Here it is…the recipe for these lovely turkey meatballs.  Yes, I’ve quite enjoyed these already, even though I just made them the other day.  I have some packed up in my bento for tomorrow.  The recipe came from the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Everday Food magazine, with a few tweaks by me.  Let’s get started.

Our ingredients list is fairly simple.  You need fresh breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of evaporated milk (you could use regular too), 1 large egg, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning, 3 tsp green onion, 1/2 tsp dried parsley, and 1.5 lbs of ground turkey (lean is best).  Not shown are salt and pepper.

We start our recipe with fresh breadcrumbs.  I didn’t show the process for this, but it is easy.  Throw 2 slices of bread into a food processor and pulse until the pieces are nice and small.

Pour the 1/4 cup of evaported milk into the fresh breadcrumbs.

Mix the milk into the breadcrumbs until large lumps form.  Set off to the side for 3-5 minutes for that milk to soak into the crumbs.  While you wait, prep the rest of your ingredients.

In a large bowl, place the turkey meat, green onions, garlic, parsley, Tony Chachere’s, and egg (no shell!).  Also add 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper.

As you’re making the recipe if you want some of that extra “it” factor, throw in a few dashes of worcestershire sauce (say that 3 times fast!).  Thanks Liz for recommending this and getting it stuck into my subconscious.

Mix everything together for a most unappetizing looking picture.  But never fear!  Things will start looking better soon.

By now, your breadcrumbs should be finished soaking.  Place the breadcrumb/milk mixture into the bowl with the turkey mixture.

Mix in the breadcrumbs with the turkey mixture.

Using a large spoon, scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into meatballs.  I almost thought I should have flattened these a bit to make them easier to pack in my bento.  I might have to do that next time.

Set your oven to broil and broil meatballs for for 10 – 12 minutes, or until completely cooked through.  Flip meatballs over 1x midway through cooking.  Mine took 10 minutes to bake.

Once cooked, remove from oven and enjoy!  I hope you like these if you try them!

Turkey Meatballs adapted from Everyday Food magazine, Jan/Feb 2008 issue

Ingredients
2 slices of fresh fresh breadcrumbs,processed to fine breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of evaporated milk (regular milk works too)
1 large egg
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 – 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere’s seasoning
3 tsp green onion
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
3 dashes (about 1 tsp) Worcestershire sauce
1.5 lbs of ground turkey (lean is best)

To make the meatballs:
Pulse bread in a food processor until chopped into fine breadcrumbs.
Pour the 1/4 cup of evaported milk into the fresh breadcrumbs.
Mix the milk into the breadcrumbs until large lumps form. Set off to the side for 3-5 minutes for that milk to soak into the crumbs. While you wait, prep the rest of your ingredients.
In a large bowl, place the turkey meat, green onions, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, Tony Chachere’s, worcestershire, and egg (no shell!). Mix together well.
Place the breadcrumb/milk mixture into the bowl with the turkey mixture.
Mix in the breadcrumbs with the turkey mixture.
Using a large spoon, scoop out spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into meatballs. Place on a greased jelly roll pan.
Set your oven to broil and broil meatballs for for 10 – 12 minutes, or until completely cooked through. Flip meatballs over 1x midway through cooking. Mine took 10 minutes to bake.
Once cooked, remove from oven and enjoy!

Today, I have fun plans.  I’m meeting a friend, and we’re going off for a morning of photography fun.  It is my last day of my mini-vacation from work.  It’s been a nice 3 days to relax, recharge, and start cooking/blogging again.  But I’m ready to go back and to see if I can keep everything going again with work involved.  Such fun.

Last night, I made these pork chops.  And I can’t decide if they are good or not.  Well, let me rephrase.  They were good.  I enjoyed eating this particular one.  I have a few more in my fridge for upcoming meals.  Don’t be surprised if you see one in Thursday’s bento lunch box.  However, I think the stuffing can be improved  I just don’t know how.  I’m not one for mushy things, and stuffing, to me, always seemed a bit on the mushy side.  Is it supposed to be?  You tell me…

I’ve had this idea in my head for awhile, so figured why not give it a try.  I had everything but the walnuts.  That was easily taken care of on a recent trip to the grocery store.  And the leftover walnuts were used in brownies for desert.  YUM!  I’ve listed this as a recipe since I am giving how-to.  Please take it with a big cautionary note that I’m not sure if this stuffing is right.  Comments and suggestions would be most welcome.

I started everything off by toasted an 8 oz bag of chopped walnuts.  Only about a 1/3 of these were used in the stuffing.  Another 1/3 (or so) were used in brownies for dessert.  Which means, I have toasted walnuts leftover to do something fun with.  What I don’t know.  I also don’t know if they will last to do something fun with.  I  keep eating them (love toasted nuts!).  Walnuts were toasted in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  When the walnuts become fragrant and a bit brown, take them out and taste one.  If they taste all nice and toasty, voila!, they are ready.

While the walnuts toasted, I gathered my apples for slicing and dicing.  While I pulled out 3, I only ended up needing two.  In actuality, I could have used just 1 since I had alot of stuffing leftover in the end.  These are Braeburn apples.  I have no idea if another type would do or not, but I think any apple that is appropriate for baking would do nicely.  I’ve used Braeburns to bake with before, and they do okay enough.   I wouldn’t use Red Delicious as they don’t hold up so well in the oven.  Or so I’ve found.

Two apples were diced to a small, thin size.  Oh, and copious amounts were eaten while dicing.  Because I’m always afraid to dice that last wee bit for fear of cutting off part of a finger.  Once diced the apples were placed in a bowl of water with the juice of one lemon to prevent browning while the bread was prepared.

Next came the bread.  I had the last remnants of a multi-grain bread in my freezer.  I took out a few slices for the stuffing.  I thought this might give a nice “nutty” flavor to the stuffing wholly different from the walnuts I planned to add.  It certainly did.  And while the bread got a bit mushy in the way that stuffing seems to get, it wasn’t near about as mushy as stuffing seems to normally be.  It held its own quite nicely.

The bread was diced into 1/2″ cubes.  Those pieces that seemed a wee bit too big were torn apart by hand.  Oh, this bread.  I love this bread.  And it is what I did with this bread that I think is where I made my mistake.  You’ll see in a  minute.

Next, it was time to prep the pork chops.  Here we have some nice thick chops, about 2 inches thick I think.  I should have measured and totally forgot to.  I purchase these at my local warehouse club (Sam’s Club).  I think I pay about $13 for 9-10 thick, awesome chops.  It is one of the better deals I think they have.  I love pork chops like this.

Each pork chop is cut down the middle, but not cut completely through.  It’s an almost butterfly I think.  You want to leave one side of the pork chop intact so you can stuff the inside.

Now, let’s put two tablespoons of butter in our skillet.  Let the butter melt, and the skillet heat to a nice medium temperature.  It happens to be setting #4 on my particular electric stove.  And let me just say, I am enjoying this stainless steel skillet I purchased.  It’s awesome.  I’m still having trouble with things sticking to the bottom of it, but clean-up is a breeze.

Once the butter is melted and bubbling slightly, it is time to get cooking.  The bread misstep is coming soon.  You’ll see. 

Into the butter all those wonderful apples went.  Things started to smell nicely right away.  Once the apples sauteed a bit, I added the bread.

This is where I think I made my mistake.  That bread soaked up every bit of liquid in the pan, of course.  Something I didn’t think too hard about ahead of time.  I hope I can convince myself to make this again in the future.  If I do, I think I’d add just 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan (or a bit less) and toast those diced pieces of bread first.  Then remove from the pan, add a bit more butter, and sautee the apple a bit.  Then, combine everything at the end.  All in all, this way wasn’t bad.  I just wonder what would make it better (and possibly crispier).  I sprinkled the concoction with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Once everything had sauteed a bit, I threw about 1/2 cup (plus a small handful more) of walnuts into the mixture.  Everything was stirred around well, then removed to a bowl.

Since I had a hot pan on the stove, I decided to add another pat of butter and throw in the pork chops.  Each side was seared, but the chops were not cooked through.  I thought the searing might help the baking process.  I was right.  They came out juicy and wonderful after baking.

Pork chops were placed on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkled with salt and pepper on both sides.  After seasoning, each pork chop was stuffed with a generous helping of the apple/walnut mixture.  Chops were placed in a 350 degree oven and baked for 30 minutes.

Ahhh, this did come out pretty well over all.  But that stuffing needs a wee bit of work.  The pork chops themselves were tasty and flavorful.  All in all it was a great meal for the night.  A new recipe, Julie & Julia playing on Netflix, and a brownie for dessert.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I had vanilla ice cream for the brownies. 

Be the bento everyone!  Have a great Wednesday.

Apple/Walnut Stuffed Pork Chops (A Recipe in Progress)

Ingredients:
6, 2″ thick pork chops, sliced down the middle about half way
2 Braeburn apples (or other baking apple)
4-5 slices multi-grain bread
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Butter
Salt, pepper, garlic powder

• Toast the walnuts for 10-12 minutes in a 400 degree oven until slightly browned. Taste to make sure they are toasted.
• Peel and core both apples. Dice into small thin pieces. Place diced pieces in a bowl of water with the juice of one lemon. This will help prevent browning while the rest of the recipe is prepared.
• Dice bread into half-inch cubes.
• Slice each pork chop down the middle lengthwise, but do not cut completely through. Leave one side of the pork chop intact so you can stuff the inside.
• Heat a skillet on your stove on medium heat with two tablespoons of butter.
• Drain the apples from the lemon-water.
• Once the butter is melted and bubbling slightly, place the apples in the skillet and sautee until slightly softened.
• Next, add the bread. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over your stuffing mixture. If you prefer to use other spices, feel free to season to your liking.
• Sautee for another 3-5 minutes.
• Add the 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts to the skillet. Mix well. Turn off the heat and remove the mixture to a bowl.
• Deglaze your pan with a bit of water. If necessary, scrap the pan of any leftover bread residue and swipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
• Add a pat of butter to the pan.
• Sear each side of the pork chops until a nice golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Do not cook the pork chops through.
• Place pork chops onn a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.
• Spoon a generous amount of the apple/walnut/bread mixture into the inside of each pork chop (the cut you made earlier).
• Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
• Take out of oven and check that the chops are cooked through.
• Eat and enjoy!

Sausage Jambalaya is without a doubt one of the top comfort foods of my childhood and now my adult life. It’s something my mom made because it was quick, easy, and simple. I enjoy it for those same reasons. It can be a bit of a poor man’s dinner too. Rice, a few spices, and a link of sausage makes it not too terribly expensive of a meal. It doesn’t take much skill either. Which means even before I embarked on this journey of cooking, I was able to make sausage jambalaya for myself.

The recipe I am sharing today is by no means fancy. It’s not seafood or a pork & chicken jambalaya that takes more steps and longer amounts of time. While jambalaya always takes a bit of time to cook (due to the rice), this recipe is wonderful in its simplicity. Or so I think.

In fact, I shared this recipe some time ago on this website.  It was before the time of my fancy camera or my attempts at trying to share step-by-step recipes here on Not Exactly Bento.  You’ll find that this version is nearly the same as the old post, just more refined in its detail…and of course with lots of pictures!

The ingredient list is simple too.

• 1 lb smoked sausage
• 3/4 cup of diced onion
• 1/2 cup of diced bell pepper
• 2-3 tsp of minced garlic (about 1 large clove)
• 1 1/4 cups of rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet (an additional +1/8 tsp is optional)
• Spices mix: 3/4 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp of Tony Chachere’s seasoning.

A big part of the recipe for this jambalaya has to do with the pots you use to cook it. I’ve learned over the years to always use a heavy-bottomed pot. A pot that is substantial. You don’t want your rice to burn. Some people use a heavy Dutch Oven. I just use a heavy skillet and a medium sized sauce pot.

With jambalaya, you have a bit of chopping up to do before you get started. The first thing I do is dice my seasonings: bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Green or red bell pepper works great and a half a cup will do you fine. My mom uses a whole onion. I used half here since I’m a bit sensitive to onion flavors (I don’t like it to be too strong). The diced onion shown above is approxiamately 3/4 cup of onion. Last, I minced a large clove of garlic (about 2-3 teaspoons of garlic).

Let’s turn our attention to the smoked sausage. You have a few decisions to make: how much to use and how to slice it. For this recipe, you can use anywhere from 3/4 pound to a whole pound of smoked sausage. I cut a bit off of my pound link in order to use it for another recipe I planned to make.

Slicing the sausage for this recipe comes next. This may sound silly, but how I slice the meat is a big consideration for me. Do I want it in small bites that finds its way into every bite of the jambalaya, or do I slice it in larger so that it’s a bit more there in certain bites but not necessarily in others? Yes, for this comfort food, I think alot about my mood and what I want.  I think the cooking of this dish is as much of a comfort as the actual dish itself.

I decided that cutting the slices of sausage into quartered pieces was what I wanted to do. It worked out perfectly for me. Any of these cuts would work: whole, half, or quarter slices/cuts.

Before cooking the jambalaya, I like to lightly brown the sausage I’m going to use. This is an optional step. If you skip this step and place the sausage as is (when called for later in this recipe), this is acceptable. The sausage will cook completely through, as long as you’re using a cured type sausage as this. The amount of time it takes to completely cook the rice is enough time to completely heat through and cook the sausage.

What it really comes down to is texture. If you place the sausage straight into the pot of rice and water, it will plump and sort of fluff (for lack of a better term) while it cooks, giving it a boiled texture. If you fry it slightly beforehand, it doesn’t puff quite so much. It all depends on what you like. I prefer mine slightly browned before placing into the jambalaya pot.

Once your sausage is brown to your liking, remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain a bit. Don’t remove the sausage drippings from the skillet. You will use these to cook your seasonings. If you use a low-fat sausage like I did (it was on sale), you might need to add a wee bit of oil to the skillet. I added about 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil before placing the seasonings into the skillet. The diced/minced garlic, onion, and bell peppers were added, and the heat turned down to a low-medium range.

The seasonings are cooked until the onions are browned and fairly translucent. Turning down the heat and cooking for a slower, longer period ensures I don’t accidentally burn my garlic or onions. It also lets the flavors meld together quite a bit. Once your seasonings are cooked down, it is time to assemble the jambalaya.

Now comes time for the big sauce pot. Remove your skillet to an unused burner, and place the pot on low heat while you get everything ready. This sort of allows the pot to slightly preheat.

First into the pot are the cooked seasonings. Just scrape them right out of the skillet and into the pot.

Add the browned sausage next. Use a spatula, wooden spoon, or your favorite cooking utensil to mix the sausage and seasoning mixture together well.

Pour in 1 1/4 cup of rice. There is no need to rinse the rice beforehand. My mom never does it, and neither do I.

Add 2 cups of water to the pot. Now, 1 1/4 cups of rice to 2 cups of water is a bit over the rice to water ratio normally suggested. The reason is the resulting texture of the rice. If you make jambalaya, you’ll find that the rice will stick together a bit. It’s not necessarily overly mushy, but jambalaya will make a nice scoopful that will hold its shape once scooped from the pot and put on a plate. Adding a bit more rice to the typical 1:2 ratio means that the rice doesn’t get too mushy, something I don’t care for (and the way my mother cooks it).

To this pot of water, rice, sausage, and seasonings we add our spices: 1/4 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, and Tony chachere’s as well as  3/4 – 1 tsp of salt (depending on how salty you might like your food).

The “secret” ingredient to my mother’s jamabalaya is Kitchen Bouquet. This isn’t for flavor; it is for color. The rice in a jambalaya should be brownish, taking it’s color from the browning of the sausage and seasonings. However sometimes the rice just doesn’t take on that color and it all looks off. I’m not a fan of jambalaya with pure white rice. I don’t care how good it might taste. It’s just not right! Kitchen Bouquet solves all that; however, it is slightly potent stuff. By potent,I mean a little goes a long way. Overdoing the Kitchen Bouquet turns your rice into a slimy, nasty mess. Limit yourself to 1/4 tsp of Kitchen Bouquet. You can increase this to an additional 1/8 tsp, but THAT’S IT. Anything beyond that leads you into dangerous territory in my opinion. Stick with the 1/4 teaspoon. Once added, give your pot of a stir.

You are nearly ready to get this jamalaya cooking. Your last decision is the spice factor. I’m a spice wuss, and I know it. I’m comfortable with that fact of life. This recipe, as shown so far, is seasoned just as I like it. However, it isn’t necessarily spicy. You can add a bit of spice or heat in two ways. First, you could double the amount of Tony Chachere’s from 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. That will give you a bit more heat. The ultimate way would be to add 1-2 drops of hot sauce into the water right after the Kitchen Bouquet but before that final stir.

Turn your heat to medium-high and bring the pot of goodness to a boil. Don’t let it boil long or the water boil out. This is just like cooking a plain pot of rice where you bring the water to a boil then lower the heat.

Once the pot of goodness is boiling, place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and lower the heat to low or simmer. It’s now time to allow the jambalaya to cook. What you are really doing is allowing the rice to cook. Check the pot after 15-20 minutes. If all the water looks like it has boiled out of the pot and the rice looks cooked (give it a quick taste test to check), it’s time to do the turn.

One of the best tricks for a great pot of jambalaya is the final turn. Remove the lid of the pot and Using a spatula or cooking spoon turn the rice over in the pot. What you want to do is use that spatula to basically flip all the contents in the pot over. Leave the lid off the top of the pot and let it steam for a few minutes (about 3-5).

Once the steaming is finished, you have your final product: a great pot of sausage jambalaya. This is not a dish I can just let sit around without digging into it.

Into a bowl it goes, ready for consumption. I can’t even begin to tell you how wonderful this one pot of sausage jambalaya made my week.

In Louisiana jambalaya is not only a staple of the lifestyle, it’s a great fundraiser. People who host benefits for whatever cause often sell jambalaya dinners to raise money. I mention this since the dinner is nearly always the same. The sides tend to be a nice salad, a scoop of white beans (sometimes made with ham), and a slice of french bread or a dinner roll. That’s about as traditional Louisiana as you can get. I like mine with those sides or a bit of potato salad.  Often, I just eat it plain, as is, no side bits.

If you try the jambalaya, be sure to let me know.  I always like to hear how a recipe turns out for y’all.

In September, I posted about these little mini burgers. They were extremely tasty and worked out well. I meant to go back and do a post on how to make them, but time slipped away. I kept putting it off. And a few days ago as I was going through pictures I had yet to deal with, I found these. “Eesh!” I thought, “How did I let those get away from me?”  Well, here they are in all their miniature glory: Chicken & Pine Nut Mini Burgers.

First, get a pound of ground chicken thighs. I find the thigh meat does not dry out so quickly when cooking.

Next, throw in one clove of grated or diced garlic. I’m going to suggested diced to you. Grating it this way ending up being hard to spread around.

Next, it’s time for some salt and pepper. I think I used 1/2 a teaspoon of each (this will teach me to wait so long to do posts again!)

A wee bit of dried basil.

Then a 1/4 cup of plain bread crumbs.

And a 1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted (but maybe not quite as well toasted as mine are).

I also threw in a few tablespoons of a favorite salad dressing, but didn’t find this really did anything to change the flavor, so feel free to omit.

Mix all together really well. I used a small cookie scoop to form small patties.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on the stove, medium heat. Once it begins to shimmer, place burger patties in the oil to cook. Cook until well browned on each side and cooked completely through.

Remove patties to a cooling rack over a towel, or to a plate lined with paper towels.

Serve with a favorite side dish of yours or my quinoa scramble recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground chicken
1 clove of garlic, finely diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup bread crumbs, plain
1/4 cup pine nuts
1-2 tbs olive oil

Burger Making Steps:

1. Place the ground chicken into a bowl and make a small well in the center of the meat.
2. In the center of the meat, add the following ingredients: diced garlic, salt, pepper, dried basil, bread crumbs, and pine nuts.
3. With your hands, mix all ingredients thoroughly.
4. Using a tablespoon as a scoop, form two tablespoons of the meat mixture into miniature patties.
5. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet on the stove, medium heat.
6. Once the oil begins to shimmer, place chicken patties in the oil to cook. Cook completely through, browning patties well on each side.
7. Remove patties to a cooling rack over a towel, or to a plate lined with paper towels.
8. Enjoy!

I’ve been trying for some time now to make a really decent bean cake. I’ve tried with black beans, lima beans, and lentils so far. And nothing has really worked out well until these particular lentil cakes. And let me tell you now, I thought these were going to be another big fat fail. Let’s talk about what I did. What I have here is more a process than anything. I’ve type this whole process out at the end of the post to help you out if you choose to try.  Be aware that nothing is measured at this point.  My next step is to make this recipe a bit more exact, which I will share at a later date.  For now, let’s just talk about how it is basically done.

Some time back, I asked a reader here on Not Exactly Bento, Aimee, if she would share her recipe with me for her bean cakes. Aimee posts a daily bento photo to Facebook. She makes bentos for her DH and often includes a bean cake in the bento.  Aimee sent me her process and we chatted a bit through FB about it. I also read Bittman’s instructions and went from there.

I started out with some basic ingredients. One pound of cooked lentils that I had already mashed. Some diced bell pepper. A bit of apple cider vinegar to offset the sweetness of the bell pepper (thank you everyone for helping me with that on the last recipe question). Salt, pepper, ground flax seed, and grated garlic. I also had some whole wheat flour on hand. Aimee’s process stated that was how she bound her mixture together.

First, we start with several pounds of cooked lentils. 3/4 of the lentils were mashed and 1/4 was left whole.  The process I give below, I chose to work with just 1 pound of lentils.  Which is going to be my plan in the future.  This was a way large batch.

Finely diced bell pepper. I didn’t cook this bell pepper first. The first batch of lentil cakes I tried didn’t work out so well. They didn’t take very long to cook which meant that the bell pepper was still a bit raw tasting. Next time, I think I will cook these about halfway through before adding them to the mix.  However, the revised process, which did work, cooked the bell through better and tasted fine.

I also threw in the salt, pepper, flax seed, and grated garlic. I decided to grate the garlic rather than just dice it small. I was hoping it would mix through well that way. Not sure if it really made a difference or not.
I also splashed in a bit of apple cider vinegar at this point, then mixed everything well.

Next, I threw in about a tablespoon of flour. I mixed. This didn’t seem to be working for me.  Things weren’t gelling together.

I threw in several more tablespoons of flour and mixed. Again, worry set in. The mixture didn’t seem to be holding everything together. I started to wonder if I had mashed my lentils a little too well. Plus the addition of the apple cider vingar and the watery bell pepper was making everything a bit loose.

I attempted to form a few patties. Four were going to be my test batch. Things weren’t looking too well. I had a feeling these were going to fall apart.

I decided to flour the outside of the cake, thinkign this might help them from falling apart.  It was a good thought, just not the right thought.

It didn’t help. These things were hard to flip in the pan. One of them completely fell apart on me. And they just didn’t taste right texturally to me.  It tasted like fried mashed bean rather than a put together bean cake or bean burger. At this point, I abandoned taking pictures and tried to salvage everything. I didn’t want to throw it all away.

I pulled two ingredients out of Mark Bittman’s recipe for bean cakes from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: rolled oats and an egg. I mixed an egg and about 1/2 cup of rolled oats into the patties. This changed the whole consistency of the mixture. Things started to come together. I formed patties. They looked like a patty. Not a flat, pathetic bit of mush.

The patties cooked up really well. Things looked great and tasted much better.  I really liked these.  They were also really easy to freeze and reheated well.

I plan to experiment with bean cakes in the very near future. I have a few ideas:
Revise my bean cake attempt from the Dottie’s Chili attempt.  Those bean cakes failed miserably.
Make black bean cakes with fajita seasoning.
Try chickpea cakes with the seasoning I used for kibi awhile back.  (I’m not sure if I’ll like this, but I plan to try it out).
Make lima bean cakes again, this time using this process.  Just have to decide on seasonings.
Finally, use Bittman’s recipe for White Beans – Tuscan style and turn them into bean cakes.

Yeah, I have alot of plans. We’ll see if they all work out!

Lentil Cakes: A process

Made possible by Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian and reader Aimee.

Lentils for this recipe must be cooked ahead of time then cooled. To cook my lentils, I add lentils to a pot of salted water with 2 bay leaves. Heat is set to a high heat to bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, heat is lowered to a simmer and lentils are checked ever 15 minutes until they are tender. Drain the lentils, and let cool. Once cool, place in a covered dish and refrigerate overnight. If you cook more than you need for the process below, freeze the cooked lentils for later use. Lentils freeze really well.

To make the bean cakes:

• One pound of cooked lentils – 3/4 of these lentsil should be placed in a food processor and pulsed a few times. Or you can mash really well with a fork or other kitchen utensil that will mash them up. The remaining lentils will be left whole.
• Grate one clove of garlic. Gather the rest of the needed ingredients: 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tbl apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup diced bell pepper, and 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp ground flax seed (optional).
• Mix the lentils, grated garlic, and all other seasonings together in a big bowl. Feel free to give it a slight taste to see if it is to your liking. Adjust seasonings.
• Next, add in 1 egg and 1/4 cup of rolled oats (not the instant kind). Mix together. The mixture should get a nice heavy, dense feeling. If it seems a bit loose still, try added a tablespoon more oats until it is to your liking.
• Form the mixture into small patties using a tablespoon. These should come together well, almost like a meat patty does.
• Heat a 1-2 tablespoons of oil to a skillet and heat on a medium setting. Once the oil is heated, add 3-4 bean cakes to the pan, more or less depending on the size of your pan. Don’t overcrowd the patties.
• When the patties are nicely browned on one side, carefully flip over and brown on the other side.
• Remove to a towel lined plate or cookie sheet. Serve warm with a favorite side.

To Freeze the bean cake:

• Place on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
• Lay bean cakes out individually.
• Place in freezer.
• Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag.
• Can be taken out individually, and microwaved for 20 seconds before placing in bento (if you want to).

When I first started this bento journey in 2007, I knew I’d never make it if I didn’t (1) learn to cook and (2) expand my palate.  Before bento, I was a very limited eater.  I still am in some ways, but have grown to like other things.  This comes from trial and era.  Almost nearly as soon as the blog started, I began to talk about “new-to-me” foods.  These were foods I had tried for the first time or were retrying to see if I could grow to like them.  Quinoa fell into the first category.

I first purchased quinoa in February 2007, just 4 short months after I’d started Not Exactly Bento.  I was looking for a substitute for white rice.  I’m not a huge fan of white rice to begin with, but I live in an area where it’s cuisine often calls on rice to be a part of the dish.  I had heard of people using whole grains as a sub for white rice and was wondering which ones were used.  I knew I didn’t want to use brown rice for a variety of reasons.  Then I ran across a mention of quinoa.  If you want background information on quinoa as a grain, I’m going to refer you to the Ancient Harvest company website.  I have no affiliation with this company.  This is where I first got some of my information quinoa from, since that was the first brand of quinoa I purchased.  I now buy it in bulk.

Quinoa ended up being a big win on the new-to-me food scale.  It was easy to cook.  In fact, it was easier to cook than rice for me.  It also takes very little time to cook, which is a big plus.  It had an easy ratio to remember (1 part quinoa to 2 parts liquid).  It freezes extremely well.  Sometimes, I’ll cook a large batch of quinoa and freeze a portion of it for quick future defrosting and cooking.  Most of all, I liked the way it tasted.  Quinoa has a slightly nutty flavor.  The only thing going against it is that the grains are very small, making it not the greatest substitute for rice sometimes.  Don’t try quinoa thinking you’re getting an exact substitute for rice.  You aren’t.  It is a nice change of pace though.

Cooking quinoa is super simple.  All you need is a bit of quino and liquid to really get things going.  You’ll also need a pot with a nice, tight-fitting lid.  To cook quinoa, you need 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.  This means 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water.  I normally coook a 1/2 a cup of quinoa at a time for just me.  For my liquid, I like to split it in half between regular water and vegetable stock.  The vegetable stock gives a great flavor to the quinoa and I find I often don’t need to add in extra salt this way.

Most quinoa that is sold at grocery stores have been prewashed for you (or so I have read).  Naturally, quinoa has a bitter-tasting coating on it (saponin).  This bitter coating protects the plant.  I tend to wash my quinoa before use.  Place your quinoa into a strainer with small holes (like a metal mesh strainer) and run water through it until the water runs clear.    Shake out the excess water and dump the wet grain into your pot (as shown below).  There is no need to try to dry the grain after the cleaning process.  Also, there is no real need to reduce the amount of liquid in the ratio (or so I’ve found).

In a pot, place a your quinoa.  In this example I’m giving, I’m using a half a cup of quinoa.  Using the 1:2 ratio, I need a cup of liquid now.

Pour in 1/2 cup of water.

Pour in a 1/2 cup of vegetable stock.  You can flavor this with chicken or beef stock instead.  Just substitute a 1/2 cup of that for the vegetable stock if you so wish.

To cook quinoa, you want to place the heat on medium-high (which is a number 6/7 on my stove’s dial) and bring it to a boil.  Once it begins to boil, immediately throw a top on the pot and reduce the heat to a simmer (a 2 or 3 on my stove).

You want to cook your quinoa until the water is nearly boiled out.  The total cook time for quinoa is normally 15 -20 minutes depending on how much you’re cooking.  Don’t be surprised after you boil it if you find a few dark bits in the quinoa (as seen above).  Quinoa also comes in a red variety, and I find sometimes you get a few of the darker kernels in the mix naturally.

When the water is boiled out, you might find that the grains seem a bit too wet.  To remedy this, you need to fluff and steam the quinoa.  Using a fork, turn the quinoa over in the pot, which is what I’m calling the fluff.  Let this sit on the simmer setting that your pot is already set at for 3-5 minutes, checking to make sure the bottom doesn’t get too brown.  If necessary, stir the grains around one more time.

You’ll notice after about 3-5 minutes the grains look much drier.  They are now ready to eat or use in another recipe.  You can also let the quinoa cool at this point and then package to freeze.

This Photo Friday, I’m sharing with you a way I like to eat quinoa that I’ve dubbed in my head as the Quinoa Scramble.  It is a take on the egg rice my mom  used to make for us when we were kids.

Until then, be the bento everyone!  Have a lovely Tuesday.

It’s time to cook our raviolis.  When it was time to cook mine, I hit a real stumbling block.  I’ve never cooked fresh pasta before.  I did a bit of research, read a lot of recipes online, and came to a decision.  Since this was a big ol’ experimental process anyway, I was going to experiment a bit in the cooking.  I was worried about some of the raviolis.  They were a bit overfilled and had some butternut squash peeking out.  I wondered how boiling them all would work out.

I chose to cook 6-7 raviolis three different ways to see how I liked each method.  From right, we have a baked ravioli, a boiled ravioli, and a breaded and pan-fried ravioli.

Six raviolis went onto a lined baking sheet and were put in my toaster oven at 350 degrees until…

slightly browned.  This might be a bit overcooked, but it worked for me.

The next set were dipped in an egg wash and then into bread crumbs and pan-fried until…

well browned on both sides.

The last set was thrown into a pot of boiling water. They all sunk to the bottom and after a minute started to rise to the top.  All the directions I’d read stated that fresh pasta should only take a 3-5 minutes to boil.  They looked beautiful.  But I was worried if that was long enough, and continued to let them boil.  Just before I was ready to take them out, their seals started to pop and some of them leaked their butternut squash filling.  ACK!  Next time, I’m boiling for the amount of time suggested instead of being a worrywart.

So what’s my verdict on the Ravioli: 3 Different Ways?

The boiled raviolis I adored.  I could taste all the hard work I’d put into them, and they had a nice flavor.   The biggest problem here was simply I cooked them too long and many of them were now just square pasta “noodles” having lost their filling.  BOO!

I also quite liked the baked ravioli.  Not only did they taste great this way, they also reheated well in this week’s bentos.

The breaded and pan-fried ravioli was a big thumbs-down for me.  All I tasted was the breading.  None of the handmade pasta dough or butternut squash puree shined through.  I definitely won’t be repeating this cooking technique.

And that my dear friends brings us to the end of our ravioli extravaganza.  I have some ravioli left in the freezer.  Waiting for me.  To them I say, “My darlings, I’m coming soon!”

To you I say, “Never fear.  There’s still lots to talk about.”  I have a whole cherry pie that we haven’t even begun to talk about.  It’s up next on the ol’ talking points.  We’ll talk pie this weekend.

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Related Posts:
Step 1: Roasting and Pureeing the Vegetables
Step 2: Making the Pasta Dough
Step 3: Rolling & Cutting Out the Dough
Step 4: Filling the Raviolis

It’s time to fill our circles and make them into ravioli!  Are you as excited as I am?  I hope so.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel to use a well-used phrase.

Grab your butternut squash puree out of the fridge.  Remember, we put it there HOURS ago while we did everything else.  Sniff it.  SO GOOD!  Time to get started.

Here’s what we need to get started.  Our butternut squash puree and something to scoop it with.  A ravioli stamp (if you have one, but not necessary as I ‘ll show at the end).  A small bowl with a well-beaten egg.  Two pasta dough circles.

Now, I’m going to interrupt our regularly scheduled post for a beauty shot of the ravioli stamp.  There is a high probability I did all of this just so I could spend $5 on this stamp and us it.  Yeah, that possibility is extremely accurate.  But, I’m not going to publicly admit to anything.

Place a small scoop of butternut squash onto one circle.

Using your finger, spread some of the beaten egg around the edge of your pasta dough circle.  This is the step I quickly became tired of.  I realized this was much like doing my wonton wrappers to make gyoza.  After doing the first 5 this way, I ended up grabbing my basting brush and lightly brushing each circle with the beaten egg.  Quicker and easier.  I’d recommend it.

Make sure you get beaten egg all around the edge of the circle.  This is going to bind our two circles together.  Be sure to use a beaten egg and not water as well.  It will make the circles stick together and stay closed better.

Lay your other pasta circle on top.  Now you a choice on how your ravioli will look.

If you are using a ravioli stamp as I am, press it down over the layers, making sure to get the filling area in the center.  Cut through the layers and pull away any excess dough.  Excess dough should be placed under your kitchen towel with any other excess dough.  You can roll this out for a few extra circles.  Or you can dispose of it if you’re totally sick of rolling out dough.  I’d opt to save it.  It was a lot of work!

Here’s our first stamped ravioli.  Keep doing repeating this process until all the dough circles are made into raviolis.

If you don’t have a ravioli stamp, you can press the edges of the ravioli together with a fork.

Just press all around the edges and repeat with all of your circles.

As you make your ravioli, lay them on a waxed paper lined baking sheet.  I lined my baking sheet this way to keep the ravioli from sticking to the pan.  Cover them with a kitchen towel while you make the rest of the raviolis.

Here they are in all there soon-to-be-tasty glory.  They may not be the most gorgeous raviolis ever, but definitely an awesome first attempt.

Up at 10:30 a.m. CST, cooking the ravioli!

Related Posts:
Step 1: Roasting and Pureeing the Vegetables
Step 2: Making the Pasta Dough
Step 3: Rolling & Cutting Out the Dough

Look at that!  Pretty pasta dough.  Ready for you to shape it and mold it into whatever you want.  Now quite frankly, you don’t have to make ravioli with this.  You could roll it out flat and cut it into strips for fresh pasta noodles.  That sounds good too.  But we’re making ravioli.  So, go do some arm stretches.  Pump a little iron.  We have alot of rolling to do.

Make sure you have your rolling pin you found while the pasta dough was resting.  It’s going to become your new best friend, and possibly your worst enemy.  Well, that only happens when you start looking at the dough and thinking, “How much more do I have to roll?! Egads!”

Before rolling out my dough, I used my dough cutter to cut it into 4 equal portions.  This makes it easier to roll out.  Keep any dough you aren’t rolling out covered under a kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out too much.

Turn your rested dough out onto a newly floured surface.  Flour your rolling pin too.  As well as your hands.  Heck, if you’re so inclined, flour the dogs.  Well, they might not like that too much.  Mine didn’t.  (I kid! I kid!) Now, it’s time to start rolling out the dough.

Flatten it out with the rolling pin.  Then dust it with a bit of flour and flip it over.  Also, turn it 1/4 inch to the left (or to the right if you’re so inclined).  Repeat this process of rolling, dusting, flipping, and turning until…

it gets nice and big and flat.  Roll it to your desired thickness.

I’d read to roll it until you could see your hand through the dough.  This seemed the right thickness to me, but I don’t necessarily see my hand.  The indention of course, but not the actual hand.  Ah well, looks good to me.  Let’s starting cutting things out.

I wanted my ravioli to be square, so I knew I was going to use a 2″ stamp to make the raviolis.  I found a glass a bit bigger than the stamp and cut circle in the dough.

Peel away the excess dough from the circles, smoosh it together, and place it under a kitchen towel with the rest of your dough.  You’ll re-roll this out and repeat this process until all the dough is rolled and cut.

Look at ‘em!  Our little baby pasta circles.  Aren’t they beautiful?

I don’t know about you but I’m ready to fill this up with the butternut squash puree and make them into ravioli. Step 4 coming in the next hour!

Related Posts:
Step 1: Roasting and Pureeing the Vegetables
Step 2: Making the Pasta Dough

Are you ready?  Are you ready to get messy?  To get your kitchen floor covered in flour?  To get yourself covered in flour?  YES?!  Great, then it is time to make the dough for our ravioli.  Here’s the basic recipe for the pasta dough:

3.5 cups of sifted all purpose flour, 1/2 cup water, 4 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp oil

To these ingredients we will add our 2 roasted peppers to make a flavored ravioli.  I’m going to tell you now, while I roasted only two for this particular experiment (see step 1, linked at the end), next time I think I’d roast another small red pepper.  Anyhow, that’s besides the point.  Let’s get to making pasta dough!  Oh, but before we start, let me forewarn you.  There are a few blurry pictures in here.  Let’s just say it was an interesting process to make dough while trying to photograph the process.  My camera remote control may never be clean again.

You’re going to need some tools to do this: a bowl to sift flour into, a way to sift the flour, a measuring cup,  and a food processor.  Oh yeah, and your hands.  Because honey, we’ve got a bit of work ahead of us.  But it’s worth it.  I promise.  Or at least it was worth it for me.

The first thing we’re going to do is sift our flour into a lovely mound of snowy white goodness.  If you have a sifter, awesome!  Use it to sift all 3.5 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl.  If you don’t have a sifter like me…

run the 3.5 cups of flour through a small metal strainer.  This will sift your flour for you as well.  When you sift each cup of flour, you’ll find once it all goes through the strainer you have clumps of flour that aren’t breaking up.  Just dump those back into your flour bin and sift the next cup.

Once all the flour is sifted, set that bowl of snowy white goodness to the side.  We need to get our wet ingredients together for the dough.

In a food processor, add your roasted red peppers.  Note: Next time I do this, I am going to pulse the peppers a few times before adding the other ingredients.  They did not puree as well as I would have liked them to.  I would suggest doing that, however, I haven’t experimented with it yet.

To this add your 4 eggs and

your 1/2 a cup of water.  Pulse several times until everything is nicely mixed together.  There is a picture of everything pulsed together, but it is hiding from me.  Boo!

Grab your bowl of sifted flour, make a well in the center, and add your 1/2 tsp of salt.

It’s time to start mixing it all together.  To the well, add your tablespoon of oil.  I used canola oil.

Now pour in your pureed mixture of eggs, red peppers, and water.

Using a spatula, gently fold the flour into the wet ingredients.  Do this until everything is well mixed together and…

looks sort of like this.  It is now time to get down and dirty (so to speak).

Turn your dough out onto a floured surface.  Flour your hands and begin to the knead the dough.  This is where I missed a few pictures.  I need a photography assistant.  I wonder if Cree would come help take pictures one day?  Anyhow, this is how I kneaded my dough.  First, I gently smashed my hands in the center of the dough pressing it outwards and down towards the table.  This flattened it a bit.  I then pressed the sides back in making it squish back up together.  Every few kneads, I’d turn the dough around as well.  If you find the dough is sticking to your hands, flour your hands again.  If you find the dough is sticking to the table, throw down a bit more flour.  As you do this, the dough will pick up this flour and not be so sticky anymore.  It will also start to push back at you a bit.  You’ll feel it become less sticky and it will sort of take on a life of its own.  This signals it is nearly ready to rest.

Once the dough is well-kneaded and no longer sticky to the touch it’s time for it to rest and take a bit of a nap.

Throw a kitchen towel or two over the dough completing covering it.  You’re going to let it rest like this for 30 – 60 minutes.

While the dough is resting, hunt up your rolling pin if you haven’t already.  I was really worried about doing step 3: rolling and cutting out the dough.  I have a silicone rolling pin which I hate.  I don’t recommend one, but that’s just my personal opinion.  I was telling this to my brother while visiting him Saturday.  He reaches up on his freezer and says, “Here have mine.”  What?  Don’t you need it?  Nope, he tells me.  He’s going low-carb for awhile and take the temptation away (the boy is a good baker).  Okay, I’m not going to refuse that offer.  He may never get this rolling pin back!  I love it!  It’s solid and sturdy.  It does the job with minimal fuss.  And it matches my kitchen, don’t you think?

After it’s rested, your dough might look a bit like this.  It may get a little darker in color, and the outside of it might seem a wee bit dry.  Never fear.  It will all work out.  Mine did.  Hopefully, yours will too!

Step 3 is coming a little later today.  If you missed step one, click the link below.

Related Posts:
Step 1: Roasting and Pureeing the Vegetables