DEPT OF SUMMER DINING: BENTO BASICS

This summer I intend to enjoy eating beautiful, healthful, inexpensive meals outdoors as often as possible.  It's time to retire the tired brown paper bag routine and move its jumbled contents into comfy compartments in a Bento box.  My granddaughters have generously offered me a used box from their school lunch collection to get started.  I've watched them make better food choices as they pack their boxes under the influence of the Japanese Anime series they follow.  I figure grownups could use these health benefits, even learn some new basic techniques and enjoy the eye appeal of a curated meal.  But, where to begin?

My first inclination was to fill my Bento box with summer salads from Chez Madelaine's recipe archive.  This collection of simply dressed vegetables has served me well for decades.  They keep well, don't require sauces and taste best eaten at room temperature making them ideal for outdoor dining.  The Bento's separated cubbys also offer tempting places to tuck slices of left-over meat, berries, pickles or a couple of Girl Scout cookies.

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The official Japanese Bento box, on the other hand, is no haphazard affair. Its contents are prescribed: 4 parts rice or noodles, 3 of protein, 2 of vegetables and 1 of fruit or sweets. The color palette must include red, yellow, green, black and white.  Japanese parents make lunch fun for kids within this rigid structure by molding sticky rice into animal faces detailed with nori cutouts. A few cuts with a paring knife turns a hot dog into a smiling octopus propped up on its tentacles.  Multicolored food pics fill in as utensils.

The adult version of the Japanese Bento is just as healthy (ditch the hot dog) and require a minimum of new technical skills. Best of all, a Bento box has great visual appeal.  It is beautiful to behold, fun to assemble and easy to eat.  

I look forward to sharing recipes for both Western and Asian Bento boxes in two online classes in June. 

Hope you will join me to reset your outdoor dining.