Bento redux

I've still been doing my bento lunches. Since I started making them I've only bought lunch once...of course I do have days where I'm able to come home for lunch and thus don't need to pack one(although sometimes I'll pack one anyway since they are really yummy!)  I've been having alot of fun figuring out what to put in them and stocked up on some things from the local Japanese food shop which unfortunately closed their doors for good about a week ago. <insert sad face here>  I have to say I really LOVE Japanese/oriental food. I love the variety of flavors. I love how it can range from salty to sweet, strong flavored to very light. I can make a quick easy meal with the stuff I have in my freezer/fridge/pantry. Even when I can come home for lunch I end up basically making a bento lunch!

A few tasty bento lunches!:

The first one has teriyaki stir fried veggies, left over curry (surprisingly good cold!) and jicama (flower cutouts). The second one has some more jicama and onigiri! The two onigiri with furikake on the outside had leftover corned beef hash inside (also surprisingly good! I got the idea because corned beef is similar to spam and if spam musubi is good then corned beef ought to be good in onigiri) and the two naked onigiri have pear inside of them (I cut some pieces out of the pear I was having with breakfast...experimentation is fun and tasty). I also tried onigiri with canned peach pieces but wasn't that good. The pear was much better. The third bento (yesterday's lunch!) has edamame, two small tomatoes, sesame lotus root and brussel sprout stir fry, and a cutie tangerine. I also stashed some rice cracker/roasted pea mix in the lid compartment. The lotus root I got frozen at the Japanese store. It has a taste and texture similar to a waterchestnut crossed with a potato. I really like and have already gone through one of the two bags I got. I'll have to scout around and see if I can find any more in town. I just tossed some frozen lotus root and frozen brussel sprouts in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil, sesame oil, mirin, soy sauce, and some sesame seeds and let them cook until done. Definitely a repeat recipe for me. Yum yum yum, nice and light. I've also done some (non-raw)sushi bentos with krab/avocado rolls and tamago (sweet omelet, one of my favs). I got a little square pan to make tamago-making easier too. Fun fun fun!