Tag Archives: grilled fish

Kindergarten bento – Lack of green (13/Oct/17)

13/10/2017

I wish I had one more ingredient to add more green to the bento today. I only had garlic chives in my fridge that was green… which ended up in omelet. 

Later on I went to a grocery store and replenished my fridge with green ingredients. Only then have I realised it’s actually weekend and there’s no need to make bento for the next 2 days. Well, it happens…

Menu: Garlic chive omelet, Coleslaw salad, Cherry tomato, Grilled Spanish mackerel in saikyo-miso, Rice with sesame sprinkle

Japanese Nashi pear for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Getting cheeky (4/Oct/17)

05/10/2017

Our daughter doesn’t like sausages. As a parent, maybe I should rather be grateful, but sausages are handy for bento, since it’s so easy to prepare (either just boil, lightly fry or microwave it). 

She is turning 5 next month, and is getting cleverer and cleverer each day. Today, she claims she “accidentally” dropped the sausage in her bento, and didn’t have to eat it as a result.

I just can’t wait for her to turn to be a teenager.

Menu: Lightly fried sausage, Nira (garlic chives) omelet, Boiled okra, Grilled cod marinated in saikyo-miso, Steamed carrot slices, Rice
Apple bunnies for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Getting cheeky (4/Oct/17)

05/10/2017

Our daughter doesn’t like sausages. As a parent, maybe I should rather be grateful, but sausages are handy for bento, since it’s so easy to prepare (either just boil, lightly fry or microwave it). 

She is turning 5 next month, and is getting cleverer and cleverer each day. Today, she claims she “accidentally” dropped the sausage in her bento, and didn’t have to eat it as a result.

I just can’t wait for her to turn to be a teenager.

Menu: Lightly fried sausage, Nira (garlic chives) omelet, Boiled okra, Grilled cod marinated in saikyo-miso, Steamed carrot slices, Rice
Apple bunnies for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Burnt again (11/Sep/17)

12/09/2017

Grilled fish in saikyo-miso (Kyoto-style sweetened miso) marinade. 

Due to the marinade containing sugar, I always end up burning a fillet of fish in the morning, and today was no exception. I try to put the heat of the fish grill to minimum, but if I place my mind elsewhere for just a quick moment, it just always gets burnt. I scraped off the burnt skin off of the fillet and packed it in the bento box.  My daughter, used to this ordeal by now, emptied her bento without complaint.

Menu: Grilled “Sawara” Spanish mackerel in saikyo-miso marinade, Boiled green beans, Potato salad, Rice with black sesame sprinkle

Apple bunnies for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Japanese “Nashi” pear (7/Sep/17)

07/09/2017

As a sign of changing season, I see many Japanese “Nashi” pears, in addition to Kyoho grapes, displayed in grocery stores in my neighborhood. Compared to what you find in the West, Japanese pears are rounder (sphere) and juicier (maybe comparable to that of watermelon). Again we generally pear the skin off, as it kind of disturbs the taste of the flesh in my opinion. I know, I may be taking its precious vitamins off, but what can I say, that’s how I’ve always eaten my Nashi… (FYI, in Japan we incline to peal off skins off most of the fruits. Must be something to do with… fertilizer?)

Menu: Grilled salmon, Edamame mixed in rice (with sesame sprinkle), Mashed pumpkin & egg salad, Steamed broccoli, Cherry tomato

Japanese “Nashi” pear for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Can you believe… (5/Sep/17)

06/09/2017

….that today’s bento was prepared from only a few ingredients left in our fridge/freezer?

Over the weekend we visited our friends in the coastal city called Zushi in Kanagawa prefecture. We had a great two day stay, relaxing by the seaside.

As a result, we didn’t get to do any grocery shopping. But I flashed my super mum card and fixed this bento – not too bad I’d say 🙂

Menu: Grilled Mutsu (Japanese bluefish), Goma-konbu, Cucumber sticks, Simmered daikon & carrot in chicken stock, Aonori seaweed omelet, Rice

Apple mousse & mashed pumpkin with cinnamon & raisins for dessert

 

Kindergarten bento – ‘Summer Day’ bento (29/Aug/17)

29/08/2017

After a long month and a half, there are only a few more days left with our daughter’s school summer holiday. Today, her school opened up prior to the new semester for so called ‘Summer Day’ service. Basically, they start the day an hour later than usual, so that the kids (& parents) could gradually adjust themselves back to their normal school routine, including their favorite lunch time.

As such, my bento making routine started a few days earlier as well.

Menu:

Grilled salmon flakes mixed in rice, Fried mini sausages, Asparagus omelet, Cucumber sticks, Cherry tomato

Japanese Nashi pear for dessert

Kindergarten bento – No need (5/Jul/17)

05/07/2017

Not being a morning person, like any other morning I forced myself to wake up this morning by turning my iPhone on and checking the weather. Whether it is good or bad, this always works for me.

Anyway, I prepared my daughter’s bento as usual, even diligently following her wish to enclose a pack of furikake as she saw one of her school friends did the same. 

Menu: Grilled Japanese “mutsu” fish in saikyo miso marinade, Boiled egg, Cucumber/tomato/corn salad, Steamed broccoli and Rice, Banana & Apple mousse for dessert
Furikake on the side
5 minutes before our daily “Ittekimasu (I’m off, bye!)” ritual, I was also packing up my own bag to leave with her, because I had to attend a PTA related meeting followed by some volunteer work at her school. Going over today’s schedule in my head as I packed (of course in a super rush), I thought, ok, after the volunteer work I’ll just pick her up downstairs, because there is no afternoon class today… yep we have a play date arranged at the Midtown park afterwards, so I’ll also need to pack picnic mat… I can buy lunch at a supermarket there… oh, lunch… oh? lunch? Ah, didn’t I just make bento! Oh, all the effort was not called for… it was totally unnecessary! I could’ve slept longer this morning… What an idiot…🤣

Another great start of the day, and a good reminder to always pack the night before.