hapa bento

Saba Man and I hit the stores this early Superbowl Sunday morning to get all the errands done so we could  r e l a x  for the remainder of the day.  Costco first, right as the doors opened and the line was very long,  then the “Clean Water” car wash, next was Sears followed by the Nordstrom Rack, and finally Trader Joe’s… and it was packed with shoppers!  Who knew that “Trader’s” would be  the mecca for Superbowl snacks?    But a word about why we went to Sears.  We are in the market for a new refrigerator as our current one is on it’s last wheezing breath.  It’s an old relic of the 1980’s that needs to be retired. 

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Today’s featured bento is a snack size of the “huli huli” chicken bento from a few day’s ago.    Oh… by the way… Saba Man said it tasted more like “Kalua Pig-Chicken”!   Which gives me another cooking idea eh!  But that exercise will be placed to the end of  very long line of projects waiting for fruition. 

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The kabacha is roasted plain with just a pinch… the tiniest pinch of brown sugar!  Can you see the puckering of the skin from the heat.  I thought it looked interesting.  The chicken is the  simmered with my newest discovery “smoked salt”!  The recipe is here. 

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A newly discovered ingredient… smoked salt!  Isn’t it gorgeous?   It smells exactly like you imagine it would…like burning kiawe (mesquite), the king of barbecue wood and I think this  black rock-salt will revolutionize my kitchen!

continue for a chicken recipe →

A super short post because I’m cooking  before tonight’s evening of television.  In case you haven’t heard, LOST Season 6 starts tonight and I only have 20 minutes to get all this done.  The rice cooker is switched on, the kabocha is roasting  and the chicken is marinating.  After the show is over… I pack the bentos for tomorrow’s lunches.

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Saba Man has a new bento box which we’ve dubbed “Big Blue”!   It’s the perfect size for his lunch and the 2 tiers keeps everything nice and neat!  However I messed up at the first attempt when I filled the bottom tier to the top… that’s a no-no!  The top tier has to sit snugly into the bottom tier about a half an inch for it to close.   So you can guess what happened… oh oh!   Do over!   That episode took place last week and since then I’ve remembered to leave a gap.

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Today’s featured bento box is filled with chicken katsu and curry from Boom Noodle, an Asian-ish restaurant in Seattle, WA.  I’ll be writing up a review  about our experience soon.  In the meantime here’s what’s left of what Saba Man ordered.  It was a large serving…that’s a hint!  

The tomatoes, broccolini and purple carrots are my embellishments to this snack sized bento box.

February’s “The BOMB” challenge is RED!

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A “heartfelt” thank you to all the entrants to our first 2010 Bento Box Giveaway!!! 

The random number generator selected entry #26 from A. Good!  Congratulations!  

Here is A. Good’s ideas for this 4 sectioned box which I will attempt to duplicate for a  Saba Man’s lunch real soon.  Be on the look out for that!   

purple- Strawberries! With a little low-fat yogurt and some walnuts! And maybe a few pomegranate seeds..
yellow-Roasted red bell peppers on one side, with broccoli and a carrot star (can’t help myself)
red-Brown rice onigiri, filled with tuna mixed with spicy mustard.
green-Some more tuna, wrapped in tiny lettuce leaves, with tomatoes.

There were 60 entries in total, so if you are looking for any heart healthy and wholesome lunch ideas please visit that post.

We will have another bento box giveaway so if you had your heart set on winning… you’ll get another chance soon!

Saba Man’s office had another “potluck” lunch (they are always having those) which yeilded lots of goodies for bento boxes.  After the luncheon was done and the  leftovers divided up, there was still a huge pot of coconut curried chicken.  Saba Man volunteered to bring it home.  

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