I've come across the art of bento before, but never have I seen bento prepared as adorably as what, longtime friend of foodieprints, Abby linked me to last week. As a recap:

Bento is a single portion cold lunch that is served in compartmentalized containers. Each compartment is traditionally dedicated to rice, meat, fish, sausage, or egg, and various side dishes. The side dishes can include pickles, preserves, raw vegetables or cooked vegetables. Bento are readily available in Japan from restaurants, grocery stores, and specialized bento shops.

Abby's link led to an entry from the "Cute Overload blog" that featured some examples of really mad bento skills. It was entitled "Betcha Can't Eat EVEN One!" Here are selected highlights.

Rice-based Cat Bento

Noodle-based Seafood Bento
The entry also had images of some creatively cute creations (sorry, couldn't resist :P) that make great bento components

Hot Dog Weiner Octopus People

Hello Kitty Pastries that look remarkably like empenadas
The images seem to come from the Japanese website e-obento.com. Given that I can read Japanese about as well as I can dance ballet (I might as well have 3 left feet), here's what I think is going on on the site. The site seems to belong to a group of bento artisasn who compete in national and international competitions. The artisans also have a restaurant where they sell their renowned bento to some grateful customers. Some of the restaurant's customers must be children. Every month, since July of 2003, the artisans keep a diary of some of their wonderful creations. Please note that this determination could be completely inaccurate. I'm just grateful that my random clicking led me to more awe-inspiring bento. Here's an example:

Rice-based Kiss Bento

More follow after the jump:

More after the jump...

During the past year, I have observed a seemingly increasing sensitization of people to the health risks posed by eating fast food. At the same time, I have found that the media has been rather eager to condemn the industry. Never have I seen so many articles that take burgers, fries, pizzas, and hot dogs to task. Forget putting the industry under a microscope. Fast food is being dissected with the same zeal that television's favorite forensic experts take apart crime scenes in fictional Las Vegas, Miami, and New York.

On October 18, 2007, BBC published a piece entitled "Fast food salt levels 'Shocking.'" Not a full day later, MSNBC responded with "Fast-food Portions Keep Getting Bigger." Three weeks after that, Digg.com's faster riser was entitled "Surprise Ingredients in Fast Food." So the evil fast food outlets are serving salt ridden food in enormous portions with mystery ingredients?

As I keep reminding fast food crusaders, you get what you pay for. What did McDonald's pioneer all those years ago that North Americans readily embraced? A fixed menu with limited options. No service. No cutlery. Assembly line efficiency. Low prices. When focus changes from food to streamlining food preparation, is it really surprising that food quality plummets? Fast food suffers from achieving economies of scale.

As evidence, please look to two examples of this year's fast food advertising.

Burger King's Whopper
Source: Flickr c/o digg.com


New York Fries
Source: adrants.com c/o digg.com

Both advertisements celebrate fast food for what it is: value priced food that is convenient. Burger King is flogging a larger sandwich for the same price as a competing sandwich. New York Fries is reminding its customers that, since they still use real potatoes, people needn't bother making their own fries.

Now I am not saying that the general public should be accepting of the fast food industry moving towards edible plastics because gas is so expensive that low grade beef is too costly to ship. I just want to point out that we must be realistic. Yes, there must be oversight to ensure that mass produced food doesn't become mass produced poison. At the same time, we should not expect culinary masterpieces made with the finest organic ingredients when the people behind the counter are making minimum wage.

Ever since the release of the movie Supersize Me, food from McDonald's and its contemporaries have become quite the popular target. Just as the movie saw its director Morgan Spurlock suffering from a self-inflicted diet of McDonald's food, media seems to be force feeding consumers negatively spun stories on the latest discovery. To reporters and writers, please remember that there is a market for fast food. Your consumers will eventually grow tired of sensationalized stories. Besides, if you really want to target food abominations, think Texas county fairs. There, deep fried banana splits, chicken-fried bacon strips, and fried chocolate-covered strawberry waffle balls on a stick are common place.

This Just In: An example of a positively spun article about fast food appeared on UK's "The Sun" website last June. It accepts the fact that there are fast food items that are less than healthy, but identifies healthier choices. Here is a summary:

• Pizza: Pizza sauce is made from tomato paste, which contains concentrated amounts of lycopene, an antioxidant.
• Tomato-based Indian Curries: Indian curries employ spice mixes that almost always include tumeric (a warm spice). Tumeric contains curcumin, an antioxidant
• Thai Rice: Rice contains tricin, a chemical effective in fighting cancerous cells.
• Sushi and Sashimi: Both are made with fish that are high in omega-3 fatty acids (e.g. tuna and salmon), which are good cardiovascularly
• Lamb Shish Kebab: Apparently, lamb is the least fattening kebab option. Lamb contains iron, which is good for "keeping blood healthy"

If prompted, just about any university graduate, who moved away from home to goto school, can rattle off a story or two about how they had to subsist for periods of time on either of two foods that fuel modern post secondary education: Kraft Dinner and Ramen noodles. Why? These two instant foods are cheap. They are quick to prepare. They are easy to make. When you're living on your own, trying to finish your degree, preparing balanced meals isn't a priority. Though, if North Korean science has its way, a certain corn and soybean-based noodle may replace both in the near future.

During my post secondary education I never had a brush with "yellow death", but I do have a soft spot for macaroni and cheese (mac 'n cheese). This more than likely has to do with the fact that it wasn't a staple while I was growing up. However, ever since I started cooking for myself, I make scratch macaroni and cheese (dried pasta, bechemel, and real cheddar) whenever cravings need satisfying. My recipes include both a creamy stovetop version and a cracker topped baked version. For real mac 'n cheese "emergencies" I also keep a box (1 only) of Kraft Dinner in my pantry.

Two weeks ago, I discovered individual portioned Kraft Dinner for the microwave at a drug store. At $0.65, I bought one for curiosity's sake. This was against better judgment because I have had nothing but unfortunate results from "instant" mac 'n cheese, including a disastrous incident that involved my discovering that mac 'n cheese frozen dinners can burn.

Here are the results of the experiment:

Step 1: "Strip off the lid and remove the sauce packet"

Opened Cup

Step 2: "Add water to the measured line inside the cup and microwave on high for 3.5 minutes"

Cooked Noodles with Mucousy Remains of Water

Step 3: "Add the flavour packet"

Added Flavour Packet Contents
Note: I am somewhat apprehensive of adding the entire contents of a sauce packet when the packet weighs more than the dried pasta it came with. As such, I spooned off half of the packet's contents from the cooked noodles before I moved on to the next step.

Step 4: Stir until the disquieting radioactive hue disappears

Sauce Power Mixed In

Step 5: Serve!

Served

What I ended up spooning in my mouth somewhat resembled properly prepared Kraft Dinner. It had an "Original" slightly metallic aftertaste.

Unfortunately, even with half of the sauce packet removed, the chemical simulated cheese taste remained in my mouth an hour after I finished eating my inaugural microwave prepared Kraft Dinner.

Let's just say that the microwaveable Kraft Dinner won't be replacing the boxed Kraft Dinner in my pantry anytime soon...

BTW, here's an amusing Aussie advertisement for Easy Mac

Quite frankly, if I ever catch a boy in my house after hours with my daughter and a box of microwaveable Kraft Dinner the boy had better be able to sprint. He's trespassing. He's bringing bad eats into my family's home. He obviously has no idea where to get good mac 'n cheese in a hurry. Three strikes = time to fetch a blunt instrument

After what has been a very hectic year, I find myself heading into the last week of August with the realization that I have such a backlog of content to post that I would be lucky to have any loyal readers left.

That said, I am actively back posting (issuing) entries and prepping new ones.

Regarding the back posted entries, please check back to this entry as I will list links as I post them.

Back Issued Entries:

1. On Course in Toronto - Part 1/2 - Feb. 2007
2. On Course in Toronto - Part 2/2 - Feb. 2007
3. Marché Vieux Hull - Aug. 2007
4. Turkish Festival 2007 - Aug. 2007
5. GreekFest 2007 - Sept. 2007
6. Stroll in the ByWard Market: Fall 2007 - Sept. 2007
7. Christmas Baskets 2007 - Dec. 2007
8. Visit to New Allo Allo Cafe on a bright Spring Day - updated - Mar. 2008
9. Istanbouli Restaurant's Old and New Signage - April 2008
10. First Year Anniversary Dinner at le Petit Bill Bistro - April 2008
11. Fun with a slow cooker (aka: crock pot or mijoteuse) - April 2008
12. 4 Must See Food-Related Photographs - May 2008
13. Something's "afoot" with Pho Bo Ga's New Business Card - May 2008
14. Westfest 2008 - Jun. 2008
15. 17th Annual Chicken and Ribfest Competition (circa 2008) - Jun. 2008
16. Folly at Foolish Chicken - Jun. 2008
17. Tom-EH-toes, Tom-AH-toes - Jul. 2008
18. What do you do with a pork loin? - Aug. 2008
19. Changing Umbrellas of the RichTree Marché Frais - Aug. 2008
20. No More New York Goodness in Gatineau: Less Boppage for Me - Sept. 2008
21. Apple Cake - Oct. 2008
22. Foodscapes by artist Carl Warner - Oct. 2008
23. Exploding Popcorn Chicken - Nov. 2008
24. Pigs in a Blanket - Nov. 2008
25. Failed Pork Wellington with Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough - Nov. 2008
26. Very Odd Sandwich from Le Troquet - Nov. 2008
27. 4 Degress of Christmas Cookies - Dec. 2008
28. Christmas Baskets 2008 - Dec. 2008
29. Grilled Cheese: Pan Toasted or Butter Griddled - Dec. 2008
30. Lunch after a Haircut from a Salon run by Foodies - Jan. 2009
31. Margaret Deserved Better than Lunch at the French Quarter - Jan. 2009

When last the weather was warm enough to barbecue, I decided to innovate several methods for preparing a boneless pork loin, besides roasting it for Sunday dinner to produce crackling. While making a pork loin crackle without drying out the meat is no easy task, a lean cut of pork with a well developed layer of fat has uses beyond roasting.

Why? During one of my weekly shopping trips, I overhead two gentlemen arguing over a refrigerated display. "Hey! Look at this. Isn't a buck forty nine a good price for pork", said one gentlemen to the other. "Yeah, but we don't need that much meat. What are we going to do with something that big?" As they left empty-handed, I wandered over to find halved boneless pork loins. I fetched one and thought to myself, "Plenty!"

Firstly, let's start with the obvious. What are some of the most prized pork chops at the butcher's counter? That would be "center cut" loin chops (routinely: $2.99/lb). Centre cut loin chops are almost completely composed of one muscle. As such, they cook evenly under high heat, lending themselves well to grilling or pan roasting. Guess what? A halved pork loin, with or without the sirloin portion, is nothing more than unsliced boneless pork loin chops. Even better, you can cut them as thickly or as thinly as you like. Thicker chops lend nicely to being stuffed. Just start slicing at the end where the lighter loin muscle is largest.

I sliced mine on average 2-3 cm (3/4") thick. Since they were destined to be grilled, I applied a dry rub and let them sit in the fridge for an hour to draw out some juices. This way, the chops browned nicely on the flame. On the flame, I turned them every 2 minutes, until they reached an internal temperature of 140°F.

Sliced Loin Chops with Dry Rub

Loin Chops after an hour with the Rub

Loin Chops Grilled to an Internal Temp of 140°F

Loin Chops Served

Here's the dry rub I use:

• 8 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

It borrows from Alton Brown's 8:3:1:1 dry rub, which he used it to season ribs for braising.

Secondly, usually a halved pork loin has a portion of sirloin on board. This is the darker coloured muscle. I find this muscle takes longer to cook, so I excised it into individual roasts. Besides, why not carve out a piece of sirloin, leaving the fat layer intact, and try to make some crackling.

For the individual sirloin roasts, I seasoned them with kosher salt and pepper and drizzled them with olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar. Then, I tossed them on the grill. I also cooked them to an internal temperature of 140°F, turning often.

Marinating Sirloin Roasts

Marinated Sirloin Roasts

Sirloin Roasts Grilled to an Internal Temp of 140°F

BTW, the crackling didn't work and the fat run off started some unnecessary grease flame-ups. Here's what turned out:

Failed Crackling

Lastly, a pork loin can easily be cut into strips for stringing onto a skewer. This can be done with either the loin or sirloin portion.

For me, I sliced out strips of sirloin and marinated them in President's Choice Korean Barbecue sauce for an hour. I then skewered the strips and tossed them on the grill. They were the last on and the quickest to come off. They make great appetizers or can be served on rice or cous cous for an entrée.

Sirloin Strips Marinating

Sirloin Strips Grilled

And skewers allow for great service options!

Skewered Sirloin Strips Served

Skewered Sirloin Strips Top Angle

Skewered Sirloin Strips Side Angle
If sticky sweet Korean Barbecue sauce doesn't suit your fancy, think coconut flavoured spicy satay!

As has been demonstrated, a single halved pork loin easily produces three dishes.

My advice: pickup a pork loin when they're on sale ($1.49-$1.99 are steals), slice it up into manageable portions, and freeze the portions you don't need. Pork loin is a very versatile cut.

Heck, I've been known to just cut one up into thick strips and make Chinese Barbecued Pork or Char-Siu. Cheers!

One of the ever present restaurants on the food court level of the Rideau Center is the RichTree Marché Frais.

Here is a picture of the restaurant from one of the mall's crosswalks from August 2006.

Red Umbrellas

Here is a picture of the restaurant from the same crosswalk 2 years later.

Striped Green Umbrellas

If you squint at the second picture, you may be able to find Waldo :P

Particulars:
50 Rideau Street, Level 1
Rideau Centre Food Court
(613) 569-4934