Bento: sesame-soy pasta salad

bento46

Originally uploaded by mosli

When life takes over, its hard to keep up. I’ve missed my fresh tasting bento lunches and after making batches of ready-for-bento staples I was very exited to have this one for lunch. In the top tier are banana and kiwi flowers, blackberries, and apple rabbits. In the bottom tier is a sesame-soy whole wheat pasta salad.

 

Sesame-Soy Pasta Salad

• 2 cups cooked whole wheat pasta
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 2 scallions, sliced thin
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp ground ginger

Mix all ingredients. Simple, no? What can I say, I like my lunch prep to be fast and easy.

Potato leek soup

potatoleeksoup

Originally uploaded by mosli

Lately i’ve been in the mood for simple dinners: salads, sandwiches, and soups. Canned veggie soups are fairly limited in my local grocery store, and lets face it, fresh and homemade taste better anyways (even if some of them can be a pain in the butt to make). This one was, surprisingly, not a pain in the butt. Potato leek soup was something that was often on the menu at the cafeteria for my school in the UK, and it was just the thing to keep you warm and full in the winter. This recipe isn’t exactly what I remember, but it brings back great memories.

 

Potato Leek Soup

• 1 Leek, sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 potatoes, cut in small cubes
• 3 cups water (or milk)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

In the pot, saute leek and garlic in butter. Add potatoes and liquid and bring to a boil. Cook until potato is tender. Blend until smooth.  Stir in sour cream and seasonings. You can serve topped with cheese, green onion, and bacon (if you’re a carnivore like D.)

Pumpkin Ravioli

pumpkinravioli

Originally uploaded by mosli

This is not my kitchen. obviously. I went to visit family for Thanksgiving and had the luxury of cooking a dish for my aunt and uncle. With a full feast already on the menu (including Al’s amazing looking grilled turkey and and Em’s excellent greenbean casserole {alliteration – sorry}) , what’s a girl to do? why, make stuff up and pretend to know what she’s doing! So I decided on doing a savory pumpkin ravioli. believe it or not, it was excellent and I now have the problem of trying to make it again sometime. I can’t really give a recipe (because there wasn’t one) but the ingredients included purreed pumpkin, ricotta cheese, orange zest, and minced onion in wonton skins, with balsamic, olive oil, and orange segments on top.

*hugs* thanks for letting me use your kitchen!