Cookbook Project, Book #190

[ladysprite]

"The Just Bento Cookbook," Makiko Itoh

Hey, remember when I said I was rebooting this project, about a year ago? So I actually was. I just, you know, forgot to actually write about the cookbooks that I acquired and started using. I've been pretty darn good about using my cookbooks, just not so good about actually writing them up. But now that I'm getting more back into the habit of blogging here, I'm going to try to be better about that.

Way back about a thousand years ago, a bunch of my friends started to talk about bentos (cute little Japanese lunch boxes and their fillings), and they sounded interesting. And I always pack a lunch when I go to work - I can't exactly leave the office and go out to eat, especially if I'm the only doctor on site. But it also sounded like a lot of work, and a lot of start-up investment, so I never actually got into it myself. Until, at Arisia 2012, I saw a vendor selling bentos and the accompanying paraphernalia, and I decided to give it a try.

I've been packing myself bento lunches almost every day since then, and I love it. It feeds my need for cute, my love for cooking, and it means that I have a much more diverse collection of lunch foods than turkey sandwich, ham, or PB&J. It took a little while to figure out a handful of quick recipes and to build up the pantry staples, but it was absolutely worth it.

In particular, this book has been a godsend. I found the Just Bento website on a random browse, and the recipes there looked good enough that I was willing to spring for the book, and I have used it almost every week since I bought it. Tonight, in particular, I made Beef Soboro and Red Peppers and Onions With Miso and Sesame.

Beef Soboro is seasoned ground beef, to be served over rice - it's cooked with soy sauce, ginger, mirin, oyster sauce, sake, sesame oil, and chicken broth. It's a little sweet, kind of subtle, and the broth keeps it from getting rubbery or dry as it cooks, and it packs up well and reheats even better.

The red peppers and onions are just delicious - both are sliced thin and sauteed, then a sauce of miso, mirin, soy, and a little bit of sugar is tossed in the pan, along with some sesame seeds, just long enough to caramelize it. The peppers and onions stay sweet, the flavors stay true but the sharp bite of the onion is gone, and it's an awesome accompaniment to just about anything I'm likely to pack for lunch.

(For the record, these will be packed along with rice, some grapes and blueberries, and, since I am a chocolate junkie, a fancy dark-chocolate pecan turtle. Yeah, this is the sort of thing umbran and I eat for lunch almost every day. Bentos are awesome.)

So. Everything about this book is wonderful, and I love it. The only downside is that it is rapidly becoming the Velveteen Rabbit of cookbooks, as I am slowly loving it to death....

Comments

[leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com]

Maki's work is wonderful, isn't it? I'm a huge fan of her sites, though I still need to buy her book. So glad she got through the awful cancer garbage this past year.

Glad to hear the book is awesome -- it just moved up my to-buy list. Thanks for the review!

[deguspice.livejournal.com]

They sound yummy.

Do you have any photos of these Bento meals you've made?

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

I've been told that Bento also ties into a culture of making food tasty and beautiful as a sign of love. If I felt I'd have the talent for it, I think I'd like to learn. (And maybe I will, someday.)