Looks aren't everything, but it sure helps!

Yesterday, I had great leftovers to work with, so I knew my bento was going to be tasty. I didn't have a lot of time to put it together, but I decided to put some effort into making my box look good. Tasty isn't enough!

My dining area has the morning sun coming straight through the windows, ideal light for pictures! Here's the look of it when I first opened it:


Isn't it just inviting? On there you see only the top tier, at the bottom I have the other half of the meal. Here's both tiers together:


Bottom tier:
Grain: It's just a plain bulgur with cumin, salt and pepper.

Curry: This is a curry I made with left over masala sauce (from indian take out, shamefully) that I mixed with a little broth. I chopped carrots, cook them up with shallot, and kale, added a can of lentils, and dumped the curry sauce in. I had it as is for dinner. Before putting it in the bento, I added some of that onion chutney they send along with samosas, it's red and super spicy. It gave it a whole new delicious taste.

Top tier:

Side: I have roasted vegetables (salt, pepper, paprika, coriander, a little cumin) left overs from Monday night. After putting them in, I added minced orange zest for the look of it, but it also did wonder for the taste. Delicious!

Dessert: I have pieces of navel oranges. They are in season and I'm absolutely obsessed! I eat 10 lbs/week. Help! So delicious!

The box I'm using is a "donburi" box, made to have the "yummies" up top and the grains in the bottom tier. that way you can carry the two separately, and mix them up just when it's time to eat. I'm using it differently because I tend to eat less grains, and have several dishes in each bento.

It is a plastic box, but a better quality one, I believe it's microwave safe (though I don't microwave my lunches ever) and would go in the top rack of the dishwasher (I wouldn't for ANY of my bentos, but it would survive). I took a picture of the box in my hand to give you an idea of the size of the thing:


I'm in a phase where I want to have less boxes, but better quality ones. I'm tired of cheap plastic and little monkeys, I want my box to be a little less "cutsy" and more elegant if that make sense. I'm not saying there won't be colored shaped eggs anymore, or flower-shaped carrots, the cutsy curse will never really die ;o) Just not the mood I am in these days.

With that in mind, I have started looking at lacquered wooden boxes. They are very pricey, but so beautiful and durable. Of course the one I'm totally drooling over is way out of my price range, but it's absolutely gorgeous. I keep looking at it and telling myself over and over "you can't pay that much for a lunch box, it's ridiculous!" I might convince myself, riiiiiight!

Here's the box:


It's actually a 2 tiers box, the tiers stack up and there's a lid to top it all. Each part is made of a solid piece of wood, no seams at all.

Beautiful right? I love everything, the craftsmanship, the colors, it's perfect! It's being sold here: Bento & Co

If you find it cheaper anywhere else let me know. I'm in LOVE snif...

So that's it for me today, I don't know if I'll make other bentos this week, but the sun is out, and the camera is ready, who knows? ;o)

Happy Bento everybody!!!