Day - 11 Bento Box for your loved ones part 2

My youngest son loves this lunch box that come with 2 space ship shape sandwich cutters.  This lunch box definitely makes my son's day!

Star Wars Lunch Box menu:

• Whole grain bread peanut butter sandwich. 
• Grape and mozzarella cheese shish kabob
• Banana
• Organic plain yogurt

Day - 10 Bento Box for your loved ones

The long holidays are over and the kids are back at school. I always try to give my kids creative lunches especially since one of them is a picky eater. I often make Onigiri - rice ball or rice roll with seaweed for their lunch. Nori - seaweed is a super food and it is high in mineral salt content and is a good source of iron, calcium, fiber, and many different types of vitamins. Now I understand why my grandparents kept telling me that seaweed is great for our hair! I eat seaweed almost daily. You can purchase it at any type of market.

Rice roll bento box

I use stainless steal bento boxes instead using plastic ones. Please, please try to not to use many of the small plastic bags ... this helps keep our oceans clean. I add some grape tomatoes, edamame and grapes for this lunch box.

Put cooked rice on seaweed with
sesame seeds

Start rolling with finger from bottom

Day 9 - New Years Celebration Appetizer

Happy New Year!! Hope your 2011 will be healthy and successful. New Year's resolution? My one is always to eat healthy!


I made this for New Year's Eve kick off night. 
I normally go to a Japanese Market to purchase fresh sashimi grade fish. I purchased "toro" to make the dish below. Toro - fatty tuna is the term for the fatty part of the tuna, found in the belly portion of the fish. Toro is further broken up into two distinct subtypes, and they are more expensive due to their relative scarcity as a proportion of the entire fish. I personally like Bluefin Tuna which is called "Hon Maguro" in Japanese. 

Tuna Tartare with Wasabi Aioli

Tuna Tartare ingredients:
¹/₂ pound Toro - fatty tuna, finely diced
¹/₂ cup minced green onions
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
¹/₄ cup soy sauce
¹/₂ teaspoon Asian toasted sesame oil
^{1 ripe avocado} 

Directions: 

In a bowl, carefully and gently combine all ingredients. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve with chips.

Wasabi Aioli Sauce ingredients and directions:

•  1 cup mayonnaise
•  4 tsp soy sauce
•  1½ tsp sugar
•  2 tsp lemon juice
•  2 tsp wasabi paste

• Whisk all ingredients together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and chill.
  
  

Day 8 - Healthy Breakfast

I made this breakfast for my friend who is a vegan.  All of these fruits give us super energy for a busy day. Blueberry contains antioxidants which are great for eyes, the immune system, and they make our body stronger. Kiwi is a super food that has lots of fiber and Vitamin C to make our skin beautiful! 
I often make a simple syrup - In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the 1 cup of water to a simmer. Add 1 cup of sugar and stir until it completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Pour the syrup into a clean 1-pint bottle, cap it and refrigerate until ready to use.

Strawberry and Blueberry with lemon zest

Strawberry and Blueberry with lemon zest and simple syrup ingredients:

• 6 cups ripe strawberries and blueberries
• 3/4 cup simple syrup
• 1 whole lemon zest
• Fresh mint leaves for garnish
• Serves 4

Ruby Grape Fruits Comport with dried lavender 

Ruby Grape Fruits Comport with lavender ingredients:

• 3/4 cup simple syrup
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 2 grapefruits
• 3 kiwifruits
• 2 strips of dried lavender
• Serves 4

Day 7 - New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp

Barbecue Shrimp is absolutely a southern food and one of my favorite dishes. This dish has nothing to do with a barbecue pit or barbecuing but, it is spicy, buttery and sooooo delicious & messy & fun to eat. I used the packet which is an authentic and easy way to have 100% of satisfaction. 
http://www.louisianafishfry.com/shopp...

Before baking

After baking

If you decide to order some, you can follow the packet instructions or can try my version. The packet instructions are:

In a saucepan, melt 4 sticks unsalted butter. Add 1 cup water and BBQ Shrimp Sauce Mix. Simmer 5 minutes.
Divide 5 lbs unpeeled shrimp among 2/3 baking dishes with shrimp not more than 2 layers deep. Add some slice onion, mushroom and slice of lemon if you like.
Pour sauce, proportionally, over shrimp. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, turning shrimp several times.
Serve with French bread for dipping
For added flavor layer lemon and/or onion slices over shrimp before baking.
Enjoy!

I use half of the called for butter (I used unsalted ones), which would be 1/2 a cup. I then add 1 cup of olive oil and 1 cup of water since 4 sticks butter will be too much. I spoon the shrimp into bowls and pour broth over them. Serve with sliced French bread enjoy. 

I purchased 2.5lbs of wild prawn form Mexico at the Fish Market restaurant. The Fish Market Restaurant has always fresh and delicious fish, crab, and shrimp. Yum! You can feed at least 5 people easily with this recipe. 

Day 6 - French Onion Soup

I made French Onion Soup after we finished the rib roast. I used bone from the rib to make soup stock. It was very delicious. This tangy and super rich flavor soup is wonderful for brunch with your loved ones.

French Onion Soup ingredients for 4:

• 2 Tbs. vegetable or olive oil
• 4 large red onions, thinly sliced
• 1⁄4 tsp. sugar
• 4 leeks, including tender green portions,
   thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 cups beef stock
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1⁄2 tsp. minced fresh thyme or 1⁄4 tsp.
   dried thyme
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 12 baguette slices, each 1⁄4 inch thick
• 3⁄4 cup shredded Gruyère or Comté cheese
• 
  
• Directions:
• In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar and leeks and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until richly colored and caramelized, 30 to 45 minutes. (You may need to increase the heat to medium to add some color at the end.)
  
  Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and discard.
  
  To serve, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into individual flameproof soup bowls. Place 2 or 3 slices of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with the cheese. Slide under the broiler about 6 inches from the heat element. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.

Day 5 - Christmas Special - Standing Rib Roast

Merry Christmas!


I made a Standing Rib Roast since it's my husband's favorite Christmas celebration meal. This meal is also wonderful for New Year's celebration. I purchased about 6 lbs of rib roast at the butcher. Asked them to cut rib eye side with 3 bones which has more flavor and tender meat. Do not buy already cut with plastic wrap. Ask them to debone it and re-attach the bone to the meat so the meat gets more flavor while roasting. The butcher should tie them up all together for free. To make the rib roast tender, place it out at room temperature for 1 hour before you start roasting in the oven.

Directions:
Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 450°F. Oil a flameproof heavy roasting pan just large enough to hold the roast comfortably.

Generously season all sides of the roast with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. Place the roast, fat side up, in the prepared pan. Roast for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the roast, away from the bone, registers 125° to 130°F for very rare to medium-rare, about 1 hour and 10 minutes more (for a total roasting time of 1 1⁄2 hours).



Sauce ingredients:

• 3/4 cup beef stock
• 1/3 cup Cabernet Sauvignon wine reduction*
• 1 tsp. minced fresh thyme
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• salt and pepper
• Stir in the stock, Cabernet wine reduction, bacon, thyme and any accumulated meat juices.  Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.