Samosa Bento Box

Today is Diwali, the Festival of Lights and to celebrate another culture, the Halloween decor is taking a short break from the bento box lunches. However, I really don't know how to cook Indian cuisine so decided to go ahead and buy some samosas for both dinner and tomorrow's bento lunches. Samosas work pretty well for bento boxes. Deep fried to a crisp; their thicker shell retains it's crunch a bit longer in a closed box. Come to think of it, I'll have to try packing samosas in a basket type box next time and compare results.

I also browsed my favorite deli counter at PCC Market where I found some yummy hijiki salad. It's a salad that is super easy to make, the recipe is in my head, and it won't take but a few minutes to "throw together". So, off I went wandering through the store to collect all the ingredients. It wasn't until I got to carrot display that I decided I wasn't up to the task. "All that peeling and chopping." Nah, let's skip it. No regrets. Let's just go ahead and purchase the ready-made salad. So after all that, I had to chuckle to myself. Why didn't I buy it at the start, before loading up the cart. Not only did I have to maneuver through a crowded store returning everything to their proper place, but now there's a wait at the deli counter. Of course when I got to the front of the line, I asked for another sample. Just to confirm that I made the right decision.

Today's bento box features,along with the celebratory samosa and the ready-made hijiki salad, there is renkon, kiwi berries, sweet potato and yokan stars.

New Bento Box Filler: Kiwi Berry

I think I'm in some sort of "Bento Box Rut". Not is the sense of boredom, it's more of wanting to taste different foods. Pack different items. Variety. This cute little berry is a nice distraction. The package names it "Kiwi Berry". Really? Is there such a thing as a kiwi berry? Are they grown in New Zealand and eaten by kiwi birds? Nope, turns out they are not that exotic. New and mysterious to me I am quite surprised, after an Internet check, that these were grown just south of me in Oregon. In fact, they can be grown right here in Washington! I don't know why I've never seen them before.

The size of a medium to large olive, perfect for filling the nooks and crannies of a bento box lunch. Before I committed, I asked the guy in charge of stacking apples, "What do these taste like?" "They taste just like kiwis", he said with a smile. So I bought some and ate one in the car on the way home. Ummm...No, they don't taste like kiwis, Mr. Produce Man! They taste better than kiwi and have a flavor of their own. Sweet and juicy, with a strange little after taste, similar to the white membrane that sticks to a badly peeled orange slice. I like them, good texture, green and red color. Oh, they do look like kiwis when sliced in half. Into the bento box they go. Packed with the kiwi berries, rice, mushrooms, kouya dofu, sweet potato, pickled ginger and cucumbers.