Totoro Char Siu Bao Bento!

Totoro! I was thinking about him this past week because we happened to find the My Neighbor Totoro picture book in the library. It's a little jarring to read the story and descriptives since watching the film is more of a stream of flowing imagery washing over your senses. But it is fun to look closely at the detailed illustrations. In the scene where the sisters are eating cucumbers fresh from the garden, you can see the chewed-up bits of vegetable in Mei's open mouth while she's talking about bringing corn to her mother. Anyway, here is my tribute to everyone's favorite "cross between a bear and a raccoon and an owl." Have a magical adventure today!

Also in the ECOlunchbox Solo Rectangle: grapes, cucumbers, carrots, strawberry, lettuce. Details made from fishcake, nori, soba.

Roadtrip Jackolantern Bao Bento

tiffin
Roadtrip Jackolantern Bao Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yes, we took a roadtrip this weekend, which called for a picnic-style tiffin bento set the two kids could share in the backseat. It was the perfect chance to make Jack-O-Lantern baos, don't you think? If you haven't tried it, you'll find that char siu baos are super easy to "carve" -- I've done it a lot. You can either slice off the top layer of brown to reveal the fluffy white bread underneath, or (much easier), simply push in the cut areas to suggest a 3D effect. Cool, right? Each kid got their own tiffin with their own personal Jack, plus I added a couple of tiny carved cherry tomatoes, a broccoli "stalk", carrots, and Okinawan sweet potato slices. The third tier is packed with corn and fruit for the two of them to share. The best thing about these car trip bentos is that everything is finger-friendly and basically mess- and waste-free. Love that. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and Columbus Day!

Roadtrip Bento 2: Mickey & Minnie

Roadtrip Bento 2, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The weekend before school started we took a roadtrip to L.A.; a last chance to enjoy some warm summer weather and time with family. I packed our three-tier tiffin with some munchies to tide the kids over during the long ride. They each got a char siu bao, and they shared an assortment of fruit I packed in the bottom tier. I've made several different character baos (Ponyo, AstroBoy, Harajuku Lovers, Totoro, Shifu, Hello Kitty, Hamtaro, Kireizukin Seikatsu, and Pikachu) but never Mickey and Minnie Mouse! So that's what I did. Yes, I know they look like monkeys. That's why I used the little flag picks, to add a little power of suggestion. TinySprite got Minnie, with eyelashes and mouth cut from nori, and a strawberry bow. MisterMan got Mickey. Both have grape eyes and noses, with cheese detail. I cut their faces with my paring knife and used the extra for their ears. Their fruit section contains strawberries, grapes, cherries, plum and nectarine. I chilled that tier so that it stayed nice and cool. The temps in the Central Valley reached 100+, so it was a nice cool treat!

Pikachu Bao Bento

Pikachu Bao Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We haven't had a char siu bao bento in awhile so, here's one for July. I made Pikachu using a bao and a hot dog bao cut in half for ears. I added ear and eye details with Okinawan sweet potato, radish for cheeks, purple carrot for nose and mouth, and hot dog for tongue. Okay, the ears aren't as pointy as they should be. I had to tell MisterMan what it was supposed to be, and he said "Oh, Pichu? It looks more like Pichu." All right then. If you don't know (and I didn't), Pichu is the pre-evolved version of Pikachu. I guess that's appropriate! He also gets a donut nectarine (not very sweet), steamed broccoli, cherry tomato, carrots and cherries. Happy Wednesday!

Added to What's For Lunch!

Double Bears Bento

Char Siu Bear Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yesterday in the Chinese deli both kids requested buns for their bentos. MisterMan asked for char siu bao and TinySprite wanted a hot dog bun. They both become bears with a little effort and some imagination. All I did for the bao bear is cut an oval for his muzzle and then cut that piece of brown bread (skin) in half for the two ears. The eyes and mouth are cut from nori and stuck on with honey. There's also some provolone cheese for the eyes.

The hot dog bear is made the same way, except he's snuggled up in a sleeping bag. Okay? My 4 year old seemed to buy it, but of course my 7 year old frowned, "It doesn't really look like a sleeping bag because there's no line to separate it." All right. I should have cut a sleeping bag slit. I'll try to remember that for next time. At least, he's got some butterflies that he's watching while asleep under the stars.

They have the usual sides: broccoli, carrot, tomato, corn on the cob, various berries, pluot and peach, and beautiful Okinawan purple sweet potato. This is the first kawaii bento I've made all month, since school let out. Oops! I thought I would have more time to make charaben in the summer but since the kids have been on break I've been preoccupied with other funstuffs :D Now that they're both back in organized summer programs I might start experimenting again. Or maybe I'll make a bento or two for myself for a change? ^_^

Totoro and Catbus Bentos

Totoro and Soot Sprites Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

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!

Bear Friends Bento and Apple Bunnies

Bear Friends Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

We're back to school again after a week off for Spring Break. Did you miss us? I admit it's a bit slow getting back into the routine; I have to stock up the refrigerator and start menu planning again. So today's bento is a no-cook one consisting of ready-bought mini char siu baos. I cut the ears using a round cutter for a guide and scoring with a paring knife, then propped them up with a bit of rice stick. The facial details are cut from nori and I also used an oval piece of mozzarella cheese stick. The cheese is stuck on with rice stick too. The nori sticks well to cheese, but the eyes I glued on with honey. There's also steamed broccoli, orange and purple carrots, a half mandarin, black grapes and a strawberry. Here are some closeups of the bear friends:

Today was our monthly Twitterfoodparty, and this month's theme was apples. There were lots of delicious and creative recipes using this year-round fruit! I knew I wouldn't have time to cook anything in time, so I resorted to that bento staple, the apple bunny. Here I've carved a family of three, happily munching a broccoli-topped carrot together. Aren't they sweet? You can get the ears to curl if you let them sit in ice lemon water for awhile. The lemon will keep the apples from browning. Just a few cuts (and maybe a bit of practice to avoid shortened ears) and you've got a quick cute addition to your ordinary bento. Yay!



Fish Tacos and Hello Kitty Bao Bento

Deconstructed Fish Tacos Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Fish tacos, without the tacos, is what I packed for MisterMan in the 4-square bento, and I think it's what I packed in this box the last time too. There's grilled cod with lemon pepper on a bed of lettuce wraps, cabbage tossed with chopped cara cara oranges for citrus zest and topped with cilantro and green onions, a veggie cup with broccoli, yellow cauliflower, carrot, kabocha and peapods, and a fruit cup with grapes, blueberries and strawberry. Looks kinda nice and fancy, even, when you lay it out like this, right?

TinySprite asked for char siu bao Hello Kitty. I said, "Again?" But when I went back to see how many I'd done already, I couldn't find a single one. Could that be right? Am I missing something? I remember going through a huge Hello Kitty phase over the summer, but for some reason I never used baked char siu bao. The closest I could find was the steamed one here. So here we go: the first ever HK char siu bao. I whipped her out in a couple minutes; still not out of practice yet! I got a bow cutter from my cousin that I used with watermelon radish, then poked blueberries for eyes, carrot for nose, and purple carrots for whiskers. And cut two triangular slits for ears. Done! I thought it would be cute to add a separate HK box for the fruit and veggies. Awwww... ^_^

Chicken Wings Bento and Recipe

 Chicken Wings Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today both kids get Tebasaki (grilled chicken wings with sea salt), which I made using a recipe adapted from my twitter friend LovelyLanvin. When she told me there were only three ingredients and a single pan, well -- how could I resist? You know how much I love quick and easy cooking! I made these wings for dinner, and they were crispy salty fresh & hot out-of-the-oven just as advertised, but the kids didn't mind packing them for lunch to eat later at room temp. Although the recipe calls for shichimi togarashi (seven pepper mix) I omitted that for the kids' portions. It's still very tasty without it. I made a few changes, maybe because my broiler isn't as hot:

Tebasaki (Grilled Chicken Wings with Sea Salt)      [adapted from LovelyLanvin]
2 pounds chicken wings
Sea salt
Shichimi togarashi

Rinse the chicken wings, drain, and pat dry. Place them in a tray and put into refrigerator uncovered to dry out further.
Preheat broiler, remove wings from refrigerator and salt them generously on both sides.
When the broiler is hot, place tray on broiler rack about 6 inches from heat.
Watch to make sure they don't burn, and when nice and brown (recipe says 5-7 minutes) turn to crisp other side. Note: My broiler took longer; I let them cook about 15 minutes each side. Also, my wings dripped grease into the pan so I actually drained the pan a couple times during cooking. I wonder whether I could use a rack inside the tray next time?
Remove from broiler, sprinkle with shichimi togarashi, and serve hot!

Anyway, they were delicious! So thanks a lot for sharing the method Shirley!
The rest of MisterMan's bento contains roasted kabocha, carved carrots, steamed broccoli and fresh cherry tomatoes. The stunning citrus is blood orange, which we discovered at the farmers markets this past weekend. Yay for new produce! There are also some grapes and blueberries.

TinySprite has a grouchy steamed char siu bao, steamed broccoli, carrot and a chicken drummette. Her fruits include some Cara Cara oranges (another farmers market find!) and grapes. Thanks Susan for the supercute picks!
Linked at What's For Lunch. Take a look to see what everyone else is having!

Bunny Bao Bento

Bunny Bao Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

TinySprite requested a char siu bao. Have I made a bunny yet? I think not. And how fitting for this new year, right? It's a bunny bao, with nori facial details, some red grapes, steamed broccoli, carved carrots and a bright red cherry. Yay, done already!

Snowman Bao Bento

Snowman Bao Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

No-cook Christmas bento for MisterMan today. We got home late after TinySprite's debut Nutcracker ballet performance so there was no cooking to be done. They were so excited and wound up by the whole affair that they could barely get to sleep. Today started very grumpily, as a result. Let's hope the snowman lifts some spirits! It's a steamed char siu bao, which I thought was appropriate for a snowman, and all I had to do was add nori facial details, radish cheeks, a carrot nose (yes, I did cut a slot for it and stuck it in his face), and a crusty bread pipe. He's got a cucumber hat and even some broccoli earmuffs. Hello Frosty! There's also pork chow mein, some grapes and a satsuma mandarin. Whew! I'll have to get back into the routine again. Tomorrow. ^_^

Christmas Tree Jook and Rudolph Bento

Christmas Tree Jook Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Since tomorrow is December first, I decided to make a first Christmas-themed bento set. I made two, in fact! MisterMan gets turkey jook, made using the Thanksgiving turkey carcass to make turkey stock. I tossed the thigh bones in as well, and at the end of the hour of simmering, the meat had all fallen off the bones and the broth was nice and flavorful. I used only half the carcass, so there's one more batch to go. I have to admit I love turkey jook -- much more so than the actual turkey it began with. Personally I like to throw in ginger, scallion and garlic chili paste to give it a tasty kick. For the kids I keep it more mild. I did sprinkle on some chopped green onion before I realized it landed in kind of a tree formation. Okay, I rearranged a little, and added a kabocha star, but I'm calling it a Christmas tree bento.

The fruit and veggie side dish is the top tier of this thermal bento. I gave him a satsuma mandarin, some pan-fried kabocha, broccoli and a grape. It's kind of a small box.

For TinySprite, I turned a char siu bao into Rudolph with carved carrot antler, grape eyes and a radish nose. She also got some pan-fried kabocha, steamed broccoli and sliced kiwi. Happy December, and welcome to the Christmas season!

Harajuku Lovers Bento

Harajuku Lovers Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

No school tomorrow, but the kids will have a snack for a roadtrip. I have a tiered tiffin that happens to be the perfect size for our favorite char siu bao, and each kid gets one tier. I made two Harajuku Girls: Music and Love. I chose those mainly because I happened to have the picks for their hair, and too bad for MisterMan but he'll be having his in the car so no one will see him. And you won't tell anyone he had to eat a girly bao, right? Haha! I cut their faces with a sharp paring knife and used the extra for their hair, then added grape eyes and pink carrot mouths. I have another tiffin that will have the fruit for them to share. I love these short weeks, don't you? If you have a day off, enjoy! If not, well -- Happy Veteran's Day anyway! ^_^

Bat and Char Siu Bao O'lantern Bento

Bat Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's double bento post is from last Friday. MisterMan got a bacon-wrapped turkey burger and roasted purple potatoes. He got a colorful selection of veggies including broccoli, purple cauliflower, carrots and a tomato, as well as a piece of corn on the cob. I think that's the first time I actually used 5 different color vegetables in a single bento. Yay! Only bummer is that this one is light on the fruit. I used a bunch of black grapes to design a bat on the corn. You might need to use a bit of imagination. My boy called it an octopus until I hinted that it fell into the Halloween category. After awhile he guessed "Uh, a bat?" Um, yee-ssss. Sigh.

TinySprite gets a more finger friendly bento -- a perfectly round char siu bao just called for transformation into a jack-o-lantern. I cut the features with a small paring knife, and rather than punch out the cutouts, I just lightly pushed them in. So much easier, and it looks fine this way. I used a piece of corn on the cob for the stem, and filled in the rest of the gaps with the same veggies as in her brother's bento. Done! Love these quick ones. Just a few more days of Halloween themed bento, but it's been fun! ^_^

Totoro Bun Bento

Totoro Bun Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This was the last field trip bento of the summer from last week. Now that school is starting already, it feels like such a long time ago! Anyway, this is another installment in the char siu bao character bento. Lest you fear my boy is tiring of char siu bao, don't worry. He would ask to eat them every day if I let him. My daughter is the same way. I don't know what the big deal is about them. Something about the sticky sweet bun, soft white bread, and sweet pork filling, I guess. Anyway, back to the bento. I've seen lots of people make Totoro out of sesame seed-tinted rice, which makes a nice gray color. Well, my kids aren't big rice eaters, so I guess this is the closest I'll be able to get. After you cut the belly circle, you can cut the ears from that part. The hardest part was cutting the "v's" and sticking them onto his belly. His eyes are radish discs and blueberries, and his nose is a grape. That's it. I also stuck in some carrots, broccoli, cherries, grapes and plum. Happy end of summer to you, bento friends!

Astro Boy Bento

Astro Boy Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Yes.... it is field trip time again! Even though MisterMan's summer program provides lunches and snacks, they still require a "brown bag" lunch on field trip days, so I get to try my hand with fully disposable bento and the oft-revisited char siu bao. I almost went with sandwich thins since I have smoked salmon and cream cheese in the fridge, but when TinySprite and I went to the deli to pick up lunch they gave me this perfectly domed bao. Wow, how could I resist? Last week, in anticipation of the field trip bento, I borrowed an Astro Boy dvd so I could see what he really looks like. It really surprised me when Chantale posted an Astro Boy bento the very day after! What are the odds of that? Well, so maybe I was inspired by her cutie just a little... hehe! I cut his hair from red cabbage, and guess what? He ate it :) His eyes are radish and nori, all stuck on with honey, and his mouth is a berry fruit leather. I know his hair isn't exactly pointy (or black for that matter), but cabbage will only take on the shape (and color) it grows in -- so you'll have to use some imagination! Fruit and veggies went in the other box: grapes, cherries, broccoli, carrots, strawberry and plum.

Oh, and LunchBots giveaway is still open! Enter here!

My Melody Bento

My Melody Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Well, it turns out that MisterMan's Summer Adventures program received a grant this year, thus enabling them to provide breakfast, lunch and snacks for the kids all the rest of the summer! In this age of budget cutbacks, it's kind of nice to see the kids get some benefit for a change. Of course, my boy is more than happy to enjoy eating with his pals at the pizza and fruit table. He even forgoes breakfast at home so he can have a bagel and banana over there. How funny. So where does that leave me? No bento in summer? *sob* Well, let's not forget about TinySprite! She's still home with me, and when she starts preschool I'll be providing lunch for her there too -- so no worries.

Today I made her a My Melody pork & veggie bao to go in her matching bento box. I've had this box awhile but don't usually use it since it's so deep. It's perfect for this bun though. To the steamed bao I added ears cut from nitrite-free ham, grape eyes, yellow pepper nose and nori mouth. I made a couple of carrot flowers for her ear as well. The other section is just right for grapes, strawberries and yellow tomatoes. The cover has two side latches and is decorated with My Melody's face; it also comes with a lid that holds a matching spoon. So cute. I haven't posted girly bento in awhile, have I? This might be a fun change for me too! ^_^

Ponyo Bento!

Ponyo Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

We watched Ponyo yesterday, such a sweet and funny film by Studio Ghibli. It really spoke to me, as so much of it centers around the sea. Have you seen it? I especially loved the scenes where Ponyo is running on the giant fish to find Sosuke. She's so joyful you can't help but smile. Something else I noticed is that Ponyo kind of reminds me of TinySprite, in her very um.. high-energy way. Like when they're on the boat and Sosuke is trying to start it while Ponyo is bouncing and chatting non-stop (Is it hot? It's hot isn't it? Are you starting it? Is it starting? It's starting! Yay! Is it working? It's working!)

Today's bento is a tribute to Ponyo using one of my field trip favorites, the char siu bao. I cut her hair and fins from sweet pepper, and tucked some broccoli in the fishbowl as well. Her eyes are blueberries and her nose and mouth are nori stuck on with honey. I should have taken a picture of the (recycled) bowl with the clear lid on, since it kind of looked like a bubble or jellyfish. So cute. The other (recycled blueberry) box contains the fruit: strawberries, grapes, cherries and homegrown apricot. Yes, it's field trip day! They're going to the Lawrence Hall of Science. Have fun, MisterMan!

Hamtaro Char Siu Bao Bento

Hamtaro Char Siu Bao Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Another no-cook bento today! This one is that kid favorite: the char siu bao. I have used a similar bread to make a Pirate Monkey, and a raccoon Kireizukin Seikatsu, and this time I made Hamtaro. I slipped a knife between the baked brown layer and the fluffy bread layer to make his white face, and I used the extra brown part to make his ears. For his eyes I halved a black grape, and poked a little circle of bread and another little piece of nori on top, securing it all with a rice stick. The rice sticks were also useful for whiskers. His nose and tongue are ham and I cut his mouth from nori as well. The other side of the bento is separated from the bread side in this unique box by Sistema. I filled the two sections with all kinds of fruit and veggies: cherries, strawberry, blueberries, white peach, black grapes, carrots, broccoli, yellow cauliflower and romanesco. Whew! There's a lid that secures the bread section, and then the whole thing closes together with the pink latch on the right side. I was even able to fit the tiny fork in there too!

I added my lunch to Shannon's What's For Lunch link here: you can too!

Raccoon Char Siu Bao Bento

Raccoon Char Siu Bao Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Kireizukin Seikatsu is a San-X character described by Sofia of From Japan With Love as: a raccoon who likes to relax and loves to take a nap. But since Mogura Sensei (mole teacher) covers racoon's head by a red riding hood, racoon becomes "kireizukin" to love cleaning like a tidy housewife. "Kireizukin" can't stop cleaning everywhere. It is like becoming a superman.

He's so cute, and I always thought his head looks so much like a bao. Don't you? Anyway, even though mine looks exactly like a bear, maybe you can use your imagination to envision he's a raccoon. I made the mole from a quail egg, and dyed with purple potato to look blue, and with nori details. Even though he's sitting there on his head, I left the red hood off so he can rest for lunch.

Besides the bao, whose face I cut with a paring knife and kept the cutoff part for the ears (since everyone knows the best part of the baked char siu bao is the sticky brown part) and decorated with purple potato for facial features, the upper tier of the tiffin contains baby carrots, strawberries, grapes, steamed broccoli and garlic enoki.

Happy Friday, bento friends!