End of the Summer

Tomorrow is Middle School orientation for Mia, so today was the last bento picnic of the summer. We decided to bring the summer to an end where it began (at least concerning picnics).

Me: Kimchi, spinach omelet, rice panda, and vegetable.

Mia: spinach omelet, rice panda, and vegetable.

We sat in the same spot as before.

This park has many, many turtles. Swimming with this big snapper were three frisky small ones. Lots of turtles today.

Krull Park, Olcott, NY

The park was amazing so much to do you can go by the docs or walk a while. You can also go down by the little shops they have candy gifts and more.

-Mia

It didn't rain on us, but there were storm clouds on both sides. I made a simple bento of fried tofu and pb&j. Plus a nice thermos of water and one of coffee.

-Chad

Fort Niagara State Park

I loved Fort Niagara! There was a lot of birds but only in one area. You can walk through the long fields or walk by the beach. If you get to hot there is a pool. On the beach its more rocks then sand, but still fun. When we left we ended up with a lot of smooth round rocks, I just wanted to keep them all!

-Mia

Inari, vegtable, and pocket cheese sandwiches. With a panda cookie for desert.

-Chad

Trip to Lewiston

I miscounted my eggs and so didn't have enough for that delicious spinach omelet I planned for. So we just had molded hard boiled eggs instead. Though rainy, we drove out to Lewiston near Artpark to include a little walk after lunch.

Mia loves black berries.

I forgot about the second orange slice hiding under the bunny egg. What a treat!

We walked down to watch the people get on the speed boats that run against current in the lower Niagara River. We live right in Buffalo, and though we walk around a lot, its nice to get out in the surrounding towns. Iv grown to really appreciate living in the city and traveling about. Western New York is a beautiful place. 

We beat the worst of the rain for lunch but it got us on the drive home. It was coming down pretty hard so I took the boulevard home. Which was good because we stopped at the antique barn to get cherry candies.

Rainy Fathers Day

On a rainy fathers day morning I prepared some vegetable fried tofu and the rice for the pandas. We would make our standard bento lunches for an early picnic before the family get together. There is a preserve I like to go on Tillman Rd. in Clarence that has a trail we normally don't take. Its shorter, but it was rainy so it was a good day for it.

The pandas got swords in honor of fathers day.

We ate in the car (careful of the soy sauce!) and ventured out after. 

It rained on us a little and it was refreshing. The day did clear up and we were in the pool by the afternoon. All in all, a really nice day.

Fried Tofu Bento

I loved this bento! The two kinds of berries were a perfect blend! The corn was tiny and delicious, and the two kinds of beans were so good. I couldn't tell the difference. The tofu was deliciously fried, real flavorful, and so good. The egg was so fresh. I love bento boxes! 

- Mia

It was pretty rainy that day so we went to a close park and ate at the picnic table. Close enough that we could run home if it really started raining again.

Not a lot to do to prepare the fried tofu. Easy and so good:

- Use extra firm (or firm) tofu. Its easier to dry if its firm. I cut it in half on its side. This gives you two wide pieces that helps it drain better. Lay them flat over a towel, cover with another towel, and cover that with a cutting board. Put weights on the board to force it to drain for about 20 minuets to a half hour or so. You can use cans or a heavy pot for weights.

- After the tofu has drained, cut both pieces length wise again. Then cut each slab in fourths. This gives you 16 pieces to fry.

- Cover a plate with cornstarch and coat each side of the tofu.

- Get one egg and whip it in a bowl. One egg should cover the whole batch. Dip the cornstarch covered tofu in the egg, enough to coat the piece without too much excess.

- Put a pan on medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to your liking. You might like a lot or a little but it should be enough so that it will not just disappear.

- Cook for about 8-12 min on each side. Get it crispy but dont burn it. Do not be tempted to move it around as it fries. One flip for each side.

Thats a lot of words for a simple fried tofu, but I ruined a lot of tofu and this seemed to work really well.

- Chad

Bean Feast

Knowing I was going to make beans this afternoon, I set up some sourdough hours before dinner. I like bread with dinner anyway, but since the beans themselves were the main course, I really needed it as a side. My sourdough recipe takes four hours to rise and a half hour to bake. But this is about beans.

When I first got this recipe, I made it once or twice a week for weeks. I tend to do that with new recipes and sometimes get sick of the meal. But not these. The ingredients are:

1 large can of Bushes vegetarian baked beans
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can butter beans
1/2 stick salted butter
1/2 mounded cup sugar
1 tbs. red pepper flakes
ketchup - squeeze like you would put on one hotdog
mustard - same as ketchup

Heat on your stove until bubbling then put it in the oven at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Remove the lid and cook for 1/2 hour more. They get nice and thick in the oven. Enjoy them with some bread and butter.

White vs. Wheat vs. Spelt

I usually make my tortillas with white flour, but have been talking to people about wheat and spelt flours. So I made a ball of each to compare and fried them for bean burritos. The recipe for these shells is really easy:

3/4 cup water

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tbs olive oil

- Let sit for 10 min. before cooking.

I use Red Mill flours because they are chemical free for the most part. For white flour, I get the Unbromated, Unbleached. Just look at the labels at the store to compare chemical content if your wondering. I'm not really that good about what the chemicals are (or do), but I just try to buy the one that has the least. With this flour, I sometimes find I need to pull back on how much I use compared to what recipes call for. I'v held back a full cup depending on the bread because it gets too dry. Sometimes, I just add more water until it feels right.

For the white and wheat, use the full 2 cups. For the spelt, its still the 2 cups, but I needed to roll the ball in flour twice to reduce stickiness. 

While that sits, I start the beans. I like to cook the onions, tomatoes, and cheese right with the beans.

1 medium onion

1 medium tomato

About 1/2 block of cheddar cheese (organic valley block, not pre shredded (has additive)

1/2 stick of butter

1 can Amy's refried beans

1 can Eden Organic refried pinto beans

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

1 tbs red pepper flakes

This can sit on medium to low heat while you fry the tortillas. By the time the tortillas are ready, everything will have melted together.

The only time I need a rolling pin is when I make these tortillas. I cant see owning something I dont use that much so I use a big tupperware tumbler to roll out the dough. When I fry them, I use enough oil to coat the shell. Cook on medium heat until the dough looks somewhat crisp all around - about 1 min. on each side. Use vegetable or corn oil, not olive oil. I cook mine in a ruined crepe pan. 

I stuff the shells with hot cherry peppers. Unfortunately, these contain chemicals to keep them fresh, but are very good so I eat them anyway. I add Franks Red Hot sauce and Wegmans organic barbecue sauce. I love condiments. 

So how did they compare? In the photo it goes: white, wheat, spelt from front to back. I ate the spelt first because I'm not used to it and I wanted to have a clear taste of the differences. The spelt was good. The dough held together as well as the others and fried evenly. Spelt has a distinct taste and texture, but not in a bad way; a little grainy may be? White and wheat were a tie for first for taste, but not by that much. I could make these tortillas with any of the flours and I think guests would be happy.

Drive to the Eternal Flame

We started out the day making our bentos for a drive to the Eternal Flame in Chestnut Ridge Park south of Buffalo. I lived out there when I was a kid, but have never been to the site and thought it was about time to check it out. While I set up the rice for the pandas, Mia started in on her preparations. She put together her lunch by herself and did a great job. She has two tiers to hers. Check out the dog and its bone!

Mia needed the rest of the broccoli so I went with polka dot carrots for mine (one tier).

The flame is worth seeing but I drove around a little before I found it. If your coming from the 219, pass both park entrances by a couple miles or so and there is a parking lot on the right. The lot is fairly big surrounded by a white post fence.

We stopped half way up the trial (about a mile and a half one way with a bit of an incline coming back) and had lunch. Hey, nice posture girl!

Banana Boat

To be fair, we call anything that includes a whole banana a banana boat. She doesn't ever want a peanut butter and banana sandwich but she likes a sliced banana crammed with peanut butter and reassembled. This is a good snack.

Our First Couple Bento Boxes

I had a lot of expectations for this summer. So far, its been a huge disaster. Except for our bento boxes! Me and my daughter decided it would be a bento summer in the spring and so far its been great. So I'll forget all the other stuff and concentrate on cooking for a while. Iv always been way too interested in food and eating, thought in the past its been mostly about candy and vending machines. But that didn't work out so well, so over the years Iv turned to eating much healthier. And much less.

So here it is: we bought our wonderful boxes and some of the accessories from Bento & Co.
Iv been getting some recipes from Just Bento

Part of making the lunches has been taking them places. So far we went to a favorite park, the Niagara Aquarium (if you want to go the the Niagara Aquarium, good luck finding it), and my ex wife's house when I picked my daughter up for the weekend. I didn't make my ex wife a box, but I did share.