Bento musings: what to pack ’n stash (#2)

More pudding plans: not only do I plan to make some mini semolina and custard pudding to take in my bento, I would also love to try some minty jell-o!

Menthe á l’eau is probably my all-time favourite summer drink so I bought 3 (!) cans of sirop de menthe in France during our holiday. And I have some agar agar past expiring date, so… it seems like a fun adventure :) Especially because I’ve challenged myself to use 2 products out of my pantry each month — and I mean stuff that seems to have gotten stuck in there! LOL

Agar agar is a gelatinous substance that can be used by vegetarians because it’s derived from seaweed, not animals (like gelatin). But you have to learn how to use it because it’s got a higher acidity level that prevents you from just substituting plain gelatin — what most recipes dictate — by agar. My first attempt to make port wine jelly (on blue stilton toast) failed, and then the agar sort of got ‘lost’ in my cupboard ;)

Stay posted to see how my mint jelly turns out. But don’t keep quiet if you’ve got any tips!

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Back to work bento (#29)

So here’s the bento I took yesterday on my first day back to work. I tried to extend my holiday spirit by taking tabbouleh salad, fresh mint for tea and a mix of nuts that came all the way from Cappadocia in Turkey: roasted chick peas, apricot seeds and almonds coated in honey and sesame seeds. Yummy! I also added some dried cranberries.

But I took some other stuff as well: a La vache qui rit cheese wedge, cherry tomatoes, Japanese peas and kiwi (peeled and sliced in the morning) with some lemon juice on the side.

Another way of keeping my holiday near is reading Dance with Death by Barbara Nadel. It’s a thriller set in Cappadocia and I bought it on site ;) Thankfully we didn’t find any dead bodies in the caves we visited!