Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Totoro and Catbus Bentos

MisterMan and TinySprite get matching Studio Ghibli bentos today; and they're both almost totally non-cook. I initially wanted to do these for a roadtrip, because wouldn't it be fun for them to eat together and chat about the movie (My Neighbor Totoro)? But I couldn't wait. I really wanted to make another Totoro, and after bento numbers one and two, I think this one looks pretty neat and sharp (if I may say so myself).
It helps to have a very smooth bun to work with. I used my small paring knife to slice off just the top brown layer for his belly, and after pre-scoring his chevron stripes I actually cut around them. They are still connected to the bun, and that way I didn't have to worry about sticking them back on. His eyes are cheese and nori, and his nori nose is stuck on with a bit of honey. I cut his ears from part of the belly and stuck them into slits I cut at the top of the bun. The eyes are secured with rice sticks to the bun.
Okinawan purple potato, when steamed and refrigerated overnight, turn a very dark shade of purple the next day, which makes them quite suitable for soot sprites. Their eyes are also cheese and nori. The rest of his bento contains the usual: broccoli, carrots, strawberry, cherries, grape tomatoes and orange slices.
TinySprite's Catbus is made from a hot dog-in-a-blanket with a potato bread face. All the facial features (Okinawan purple potato, regular sweet potato, cheese and radish) were secured with rice sticks. I hand-cut thin strips of nori for the teeth and eyes, and used bits of spaghetti for whiskers. She got a piece of corn, steamed broccoli, carrots, strawberry, cherries, and rasp-, black- and blueberries. This turned out to be too much for her and she brought the corn home to finish. They loved them!

23 comments:

  1. Tonari no Totoro is one of my favorite anime shows. Your nekobus is purrfect!

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  2. These are beautiful! We love Totoro at our house too.

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  3. Me too Debra! Thanks :)
    Thanks Lina, Wendy and Yenny :D

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  4. Oh I love, love, love the soot sprites!! Both of these bentos are wonderful! Seeing Totoro and Catbus made my morning better :)

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  5. I first saw this on flickr this morning and these are so amazing! I'm not as familiar with these characters so it's like seeing them for the first time for me. I love how you carve out the bun to make these characters. They're so real!

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  6. Those are so cute! I love the little soot sprites!

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  7. Big smile for these exuberantly cute and colorful bentos! Catbus is simply wonderful!!
    Bentobird/Jenn

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  8. Looks like one's innocent (Totoro+soot sprites) and the other's cheeky (Catbus)! CUTE! :D

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  9. I can see this 1000 times and I still don't get tired of it. SO cute and I will not be able to eat this. No way! ;-)

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  10. Thanks Heather!
    Chantale, you should try to find the movie. It's a nice one that K might like. ^_^
    Thanks a lot Jenn, Bentobird, ღᏓуռ էяɨռɨאღ and Nami!
    Yes, they do have very different expressions, don't they ...:o)
    So sweet of you. It's such an easy one, I bet your little one would love you to make it Nami :D

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  11. So so gorgeous! I adore Japanese anime (my partner is half Japanese) and you've done a fantastic job with this! I am always in awe by the creativity and patience of bento makers and you are certainly so good at this!

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  12. Lovely. I will try it in my Polish bento.

    Monika from
    www.bentopopolsku.blogspot.com

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  13. Very cute and healthy! How long did it take you to do each one?

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  14. Thank you Áurea López !
    Maria, thank you so much for the kind comment; makes my day :)
    Monika, I'd love to see Totoro in your Polish bento. How cool :)
    Thanks Amy K. The bun charaben are quick and easy, and only take 15 minutes or so. Buns are my favorite medium for characters; I wish I could make them every day!
    Thanks a lot Tiffany. I love Totoro too and enjoy creating the character in bento :D

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  15. My kids love totoro. As a matter of fact my 18 month old keeps singing the opening song for it. I just love your page so I will return often. \(^_^)/ yay

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  16. We love the song too!
    Thanks very much; your comment is very sweet!

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  17. i love totoro tooo...its song's superb!!! :)

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  18. "You only see him when you're very young - a magical adventure for youuuuu" ^_^

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  19. wow!! what a nice blog!!! i want to be a kid again!!!!...thanks for share this amazing and cute photos!!! your blog make me remember my childhood again!!!... i will share this blog to my tumblr!!! thanks again!!!

    Chilangochoco from Mexico

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  20. Thanks a lot chilangochoco!! I'm so happy you like taking a look at my bento blog diary. Thanks for sharing it on your tumblr; I saw your followers coming by to take a look too!!
    Comments like yours make my day... ^_^

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