Fall's Best Benefits

These 3 highly nutritious fruits, (I think squash counts as a fruit so we will go with it), are the best this season has to offer.

I recently posted a bento box featuring a simmered kabocha recipe but there are many other ways for preparation and I say, "go for it". I believe it's better than butternut squash and even if you don't pack bento boxes and think you could skip it...don't. Treat yourself and family to one of autumn's best productions. Kabocha is a highly nutritious food that tastes great. And that's hard to resist.

A fuyu persimmon can be eaten, as soon as it's ripe, just like any other fruit, "as is". Don't confuse it with the hachiya type or you will have an unpleasant taste experience if the fruit has not yet rid it's astringent properties. Hachiya persimmons aren't all bad and I personally love them dried. But for a bento box, the fuyu persimmon is a more fitting candidate. Sweet and juicy; it slices nicely and keeps well in a bento until lunch.

Pomegranates are of late, "all the buzz" in the antioxidant foods campaign and I'm all for it. That positive publicity insures plenty to choose from as fall arrives and I think I was able to to I pick a nice one from a huge display. It's as large as a softball and I look forward to preparing it. Unfortunately for Saba Man, no bentos featuring pomegranates yet because I eat them all. The bento boxes don't stand a chance but I'll keep at it.

There are a few pomegranate recipes out there to explore. But if I can't manage to include them for a bento box, I'm not sure I could save them for a recipe. Good luck!

Blood Orange Bento Box

Oh my gosh! Wasn't it just yesterday that I wrote about my broken PC monitor? Well, today it's my cellphone monitor, albeit a small monitor, but a monitor just the same. Half of it is blacked out and I can't see the display when navigating through the features. I can dial out and answer, that's about it. *sigh*

Onward!

Today's bento box contains similar items as yesterday, because Saba Man said it was " a yummy", okay he really doesn't talk like that, but you know what I mean. The major change are the "rice burritos" rolled with the soy paper. That was "a fail". They were were soggy and the wrappers fell apart. So the soy paper is best when served immediately which means this lunch box will contain the tried and true inarizushi instead. Salmon patties with wasabi aioli, kabocha squash, garlic roasted asparagus, tomotoes are included and the blood orange fills up the remaining box space. The blood orange looks more like a bloody orange but I assure you that it's not because I stabbed myself with a cute bento pick! It's natural creepiness suits the Halloween season perfectly without any drastic measures.

Simmered Kabocha Bento Box

A quick "sidebar" before the bento box and kabocha squash portion of this article.

We had technical difficulties late last night. While in the middle of posting the inarizushi article, the PC monitor decided it was time to quit. So long, farewell, adios, buh-bye! Of course I immediately dived under the desk to jiggle, unplug and replug every wire until I was certain that a side trip to the 'puter shop (before football) was absolutely necessary. "I have to buy a new monitor", was the conclusion after many unsuccessful attempts to "make it go". But oh,oh... who has the best deal? What brand do I want? What can I afford? I don't know, because...wait for it... without a monitor, I cannot search online! So, we got up early,"Gasp", bought the Sunday paper, and searched the ads. Haven't done that in awhile and it was slow going. Most ads didn't list their store hours, so again we went "old school", licked our finger tip, browsed the phone book, and called each store and listened to their pre-taped message. As you can see, we met with success and I managed to publish the article before the drive to the football stadium. Saba Man was dropped off, bento box safely in his backpack, and in time for the national anthem.

Ok, now the bento box part of this post. I did buy a kabocha squash for use with Maki's recipe from her Just Bento site and I am so glad I did. It tastes wonderful and of course perfect for a bento box lunch. My only regret is that I should of picked a larger one. The next kabocha I buy, will be much bigger so I can split the pieces between a couple different recipes, have some for freezing, and for snacking as I pack the lunches. I kept eating the kabocha chunks as it cooled, which really limited the selections.

The other bento box items in the photo are grilled salmon patties, roasted asparagus, soy paper wrapped "rice burritos", takuwan and grape tomatoes. The "rice burritos" are an experiment. There was left over inarizushi rice from yesterday and instead of making more sushi, I just hand rolled the soy wrappers around the rice like a tortilla. They seemed ok and looked like they'd hold up until lunch, but I'll be sure to check with Saba Man and report his feedback. If he remarks "hey,yummy kabocha, but what was the lumpy white stuff?" Then no, they didn't hold up.