Happy Easter!

Wishing you all a lovely Easter, a few days of rest and relaxation and a fantastic time!

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Bento #357

Simple soup bento, made in the morning:
Sweet potato, potato and carrot curry “soup” with cress on top, homemade scone, sundried tomatoes, raisins, chocolate, and butter in a kitty container.

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Christmas cookies

What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than baking Christmas cookies with friends?

Plain cookies with lemon glazing or without, stuck together with jelly or not, Austrian Vanillekipferln, chewy Zimtsterne and ginger cookies.

I would write up the last recipe but it’s my grandmother’s…so shh!

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Today’s freshness

Greek salad with herbs, bell peppers and tomatoes from the windowsill, feta, cucumber, and black olives.

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Status update from the windowsill, part 2

When just randomly picking a bunch of lettuces, herbs and veg from my windowsill looks this good…

…it calls for a nice salad with mozzarella, balsamico vinaigrette and a lovely glass of white wine to round it off, right?

Yum.

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Springy tomato soup

A lovely and spring-y tomato soup, full of flavour and goodness. Makes 2 portions as a light summery main dish.

1 packet (500ml) of pureed tomatoes
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 Tsp. tomato concentrate
1 clove garlic
1 Tsp. olive oil
salt, pepper, chili flakes (optional), herbs (I used fresh small-leaf basil)
1 ball mozzarella, sliced (keep some slices for decoration)

Warm the olive oil in a wide skillet. Add garlic and chili flakes and fry for a minute, without burning the garlic. Add tomato concentrate and the bouillon cube and fry as well.
Add the pureed tomato in installments, allowing the sauce to boil down and thicken between additions. Finally, add spices and water to desired soup consistency (or keep thick if you want a sauce), boil up and stir down half the mozzarella.
When the mozzarella has melted, dish out into soup bowls and decorate with some slices of mozzarella and basil leaves.

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Trip down memory lane bento

This isn’t a proper bento at all, just some breakfast for a train trip – but I just had to post it, because I’m sooo going down memory lane with that one.
I used to get Kinder Milk-Slices (not my translation, that’s what’s written on the packet!) all the time when I was a kid. I haven’t had one in ages – I didn’t really think they existed here before I found one in the supermarket, where I was idly looking for some quick and cheap yoghurt to bring on the trip. When I saw it, I knew I had to make a blogpost to gush about it. *grins*
I wonder if it will still taste like I remember it? Or will it be one of those things that make you wonder about your tastes as a kid?

Of course, the thing that goes best with a Milchschnitte is a beautiful red apple.
And yoplait lemon yoghurt is also definitely awesome, though I didn’t have it that much as a kid maybe – I remember it being a rare delicacy or possibly something you got on vacation.
There’s Muesli in the plastic box which is my own addition. With chocolate and nuts, my favourite type!

The only thing I wish had existed when I was a kid was the smoothie I’m bringing on the side – smoothies are great! Why weren’t they invented yet then?

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New series: Grain review

I have to admit: I’m actually not the grain fanatic in my family. That would be my mother. She’s the one who always brought home interesting new grains to try instead of rice and still does. Now that I no longer live at home, I still sometimes get some strange new sorts of grain from her (when I visit, or in a packet…). And recently, I’ve also started to go from my usual “oh-no-boiling-rice-woud-take-too-long-let’s-have-pasta” attitude over to tasting more healthy and delicious sorts. There really is so much more than rice and wheat! (Nothing wrong with the two, though.)

So, it’s with pride I announce a new series on WereRabbits: Grain reviews!
Each episode will review a different type or variety of food grain, some of its background, my own opinion and my favourite recipe for it.

So let’s start with… (drumroll please)

Bulgur!
Something simple and not too exotic for the first installment of this series.

Made from durum wheat, Bulgur is a staple food in most middle eastern countries. The whole grain is parboiled, then cut, and the bran removed (except in the case of wholewheat bulgur, which I will review separately when I get my hands on a packet). Usually, you can get several different cut sizes, and any supermarket I’ve been to that has a middle-eastern section has at least a coarse and a fine variant.

Like couscous (which is actually pasta and therefore not a proper grain at all), Bulgur can usually be prepared by adding salt, boiling water or stock and a bit of fat (butter or olive oil). However, some of the variants I have encountered (looking at you, Saltå Kvarn!) are somewhat tougher and actually need to be boiled for a few minutes to start soaking up the water properly. When that happens, what should you do? My tip: Just toss the bowl in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and you’ll be fine.
I am also informed that for salads, Bulgur is not supposed to be boiled at all but instead soaked for several hours. Call me a philistine, but I don’t have that kind of patience. My salads taste just as good with boiled Bulgur :)

So my opinion?
Bulgur is a great replacement for couscous in a lot of middle-eastern dishes if you want to add a bit more of that whole-grain healthiness. Sadly it also adds somewhat more dryness and crunchyness to the mix. If you are good with not having to balance that up with a lot of calories, power to you!
I like Bulgur in my bento boxes because it is a lot more filling than couscous while just as quick and no-frills to prepare. It’s also very cheap and readily available almost everywhere.

And my favourite recipe with Bulgur?

Tabbouleh!
Probably the middle-eastern salad, Tabbouleh is tasty, refreshing and overall delicious. I’ve seen varieties that went from mostly bulgur to mostly parsley and everything in between, so I don’t think you should run with set amounts on each ingredient. Just try combining them and see what works for you.

This tabbouleh, which works just fine for me, was made with:
3/4 cup of medium-grain bulgur, boiled in saltwater and butter (yes, yes, I know)
1 big handful of fresh parsley, chopped
1 sprig of fresh mint, chopped
1 handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
2 Tsp. lemon juice and 2 Tsp. olive oil.

Just combine everything in a bowl and knead, yes, knead the ingredients together so the flavour gets rubbed in. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes, preferably in the fridge. Serve.

When I have this stuff in my bento boxes I usually up the bulgur ratio a lot and pack it in tight so I bring enough filling carbs to last me the day. When I serve it with lots of other foods on a meze table, I put in a lot of refreshing parsley and mint.

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Bentos #313 and #314

Veggie maki rolls with cucumber, leek, wasabi, mayo and carrot, bottle of soy sauce, inarizushi, Tamagoyaki and more cucumber. Some dried fruit is tucked in the corner for dessert under the carrot flower decoration.

And the one from Friday, which wasn’t so interesting…
Pumpkin cream soup in the thermos jar. Bread and veggie sticks, apple bunnies and some dried fruit in the extra container.

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Bento #312

Bento for a long-ish train trip at work tomorrow – homemade rosemary ciabatta sandwiches with creamcheese-feta mix, sundried tomatoes, lettuce and cherry tomato, potato croquettes, cherry tomato and carrot decoration. Flower pick for picking up the croquettes.

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