Monday, May 07, 2007

Sunny Wholegrain Sushi

Here's one of my lunches for a change, photographed in a colorful Melamine 3-Layer Tiffin from Pearl River. I actually bought the lunch box as a gift for a friend who collects melamine (shh, don't tell!) but couldn't resist posing a lunch in it before passing it on.

On the upper right is a big serving of Asian Salad made with baby lettuces, cucumber, edamame, carrot, and daikon.

On the upper left are some Sunny Wholegrain Sushi cones, filled with healthy whole grains, avocado slices, and sunflower sprouts. I shaped the cones using a sushi cone mold from BentoTV.

Above the cones are a pig-shaped container of homemade Ponzu Sauce for the sushi, a kiwi container of Orange Dressing for the salad, and some Japanese Spinach from Vegan Lunch Box. This recipe from my aunt is the ideal way to prepare cooked spinach for a lunch box; the spinach is barely blanched and all the liquid is squeezed out, leaving the spinach chewy and flavorful, and excellent cold.

For dessert are two mandarin orange flowers with kiwi fruit centers.

Verdict: In an appalling act of mealtime injustice, my husband ate both of my mandarin flowers when I wasn't looking, and had to face my righteous, mandarin-deprived wrath. 5 stars.

30 comments:

Jennifershmoo said...

Hey, how did the comments get turned off? Oops! It must have been me, but I don't know how I managed it. Anyway, they're back on, post away!

Mel said...

Have to write and say that I love checking in and viewing your lunchboxes! You've inspired me to go and buy one (and your book), creating my own dishes!

Thanks for all the ideas - keep it up! :D

Henriette said...

Love sushi and find it would make an ideal lunch - but do you have any tips on how to keep sushi fresh? I find that not freshly made sushi is disgusting, even if its from the night before. I don't really have time to cook the rice in the morning, cool it and make the sushi...

LadyRachelLynn said...

The comments being turned off - I think it was a glitch because other blogs have had the same problem.

MMmmm....manderin oranges!!!!

HH said...

I really love your blog. I now have the fit and fresh, a stainless 3-container stacker, and a Mr Bento for our house! I really need the kiwi and pig containers! What is a reliable source? I have only seen eBay/BentoTV, but then things are sold-out.
Thank you!

Pepper said...

Long time lurker, first time commenter. Just had to say that I absolutely ADORE the pig shaped sauce container! I cannot live another day without it.

Jennifershmoo said...

>>do you have any tips on how to keep sushi fresh? I find that not freshly made sushi is disgusting, even if its from the night before.

I agree -- sushi has to be made fresh. I always make it right before I pack it, then pack it with an extra covering of plastic wrap. Never refrigerate sushi rice -- it gets hard and dry.

>>What is a reliable source? I have only seen eBay/BentoTV, but then things are sold-out.

I don't have a more reliable source for bento toys. I get everything from ebay/BentoTV, and order things right away when I see them.

Kim & Rick said...

Hi Jennifer,
I can't wait to try the spinach recipe in your book - I'm planning on it this weekend. I also just read through Vegetarian Times & saw the article you're in - congratulations!I've been a fan of your blog for quite some time now! Thank you for all the inspiration! =-)

Lee Benson said...

I'm looking for a good, sturdy but lightweight lunchbox for taking to work on a daily basis. I want something solid and stylish, but not heavy like stainless steel. I looked at the melamine tiffin boxes (specifically the 3-tier) at Pearl River. Are these a good choice?

It's you know who! said...

Hi, this is kind of off the topic, but it's something I've been wondering about a while now. Are you worried at all about the wheat gluten being tainted in any vegetarian products? I emailed Amy's and they said they only use wheat gluten from the US. Just curious what your thinking is. Thanks.

Steph Barnard said...

Wow, did they ever pick a bad brand name for those boxes. Melamine? Really?

Lee Benson said...

Melamine is a material. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine_resin

Jennifershmoo said...

>>I'm looking for a good, sturdy but lightweight lunchbox for taking to work on a daily basis....Are these a good choice?

Not if you want lightweight -- the melamine lunch box is heavier than either of the stainless steel ones I have.

Marnely Rodriguez-Murray said...

i find that even if the sushi rice is overnight cooked, if it gets hard and dry, i just add some hot water to it and put in in a warm oven..this makes the grains just as soft as freshly made!

urban vegan said...

Looks tasty! Schmoo is one lucky Schmoo.

I can't believe you bought these at Pearl River. I go there all the time in NY...I could spend hours there just browsing [much to Omniman's chagrin]. I am also impressed by their rows and rows of flipflops and casual shoes! I know this has little to do with your yummy vegan lunchboxes...but hey, great minds shop alike. ;)

High Power Rocketry said...

Wow : )

Unknown said...

This is so cute! Plus I love sushi - so that's a bonus in this lunch I guess.
By the way, I made some of your whole-meal muffins last night (subbing dried cranberries for the raisins and pear juice for the apple juice...and topping each one with a walnut half). They are really yummy and I now have a bag full in my freezer!
Diana

Matt and Bobbie said...

I love this new lunchbox! I'm going to have to get one. I also love the lunch--very bright, colorful and fresh. Well done!

roberta said...

Lovely looking lunch, I can't wait to be a mum myself, for now I will try to reproduce it just for myself.
Thanks!

Keith Lewis said...

Where do you get vegan nori? I have never been able to find any with a reliable kosher certificate.

Jennifershmoo said...

I don't know why nori wouldn't be vegan -- it's just sheets of seaweed that have been dried and sometimes gently toasted. Whether seaweed is kosher or not, I don't know. I think kosher certification is a different issue.

Keith Lewis said...

Sorry, I should have explained more. Most nori can't get a kosher certificate because it is full of seahorses. They basically have to pay someone to sit at a lightbox and look through every sheet. I look for a kosher certificate to make sure it is vegan.

rachel said...

Eden brand is kosher, and you can get it at Whole Foods. Or, there's a kosher brand called Metsuyan, I think, that I get at kosher stores.

Poppy said...

This is the sexiest lunchbox in the history of anything.

I just found out about The Nori Thing - I thought the issue was one of fish and sealife being caught in nets as seaweeds are mass-harvested?

Here: http://www.living-foods.com/articles/firshinnori.html
http://www.crcweb.org/kosher/consumer/articles/F-sushi.html

I stopped eating seaweeds because of it, sadly. I'm yet to find a good supplier. By the same token though, I recently ordered some vegan meal powders - may have been Vega - and am trusting that they've checked out the sources of any sealife/algaes in the product, since they're vegan.

It never ends...

Tito W. said...

Can you tell me where you got the pig and kiwi shaped containers? Thanks

Jennifershmoo said...

The piggie was from BentoTV, the kiwi from another bento shop on ebay. Do a search for "bento accessories" on ebay and you'll find lots of these cute little doodahs.

Paz123 said...

Ooh, that looks delicious. It feels like such an autumn y dish too. mostly I buy my Favorite veg and non veg dishes from ChuckeCheese.com, Restaurant.com, HomeBistro.com stores at Couponalbum.com
..

tamantha said...

wow, big lunch!

Sue said...

Veganism is so unhealthy for children. They need a lot of fat for their growing brains.
Those lunch boxes are very protein deficient.

new laptop battery said...

Veganism is so unhealthy for children. They need a lot of fat for their growing brains.