Fried Rice Balls, Chocolate Banana Muffins, and Bentos--oh my!

I've been experimenting with bento boxes lately. I happened into a beautiful bento box that I've been trying to use. I love the concept of the bento, and the gods know I could use help finishing up leftovers. I've put together a few so far that I'd like to share here, as well as a couple of recipes that have made it into my bentos.

This was my first bento lunch. I made a sushi roll of smoked salmon, avocado, and green onion with some leftover sushi rice and partial package of lox leftover from breakfast. I also had some grilled shrimp from the night before, so I rolled that up with shredded carrot into a spring roll. My teeny sauce bottles held soy sauce and my own plum dipping sauce. To round out my meal, I had miso soup and some watermelon in a separate container.

My next bento saw some more of the grilled shrimp, this time in its originally prepared state. With rice leftover from Chinese takeout, I made the fried rice balls you see in the top section (recipe below). The bottom section had a salad of shredded carrot and fresh mushrooms, and a few watermelon balls. Again, you see the teeny bottle of soy and plum sauce.

My youngest offspring expressed an interest in taking a bento lunch to school, so this is what I packed for her this morning. Once again, we had leftover shrimp (the mild version from last night's dinner). Also included are carrot sticks and broccoli, corn salad, whole wheat tortilla cut into fun shapes, and a Laughing Cow wedge of spreadable cheese. For dessert, she had grapes and a chocolate banana mini muffin (recipe below).

So far, I'm having a great time making these little lunches, and I will likely be making many more in the future. Now on the the recipes!

Fried Rice Balls

Ingredients:

2 c leftover long grain rice

1 c water

2 tbs cream

1 egg, beaten

3 tbs onion, finely chopped

2 green onion stalks, finely chopped

2 tbs seaweed, finely chopped

1 tsp red pepper powder

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbs protein of choice, cooked and finely chopped (suggestions below)

1 tbs sauce of choice (suggestions below)

1 tbs toasted sesame seeds

2 tsp salt

1/2-3/4 c flour

oil for frying

Directions:

Mix water with rice in a medium sauce pan and bring to a very low boil. Cook until water is absorbed; remove from heat.

In a large bowl, beat together cream, egg, onions, seaweed, red pepper, and baking powder. Stir in the rice until evenly coated. Mix protein, sauce, sesame seeds, and 1 tsp of the salt into the rice mixture. Stir in flour, 2 tablespoons at a time, until mixture is thick enough to shape into balls.

Heat 1 inch of oil in a heavy pot over medium to medium-high heat. With floured hands, shaped the rice mixture into 2-inch diameter balls.

Fry the balls for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain the rice balls on paper towels. Sprinkle with remaining salt and serve.

Protein suggestions:

Salmon (used in the photo above)

Lentils

Shrimp

Edamame

Chicken

Tuna

Spam (a Korean favorite, of all things)

Sauce suggestions:

Plum sauce (used with the salmon in the photo above)

Teriyaki marinade

Fish sauce

Hoisin sauce

BBQ sauce

Sour cream

Chocolate Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c flour

1/4 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

1 c sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and bananas.

Stir flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins. For mini muffins, bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; standard muffin tins take about 25 minutes to bake.

Strawberry Strudel Muffins

Strawberry season is here! Somehow I can't seem to resist buying the four pound flat of berries. Then again, when it's $2.50 for one pound and $4.00 for four....well, it just seems silly not to go all out.

Inevitably, I'm forced to come up with creative ways to use the berries. As awesome as they are as-is, it can get a bit boring. I'll make real strawberry milk, salads, and ice cream topping....but trust me, it can be hard to make a dent!

So, I present here Strawberry Strudel Muffins. Not too sweet, heavy on the berry goodness. The kiddos have approved these for breakfast as well as snacking.

Strawberry Strudel Muffins

Ingredients:

2 1/3 c flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c sugar

1/4 c butter, softened

1 egg

1 c milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 c fresh strawberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add egg; stir in milk and vanilla until well-combined. Add the flour micture to the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in strawberries. Grease a 12 muffin pan and divide batter evenly amoung the cups.

Strudel Ingredients:

1/4 cup sugar

1/8 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/8 cup butter

Strudel Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over muffins.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 12 muffins.

Egg-less Apple-Cranberry-Almond Muffins

I've mentioned before that I do not enjoy baking. It's too rigid, and I can't play with as many ingredients as I prefer. But, as with the Cookies for the Dark Side, sometimes I want a freshly baked item. Typically, I turn to the oldest offspring for that task, but this morning I wanted to do something for the girls.

My immediate thought was fresh muffins for breakfast....and since I had a Golden Delicious apple that had been sitting in my fruit bowl for some time now, that was the logical choice. The plan was coming together. I happily measured and mixed away (making substitutes that I knew would work in the world of baking). Then I opened the fridge to grab the one lonely egg needed for the recipe.

Frak. No eggs. No egg substitute. Not even an empty carton to taunt me.

A tumbleweed blew through my kitchen.

My mind raced. After all, I had already ground the oats, measured the dry goods, and grated the apple. I reasoned that apples have pectin, and that is some sort of stabilizer, so in theory that would help. I needed something else, however, and I didn't think cornstarch would do the trick (the batter was too dry). I looked at my little cartons of yogurt and made a snap decision. Lemon seemed the least offensive flavor, so I measured a quarter cup into the batter and mixed. Things were still too dry for my taste, so I added another quarter cup. The batter at least looked like muffin batter at this point, so I decided this was do or die time: I spooned the batter into the muffin pan and placed it into the oven....and the Almighty Baking God's hands.

For whatever reason--my intuition, the alignment of the planets, or just plain old luck--these muffins turned out delicious. They are a denser sort of muffin, yet not so heavy that you can't enjoy two or three at a time. The lemon yogurt seems to have enhanced the apple flavor very nicely. All in all, I'd say it's not a bad effort for a non-baker such as I.

Egg-less Apple-Cranberry-Almond Muffins

Ingredients:

1 c unbleached white flour

1 c oat flour

1/4 c white sugar

1/4 c brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 c canola oil

1/2 c lemon flavored yogurt

1 c grated apple

1/4 c dried cranberries, chopped

1/4 c almonds, ground

additional slivered almonds for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line the muffin pan with liners or grease. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Mix in the oil and yogurt until well-combined. Add the grated apple, cranberries, and ground almonds; mix well.

Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full and top with slivered almonds. Bake 20-25min until golden brown or till a tooth pick comes out clean from it. Makes 12 muffins.