Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tiger Sandwich Bento


Tiger Sandwich Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.
My Year of the Tiger bento!

Yes, he's a pointy-headed tiger. I'm pretty fixed on the pointy headed animals; don't know why. Maybe I should have made the ears bigger to compensate. Anyway, it's a sardine sandwich, made with tomato, basil, and celery, and I actually fit two sandwiches in this box. The lid is raised pretty high, so you can cram a lot of food in these little boxes.

In the mama box I put some kale I baked with olive oil, a la Steamy Kitchen, and it was crispy and awesome when fresh, but it probably won't be by MisterMan's lunchtime. It's okay. I'm betting he'll still inhale it :)

Finally, in the baby box I managed to squeeze in some blood orange slices, a strawberry and a tiny kumquat.

The photo is a bit busy, but I really wanted to use this bamboo forest fabric for my tiger bento, so that's how it goes. Here's how they look all closed up. It's a hippo family set!
Happy Chinese New Year, friends!

18 comments:

  1. LOVE the bamboo background, and the hippo cases are super cute. i think pointy heads are in this year :-) no seriously the tiger is sweet. can't believe misterman eats sardines and kale! great healthy lunch!

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  2. Cute Tiger bento, he looks so sweet!!! I agree with megan, that bamboo paper is fantastic and so appropriate for CNY. Love the nesting boxes too! :D

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  3. I'm with Megan, surprised a kid will eat kale & sardines! :)

    Super cute tiger!

    I just last week tried the baked kale - so yummy!! My husband even ate it! He's not terribly picky, but I didn't think he'd eat kale.

    Love those boxes too!

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  4. Thanks megan! I love these boxes; it's funny how everyone got different ones :) I suppose next time I should turn the triangle upside down...that would be cuter. Yeah, sardines and kale! They both wolfed it down, can you believe it?!

    Thanks Susan, I love this cloth too! I got it to make a baby outfit for my kids, and couldn't bring myself to cut it, so neither kid got to wear it :( But now I can use it for bento, yay! I cut my bread with the next smaller container, thanks to your tip, hehe!

    Susan B,
    I had him try a little on a cracker, like a little appetizer, at dinner, and he begged to eat that for dinner instead. I wonder if it was because it was so cute on a tiny cracker, ha!
    I think you could make crisps out of just about anything, and it would improve its yumminess. Something about the crispy nature. I didn't even add salt :)
    Thanks!

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  5. The backgroud is awesome! I have been hesitant to get into adding nori to my bentos even just for decoration but your designs are so great I might just have to try it! My girl is pretty adventurous I'm betting she will at least try it.

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  6. I agree with everyone's comments above. I love, love, love that background cloth. Bamboo is my favorite plant.

    The hippo cases are a adorable. But wait! There's more... the filling! It goes without saying sheri, your bentos always look healthy, delish and of course cute!

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  7. the background print is very apt for this, great bento.

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  8. Thanks Fluteloop!
    Actually, the tiger detail is not nori; it's red leaf lettuce. I "stuck" it on the sandwich using the sardine spread. I don't usually use nori either, except with rice and egg. I use lettuce a lot, but you need something "sticky" or oil-based to get it to stick.

    Debra, I love bamboo too, since it goes with panda, and I love panda! Thanks for your nice comments on my CNY effort!

    Thanks javapot!

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  9. This is soo cute - but wait - the hippo ate your tiger! Your cute work is terrific - especially knowing it's lettuce (nori is much easier to work with). That sardine sandwich sound yummy - for me though - don't think my little one would like it, but you never know.

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  10. The bamboo bg adds the sense of Chinese New Year's festivity Sheri... Adorable tiger bento :D

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  11. This is so CNY bento! Brilliant in choosing that bamboo background. Cute tiger, it looks so kindhearted one ;)

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  12. What a cute tiger!!! I love him and his pointy head :D I am amazed by how much food you can pack in to the tiny boxes!

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  13. That is amazing... Wonderful tiger sanwich. Can I just ask (I'm a newbie to bento-ing..) does the nori stay on the bread when you transport the boxes? Or do you "glue" it somehow?

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  14. i think it is a gorilla, not hippo.

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  15. Karina, you're right, the hippo did eat the poor tiger, ah well :) Yeah, you never know about kids... I thought it would be too "fishy" for him, but he loved it!

    Thanks tatabonita! Happy CNY!

    Thank you Lia, I love this background and finally it looks nice with tiger bento :)

    Thanks Jenn! Pointy heads rule! I was surprised about the tiny boxes too, it was deceiving :)

    Thanks mombento! For this one I cut the facial details out of red lettuce that I had dipped into the sardine spread as "glue". Sometimes I use melted cheese to glue stuff on as well. With nori, sometimes you can just wet it with water or oil, but it really depends on what you're sticking it on. Bread is tough. Most people put nori on cheese or rice instead.

    Yeah bentofan, my first thought was gorilla too; but then I looked again and it seemed to have a big hippo mouth. Hmm? Don't know!

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  16. Thank you! Very helpful...

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  17. Yay for happy tiger sandwiches--the pointy head and placement of ears looks perfectly adorable to me! And the bamboo background is festive and very fresh. Another joyful, healthy and unmistakably sherimiya bento!

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  18. mombento: you're welcome :)

    Hi bentobird! Yay for pointy head!! Thank you for your encouraging words, as always, you are so sweet for finding something nice and positive about my little bento :)

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