Ravaged Bento. The bunny didn't know what hit him.

- Ziti with mushrooms and beef (My mommy made it for me.  Living closer to home has its advantages.)

- Pork and Rice Soup (Again, made by my mom.)

- Asparagus sauteed with Sesame oil and sesame seeds

- Lettuce and some grape tomatoes

- Sausage roll (Homemade by the boyfriend’s mom)

The Lonely Not Eaten Orange

Last Friday, Corinna and I headed over to the Briyani Cart.  It was good, but not great.  It had me wanting for the 53rd St Halal Guys Lamb and Rice.  The Briyani Cart also had Kati Rolls which I decided not to get.

Later that night,  I was thinking about Kati rolls, so, on the way home, I decided to drop by the Kati Roll Company.  My first impressions were, it was very clean and simple. 

Kati Roll Kitchen

 Their menu is also very simple.

Kati Roll Company Menu

Its a really cute menu.  I love the chickens drawing.

I decided to have the Paneer Kati and the Chicken and Egg Kati.   They were delicious.  I asked them to make it spicy since I think normally it is not.  It was very tasty and just what I was looking for.

I had to run for the train, so I asked them to pack it to go.  No, I didn’t eat them on the train ride home.  Could you imagine all the nasty looks I would get from people on the LIRR?  They packed the Kati up nicely in those foil bags that you would get from a Chinese take out.

Kati Roll Company Menu

When I got them home, I thought for $5.00 it was kind of on the small side, but boy are they packed full of meat.  I was quite full and satisfied by the end.   Its also not the neatest thing to eat so be forewarned.   So if you want a quick meal, I definitely recommend the Kati Roll Company.

Last night I prepared my first meal in the new apartment. It was the first home meal I had in a few weeks and I was definitely missing it. I’m still geting used to the positioning of the stove, countertop and sink. It took me way longer to make dinner last night then in normally would. It also taught me that when I get my own house with my own kitchen, the counter prep area has to be to the left of the stove. Currently my counter prep area is opposite the stove, which can make it difficult to port the food over to a pot. Also, when the stove is to left of the counter prep area, you can just glance to the right while you are chopping to check on the stove. Unless somehow eyes grow on the back of my head. Tips to remember, and something I reminded the boyfriend about when we get a house.

So for today’s bento it was just leftovers from dinner. After eating out most of last week, I missed bringing in lunch. Also I lost a bet to the boyfriend, and the boyfriend requested Chicken, Rice and Broccoli.  

• Chicken Francais – Came out a bit too lemony. I had also added garlic and it turned blue!?! I googled it and it seems the acidity of the white wine and the lemon can do that. When I saw the sauce in the pan, I had a flashback to Bridget Jone’s Diary when she made the blue Thai Soup. No matter, it was still tasty, even with blue garlic.
• Tomato and Basil Rice – I’m using up my pantry stock. I think my mom gave me the rice.
• Broccoli in a Cheddar and White wine sauce – I should have made a rue to thicken up the sauce.
• Grape Tomatos
• Sausage Roll – The boyfriends mom made it and it was delicious.
• A quarter of a black and white cookie and only the white part because I don’t like chocolate. Boyfriend got the same bento, but bigger and with more cookies.

Here is my lunch recap:

• Monday – Chipolte.  My first time..  It was pretty good.  My friend had to explain to me how the menu worked though.  But it all worked out in the end.  I had a beef burrito with all the salsa fixings.
• Tuesday - Chili with Salad and baslamic vinagarette.
• Wednesday – Salad with baslamic vinagarette, red pepper and tomato soup, foccacia sandwich with fresh mozzarella.
• Thursday – Bento Lunch with Curried Potato and Eggplant, salad with balasamic vinagarette and a clementine.  2 mini quesadilla with cheese, hummus and sour cream.
• Friday – Indian Buffet @ Bombay Palace.  Very filling.  I did bring my lunch but I guess its going to have to wait. *edit*  I ended up eating some of it for dinner.  It was yummy shrimp salad with a side of sliced tomato, cucumber and whole wheat bread.
• Saturday – Instant Ramen noodles
• Sunday – Leftover Lo bak Go and Lin Go.

No pictures as I ate it all before I remembered to take a picture.

Ingredients:
2 cans of Tuna
1 can of Cream of Mushroom
1 1/2 cup of water
3 stalks of celery diced
5-6 white mushrooms diced
1-2 cloves of garlic minced
1 yellow onion diced
1 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of bread crumbs
1lb of cooked pasta of your choice.  I use Barilla Cellentani.
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Celery Seed
1 Tsp White Pepper
1/2 Tsp Red Pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large saute pan heat a small amount of oil or butter to saute the onions and celery on medium-high heat. 

Once softened, add the garlic, mushroom, paprika, celery seed, white pepper and red pepper.  Let the vegetables and spices cook down for a few minutes.

Add the tuna, cream of mushroom and water to the vegetable mixture, mixing all the ingredients together.

After the ingredients are mixed add the pasta.  Mix until the pasta is covered in sauce.

Take half of the cheddar cheese and mix with the pasta.

Pour the pasta mixture into an oven safe dish. 

Top with the remaining cheddar cheese and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Put into the oven and let bake for 20 minutes.

The boyfriend was overwhelmed by the enormous menu. I had an idea of what I wanted already. I was never much of a fan of the entrees. To me, the appetizers and salads always out shined the entree. So, instead of being disappointed by another entree, I opted to share whatever appetizers the boyfriend wanted and order the Sante Fe Ranch Salad. After telling the boyfriend my reasoning behind my choices, he opted to get the soup of the day, the Baked Potato Soup, the Buffalo Blasts appetizer, and the Artichoke and Spinach dip. We each ordered a Blue Moon beer.

The service was kind of disorganized. It was 4ish when we got there, and it took so long for our waiter to take our orders. One of things I remembered I liked about CF is the bread. Its this dark German type bread, that is usually soft and tasty. Not so much this time. It was a little bit over baked and hard.

Now, I’m not one to over examine my food, but there it was, in plain sight when the waiter set it on the table. On top of the soup there was a giant long black hair in the garnishing of the soup. It was kind of entertangled with the scallion and cheese on top. The boyfriend already had spoon in hand ready to dig in when I pushed it asside and pointed out the hair. Now, I have long dark hair, but I didn’t even get near the food yet, so no way it could be mine. I called over the waiter, he immediately apologized and took it back. He came back and said they make the soup to order and that it would be awhile for another one. We asked just to take it off the check. The boyfriend said he would have eaten it….yeah right. Its one thing if its my hair in the food. Completely another issue when its someone elses. The soup looked tasty, if only sans piece of hair.

Buffalo Blasts @ Cheesecake Factory

The Buffalo Blasts came next. Pretty tasty. It was basically a dumpling filled with shredded chicken, buffalo sauce, then deep fried with some spicy seasonings. The dish is served with a tangy blue cheese sauce and a tangy buffalo sauce. No hairs to be found thankfully.

Sante Fe Salad @ Cheesecake Factory

Next was the Sante Fe Ranch Salad. Boyfriend and I both liked it. No complaints. There was chicken chuncks, avocado, tomato, cheese, black beans and corn over a bed of chopped lettuce with a tangy ranch bbq dressing.

Spinach Artichoke Dip @ Cheesecake Factory

Next came the Spinach Artichoke Dip. It was okay. We were told by the FOH that it was taking longer to come out since they over cooked it. Okay? When it came, it was served with fresh fried tortilla chips, a side of salsa and a side of sour cream. Boyfriend thought it was only okay. I definietley like the one at California Pizza Kitchen better. It was more milky then dip like. I think it was more of a consistency issue for the both of us.

The check came out to about $50. Not bad. Would I come again? Probably not unless someone really wanted to. We were full from the two appetizers and salad so we didn’t even get a chance to order the dessert.  I also should mention I love eating out with the boyfriend.   Its really refreshing to be able to share a meal with your significant other and to be with someone with a similar taste palate.

So the next day, I woke up…and off to get falafels we went.  The boyfriend and I headed over to Olive Vine on 7th Ave and 15th St. Yum! The last time I was there I had ordered the salad platter to go and went to Prospect Park to watch a rendition of Fahrenheit 151.  I wasn’t too big a fan of the show, but the salad platter paired with a nice red wine and I was in heaven. 

The nice thing about the salad platter is you get to choose five items from a list of about ten that you want.  This time I opted for the tabbouleh, a double babbaganoush, rice wrapped in grape leaves, and hummus.  This was shared between the boyfriend and me. 

For our mains, he ordered a grilled chicken gyro and I ordered a falafel sandwich.  I ate half of it already before I remembered to take a picture.

All was yummy.  The owner was kind enough to give us a free slice of an almond type cake.  It was very rich but delicious.  I’ve been here a few times, and I’ve always been happy with the food.  The restaurant is also BYOB, and conveniently enough there is a wine store right across the street.   Although, it was 11 o’clock when we went, so I didn’t want to seem like a lush.  Also, I love, love the pita bread.  They arn’t the kind that come in a package.  They are made to order pita.  So pillowy and soft.  They are a must have. What a delicious way to start the day.

This was yummy, although I think I packed way too much food. However, I did have all these items in my fridge/freezer/pantry believe it or not. Its amazing how a little challenge would force you to use up your pantry items.

I was quite upset that a bottle of truffles my brother gave me were spoiled. I had to throw it out.  I don’t know if its the Asianess in me, but I hate wasting food.  I really do.  I rather eat it all up then have food go to waste.  Especially when I’m cooking too.  If I had a backyard, I would have a compost bin to throw all the veggy and fruit cuttings into. 

-Braised Miso Turnip

-Roasted Miso Kobacha and Butternut Squash

-Kinpira Broccoli

-Sliced Pan Fried Egg Tofu

-Udon with Shitake Mushroom and Sliced Fish Cake

-Kumquats with Almond Tofu (Made for Chinese New Year!!)

-Kimchi Furikake Onigiri

I’m really liking the bento challenge. As you can see I like variety in my lunch box. The meatballs came out great. I just threw in a bunch of things like mushrooms, scallions and Cilantro with some Pork and the staple chinese ingredients and they came out delicious.

The spam masubi was a first. I need a little bit more practice with that. But all in all I can’t wait for lunch.

- Tamagokai with Black Sesame Seeds
- Pork and Mushroom meatballs
- Half a spam masubi
- Braised cabbage with Black Sesame Seeds and Sesame Oil

- Sweet Red Pepper
- Picked Daikon with Black Sesame Seeds
- 2 Clementines
- Onigiri with Red Caviar