Bento Idea: Grown up Bento

Today is a pretty stormy day in the Netherlands. Winds were blowing pretty hard, so hard that all I heard was some scary howling voices. Mr Bear and I went to the closing of International Film Festival Rotterdam 2011 and here's a bento to go along with the event and weather, hopefully to make us strong and sturdy like Popeye.

Lunchbox: Ojue Lunch box

Mash potato
Beef Sausage
Creamed Spinach
Green grapes
and 2 little leave shape food picks to brighten up a grey day.

Click here for full recipe for this bento box. Enjoy!

Recipe: Easy Peasy sour cucumber salad

This afternoon I made myself an easy peasy cucumber salad because I realised that I probably gorged myself with too much food during dinner yesterday. Unfortunately I totally forgot to take any photos, so I guess you might have to wait till I make my next batch. Here's how I make them.

Ingredients:
cucumbers
1/4 cup white vinegar (make sure its meant for food, not your kitchen table!)
1 tbs soya sauce
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs salt
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Optional items (choose 1 out of these ingredients below)
- black sesame seed OR
- white sesame seed OR
- sliced spicy red chilli

Directions:
Slice the cucumbers into stripes. Pat them lightly to remove excess moisture. Put cucumbers in a jar, add in the rest of the ingredients. If you like, you can also add in one of the optional ingredients. Close the lid and give the jar a good shake. Ready to serve!

Recipe: Bangers and Mash for Popeye

Serves 4
Mash Potato
Ingredients
4 large potatoes
1 egg
butter
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions
Wash and clean the potatoes well. Do not remove the skin.
Put potatoes in a deep pot and add enough cold water to cover the potatoes.
Put it over medium heat and wait for the potatoes to cook thoroughly.

Once the potatoes are cooked and soft enough, remove from heat. Quickly run the potatoes under tap water to cool them slightly for easy handling. Remove the potato skin while still warm and place the potatoes in a deep mixing bowl.

Mash the potatoes and add in the raw egg. Next add some butter and continue mashing and mixing. Add the black pepper, salt and nutmeg for taste.


Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
500g spinach (large stems removed)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 cup whipping cream
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg

Directions
Boil a large pot of salted water well. Cook the fresh spinach for about a minute. Drain well and squeeze out excess liquid. Next pat them dry with paper towels. Chop the spinach coarsely.

Melt the butter in a shallow frying pan. Once the butter is hot, add in onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Stir in cream, salt and pepper, and nutmeg. Cook until the cream begins to thicken. Add in spinach and simmer uncovered for another 2 minutes or until thickend. Season to taste with a little more salt and pepper.

Bangers / sausage
Ingredients
your favourite type of sausage thats suitable for frying

Directions
Heat some oil in a shallow frying pan. Once the oil is hot enough, add in the sausages. Fry till sausages they are cooked thoroughly.