Domo Meatloaf Bento

I forgot where I found this meatloaf recipe but it calls for a whole container of silken tofu to be mixed with 1 pound of ground turkey and 1 pound of ground beef (or pork). You wouldn't notice the tofu except that this meatloaf comes out very moist and with a lighter texture; not as dense as a regular meatloaf. It's pretty good, and I'm thinking healthier too! 

And of course, rectangular brown food must be transformed into Domokun. I think it's a bento rule.

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Happy Girls' Day Bento!

Happy Girls' Day and wishing all our little girls the happiness, strength, and good health to achieve their goals and make all their dreams come true!

We love you! 🥰

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Pancake Snack Bento

Happy Shrove Tuesday!

Do you observe this day? All I know is that it's a day to eat pancakes, so this is what I made for TinySprite's snack today.

 They are little pancakes sandwiched with peanut butter, nitrite-free chicken sausages in keeping with the breakfasty theme, sliced super sweet strawberries, and supremed mandarin oranges. I've never supremed a mandarin before but they look so cute I might do it again for fun. Short stack is topped with a cheese bear.

Enjoy your Fat Tuesday friends!

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Hello Kitty Egg Bento

Just a little one for the TinySprite. Shoyu chicken furikake, hapa rice, hard boiled egg, tomatoes, carrot, corn, honeydew melon and grapes. Happy Wednesday!

Pikachu Bento!

Totoro got me thinking about Pokemon, and especially Pikachu. I don't think I've made one in a long time, so here's a snack bento with a Pikachu cut from a turmeric hard-boiled egg. I sliced the egg in half lengthwise so I could use the other half for ears, tail, hands and feet. I used nori for detail, and apple peel for his cheeks. Also in our Lunchbot Clicks: black rice, carrots, lettuce, and plum.

There he goes. Can you catch him? ^_^ 

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.

Mermaid Pasta Quinoa Bento!

Hi! This one is a "just for fun" snack bento that I made for a contest. I wanted to try making a mermaid using pasta for hair and quinoa for sand. I know now why I don't regularly make decorative charaben -- it is very time-consuming! At least for me. I knew I was going to use a quail egg for her face, and cheese for her body, and Okinawan sweet potato for her colorful tail and bikini, but the execution and cutting and placement took a lot longer than I envisioned. Luckily my miniature garden kale came in handy as seaweed stand-ins, and carrots and strawberries added color as other sea creatures. It was fun though, and the littles got a kick out of it. ^__^

Banana Peanut Butter Pita Pals Bento!

Since using these tiny miniature pita breads (in this previous bento), I wanted to see how they would fare with peanut butter filling. Since TinySprite loves bananas, and I never use them in bento, I sliced some up and put them in too. They begged for faces, so that's what they got! This was an at-home snack bento, but if I were to send it to school I might replace the nut butter with sunflower seed butter, and maybe flatten the banana slice to make a kind of "seal" for the pita pocket. I added blood oranges, watermelon balls, blueberries and edamame in tiny silicone cups, and filled in the rest of the spaces with carrots. She thought it was pretty fun to eat!

In other news, I wanted to let you know that last week, my Kitty Has A Fish bento (that I posted here) won second prize in a contest sponsored by the Japan General Consulate in Los Angeles. There was a reception and presentation of certificates, and the 10 winning entries will be displayed in an exhibition at the Japan Foundation until March 28th, 2015. It is an honor to have been selected in the top 10 from among so many cute entries! If you would like to see the list of all ten winners, it is shown here: 

Bunny Riceball and Salted Salmon Bento

Salted salmon and rice for TinySprite today. Have you made shiozake before? The method I use is one from LovelyLanvin's recipe: I salt the fish overnight, then slice into small strips before broiling. It packs very well for bento and tastes delicious cold or room temperature. It's nice to serve with plain rice because the salmon itself has lots of flavor. I decorated the rice with nori into a bunny face, and using lettuce as a liner means she can either wrap the whole thing up or eat it with a fork. This cute divided box lets me add blood oranges and grapes in a separate section, alongside steamed Okinawan sweet purple potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. Simple, but so delicious! This is one of my own favorite meals as well. ^__^

Puppy Pals Mini-Sandwiches Ecolunchboxes Bento

These are the same Kings Hawaiian bread dinner rolls I used for the Hinamatsuri bento. Turns out they fit perfectly inside the Ecolunchboxes Solo Cube container too! Ham and cheese with lettuce sandwiches again for the little girl. This time I decorated the tops with cheese and nori for puppy faces. They are holding hands. Awww! The rest of the box contains: grapes, heart-shaped radishes, Okinawan sweet potato, blueberries, satsuma mandarin, and broccoli. I can get used to making these cute little mini buns bento. So easy and fun!

Hinamatsuri Girls' Day Bento!

For TinySprite this Girls' Day, I made her two mini ham sandwiches with lettuce and cheese. These rolls (King's Hawaiian sweet bread - so good) fit perfectly inside this two tier box that I think I got from Daiso many years ago. It even matches this fork with the same bunny design on the lid. Alongside the ham and cheese dolls with nori and pepper details, I have a purple sakura (Okinawan sweet potato), carrot flowers, blood oranges, kiwi, and a fan-cut radish. Happy Girls' Day to all the little (and big) girls out there!

Mama Bird Loves Her Baby Chicks Valentines Day Bento!

I didn't think I would be able to get around to a Valentines Day bento this year, but I just made it! I know I should have put more hearts in it, but you get the picture. I think I made a similar bento last year too, to show my babies how much I love them. That's me, with my MisterMan and TinySprite! That's what bentomaking is all about! 

I used a hen's egg for the mama bird, and two quail eggs for the babies. To get the eggshell effect, use a small paring knife to make zigzag cuts all the way around the hard-boiled egg (not too deep, or you'll scratch the yolk). Then, gently pull the top white part off. These eggs are sitting on a nest of soba noodles, with two grape tomato hearts. The upper tier holds a colorful variety of other stuff: Okinawan sweet potato, kiwi, blueberries, blood orange, carrots and a strawberry. I put a container of tsuyu sauce (not shown) too. Hope you guys all have a fantastic Valentines Day with your loved ones! Muah! 

Kitty Has a Fish Sandwich Bento!

Today I made a pair of cute mini sandwiches for TinySprite using my kitty and fish cutters. Each mini sandwich is a triple-decker spread with sunflower seed butter (no nut butters are allowed at school) and raspberry jam. I cut matching shapes from cheddar and mozzarella cheese to decorate the tops of the sandwiches, using nori for the facial features and cucumber for the scales. I also discovered my tulip cutter doubles as kitty paws. Score! The rest of the bento contains: steamed broccoli, edamame, purple Okinawan sweet potato, strawberries, and grape tomatoes (underneath). 

I packed everything pretty tightly in this stainless steel box I bought ages ago at Palama Market, a Korean market in Hawaii that also sells lots of different varieties of kimchi. This box used to have a removable divider which got lost years ago, but the box still holds up great. The two latches are secure as ever, and the gasket in the lid keeps it leakproof. The quality is superb. I'd love to get another one, but probably I won't ever need to. ^__^

Hello Kitty Bento (just for fun)! =^.^=

Hello! The kids have no need for a bento today, but I thought I would make a bento in imitation of the most kawaii charm I have ever seen. It is of course a Hello Kitty bento charm. Have you seen it? I got mine at the gift shop at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles during the Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty exhibit. It just so happens I own the same bento box in real life, so I tried to recreate all the foods I can see in the charm. I took some artistic and culinary liberties, though. I also used TinySprite's toys for my props today...

Happy Friday, friends! Have a great weekend! ^__^

Added to What's For Lunch.

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!

Frankenstein Sandwich LunchBots Bento

Frankenstein Sandwich Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made TinySprite a couple of mini ham and cheese sandwiches on sandwich thin rectangle breads. And what to do with brown sandwich rectangles? Well, besides the obvious: Domokun. That's right; Frankenstein! I decorated his face with olives (for eyes, ears and scar) and cucumber (for hair). Oh yeah, she'll love it. There's also some plum, pickled stuff, strawberries and grapes. All packed into the LunchBots Trio. Done!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Bat in the Curry Halloween LunchBot Thermal Bento

Bat in the Curry Halloween LunchBot Thermal Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made keema curry (see the recipe and method I used here). I tried to make a black rice spider, but the thought of forming eight rice legs just didn't thrill me. So a bat it is! I put the usual stuff in the curry (potatoes, onions, carrots, celery) and I also added cubed red kuri squash, packing it all into the Lunchbots Thermal Jar. I think it goes well nicely with the flavors. The side box holds sliced sugar plums, grapes and a strawberry.

Totoro Calzone Bento

Totoro Calzone Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

RAWR! It's Totoro! Yeah, I know it looks weird. But really, it is Totoro. You may have to just take my word for it. It's a nitrite-free pepperoni/mushroom/cheese calzone made with whole wheat dough. And I was pleased that the ears stayed on this time instead of snapping off. Woo! I put some tufts of garden lettuce around him to make him feel at home, and his face is made of mushroom and nori (stuck on with rice sticks). The other side of this cool divided Sistema - like box holds cantaloupe, grapes, plum, and pickled stuff. One more day and the weekend's here! \(^__^)/

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

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

I should have shown you the turkey burgers I made! They're in there, I promise. I mixed in shredded zucchini and carrot along with ground turkey, onion, garlic, pepper, and... Worcestershire sauce! And ketchup. It came out pretty good, I think. I melted cheddar on them and then laid them on whole wheat sandwich thins with garden lettuce. Of course I had to make Rilakkuma's face on there. His ears are roasted sweet potato (I also made sweet potato fries along with dinner), and his face is made of white cheddar and nori. On the side, MisterMan has sliced pluots, garden orange sunsugar tomatoes, and grapes. And a little Rilakkuma fork. Awwws!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Mama Loves Her Bunnies Bento

Mama Loves Her Bunnies Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's Mother's Day this Sunday, so I'm sending my kids to school with a reminder of how much I love them. I can still give them both a big squeeze just like this, which I love to do! Even though they are 9 and 6, and growing bigger every day, I'm going to keep squeezing them. Every chance I get. I made TinySprite a calzone with spinach, mushroom and cheese, her favorite. A little broccoli and pea pods fill in the spaces, along with the usual pickled onions, strawberries, carrots and nectarines. How will you celebrate the mothers in your life? Happy Mother's Day!