Bento Extra: Snackbox!

Here's a snackbox We brought one day when We had a late workout class.  Nothing is worse than being hungry going into the workout.  So it's a tea egg in a little paper cup to keep it from leaking soy, and an apple which, despite being rolled in lemon, still browned a little bit.  A good choice, but the sweetness of the apple was kind of contradictory against the definitive savory of the egg.  Next time, We think We'd choose a vegetable to go in the snackbox--baby carrots, radishes, cucumber slices. 

Bento #21: Homestyle dinner, redone!

Sooo, the no-flash version of this picture didn't turn out, leaving Us with only the flash version.  So that's why the rice is giving you a Blinding Voip! right now.  Also We started eating before We remembered the photo, because We were Royally Hungry.

So, in the bottom tier is vegetarian Lentil Loaf, which We think is pretty great--all the loafiness of a meatloaf, none of the actual meat.  So it's a pretty solid choice, and delicious.  Not vegan, though.  Ketchup on the side.  In the top tier is steamed spinach dressed with soy sauce, steamed asparagus dressed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and some white rice We made when We realized We were basically having Traditional American Dinner for lunch.  If We'd had potatoes in the fridge, We would have had mashed potatoes and made the circle complete.  But rice did the job just fine.

Bento #20: Sandwich of Shame

On the outside, this sandwich looks all innocent.  Wheat bread surrounded by a phalanx of carrots.  But really, this sandwich is the reason We haven't posted lunches in a while.  We were full of shame!  Horrible shame!  Vegetarians and other gentle souls may need to look away.

Oh, the horror!  The humanity!  As you can clearly see, once this sandwich is opened, Tuna Salad! is clearly revealed.  But seriously, though, We had such a craving for it.  Although eating two fish sandwiches in a week is kind of bad--"Slowly climbing back up the food chain, eh King?" we thought to ourselves.  Naughty.  But what's almost worse is that the sandwich is on ... store bought bread!  Oh, We cover Our Blushing Face and hide in the Royal Corner!  We meant to make bread, really We did--but when We got to the store, We were so hungry already, and We just wanted to go home and eat something stat, not have to worry about whether to eat something bad for Us or wait three hours until the bread would be done--sigh.  Heavy is the head, blah blah.

And the bread was buy one, get one free.  There's another loaf in Our freezer.  Will the madness never end?

Bento #19: Salad time!

We are sorry for the blurry photo.  We thought Our camera was on Macro but it was not.  This is Our healthy, just-sort-of-thrown-together salad--the fridge was sort of low on salad ingredients, but We really wanted a big pile of fruit and veggie for lunch.  You can see that We have spinach, carrots, apples, an egg, and sunflower seeds in there.  The dressing is also a "Hm, so what is there?" dressing, because We did not want oil and vinegar.  The dressing was a mixture of spicy brown mustard, apple cider, rice vinegar, and pepper.  It was good, but very sweet--but We wanted sweet, because of the apple.  So kind of a weird fruity lunch.  It did the trick, though.

Bento #18: Yup, you guessed it: the fried rice parade continues!

Oh yes, more fried rice.  Nom nom.  But at least you can see in the lower tier in the back, We've brought a plum, sliced to fit in the box, and two tiny strawberries! 

As a bonus, because We are sure that everyone is tired of watching Us eat fried rice (strangely, We're not yet tired of eating it), here's a bento We made for an amiga.  Here it is, all tied up in its napkin:

We worked out with Our friend M over the lunch hour, and so as to save time for M, who has an Official Office Job, We said We'd pack her a lunch.  So We used a takeout container and packed her some fried rice too!

None shall go hungry in the Sneaky Kingdom!

Bento #17: Can We really have wanted this again?

What could it be?  Here it is, sitting all cutely wrapped up on Our desk...

Bam!  It's fried rice.  How could We want fried rice again after that epic no-dollars fried rice debacle in January, you ask?  Well, We don't know.  But there it is.  It's the same fried rice, except with brown rice instead of white.  And an apple, which We didn't eat right away, but ate as a snack before going to the gym.  And genmaicha.  Evidently, We were so excited to eat our repeat fried rice that We couldn't hold the camera still--all Our photos were blurry (sorry).

Gratuitious close-up fried rice love. P.S.: We put about a teaspoon of fish sauce in this fried rice, making it non-vegetarian.  But, it must be said, extra delicious.

Bento #16: Sad, Empty Fridge lunch

When this lunch was consumed (last Friday), We had not been to the grocery store in some time.  Whoops.

Top tier: a piece of leftover Papa John's pizza, cut in two so it would fit in the box and a little jar of peanut sauce.  Bottom tier: red bell pepper and carrots to dip in the peanut sauce.  Under the lid: a Ginger-O and some apricots.

We do not have a photo of this in its natural environment (i.e.  the coffee shop where We ate it) because after the Borders incident, We were concerned about lunching in public.  No fear, though; we ate it at an environmentally-concerned, free-trade-only, nonprofit-after-bills-are-paid joint, and not only did the nice lady working not care about Our lunch, but because they were out of decaf when We went to get a refill to eat w/ Our lunch and We had to wait about a half an hour, she gave it to us for free.  Hooray!

Bento #15: Picnic Lunch!

This is Monday's lunch.  It is Spring Break, and We have realized that We are old.  Instead of thinking to Ourselves, "Woohoo!  Party time!  Let's get in the car and drive!  Let's drink beer on the beach all day!" We thought, "Woohoo!  I can work every single day!  I'll get so much stuff done!"  We are old and lame.  Bring Us the senior menu at Denny's--We are ready.

That said, We had a beautiful lunch on Monday.  We walked to school to drop off some photos for a friend's project, and then We ate Our lunch on a picnic table outside the Biology building.  It was finally pretty out, nice and warm, even in the dappled shade of the picnic bench.  We were so excited to eat outside!

Okay, okay, you say.  Enough with the chatter.  What was the lunch?  OK, the top tier was rye crackers with a Babybel cheese and some dates, and the bottom tier was carrots and hummus for the crackers.  Three Newman's Ginger-Os fit in the top of the lid, and an apple and a thermos of green tea finished it off.

So this was Our lunch view.  A book propped on the thermos of delicious hot tea, our delightful lunch, and a nice sunny view of some science buildings (and let me assure you, the science buildings are much nicer than Ours over in the English department).  This made Us so, so happy. 

Afterward, We graded Our students' midterms while lying on the grass in the sun.  If you've gotta grade, that's the way to go about it!

Bento #14: Lentil Soup in a Mason Jar

Because We do not have one of those fancy soup lunch thermos devices (though We covet it!), We brought our soup to work today in a Mason jar, because it will go in the microwave safely if the metal lid is removed.  We also have a slice of homemade wheat bread, halved, with hummus spread on thinly, apple slices and dates, and a mug of tea.

The soup is crock pot lentil soup, which is absolutely the best way to make lentil soup.  Everything goes all extra delicious in the slow cooker. 

Re: the tea, it is Tazo Zen.  We have a sneaking suspicion it might be something We do not like.  Because last week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, We had horrible afternoon headaches that forced Us to lie quietly on the couch and avoid thinking heavy thoughts (or indeed, moving at all).  Bad news!  When We thought about what could be occurring, the only new variable We could think of was that the tea bags We bought for the office might be giving Us troubles.  Naturally, everyone We know suggested allergies, but as far as We know, We're not allergic to anything--and We don't have headaches anywhere but the office.  While it's true that the office might have moldier carpet or something, We don't think that's the right answer.  We think it's the tea.  We are considering giving the tea away to someone else who won't be overcome.

Anyone want about ten packets of Potential Headache Tea?

Bonus Snack: Cranberry Grapefruit Vegan Muffins!

We admit it: We love vegan baked goods.  Is it their moistness?  Their sometimes-a-little-denser-than-traditional-baked-goods-ness?  Their not-loaded-with-saturated-fat-that-makes-Us-saturated-with-fat-ness?  Their no-milk-in-Our-milk-free-kingdom-ness?  We are unsure.  But We love them.

We had to be at Our office early early early Friday morning, so a student could take a midterm early.  Like, 7:30.  When We usually get there around 9:30, maybe 10--not that We're not up at 7:30, but We're usually drinking tea and bracing Ourselves to read Our e-mail (which We hate doing; always people needing stuffs in there) at that time.  So We were inclined to believe We might be a little pissy that morning.  Vegan muffins?  Just what We would need.  And indeed, they did help with Our pissiness when the student showed up 45 minutes late.

And all day long, We were a Dispenser of Baked Goodness, a Benificent Carbohydrate King.  So happy to dispense Muffiny Joy!  And?  These muffins are good for the people, because they are made with half whole wheat, half white whole wheat flour; not too much sugar; monounsaturated fat; and raw whole cranberries, so all their cranberry-y goodness is preserved. 

We ate the final muffin with almond butter and a banana for breakfast today.

Bento #13: Quiche and Carrots (#11 Redux)

We apologize for the gray drabness in this photo.  We had to take the photo at our ill-lit breakfast table today, because We were not sure where We would be consuming this lunch. 

This is more of the same spinach/mushroom/onion/cheese quiche, with carrots and peanut dip, cherry tomatoes, and apple slices.  It was delicious.

Also, today several of Our officemates admired Our lunch!  We beamed with modest joy and wittered, "Oh, yes, well, you know, good nutrition is important blah blah blah, limited vegetarian options on campus yada ya," but inside we thought to ourselves, Everyone wishes they had my awesome lunch!  Ha, I'm cuter and shinier than all you peasants!  Much adoration of the Sneaky King!  Which, let's be honest, is one of Our goals--to be demonstrably skilled and adorable.

In other words, Royal Mission Accomplished. <3

Bento #12: Tofu and Bell Peppers with Miso

Here is Our lunch all wrapped up in a blue bandanna that We made out of leftover sewing project fabric.  It needs to be wrapped up to contain the stuff that wouldn't fit in the box.  You can also see Our desk behind it--complete with Frank O'Hara's lunch poems.  Oh, how We love you, O'H.  Particularly over lunchtime. 

And here is Our actual lunch.  It's tofu chunks and red bell pepper stir-fried with a miso sauce.  In the tier behind, there's brown rice (no furikake, no vinegar, nothin'!  Boo) and carrots.  A cherry fruit leather fit into the lid of the box, and there's also an apple off to the right.  The little box in front is a pair of short chopsticks that came with Our bento jar.

We have got to go buy something to put on the top of Our rice, stat.  Because We are easily bored, and plain rice is not nearly as delicious as rice with some stuff. 

This was another lunch We did not get to eat until around 3 p.m.  We felt a little off today, as though We were warding off some sort of student-borne plague.  They're all ill b/c they're all stressing out about exams and whether they'll look good enough on the beach over spring break next week--so they're underfed, underslept, plague-ridden, and have been dieting/working out way too much.  We are trying very hard to keep from getting contaminated--but it's hard work.  And not getting to eat until 3 is probably not helping.

Bento #11: Quarter-Quiche with Cheese

We admit it.  We love quiche.  Perhaps it's because of Our French minor and subsequent time in France (shout out to Our awesome French Maman from our home-stay!  We thank heaven that you were a kindergarten teacher and patient with Our ineptitude).  Perhaps it's because eggs are clearly a lunchtime nom of choice here in the Sneaky Kingdom.  Maybe Our love of pie just needs a savory expression.  But whatever it is, the King loves quiche!

Here's a quarter of a spinach, onion, mushroom, and cheese quiche, together with a tangerine, some dates, some carrots, some grape tomatoes, and some of the never-ending jar of peanut sauce.  In Our Santa tin.  Because you know who else loves quiche?  That's right.  Kris Kringle.  And James Schuyler, one of Our favorite poets--and the poet We taught Our students today, and about whom Our students gave not one fig.  Hmph.  Their loss.

Bento #10: TMT and Rye Crackers

Sometimes We enjoy the spontaneity of putting together Our lunch on the spot.  We think it has a picnic feel.  To that end, here is a stack of high-fiber rye crackers, carrot sticks, peanut dip, a tangerine, and a little sidecar of TMT to spread on the crackers.  The box is a minature Pyrex baking dish with a slip-on blue lid.  Not 100% waterproof, but anything of sufficient goopiness won't make it out.  We like glass because it won't leach anything into Our lunch. Sometimes We worry about that.

We totally ruined the healthy good-for-Us effect of this by going to the hippie grocery store about an hour later for coffee--We were tired--and, since we were getting one bad-for-Us treat, sucking down a giant slice of vegan chocolate cake for good measure.  In for a penny, in for a cake.   Mmmmm.

Bento #9: Egg and Cheese

Here we have pretty much a repeat: Tea egg, Babybel cheese, tomatoes, carrots, spinach, peanut dip in the bear face, brown rice (w/out furikake!  I'm so sad to be out), instant non-vegetarian miso soup (don't tell, but there's bonito in there), and gingersnaps.  And tea.

Our love for instant miso soup at work is huge, especially as it's cold (or what passes for it) in this corner of the world.  We went on a miso-quest for a while, and found out that the only good instant miso soups are the 2-part kind: a dry packet and a wet packet.  Also, all the good ones are non-vegetarian.  All the veggie ones are terrible.  We could bring our own miso balls, of course, to be made into soup later--but they seem not as good as the terrible-for-Us-We're-sure-and-also-made-of-animals insta-kind.

Bento #7 News: The Naughty, Forbidden Lunch

Remember Bento #7?  Lovely TMT sandwich? 

We were bad.  We admit it.  But how were We to know?  We brought that lunch to a bookstore--Borders--to study.  We bought coffee, We plugged in Our laptop, and We settled in to read.  An hour and a half later, We felt rumbly.  We replenished Our coffee, brought it over to Our table, and tucked into Our sandwich.  A few minutes later, the coffee guy who always tells us "There's no more hot water" or "Only two drinks per customer" slyly when We've been studying too hard and are gullible to such maneuvers comes over.  He says that Our lunch is illegal!  We've been doing this there for quite some time.  We suspect he's flirt-lying again.  He says no, that it's always been a rule but that no one enforced it--but said store recently introduced sandwich-y affairs, and so now the manager will kick out people eating Forbidden Outside Food.  He said that he did not care, but to watch out.  We apologized and told him We would make other plans next time.  We finished our lunch furtively.

A nearby lady expressed sympathy, especially as their sandwiches are not cheap.  We sighed that it's worse because We try to be vegetarian, and a good vegetarian sandwich is hard to come by--everyone always just melts cheese over a tomato and expects gratitude.  Her sympathy deepened. 

We are displeased, Borders.  It's not as though We don't buy your coffee and scones!

Bento #8: Too Hungry for Photos!

This lunch was a delicious salad.  It had vast quantities of spinach, grape tomatoes, green bell pepper, carrots, a tea-egg, cubes of cheese, and a dressing of the ubiquitous spicy peanut dip thinned with rice vinegar. 

Why is it all gone?  Because We had a busy morning, and didn't get to eat it until after We taught.  And after We successfully dealt with / got the student out of our office afterward.  In other words, around 3 p.m.  We were far too hungry to remember photos for Our blog until this point.  The box was full.  You see Our ravenous, near-holy hunger.  After all, the King's mandate is divine.  Our lunch no less so.

The box, by the way, is the Fresh & Fit salad box, with a litle ice pack that snaps into the top and a little unscrew-able yellow widget that holds dressing.  A clever device, w/ 2 exceptions.  1) The knife and spork that came with it are useless--too flimsy for stabbing at raw veggies.  2) The handle-bit on the yellow dressing widget is hollow, so there's a teeny little crevice for dressing to get stuck into that's very hard to wash out if you don't rinse your dressing widget immediately after you eat your lunch.  Irritating when you have creamy or thick dressings.  Not an issue w/ oil and vinegar.  Otherwise a great contraption.