Bento #111: Hummus and Rye Crackers

Citizens, We love hummus.  And gosh, but We love those dang rye crackers!  You know the ones--they're fiber-tastic.

So here is hummus, rye crackers, carrots, plum, and a cookie that both neatly fills the little space and fills the dessert-shaped hole in Our soul.

This is Extra-Garlicky Hummus:

• 1 can chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
• 1 1/2 T. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 T. tahini
• 1 T. soy sauce
• 1 T. olive oil
• garlic, grated finely.  As much as you can stand!

Put everything but oil and garlic in a blender.  Put oil in a small saucepan and heat.  Add garlic and let it sizzle for about a minute.  Keep a close eye on it.  You want it golden brown, but not burnt.  Burnt garlic is Very, Very Nasty, citizens.  When it's golden, immediately dump it over the cool ingredients in the blender to stop the cooking process.  Blend, adding reserved bean liquid if necessary to make it process.  Eat your lovely garlicky hummus.

Bento #36: Picnic!

Voila, Our huge picnic lunch bento!  As you can see, We really felt like making a cute and proper lunch today instead of just winging some crap in a random box.  We aren't bentoing every day now, because We aren't working at the moment--so We can eat lunch at home pretty much every day.  So when there was an opportunity for picnic bento, We went for it!

In the right (top) tier, there's a bell pepper cup with carrot and chickpea salad.  There are three rice balls with shrimp and egg furikake mixed in (We gave one away to one of our picnic companions).  To fill some gaps and up the protein ante, we tucked a hard boiled egg in between the rice balls.  Not that you can see it, but there was lettuce on the bottom to a) make it prettier and b) make the rice balls not stick to the metal tiffin.

In the left (bottom) tier, there's grapes and strawberries, with orange sections hiding underneath.  We gave a bunch of the grapes to Our other picnic companion.

If We must say so Ourself, this was a delicious lunch.  And a fun time--check out the lunch vista:

Napkin switch!

Bento #32: Noodle Stir Fry

We looove this lunch.  It is a veggie and noodle stir fry with chickpeas in the top tier, and grapes and carrots in the back tier.  We did not get to eat this lunch until quite late in the afternoon, as Our students were freaking out about their final projects, and would not leave Our office so We could cram lunch in the royal head.  Sad, because this is a delicious lunch.

It is also a delicious dinner.  Here in the Sneaky Kingdom, We like to mix up a huge pot of something and then eat it all week.  Most often we do this for supper, but sometimes such a thing makes its way into the lunch menu.  Here is how We made this stir fry, which We ate all week long.  NB: you can put whatever veggies you most like into this.  This is just what We had floating around.  For example, this is highly unusual in the kingdom because is doesn't have some form of cabbage in it.

• 1 large onion, sliced into moons
• 1 box mushrooms, any type you like
• 2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• About 1" piece of ginger, grated
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced or cut into chunks
• 1 bunch broccoli, washed, with the stems sliced into coins
• 1 package snap peas, pea pods, whatever's there
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1/2 lb. noodles--soba, spaghetti, rice, whatever you like
• Your favorite soy sauce
• optional: Something spicy, like red chili flakes, Sriracha, Tabasco, etc. or any other flavors you like.  Chopped nuts are great--cashews, peanuts, etc.  The various black bean pastes can be nice, as can something a little sweet like honey and saké to take the bitter edge off if you're not into bitter.  Miso at this point can be really good too, as can curry flavors.  Throw in some interesting herbs like basil or cilantro.  Play around.

Cook the noodles and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat up your biggest wok or dutch oven and throw a little oil in the pan.  We used just canola this time, but if you have some sesame oil (Kingdom's out), a splash of sesame in with the neutral oil is delicious.  When the oil is hot, throw in the onions.  Let those cook a bit, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for just a few seconds.  Next, chuck in the mushrooms.  When those have started to soften, add the broccoli stem coins and the bell pepper.  A minute or two later, add the broccoli florets.  When those have started to green up, chuck in the snap peas.  When the snap peas are nicely crisp-tender, add the chickpeas, the noodles, the soy sauce, and any other sort of spicy/flavoring components.

This is a great one-dish meal--the noodles are a carbohydrate, the chickpeas provide protein, and there's just tons of veggies in here to provide vitamins, fiber, and to fill you up.  We love a stir fry (as our mild obsession with fried rice might indicate).  We think you could do worse for dinner.

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?