Here’s my attempt at bento’s for school!!!
Number One:Ham roll and cheese stick, peppadew flowers, stuffed with cream chees and prawns, salad and chicken rolls.
Number Two: Star shaped jam sandwich, Smiley banana muffin,home made sushi, tomato and chicken kebab stick, carrot shapes and rice crackers.
I’m no where near as talented as some of the efforts I have been looking at online, but I’m trying!!
My latest quest on how to get a small child to eat a packed lunch which is interesting and healthy at the same time, led me to bento boxes. So I have taken the plunge and purchased the items shown above!
I have also been experimenting with some ideas for fillings in lunches and the baked eggs turned out extremely well and were devoured in no time. They can also be frozen in portions after cooking for using at a later date.
Baked Eggs
2 eggs beaten
dash soy sauce
shake of ground black pepper
chopped sausage
small pieces of chopped cheese
chopped chives
6 silicone cup cake cases
shallow oven tray
Method:
Beat eggs well
Add seasoning and chives
divide chopped sausage and cheese between 6 cases
Divide beaten egg between 6 cases
Place on baking tray with a small amount of water on bottom to help keep egg moist while cooking
Bake at 180 oc for approx 10 minutes or until egg is risen and well set.
To freeze: Allow to become completely cold and remove from silicone cases, wrap individually in greaseproof paper and place in freezer bag. This allows portions to be removed as and when required with no prising apart!
I have also found a glorious recipe on My Culinary Journal
We love to buy these buns when we are in Belfast at the Chinese supermarket. I made 10 buns last night and when I came home today there were only 3 left. I think I can count that as a success!! Beware though, if you make this recipe it makes lots and lots of dough. I made rolls with the remainder, but you could try freezing the dough pre shaped and see if it cooks from frozen.
We’ve also made mini muffins to goo in the bento’s and I will be experimenting with more recipes over the weekend.
Made ahead in advance for tomorrow nights tea:
3 white fish fillets (Iceland frozen variety)
1/2 pint milk
knob butter
3 bay leaves
2 tablespoons plain flour
handful jumbo prawns
leftover mashed potato (I had colcannon in the freezer so used that as a topping)
ground black pepper
1 tspn mustard
I have made these in individual ramekins but you can make a full size pie if you prefer
Place 1/2 pint milk in saucepan and add fish and bay leaves
Bring to a simmer and cook until fish is done
Strain milk away from fish and set aside to make white sauce
divide fish and prawns into ramekins
to make white sauce (See videojug here if you are really stuck on making this sauce)
melt butter in a pan
add flour and stir well until it all is bound together (it will look like crumbs)
slowly add milk stirring all the time (I use a whisk as it’s easier to make a smooth sauce)
when milk is all added keep stirring until you have a lovely smooth sauce, you might need to add a bit more milk if your sauce is really thick, keep it quite thick to help keep your pie together, custard consistency is about right )
whisk in mustard
season with black pepper ( I don’t add salt as I use salted butter)
divide sauce between ramekins and top with mashed potato
press potato to the sides of the ramkein to seal the sauce into the pie to prevent leaks
place in oven at 180oc until piping hot and top is crispy and brown
serve with seasonal vegetables on the side
So today I had my very first attempt at making sushi. I’ve never ever made this before and wondered how it would turn out, but I gave it a bash and I have to say I’m pretty happy with the attempt!
I was able to get all my ingredients from my local Tesco, but you can also get all the necessary bits and bobs from a local asian supermarket or online from one such as Wing Yip or Japan Centre.
You will need the following items:
Sushi Rice
Sushi Nori ( Edible Roasted Seaweed Sheets)
Bamboo rolling mat
Rice Wine vinegar
Mirin
Castor Sugar
Salt
To make the sushi rice dressing:
2 tbspn rice wine vinegar
1 tbspn mirin
1 tsp castor sugar
1 tspn salt
Fillings I used were:
Cucumber strips, deseeded
peppadew sweet peppers
Sainsburys basics smoked salmon trimmings
Cooked jumbo prawns
Stir well togther in a non metal bowl and set aside
Cook rice as per instructions either in a rice cooker or in a heavy pan
Transfer rice into a non metallic bowl
Fold in sushi dressing and continue to fold until rice is just warm
Place sushi nori on bamboo rolling mat
Spread dressed rice over the nori covering about 2/3 of the sheet
Add your fillings a little off centre
Roll up the bamboo mat slowly, pressing lightly as you go
When you get to the end of the sheet, moisten edge with a little water and press down on roll to seal the edge
Remove roll from mat and using a damp knife cut the roll into 6 pieces.
I found it easier to slice the roll after it had been in the fridge for a while.
Serve with pickled ginger and soy sauce
Yum yum!
