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!

Thursday in bad mood -__________-'

Yes, i tell you what, don't ever try to deal with bentoing stuffs, if you're not in a right mood. It does not affect the taste of food, yes, but really affect the quality of the art of arranging the contents. 


I don't know why, it's just that my feelings are not as good as usual.T___T
But I've tried my best.

Look at the background. You'll find a reddish brown-shawl. I made it by myself as a present for hubby on his master graduation day. Years ago, before we were married. I almost could not come that day. And I had not even finished the shawl yet. So, when hubby was attending the graduation ceremony, I continued to knit his shawl.  And finished, right after the ceremony ended. And for years too, this shawl--he always carried it everywhere. He said, when the scarf was worn, it was reminded him of me. ♥

Anyway,

as his side dishes, i made chicken katsu, bean sprouts in yellow spice, and quail egg satay. My friend on facebook asked me to write the recipes here. so then, i'll do it. :)

Chiken Katsu

English Recipe

You'll need :

chicken fillet

wheat flour

beaten egg

pepper, salt to taste

garlic powder

water

instant chicken broth powder

bread crumbs 

and oil to fry

How to :

1. Mix the flour, beaten egg, pepper and salt, garlic powder and broth powder with water--stir well.
2. Dip the chicken, one by one into the batter flour, then roll in the bread crumbs. Do the same with the rest.
3. Stored briefly in the fridge, for 20 minutes.
4. Fry with oil over medium heat until cooked. Remove and drain

Indonesian Recipe

You'll need :

dada ayam fillet

tepung terigu

telur kocok

lada halus, garam

bubuk bawang putih

air

kaldu bubuk

tepung roti

minyak untuk menggoreng

Cara memasak :

1. Campur tepung, telur, lada, garam, bubuk bawang putih, dan kaldu ayam bersama air. aduk rata, sampai adonan licin tidak berbutir.
2. Celupkan ayam, satu per satu, ke dalam adonan tepung lalu gulingkan di atas tepung roti. Lakukan sampai dada ayam fillet habis.
3. Simpan sebentar di dalam lemari pendingin, kira-kira 20 menit lamanya.
4. Goreng dalam minyak panas, dengan api sedang hingga matang. Angkat dan tiriskan. 

 For the vegetable dish :
 

Bean Sprouts in Yellow Spice

English Recipe

You'll need :

bean sprouts

garlic chives

bay leaves

galangal

sugar

chicken broth

coconut milk

Mash these :

pepper

hazelnuts

red-onions

garlic

turmeric

salt to taste

How to :

1. Saute until fragrant, the spices that have been mashed with bay leaves, and galangal.
2. Add the bean sprouts and chives, stir well.
3. Add sugar and the broth. 
4. Pour the coconut milk, and cook until the sauce thickens and the spice seeps.

Indonesian Recipe

bahan :

tauge

kucai

daun salam

lengkuas

gula

kaldu ayam

santan

haluskan :

merica

kemiri

bawang merah

bawang putih

kunyit

garam, secukupnya

Cara memasak :

1. Tumis hingga haru, bumbu-bumbu yang dihaluskan bersama daun salam dan lengkuas.
   
2. Masukkan tauge dan kucai, aduk.
   
3. Tambahkan gula dan kaldu bubuk.
4. Tuang santan, dan masak sampai kuah menyusut dan bumbu meresap.

Easy to make aren't they ? Try them at home, or as your bento's filling. Anyway, besides his fruit fiesta (apple, banana and strawberries), i also made him chocolate cupcakes

with strawberries garnish. My friends asked me for the recipe too. :D So, here it is : 

Chocolate Cupcakes

You'll need :

margarine

liquid milk

eggs

sugar

wheat flour

chocolate powder

baking soda

baking powder

and :

melted chocolate

strawberries

as the garnish

How to :

1. First, prepare the steamer for steaming. And cover the cupcakes pan with paper cup.
2. Melt the margarine with milk.
3. Beat eggs with sugar, add the flour, chocolate powder, baking soda and baking powder. Stir batter.
4. Pour the melted margarine (with milk), stir well.
5. Pour into the cupcakes pan and steam for 25 minutes. 
6. Decorative cake with melted chocolate and strawberries

That's all girls. Remember, cook when your heart is good :) 
Kisses, love and hugs !

Love Cat

I was slightly less satisfied with the picture today. I don't know why, but they look untidy, and frankly speaking, it's a little bothering. :D

Dealing with bento-ing stuffs, true say, wasn't an easy task. Start from thinking about the menu, how to arrange it, which menu goes first--which would be the last goes in, if you want to take a picture--you need to have a lil' bit imagination for the set, how to package it...ooowh...many of them. My dearest friend said, yes--it's quite stressing--but she thought again, that bento supposed to be providing her with easy but delicious yet tempting lunch, so it doesn't really mater how you decorate it, but taste goes first. I like her quote, and i think that's right. 
But bento-ing is addiction. If we have been accustomed for decorating the bento, next time--if we don't--it's like something lose. 
So, i prefer to say--besides of course the taste: for every decorated things you've done, as long as you've found satisfaction from it, that's the art of bento-ing.  
For this 'Love cat' bento, there were more satisfactions i've got than the disenchantment. :) so, this is bento-ing :D

Well, i cooked the rice with special treatment that i saw from this video. I need to wash the rice-grain at about 4-5 times, with patient. Before i cook, i let the grains marinaded in the water for about a half hour so they'll moist better. It's worthed, i got the sweetest taste of rice ever. The smell is good, the texture softener, and it's shiny. Love it. I put a yellow egg-sheet to cover the rice in the box. cut a silhouette of a cat, and a dragonfly that flies upon her. I use black sesame to make the dragon fly's path. I also put a full-container of raisins as the desserts.

On the other tier, i put long beans stir fry (simple seasonings of garlic, with minced-meat, some fish-soy, salt, pepper and sugar, tomatoes, long beans--off course, bean sprouts, and lime juice!), a tofu-prawn sandwich with the container of the sauce. Gave green things with edamame-peas, bright orange-bed from grater carrot, and a love shape from the egg-sheet. 

While for the soup, i put it on a separated container. The taste of the soup, similar with Thailand soup of tom yam goong--but with simpler seasoning. Here are what you need:

1 ounce of fresh prawns, clean them

1 ounce of fresh squids, cut them
1 carrot, cut into pieces

5 red onions

3 garlics

cayenne pepper (between 4-10, as you like)

1 chopped lemongrass

3 tomato stew

2 red chili, thinly-sliced

2 lime-leaves

lemon juice 

salt, pepper, sugar

First, sauteed the mashed spices (like cayenne pepper, tomatoes, garlic, and onions). Add the shrimp and squids, and the carrot stir well. Pour a litter of broth, cooked well the seafood. 
If the seafood already cooked perfectly, add the seasonings of lemongrass, lime-leaves, red chili, salt-pepper-sugar, and the lemon juice. Boil for a while, then ready to serve. Easy, isn't it? :D