Bento beginnings?

I’m not much of a cook… well, I say that, but that’s not entirely accurate. I am a lazy cook. Which means, I would rather eat out or get something quick and easy from the store or from a fast food restaurant (I know, gross but so good) than prepare a meal. Actually, I haven’t done hardly any of the cooking in my household. Patrick has done most of it, when he’s feeling up to it, usually throwing together a simple meal. Most days when we come home from work, he doesn’t feel like cooking, and I NEVER feel like cooking, and then we go grab something.

I do like to cook, sometimes. But when I’m hungry (most of the time), I want instant gratification – food, NOW, or I get cranky! But the few times I’ve prepared food for a group of people, or for myself, I’ve done an ok job, and I enjoy it when I’m not hungry. (One of my longtime coworkers and friends, who is a wonderful cook, says the secret to patience when cooking is snacking while cooking.) So my latest interest, bento meal preparation, is not really one that will jive with my impatient nature when it comes to food. There are several blogs out there about bento cooking, and it’s fun to see all the cute little box lunches with different shapes of rice and smiley faces and colors all crammed into tiny lunch boxes.

I ordered my first bento box from J-Box and it’s really cute (blue with white polka dots) and comes with a pair of plastic chopsticks and insulated bag. Squee! Super exciting. The problem that is inevitably going to happen is that I will end up ordering all these bento accessories and not doing ANYTHING because I don’t want to get up early to prepare the meal or take the time to put it together. Bento cooking takes a lot more time, effort, creativity, and planning than just throwing together some chicken, veggies, and rice. It’s pretty much a culinary art form, in my opinion. Why do I even want to get into it, one might ask? Well, that’s a good question. I feel that it will help keep my portion sizes (and my weight!) down, not to mention give me something to look forward to when lunch time comes around, aside from the break. Plus, I just think it’s neat!

As far as other hobbies, I haven’t really committed to any of them, as usual. Dancing – haven’t really wanted to make room for it in my schedule, sadly. Crochet – I started the scarf for Patrick early this year, thought I’d be done by summertime, but it’s been sitting there, untouched… I kind of want to start over because it’s so crooked and I hate that it’s crooked. So I may get back into that. A big reason I started it was because it kept me busy and relaxed while I sat in waiting rooms when I took my dad to the hospital. So now that he’s been kind of on a steady schedule and able to drive himself around more, I haven’t really had to go to the doctor visits with him. Gardening/herbs… well, they’re pretty much dirt in pots again, but I’m not giving up!!! I’m going to try again. There’s some combination, some perfect balance of moisture and sunlight that I’m not achieving. It’s frustrating, but I know I’m not the only one who has trouble growing plants from seed! What else…? Violin, that’s still going. I haven’t been totally consistent with my practicing, like I had wanted to. I see all these kids, ages 4 to 17, playing with so much passion and enthusiasm, and I wonder where the heck mine has gone. I attended a violin workshop last month that really inspired me for about a week or so, and after not having exposure to it all weekend, of course my energy for it fades and I end up keeping the same practice schedule – practice pretty strongly the first few days of the week, Sunday through Tuesday, less on Wednesday, and pretty much give up the rest of the week. A friend who practices his instruments between 7 to 8 hours per week suggested that I alternate days so I don’t get burned out by the end of the week, but that didn’t help either. What is my problem? I don’t know if I get bored, or tired, or what. Possibly a combination of the two.

Anyway! I hope to get my first bento meal prepared soon. It will be small, and not too elaborate or pretty, since all I have is the box. But I’m looking forward to having my lunch in it at least one day. Even if I just fill it with pasta!