The Korean yam is a beautiful thing. When cooked, it is sweeter than any other yam you’ve ever had… it’s almost perfect for making nahm vahn with just a little coconut milk and simple syrup. Toui took a couple and made a really nice coarse mash. Coupled with broiled salmon and some arugula salad, it made the perfect rainy day lunch.
salmon, Korean yams, and arugula salad
Today’s bento featured leftovers from Manicotti Monday. I only used one tier of my small bento because I figured manicotti was plenty of lunch on its own. I did, however, bring some arugula for a bit of veg.
Pardon the crappy photo–I didn’t have my snazzy camera with me!
manicotti, arugula
Today’s bento featured very cha-cha leftovers of a dinner prepared by Toui. Basil was definitely rampant in the scrumptiously sauced scallops and the sweet caprese salad–is there anything better than fresh mozzarella? I supplemented with a roll from the cafeteria that was dry dry dry… I have to remember to bring my accoutrements.
scallops with basil and shallot sauce, caprese salad and a mediocre dinner roll
Spam is definitely a love it or hate it kind of thing. This was evidenced by the mixed reaction I got when I brought in a plate of Spam onigiri to the office last week. A loves it as much as I do, and M was willing to try it, but everyone else couldn’t believe that people actually eat Spam. Ah well, more for the rest of us!
This bento featured a couple of homemade Spam onigiri (you can see I go for a pretty high nori to rice ratio), some fresh pineapple and blueberries, and the ever-present arugula. I’ll try to be better about posting my pictures day-of!
One of the best things about having a sister who is a flight attendant, other than the occasional buddy pass, is the plethora of everyday foods from all over the world. Today’s bento featured fresh linguine and canned tuna from Rome. Canned tuna, you say, how can that be good? Well, those Italians have tuna down pat. This version was canned in excellent olive oil, with red chili pepper and garlic. It’s perfect on pasta, even better with a fresh sprinkle of bootleg Parmesan.
I also discovered that arugula is GREAT with a little bit of ranch dressing, and that green tea sponge cake is one of my favorite desserts in the universe.
I haven’t been very good about bringing my lunch for a couple of months. Things have been crazy as T and I are looking for a house. I am also going back to work full time, so you’ll definitely see more posts from me in the near future.
Today’s bento was a sort of mishmash… someone borrowed the top tier of my panda bento, so I could only pack the bottom with some leftover beef chow fun with Chinese broccoli. I improvised by making a new rule that a bag of greens is considered a freebie, and can be dressed as a salad at work as long as I don’t put anything bad on it (cheese, bacon, etc.). So, today’s salad consisted of arugula, red onion, peas, red pepper, and cucumber with some balsamic and olive oil. Dessert was a slice of green tea sponge that I found at Super H–it would have fit in the top tier if I’d had it, I’m sure. 
My Secret Santa was good to me this year–I guess it helped that we got to make an Amazon wishlist! This sweet little Panda bento is much roomier than my first bento, which will now be relegated to a breakfast bento status.
My first lunch packed in the new container was kind of thrown together from leftovers: rice porridge, sliced salted egg, boiled carrots, and Korean yam. Not exactly inspiring, but very filling.
rice porridge, salted egg, carrots, and Korean yam
