested birthday activity: a sushi-rolling party! Great, great fun and lots of laughs while hoovering up plates of sushi in every combination we could think of. When the last of the sushi rice was rolled up, we retired to the living room to finish off our plates and watch Louis C.K.'s most recent stand-up show and finished off the evening with four mini-cakes, complete with candles and a rendition of "Happy Birthday".

The next morning, Guy treated the chef (and the rest of us) to a fabulous breakfast -- yeasted waffles with lemon-poppyseed creme -- and then it was time for them to head home. Afterward, I retired to the nook for a bit to edit while Sally read some of his brewing books out on the front porch. We moved to the patio, where I did so more editing, though mostly I just kind of sat there in contented silence, trying to absorb just how absolutely perfect the day was. We grilled for dinner -- steaks and potatoes, with some steamed broccoli and green onions from our bin. And though I had website work to do, I did absolutely none of it, opting instead to watch a movie and fold clothes (I am determined to stay on top of the laundry, dammit!), get to bed relatively early, read for a bit, and get a good night's rest. Website work will be there tomorrow, and anyway, I knew it was supposed to rain today. How's that for procrastination?

ho-hum

This week may or may not be as busy as last week's was, depending on how much I get done today. Based on past experience, I'm going to bet that it's not going to work out in my favor. But ever the optimist, I'll continue to hope....

Breakfast and/or snack (animals small box):

• Gold Blush apple, carrot sticks, celery sticks (underneath everything), and honey peanut butter for dipping

Lunch (strawberry box):

• top tier: breakfast burrito -- egg scrambled with spinach, scallions, asparagus, and cheddar wrapped in a tortilla; fresh spinach leaves to tuck inside when I eat it
• bottom tier: Gold Blush apple slices, dried cherries as baran and gap fillers, dark chocolate covered raisins

This one doesn't look quite as pretty as it tastes, mainly because the wrap takes up one whole tier. That's the reason I also packed a sidecar, since the wrap tier isn't as densely packed as it probably should be for a smaller box like this. But it's a pretty good (and good for me) lunch, at least, and considering my weekend, it's kind of a wonder I have something that looks this put together.

ETA: And I was going to take another picture of lunch because that one didn't turn out well, but managed to dump the bottom tier on the floor. Sigh. Welcome to Monday.

root vegetables bento

Another day, another new box. Well three, actually. Using my black strawberry box, my zoo animals sidecar, and one of the mini sidecars.

Breakfast:

• plain Greek yogurt in the sidecar; this was exactly the purpose I wanted the sidecars for, thanks to my last breakfast that ended upside down on the car floor...the box lid is sealed so it wasn't in any danger of making a mess, but my breakfast was a mostly lost cause
• Fremont tangerine and some fresh raspberries

Lunch:

• top tier: maple-glazed parsnips, carrots, and sweet potatoes in one half; steamed broccoli, homemade pasta, and the rest of the chicken from the other day in the other half
• bottom tier: pineapple, raspberries, green grapes, and a small container of dark chocolate covered raisins

The maple-glazed root veggies were an experiment. We had parsnips in a delivery awhile back that I wasn't sure what to do with. We've also had a sweet potato sitting here since Thanksgiving(!) that I kept meaning to roast but never got around to. So when I stumbled across this great recipe that called for parsnips and sweet potatoes and carrots, I had to make it.

Maple Glazed Winter Root Vegetables

1/4 cup maple syrup + 2 tbsp dijon mustard + fresh garlic, minced
olive oil, salt & pepper
sweet potato, carrots, and parsnips, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat parsnips, potatoes and carrots with the olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking pan. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, then remove and retoss on baking sheet. Cook 15 minutes more, until all the veggies and potatoes are soft. Comine maple syrup, dijon mustard and garlic powder in a small bowl. Drizzle the maple mixture over potatoes and veggies and mix to coat well.

I'm not a fan of dijon and I almost left it out, but I know that in recipes it can make a difference and you don't necessarily taste the dijon-ness. I can taste it in this, but I actually really liked how it all turned out; I think I would experiment with putting in less, but it definitely needs something like that in order to keep it from being too sweet. Anyway, a great find, super simple, and highly recommended.

bento glee, baby!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU GUYS YOU ARE SO GOING TO HATE ME LIKE FOR REALS OMG.

GUESS WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY HMMM I WONDER WHAT IT COULD POSSIBLY BE??????

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS DAY FOR TWO WEEKS BUT ALSO FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS IT IS LIKE BEING SEVEN YEARS OLD ALL OVER AGAIN I AM PROBABLY GOING TO BREAK MY CAPSLOCK KEY JUST FYI.

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