All posts tagged: diybento

Bento Series #11– Spring Rolls

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With spring around the corner, I felt it was time to post my recipe for SPRING Rolls (see what I did there?) With winter finally starting to fade (not really up North, and no real winter down here in Florida -_-) it is time to make some healthy food that will help us get in shape for bikini season, a.k.a. summer. This recipe is perfect for that, full of fresh veggies and delicious crab meat, it will satisfy the tastebuds while being gentle to your body. It is also great for a bento since everything goes inside the wrapper and you can eat it with your hands, no silverware necessary. Grab, dip, and enjoy! Bento Components: Spring Rolls Peanut Sauce Spring Rolls — Ingredients: -1 container (8 oz.) of fresh crab meat (can be found in the fish counter). -2 carrots -1/2 cucumber with all the seeds removed -3 green onions -1 cup cooked rice noodles -1 tsp sesame oil -1 Tbsp lemon juice -spring roll wrappers -salt and pepper to taste The first thing you …

Dumplings: Delicious Pockets of Goodness

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Dumplings, oh how I love thee!! Little pockets of deliciousness that make my heart soar. Every country has a kind of dumpling: Japanese gyoza, Korean mandu, Italian ravioli, Chinese shumai, Spanish empanadas, etc. It is very versatile, and since there are so many recipes from all around the world, the combinations are endless! The best part is that they are a great freezer food! You can make as many as you want on a free day and flash freeze them to be enjoyed at a later date. Not only that, they can be cooked in so many ways: fried, steamed, sauteed, baked, etc! A couple of months ago I invited my family over for the weekend and had them help me make a huge batch. Ha Ha! Entrapment! *Cough* I mean, a great family activity! We made gyozas, shumai, and crab rangoons, then I flash froze most of them to be divided among both households, and had a lot of them for dinner that night. We were in dumpling heaven! Freshly made gyozas, right before being …

Korean Inspired Pancakes, The Breakfast Of Champions!

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About a couple of months ago I decided to give Korean pancakes a try. They are salty, they are full of vegetables, and frankly they just looked exotically delicious. So I decided to make a classic; a green onion pancake. I printed a recipe from a reputable Korean cook, gathered my ingredients and went at it with extreme confidence, after all; How hard could it be? Well, I found out that there is a learning process to it. You can’t just add batter and fry, the onions release moisture, which make the pancake soggy if it is too thick. I learned that the egg has to be added at a certain time, that the green onions don’t always stick to the batter. Basically I made quite a few, but every try ended in me having to fix something since we Americans (at least the ones in my house) are not much for eating raw pancake mix, or raw egg, or slimy onions. So my first try ended in disappointment and me deciding that I had …

My Mom’s Flan Recipe

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My mom is a great cook and she makes the best Cuban food recipes. She is famous among our family and friends for her flans. So of course I asked her to share her recipe with the world! Flan is a delicate, versatile, delicious dessert. One of my favorite kinds of flan is cheese flan. But I also love the original, or coconut flan. They are all great! Since flan is something my mom always makes for special occasions, family dinners, or holidays it will always be, for me, a symbol of home! Give this recipe for the classic flan a try, and impress your family and friends with your knowledge of Cuban cuisine! Ingredients: -5 eggs -1 can of condensed milk -1 can of evaporated milk -1/2 tsp salt -1 Tbsp vanilla extract -4 Tbsp sugar In a blender, add eggs, condensed milk, evaporated milk, salt, and vanilla. Mix until all ingredients come together. Strain mix through a fine colander. Set aside. Make the caramel by melting the 4 tablespoons of sugar over a low flame, stirring constantly …

Bento Series #7 — Slow Cooker Brisket

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A slow cooker can be a huge help on very busy days. Wake up a few minutes earlier, throw everything in there, set for the whole day and “Forget About It.”(<– with a New England Accent) Now you might say: “Wake up a few minutes earlier? HA, HA, HA!” Well, to you I say; you can also set it up the night before and you will have a cooked meal when you wake up, like the food fairy visited and left you a delicious meal while you slept, just remember to turn off the slow cooker before you leave for work. You don’t want to burn that meal the food fairy slaved all night making for you! In this particular instance I made a brisket. Brisket is a relatively inexpensive cut of beef and generally tough, so it benefits from that long and slow cooking process. Bento Components: Slow cooked brisket Vegetables Rice with peas   Slow Cooker Brisket — Ingredients: -4 lb brisket -5 carrots -3 stalks of celery -1 onion diced -salt and pepper …

Vegetarian Fall Fried Rice

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A couple of weeks ago I decided to give Meatless Monday a try, a decision that met with many protests from my husband (I don’t like veggies, I like meat, I am a man! I need meat, But meat is delicious, I am not a rabbit, etc. were some of the arguments that arose). But I had some great arguments up my sleeve; Vegetables are good for you and this family, I am the one cooking! You will eat what I make, You are acting like a baby! Even our daughter is embarrassed for you! He ended up eating a peanut butter sandwich >_< still meatless though, Ha! Here is the recipe for the vegetarian fried rice that the rest of us enjoyed that day. It is great as a fall dish since it uses a lot of ingredients that are seasonal right now. Ingredients: -Cooked white and wild rice mixture. (1/2 cup pre-cooked wild rice to 2 cups white rice) -1 Zucchini chopped -2 Carrots diced (diced is smaller than chopped) -1 package of mushrooms …

Celebrating the beginning of Fall with… Shrimp and Scallops Bisque

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I love Fall… I know we don’t actually have a Fall here in Florida (don’t remind me, it makes me cry) but I like the idea of it and what it represents. To me it represents that winter, my favorite season, is just around the corner (yes don’t remind me we don’t really have a winter either -_-), that the holidays will start soon, that it is a time for family, that a lot of cooking will happen, that people will be kinder for a little bit. I honestly wish I lived in a place where the leaves turn gorgeous shades of red, and coats, scarves, and mittens are necessary. However, for now, that is not where I am located. I am in Florida -_- and must do with cranking the AC to the low 60s and decorating my house in tons of fake fall foliage. I will be posting a lot of Fall themed recipes in the months to come, but for today I decided to celebrate the beginning of Fall with a bowl of Shrimp …