Home-made: Baked mini Portobello + fusili casserole

For starters, baked mini portobello mushrooms stuffed with ham and cheddar. For his main course, wholemeal fusili casserole, filled with spinach, beef mince, ricotta, peppers and marinara sauce, topped with tomato slices and basil! Accompanied by some steamed baby carrots and cherry tomatoes. And of course the baked basil salmon.

Home-made: Baked salmon, prawns and vegetables with soba

Kaypoh dog is kaypoh. ;)

Bento last week was baked salmon, prawns (shelled so meticulously too!), and grilled assorted vegetables on a bed of organic wheat-free soba. Healthy and delicious.

Home-made: Spinach "Quiche"

Glad to report that the "quiche" recipe worked and tastes decent! "Crust" is made of mountain rye low carb wraps (2 layers per cup/tray) - a packet of 8 thin wraps yielded 12 cuppies and 1 mid-sized quiche.
Two types of filling, both stirred into a mixture of whole eggs, egg whites and skim milk. First "quiche" is filled with 300gm frozen spinach, chopped lean ham and a bit of cheese. Second version has a huge bunch of chopped chives, tricolour peppers and ham. Both are accompanied by plain baked baby potatoes, pumpkin, peppers and plenty of asparagus!

So moreish, I couldn't stop stuffing my mouth..

Home made Bento: Baked Halibut & Grilled Chicken Breast

 

Baked halibut

 Bento Lunch Prep Done!
Two styles this week. First off we have baked halibut in herb crust, stirfried veggies and a sunny side up, accompanied by baked baby sweet potato wedges.
Version two is couscous (made up with the last of my post-Christmas turkey bone broth) topped with grilled chicken breast and assorted vegetables (choysum, carrots, tomatoes, onions).

Grilled Chicken with cous cous

Chef's tips on baking fish:
Rub a bit of butter on the shiny side of your foil and plop the fish skin side down (I do skin side up for salmon to get crispy skin). I usually bake at 220 degrees Celsius for around 15 mins and give it a poke in the middle, if it flakes it's done. I find it's okay to slightly under-cook fish since it continues to cook after coming out of the oven.

Note: I don't usually thaw my fish fully before baking since I generally use dry rubs on it (eg Lawry's salt-free steak herb mix). If you use fully thawed fish, perhaps just 10 mins for a thin fillet would do? Try baking with frozen halibut, it's pretty cheap and fairly forgiving as it is a slightly fatty fish (yummy texture and rather neutral flavour that absorbs seasonings well. Try it with pesto and scatter with toasted pine nuts and torn basil leaves)!

Home-made Bento: Pork Collar and Cabbage with Sweet Potato Chips

This week we have broiled pork collar marinated in apple juice, dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar, accompanied by cabbage done two ways (red with carrots, bacon and onion in a balsamic reduction; green braised with granny smith and Reuben apples and homemade stock).
On the side, some oven roasted beetroot, white and sweet potato "chips".

Home-made: Christmas Cookies ("Cran-Blue Leh Cookies")

Christmas Cookies all fresh out of the oven and ready for distribution! All 220 pieces of them, baked, wrapped and packed to go!

This year, we have a new random concoction lined up - Cherry Berries! Oatmeal cookie base stuffed with lots of dried blueberries, cranberries, currants, cherries, walnuts and almonds, and flavoured with a healthy lug of cinnamon and allspice. AKA "Cran-Blue Leh Cookies"! Super Festive!!!

Home-made Bento: Seared Cod, Mini Shrimps with Baked Veggies and Purple Playdoh

Seared cod and mini shrimps, assorted baked vegetables (beetroot, cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash, mushroom, eggplant) and Magic Awesome Purple Playdoh (mashed purple sweet potatoes)!

Diner's comment: "How can healthy food taste this good??"

Chef's suggestion on how to pan-sear cod without losing the skin to the pan:
I usually use a nonstick pan with no oil, let the pan heat up till sizzling hot, then place the thawed fish skin side down. Once I hear the skin sizzle I'll turn the heat down and let the skin crisp. I only flip the fish when it auto releases from the base of the pan by itself with just a nudge of the spatula. Usually I notice people try to flip it too soon before a nice seared crust forms, so it will stick. Technique seems to work for oily fish and most meat cuts, at least for me. 

The food prep process.

Home-made Bento: Baked Mini Egg Frittatas & Afternoon Lunch

Afternoon Lunch of Baked Mini Frittatas

On the menu this week - Baked Mini Egg Frittatas stuffed with a myriad of julienned veggies and turkey breast, roasted vegetables and mushrooms, including some delicious Australian asparagus, and curry spice-rubbed sweet potatoes.
Produced so much food that we ended up eating some for lunch straightaway! And used the extra egg yolks (we used only 7 yolks and 12 whites to make 12 mini frittatas) and some chopped spinach to make eggy pudding for the three doggies at home.

This is the bento.

Egg pudding for the doggies!

Home-made Bento: Chicken/Beef/Quinoa Meatballs in Marinara sauce

Kitchen is back in action! Long weekend means more time for something fancy and elaborate.
On the bento menu this week: Chicken-Beef-Quinoa Meatballs on a bed of marinara sauce, bulked up with plenty of kale, spinach and purple carrots. On the side, some local kailan panfried in butter, baked kabocha and grilled brown swiss mushrooms. And last of all, a separate container of crispy baked sweet potato fries!

Home-made Bento: Chicken Fillet en Papillote

This is actually the dish before going into the oven.

On the menu this week: Chicken Fillet en Papillote, accompanied by leeks, two tone carrots, red capsicum, black woodear fungus, tomatoes and plenty of zingy lemon! The purple carrots turned the sauce an amazing wine-red! With a simple side of roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, fast and easy! ;-3

The finished dish.

Home-made Bento: Meatloaf Muffins

On the menu this week - veggie-filled Meatloaf Muffins stuffed with a surprise centre (and sweet BBQ sauce), radish-celery-cabbage slaw dressed with tahini and Greek yoghurt sauce, and mashed sesame sweet potatoes to round off the meal! homemade meatloaf is da bomb!
— feeling in a frenzy
 

Home-made Bento: Miso Cod, "Fried" Brown Rice with Potato and Kale, Baked Veggies

On the Menu - "Fried" Brown Rice with Potato and Kale, Assorted Baked Veggies (kabocha, carrots, red onions, mushrooms, capsicum and eggplant), Miso Cod with Sesame and Shrimp Skewers! =3 with special cameo by Jacky the shih tzu's butt...
—

    

These make great wallpapers for your phone too!

 

Home-made Bento: Low-carb Lasagna

On the menu this week - Low Carb "Lasagna", which replaces the traditional pasta sheets with thinly sliced zucchini layers. Stuffed with ground beef, finely diced peppers and carrots, and herby cream cheese! Yum!

 

With special guest appearance by our (unhelpful) kitchen assistant Roxy

  

Home-made: Blueberry & Apple-date Muffins

It's way too hot to be baking in the kitchen today! But I really want some freshly made wholemeal muffins... turned out a batch each of spiced apple-date muffins and blueberry oatmeal muffins. Should have cut the apple into bigger pieces!
— feeling toasted

Home-made: Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins

Blueberry poppyseed muffins, fresh out of the oven and just in time for tea! ;3 made with 100% wholemeal flour and rolled oats so they didn't rise as high as I hoped!






Chef's further comments: despite comprising only wholemeal flour and oats as a base, the recipe turned out surprisingly tender and moist muffins with loose crumb!!!