Italian meets Japanese

Good morning all :)
Actually I'm still sleepy..
after we woke up this morning, hubby and i still enjoying the lazy time in bed. We were giggling and chuckling and joking that we won't wake up and still being lazy at home. 
but then when i looked at the time, i realized that we have to wake up now, or i won't be able preparing hubby's bento--and he won't be able to be at work on time. 
so then--finally we woke up! :D


while i was preparing the food, he was helping me with washing the dishes. sweet :)


--
anyway, i made these as his bento :

err..i'm a lil bit annoyed by the bunny. Cause two of them are in the 'mature' arrangement, while this one is a lil bit childish--so, actually, they're not in the match :D

well, I'm trying the new recipes here. after Googing and searching for the original recipes in the internet, i finally found the recipes that suits on us--by combining some existing recipes with my own taste.
and since friends from facebook asked for the recipes, so--here they are :

edamame risotto with grilled shrimp

i know, that i should use the arborio rice, or other medium or short grained rice. but since too hard to find the arborio, and it costs expensive here, so i'm using the ordinary daily rice. :) The original risotto usually using some dry white wine--but we're  prohibited to consume it, so i skip it.

so, here are the ingredients :

oil

red paprika powder

garlic powder

black pepper

these are the spices to marinate the shrimp. off course  you'll need shrimps that have been peeled.

onion, diced

clove of garlic, chopped

rice

chicken broth (if you are a vegen, besides using the vegetarian shrimp, you'll may change the broth to vegetable broth)

edamame (japanese green soy beans)

parmesan cheese, grated

butter

salt and pepper to taste

lemon juice

and mint, chopped (optional)

how to :

1. mix the marinade seasons  and marinate the shrimp for at least 15 minutes.
2. melt the butter in large sauce pan
3. add the onion and saute until tender
4. add the garlic, and saute until fragrant
5. add the rice and stir to coat with butter
6. add  half of the stock (broth) at time and stir while simmering until it's gone. continue until the rice is cooked al dente. since i'm using the ordinary daily rice that usually harder and thinner than the arborio, i give at about 4 cups of broth for 1 1/2 cups of rice. And I just stir it occasionally, preventing so the rice won't be too soft and be like porridge. 
7. mix in the beans , cheese and butter. stir until the butter and the cheese has melted.
8. remove from heat, and mix in the lemon and mint.
9. don't forget to grill the shrimp until cooked. serve it.

the second one is Okonomiyaki. like Wikipedia said, okonomiyaki is a Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked".
so, i made the vegetarian one. i add vegetables ingredients in it. here is the recipe :

Japanese Okonomiyaki

whole wheat flour

water

egg

cabbage, shredded

sweet carrot,grated

zucchini, grated

green onion, chopped

sausages (if you are a vegetarian, use the vegetarian sausage)

how to:

1. mix the flour, water, egg, cabbage, carrot, zucchini, and green onion in large bowl. if you like, you may add some pepper and garlic powder to taste.
2. heat some oil pan.
3. pour the mixture and top it with sausages slices.
4. cook on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. (i use the small pancake pan, it will help to control the size of the okonomiyaki)
5. when you serve it, top it with okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise. but since i can't find the instant one here, after reading few recipes and Wikipedia, i use the recommended sauce of Worcestershire sauce. it contains of malt vinegar (from barley), spirit vinegar, molasses, sugar, salt, anchovies,  tamarind extract, onions, garlic, spice, and flavoring. The "spice, and flavoring" is believed to include cloves, soy sauce , lemons, pickles and peppers. 

easy huh? it's like making the omelet and definitely healthy. 
and with these fruits fiesta, 

hubby's bento were ready to take away :)

for hubby breakfast, i gave little portion of these menu.

my facebook friends asked me whether these too little for hubby's breakfast. Hubby asked me not to give him too much portion for his breakfast, cause he worried that he'll be sleepy after eating.  

that's all for today girls :)
love, kisses and hugs!