Fun with Veggies and Thoughts on Real Bento #SundayFunday

Today the Sunday Funday writers are fresh and exciting recipes that use vegetables. Initially Sue of Palatable Pastime picked the theme, but as she has had to step back some from her blog, I stepped in. I am always up for more vegetables!

Stacy of Food Lust People Love, Rebekah of Making Miracles, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm, and I coordinate this low-stress group; we only participate when we are inspired. I already mentioned that I am hosting this week. Here is the line-up of the fun veggie recipes from the group...

• Bhogichi Bhaji by Sneha's Recipe

• Cottage Cheese and Spinach Egg Bites (Green Eggs and Ham Mini Souffle) by Amy's Cooking Adventures:

• Fun with Veggies and Thoughts on Real Bento by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Thai Cabbage Salad by Karen's Kitchen Stories

• Vegetable Enchilada Casserole by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Vegetable Masala Sandwich by Mayuri's Jikoni

Thoughts on Real Bento

I received a copy of this cookbook - Real Bento: Fresh and Easy Lunchbox Recipes from a Japanese Working Mom by Kanae Inoue - years ago and never really explored it thoroughly. The idea of creating veggie side dishes that I could place over rice for lunches during the week. is really appealing; it's nice to mix it up and not just have green salads every single day of the week.

I loved that her recipes are organized by categories such as 'tasty and salty-sweet' and 'seasoned with curry.' That made making multiple dishes with a single seasoning, such as miso, easy as they were all on one double-page spread. For example, I just opened to that page and made both the Carrot with Miso Sauce and Pumpkin with Miso Butter.

The downside about this cookbook - for me, anyway - was that she uses the microwave to quickly cook her vegetables and her recipes are portioned for a single serving. First, I don't own a microwave, so I had to adapt the recipes to used blanched or steamed vegetables; second, I am always cooking for a minimum of four servings, sometimes more if I want to have leftovers. And lastly, I found her recipes a little too salty for my tastebuds. So, I adapted by lowering the amounts of miso or soy in the recipes.

Here's what I tried, with adaptations noted.

Spicy Eggplant

serves 4

Note: Inoue doesn't indicate any kind of cooking for this recipe, but I couldn't imagine eating raw eggplant, so I blanched mine before proceeding.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of eggplant

• salt

• water

• 2 teaspoons gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

• 2 teaspoons mustard

Procedure

Cut eggplant into batons and sprinkle with salt. Let stand for fifteen minutes before placing the eggplant in a pot. Cover with water and bring water to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off the heat and let the eggplant stand for 5 minutes.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the soy sauce and mustard. Drain the eggplant and add it to the soy-mustard mixture. Toss to coat. Let cool completely before refrigerating.

Spicy Buttered Pumpkin

serves 4

Note: I used a delicata squash for this instead of a kabocha squash. And I reduced the amount of sugar and soy sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 cups delicata squash, deseeded and cubed

• 1 teaspoon organic granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1 cup water

• 1 teaspoon gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

• 2 teaspoons butter

Procedure

Place squash in a pot. Add in the sugar, curry powder, water, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce heat and simmer until the skin side of the squash is easily pierced with a fork. Add in the butter and stir until butter is melted. Toss to coat. Let cool completely before refrigerating.

Ginger Cucumber

serves 4

Note: I didn't have mentsuyu sauce, so I substituted sake, mirin, and soy sauce.

Ingredients

• 4 cups cucumber, sliced into batons

• salt for sprinkling

• 1 Tablespoon sake

• 1 Tablespoon mirin

• 1 Tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce or tamari

• 2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Procedure

Place cucumber in a bowl and toss with salt. Let stand until they are limp, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Squeeze out the excess liquid and place them in a lidded bowl. Pour in the sake, mirin, and soy sauce, and sesame oil. Toss with ginger until fully-coated. Let marinate for a day or two before eating.

Celery with Sesame

serves 4

Note: I skipped the crazy salt, mainly because I have no idea what that is! And by 'ground sesame seeds' I was guessing she meant tahini. Maybe not, but it's what I used.

Ingredients

• 4 stalks celery, chopped into 1-inch lengths

• water

• 4 teaspoons sesame oil

• 4 teaspoons tahini (sesame paste)

• sesame seeds for garnish

Procedure

Place chopped celery in a pot. Cover with water and bring water to a boil. As soon as it boil, turn off the heat and let the celery stand for 5 minutes.

Drain and then toss celery with sesame oil, tahini, and sesame seeds. Toss to coat. Let cool completely before refrigerating.

Carrots with Miso Sauce

serves 4

Note: I reduced the miso to make it less salty.

Ingredients

• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into batons

• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar

• 1 Tablespoon miso

• 
  

Procedure

Place carrots in a pot. Cover with water and bring water to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off the heat and let the carrots stand for 5 minutes.

Drain and then toss carrots with vinegar and miso. Toss to coat. Let cool completely before refrigerating.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this cookbook and being inspired by flavor combinations. But, as written, Inoue's recipe were not all that useful for me. Still I will keep this cookbook readily available for when I want to try something new or need some inspiration. Besides, I am all for anything that gets people to eat more veggies!

That's a wrap for my #SundayFunday fun with veggies offering. The group will return next week with recipes that utilize any leftover Valentines' candy. Hmmm...Valentines' Day was yesterday and I didn't get any candy. I did make cakes and cookies; I will have to think on this theme a bit more.