Spring Roll Bento🌸🍱

Here's one to herald spring. Spring rolls! So fun for bento, and delicious at room temperature.

Today's one of those typically unsettled days with a little of everything. Warm and sunny when we woke up, followed by the sudden disappearance of the sun and subsequent black clouds and freezing wind. I'm expecting a downpour at any second. 😂

Luckily it's a fine day for fresh spring rolls. I put rice vermicelli in mine, with lettuce, napa cabbage, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, peapods, and shrimp. I sliced one open to show you, but I'll wrap it back up to keep it from drying out. I made peanut sauce for dipping (made with sun butter instead of peanut to abide by TinySprite's nut-free school rules).

Jack-o-Pepper Egg Salad Halloween Bento

Jack-o-Pepper Egg Salad Halloween Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

For TinySprite I made egg salad, but instead of a pocket sandwich (which I usually do with this type of filling so that it doesn't fall all over the place) I packed it inside a carved orange bell pepper. I found a pepper that looked pretty pumpkin-like, but was so much easier to carve than a real pumpkin! (Although this is a regulation sized bell pepper, you might like to view my tutorial on carving a mini bell pepper here) I lined it with a spinach leaf to keep the filling from oozing out of the eyes and mouth. I didn't send along the top (although it might have been handy for ensuring safe travels). Along with the jack-o-pepper egg salad, I sent a cup of pickled veggies, some grape tomatoes, strawberries and cantaloupe. Happy Halloween week!

Eyeball Pizza and Mummy Dog Halloween EcoLunchBox Bento

Eyeball Pizza and Mummy Dog Halloween EcoLunchBox Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Eyeball pizza is made with strategically cut red bell pepper for veins, pepperoni and olive um, eyeball, on a mozzarella whole wheat pizza. And just for the fun of it, I wrapped a turkey dog in some dough too, because I knew TinySprite would love that. I even shredded the mummy wrapping (okay, not on purpose). The rest of the EcoLunchBox Solo Rectangle holds a little cup of pickled cucumbers and another one of grapes and a strawberry. Halloween continues!

Persimmon Jack and Sausage Bento

Persimmon Jack and Sausage Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Of all my bento boxes, this is the one I get the most email queries about. Unfortunately, it's not available online (as far as I know). I found mine in a dusty corner of a shelf in the housewares aisle of my local Asian grocery, where it probably sat for months. I love the way it looks; the trio of sections is somehow very aesthetically pleasing to me. It's also quite uncommon to find a bento box that includes three subdivisions. The only other one I have is the Lunchbots Trio, which I also love. Anyway, today I've packed chicken sausage with sweet pepper and mushroom stirfry, along with corn, steamed broccoli, carrots, and Okinawan sweet potato star shapes. The fruit section contains grapes, a strawberry, and ... a persimmon jack-o-lantern. Have you started seeing persimmons in your markets? It's not a favorite of mine, sadly. I'd like to enjoy it more, since it's so plentiful this time of year, and since the inlaws have a tree which bears a TON of fruit. Luckily the kids seem to like it though! ^_^

Oh, and I forgot to mention: Foodista.com has selected Happy Little Bento as this week's Bento Blog and Photo of the Week. Thanks a lot Foodista!

Quinoa Salad Bento

Quinoa Vegetable Salad Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Has it really been over a year since I made quinoa salad? Oops. Can't imagine why I hadn't made it this summer. It's a great way to use summer squash, along with colorful bell peppers and crunchy celery, for a protein-rich meatless lunch option. Quinoa is an ancient grain that comes in a variety of colors (see my picture here). I used a tricolor mix today for this salad. The non-recipe is an easy one: simply saute the peppers and minced garlic in olive oil until crisp-tender, then add 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water (or broth of your choice). Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add sliced zucchini about halfway through cooking. Season with salt to taste, and I also added cumin. It's done when the quinoa is tender but not mushy. Turn off the heat and add celery and nuts for crunch. This recipe is very adaptable - you can add any vegetable you like. Try tomatoes or kabocha, or top with chopped apples; it's refreshing and nutritious. I tucked a piece of corn on the cob, an Okinawan sweet potato "spaceship", some carrots, and a cup of Greek yogurt with berries and sunflower seeds into this EcoLunch Box to round out a fresh meal. Happy little bento!

As a side note, my recent Domokun sandwich bento has been receiving attention from ParentMap magazine (see article here) and Happy Daddy magazine (a French blog here). Coincidentally, the PBS.org article I mentioned last time also featured a (different) Domokun sandwich bento I had made. I guess it's the season for Domo. RAWR! ^_^

Mini Super Burgers Bento

Mini Burgers Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Around here the summerlike weather doesn't kick in until around lunchtime, so by the time dinner comes around we're feeling in the outdoor mode. We made sliders, or rather super turkey mini-burgers that I "improved" with all kinds of secret stuff! You can do the same. Use your favorite burger recipe -- mine uses turkey (or chicken), an egg, a splash of Worchestershire, crushed garlic, minced onion, a half cup of rolled oats -- and I mixed in finely grated carrot and not-so-finely chopped broccoli. Yes, broccoli! You can see the bits in the patties here if you look closely. I like chunky burgers, and the tiny broccoli pieces cook up nicely while the patties are frying or grilling. You can add any kind of veggies you like; whatever you have available in your fridge. If you serve with homemade barbeque sauce (ketchup, maple syrup, mustard powder, celery seeds, lemon juice to taste) your kids won't even notice. So good.

I put the patties on a lettuce leaf so he can tear and eat them in lettuce wraps (Protein Style), and I added a cherry tomato and yellow bell pepper butterfly along with carrot flowers. Fruit side has black grapes, a half plum, a half peach and a couple of lychee. Oh, and a bunch of forest friends, since otherwise it's a pretty dull-looking bento. Yay!