Food-Related Presents

After almost 4 years together, my boyfriend knows me well enough to anticipate that food-related presents will be the best-received (besides jewelry, of course - what girl doesn't like some sparkle?). But I didn't think that he would be so attentive as to pick up on a food-related problem that I've been having for the past few months...

A few posts ago, I complained that the lack of sunlight has greatly decreased the quality of my food photography. Taking photos with flash washed out all the vibrant colors, but taking photos without flash were either too yellow (indoor lighting) or blurry (unsteady hand). As a result, I just stopped taking as many food photos as I have in the past.

Much to my surprise, the bf noticed and decided to do something about it! He made me a homemade light box using white foam board, clip-on lamps, and full spectrum lightbulbs. He also bought me a mini tripod to help with the shaky hand problem. The light box wasn't quite done until yesterday but I have used the tripod a number of times already, which has really improved the non-flash photos, even without special lighting!

Chinese leftovers bento: Singapore noodles, sesame chicken with broccoli, lemon cookie, and honeydew gummy


soy/brown sugar salmon, israeli couscous, roasted asparagus

Besides the lightbox and tripod, the best present I got this year was a Reynolds Handi-Vac from the bf's mother. If you haven't heard of this before, you MUST try one! It creates a vacuum seal in ziploc bags which protects frozen foods from freezer burns and helps refrigerated produce stay fresh longer. It is insanely awesome and so much fun to use. I now have a fridge and freezer full of little vacuum-sealed packets!

Brussels Sprout Overload

Oh man, brussels sprouts. I like them, really, I do. I just discovered them last year via this very popular recipe on 101 Cookbooks. It's pretty much the only way I cook them although I've also had them roasted in the oven and cut into thin strips for a hash. But what was a thinking when I bought this monster stalk of sprouts??

This turned out to be 6+ servings of brussels sprouts. Thank goodness the bf likes them too so really it was only 3 different meals with sprouts, but I STILL HAVE A FEW LEFT and they are probably going to be wasted as I am leaving for the holidays tomorrow. Poor baby sprouts.

They do photograph beautifully though, especially when they're a bit charred on the bottoms and sprinkled with a lovely white shower of grated Parmesan. And they fit neatly into bentos (although I can't say that my officemates have all enjoyed the sulfurous smell as much as I have).

Food Coma

That's where I've been for the past couple months... in a food-induced coma that prohibits me from blogging. Really. :)

Truthfully, it's just been a mess of too much work, school, and hibernation. Something about the cold weather makes me really sleepy and extremely lazy. I've taken a few more pictures of my food lately but nothing that excites me. There may be some more food inspiration in the near future though. I'm planning on making half a dozen baking kits in glass jars as holiday presents, which I'm sure will photograph nicely. Also, I'm having laser eye surgery at the end of the week - it's the kind that requires a longer recovery time so after about 4 days of very poor vision and being able to do nothing but sit on the couch, I MIGHT just want to cook/blog!

We'll see though. I've become quite a bear in the winter. Zzz....

Finally, an update!

November has been sooooo busy so far! Work and school are completely taking over my life (having a new Wii doesn't help either). I've been making lunches sporadically but they aren't very inspired and thus not quite photo-worthy. Also, stupid daylight savings has stolen my lovely natural light and it shows in my pictures. Grrr. Anyway, here are a couple bentos that actually turned out decent.

pan-fried smoked turkey sausage, colby jack cheese cubes, grapes, bbq sauce in container


Trader Joe's mushroom turnovers, grapes underneath bear egg


all put together in a new bento box


spam musubi and siu mai on a bed of edamame


pb soba noodles, carrot kinpara, simmered kabocha, miso chicken

New Ingredients: Miso, Kabocha, and Shitake

Making bento has really inspired me to try new foods, especially Japanese ones! While at the Korean market a few weeks ago, I picked up a big tub of white miso, a smallish kabocha squash, and a package of fresh shitake mushrooms. I had been reading about miso on Just Hungry and although I have had miso soup at Japanese restaurants, I have never tried cooking with it. For my first miso attempt, I modified this recipe and simmered some cubes of kabocha in a miso, ginger, garlic, soy, and brown sugar broth. After just 15 minutes, the squash was delightfully tender and almost creamy. The broth was addictive and I couldn't stop drinking it straight from the pot!

Next, I used the miso to flavor a stir-fry of pork and shitake mushrooms. While the miso by itself had an overwhelmingly salty flavor (and this is the mild kind!), the saltiness was toned down nicely when blended with the rest of the ingredients. I combined the miso pork stir-fry with the kabocha in a variety of ways:

kabocha, curry tuna onigiri, miso pork/shitake, grape tomatoes, seckel pear (so cute and tiny!)


miso pork/shitake, kabocha, furikake mixed onigiri on a bed of edamame


pork/shitake and kabocha with soba in miso broth

Finally, I made a dish to showcase the fresh shitakes - mushroom risotto with shitake, button mushrooms, lots of shallots, and fresh thyme. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough arborio rice so I added some short-grain Japanese rice and some of the kernels didn't seem to cook enough so some bits were extra chewy! Whoops...

Top: bratwurst, tomato/mozzarella skewers
Bottom: mushroom risotto
Side: raspberry cookies and freeze-dried mango