![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
I went to my first live baseball game last night at the Rogers Centre to watch Jays vs Mariners. It was a spontaneous decision to take advantage of the cheap $14 tickets and boy did I get my money’s worth. After epic 14 innings, we finally left the stadium four and a half hours from the time they sang the national anthems. Boyfriend grew up playing baseball and goes to the games on regular basis especially when he travels. He was patient enough to humour me and my countless silly observations. That whole 7th inning stretch thing? It was incomprehensible to me the first time why everyone would get up from their seats and simultaneously do a funny dance led by our nimble mascot. But when we had a second 7th inning stretch some time deep into the overtime innings? It all made sense.
The whole ball game experience would be incomplete without stadium eats such as foot-long hotdogs, peanuts, popcorn, and beer. Alas, I missed out on that. The food was obviously overpriced but they simply did not appeal when the vendors were milling about up and down the stairs trying to entice. I had plans for post-game poutine. I even prepared myself with a light snack during the game to tie me over until dinner time. Boyfriend shook his head when he discovered I smuggled in a candy bar in my purse. Not just any candy bars, mind you. It was a log of chocolate-covered marzipan that I purchased in Denmark! He laughed and said “I don’t expect anything less from you” but did enjoyed the treat immensely. At least I didn’t bring a homemade bento to the game…
I took care of my bento craving today. As per my usual routine, I packed a lunch for Boyfriend to eat on his drive home. This time around, I made one for myself as well. This is a very calorically dense bento with high source of complex carbohydrates and variety of protein. The main course is a wild rice salad with chunks of hot smoked salmon, sugar snap peas, and green beans. The salad is inspired by a recipe in Gourmet Magazine using similar list of ingredients. I added more savoury flavour with chopped green onions, garlic scapes, and roasted sesame seeds. The dressing is a lively vinaigrette made with rice vinegar, coarse-grain Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and olive oil. The hot smoked salmon is a pantry staple for me that I stock up twice a year whenever The Fishery visits Toronto at the One Of A Kind Show. My favourite is the smoked wild sockeye salmon and I can easily eat a whole can in one sitting. I supplemented the salad with pan-fried vegetarian patties made with tofu, nuts, and mushroom. They are very flavourful with generous seasoning of Dijon mustard, soy sauce, cumin, and cayenne pepper. You can get the recipe from 101 cookbooks. A small container of unsweetened applesauce can either be enjoyed as dipping sauce for the patties or as dessert. Don’t you just love the pop of orange in the bento?
Back to dinner last night at the ball game. That never happened. As the overtime kept stretching from one inning to another, the previously bustling stadium was not so bustling anymore. Those vendors hawking popcorn and beer? All gone. Even our unfatigueable mascot was not so chirpy (Get it? Blue Jay? Chirpy? Badabum) anymore. When the Jays’ winning run finally happened at the bottom of 14th, the crowd erupted into cheers. I had a feeling it was not purely the fans being happy for the home team…at last, we could all go home!
