Making lunches look cute for children is an art called kyaraben in Japan. But some bento-ists think cute takes too much time.

This statement and more are available in a recent Times article about people who make Bento boxes at home to bring for lunch, Bento Boxes Win Lunch Fans.

I have been looking for a way to make my lunches more interesting, this one might be a little time consuming, though.

You can read little gems like,

“Japanese culture here is getting more popular by the day,” he said.

and

“Every evening when I pack our lunches, I get this creative outlet. And if I don’t do something artistic, I might implode.”

and my favorite,

On a more plebian level, Amazon.com said sales of the boxes and accessories like egg molds, rice shapers, plastic skewers shaped like animals or flowers have been growing.

where it is implicitly assumed that if you make lunch boxes you are not a plebe. You don't want to be a plebe, do you?

do you like milk?

I like milk. A lot. That's one really big reason why I like clam chowder. Well, clams are a big reason, too, but I also get excited to drink some salty hot milk.

No wine

in the house at all... except for 3 bottles in the basement. kid ya not. Thats what happens when yer gonna move 2883 miles according to google maps. You have to drink ALL the wine... except 3 bottles of the basement. I love having a little "selection" of beverages for any given evening. We generally have 6-12 bottles, because I have a little wine thinger that holds 12 bottles. So it gets annoying if we have more than 12. Then you have to store some on their bottoms., We are listening to Herbie Hancock right now, The Complete Blue Note 60s Sessions, whichs runs from when he was 22-30, and it rules. Herbie is a cheesey jazz head, but this is some damn damn good cheesey jazz. It has nothing to do with rabbit, either. Its bad to store your wines on their bottoms because then the cork dries out and it don't seal too well, either. But now we have no wine whatsoever... except for the 3 in the basement. Well, that would be like having no money, except for a $20 stuck up your butt crack. We are going to have to get more wine because we don't leave Seattle for 4 days... and the 3 in the basement are for later... and so's that $20 up the crack. Well, I haven't really had anything to say, foodwise, in a few months, so I decided to say this. Go Herbie. We had rabbit tonight, that wasn't a totally random reference. I braised it with leeks. Holy shit, this is even food related. Well, it was braised with leeks and carrots! Rabbits eat carrots, so its really carnal to eat a rabbit braised in its own food. I didn't feel carnal whilst eating dinner though, but if I had I certainly wouldn't tell you. OK, we are going to watch The IT Crowd, now. do it.

Frank talk about tuna.

This is an entry I wrote last year but never released, and now I never even ever think about tuna, so I suppose that I'll never finish it.  I do still like the preserved whole tuna, though.  Hopefully you'll enjoy the videos.

This is a movie of Italians catching tuna. It'll hold your attention, ~5 min. It has some fun facts. Did you know that tuna never stop growing? Ever.



Even if you aren't interested in 5 minutes of fisherman, this is a public service announcement.  I believe that this is a TV commercial from NOAA, its only 60 s long, and pretty funny. (Maybe some of you have seen this before, but I never watch TV, so its new to me).

Last night we ate tuna!  I do not feel guilty about that.  But I do feel guilty about my inability to feel guilty about it.  (Same story with fossil fuels, really.)  I'm sure you are familiar with fresh tuna and canned tuna.   I only recently learned of an additional way to preserve tuna, packed in olive oil.  Its all the rage in Spain.

Would you eat a scone with peas?

I am Wade.
Wade-I-am!

I do not like scones.
I do not like them
Wade-I-am.
I do not like them in the dark.
I do not like them when I fart.
I would not eat one in a tree.
I would not eat one given me.

Okay, okay I told a lie,
I'd eat a scone that is free.
But I would not eat one instead of brie!

I prefer a sconce to a scone
Especially if Côtes du Rhône

Now crispy muffin go away.
While you are gone please change your ways.

hollow out and fry thyself
return to my lips -
filled with wealth
for if cream you have I'll be in luck
you will be my favorite -
a doughnut

The straight-shooter vs the salad shooter.

Maybe I have heard of a salad shooter. I'm not sure. I've heard of salad. I've heard the word shooter. I know what a straight shooter is. So what is a salad shooter?

Earlier today I discovered that train of thought in my subconscious. I know not from where it cometh, but I know wherefore it came.

I was reading an article in The Onion, entitled Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans, which I quote herein:

"Often, when we're assigned a new order for, say, 'salad shooters,' I will say to myself, 'There's no way that anyone will ever buy these,'" Chen said during his lunch break in an open-air courtyard. "One month later, we will receive an order for the same product, but three times the quantity. How can anyone have a need for such useless shit?"

Immediately, I had to know what a salad shooter was. Well, I found a picture.  This is a picture of a piece of plastic with radish slices falling out of it. There is a cord extending off to one side: this baby is electric. I can imagine that this device would be incredibly useful to the following groups:

1) Vegetarians with no hands so they can't slice a radish.

2) Vegetarians who are blind so they can't slice a radish.

I want to race. I bet I can grab my chef's knife and slice a radish before you can even get that thing down off the shelf. True, you are less likely to get hurt using the shooter, but if you can't eat vegetables without maiming yourself you need to listen closely.  Listen very closely.  There is a sound from somewhere behind you.  That quiet creeping sound behind you is natural selection, and its coming for you.  You totally have the skills to make food without getting hurt, you know that, you don't need me to tell you that.  So why would you ever want one of those things?

There is something addictive about gadgets in the kitchen though.  I like to buy sharp knives and nice measuring cups, and spectacular cookware.  So I can see where if your idea of a gourmet meal was a sliced radish, then one of these things would be a dream come true.  You could tell ALL of your friends, "I eat sliced radish whenever I want now.  Anytime of the day that there is electricity available, I can have a sliced radish. Power goes out, well, I just got a suffer.  No way to get a sliced radish with the power out. But thanks to modern convenience, I have electricity all the time.  One demand, baby.  We have electricity on demand, and as a result we have the luxury of a sliced radish whenever we want one."

Rules for food.

Today, Michael Pollan has asked readers of the Times to submit their food rules. He's looking especially for generational or ethnic wisdom. The prophet Muhammad, for example, always used to say that a full belly should contain one-third food, one-third drink and one-third air.

I posted my rules on his page, (although they are pretty loose rules, I think of them more as advice):

1. "Eat until you are not hungry anymore, not until you are full."
   That rule is something that I do more or less subconsciously.
2. "Do not buy any food in the grocery store that you can't see first."
   This means don't buy foods in packages that aren't transparent, otherwise, you are buying on a "picture" of the food, not based on what the food itself looks like. This includes boxed crackers, chips, cereal.
   
3. Everything in moderation, including your moderation.
   That includes the first 2 rules, so, a couple of times a year I'll eat an entire pint of Ben & Jerry's in an evening. And I'm proud of it.

Do you have any rules? Let Michael know, and post them here, too!