Sausage, Pepper and Chard Bento

Sausage, Pepper and Chard Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento is an example of a non-cute healthy bento that is all-age appropriate. I didn't take extra time for cuteness, but I think the variety of colors and textures in this one make up for it. Everything was cooked in the same pan: chicken sausage, yellow capsicum, and swiss chard / enoki. The chard and enoki got pan-fried in the sausage drippings, and then sprinkled with garlic powder. Pretty simple and tasty. I added some steamed sugar snap peas and a purple / pink carrot skewer for quick decoration. In the fruit sections I placed sliced kiwi and plum, a strawberry, blueberries, blackberries and another tiny plum that I thought looked so cute! Everything sealed up nicely with the translucent cover. Isn't it colorful?

Linked up at What's For Lunch! How about you?

Furikake Keta Salmon Bento

Furikake Keta Salmon Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Still going easy on the bento cooking -- and furikake salmon requires all of two steps: slather with kewpie, sprinkle with furikake, and fry! Okay, I guess that's 3 steps. But still, very quick and easy. I lay a few pieces of the salmon on some green lettuce, then tucked in a piece of steamed broccoli and a tiny cup of enoki mushrooms sauteed in shoyu and garlic. I added some raw carrot flower garnishes for color as well. As for the fruit, it looks like they're all dark red ones today: strawberry, black grapes and red plum. Even though this box is undivided, I keep the flavors separate with silicon cups and fresh lettuce "baran". These little forks are from my mom's flatware set. She gave them to me since they are so cute, easy for kids to handle and perfect for bento. Don't you agree?

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!

Spring Blossoms Bento

Spring Blossoms Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Okay, ready for more spring blossoms?
Pink sakura (beet-dyed satsumaimo), white plum (plain satsumaimo), and um, carrot flowers. I made chicken "medallions" using an egg/flour mix and pan-frying. The kids love chicken like this, and I don't know why! It's really easy and they don't even ask for any sauce although I like sriracha. I tried making him a smallish musubi, hoping he'll start to like eating more rice. Plus it made a nice background for the pink flowers. Steamed broccoli and enoki mushrooms complete this bowl. Other bowl contains three super juicy strawberries and a little clementine.
Am I overdoing the flowers theme bento? Can't help it. Got flowers on the brain -- everything blooming over here right now!

Chicken & Sweet Potato Bento

Chicken & Sweet Potato Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Since today is National Sweet Potato Day (you learn all kinds of things via twitter), I decided to toss in two kinds of sweet potato into MisterMan's bento to celebrate. I steamed regular orange and Okinawan purple sweet potatoes, cut them into flower shapes, and lay them in. I also put some roast chicken in lettuce wrap, quick pan-fried garlic enoki mushrooms, steamed broccoli with tiny maroon carrot flowers, starcut carrots and a grape tomato.

In the fruit section I place a giant, juicy red strawberry, some red grapes (underneath), and some yellow carrot stars on blood orange slices with the rinds cut off, like I saw ehmeelu do yesterday. I like the cool effect.

I used a kind of indigo dyed cloth-like paper for background. I can't remember where I got it, but it came in a big sheet which you fold up like fabric although it's actually paper. And do you see the cute Keroppi pair?
They are a gift from a very, very thoughtful and sweet bento friend!! I LOVE them; thank you!!!

On to other news:
I was so fortunate as to receive the following award from Natesgirl of Give Peas A Chance.

Thank you so much!! I am so flattered and honored. You should take a look at her blog; she is so talented -- making bento, cooking, baking, crafting... and raising a beautiful family to boot! Wow!
Since I have already told you several things about myself in an earlier post, I won't bore you again...but I will pass this award on to one of my favorite bloggers, Lia of MyBentolicious. If you don't already know how amazing Lia's bento skills are, you must take a look at her blog and discover for herself!

Four Squares Bento

Four Squares Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

On my recent trip to L.A. over the long weekend, I scored a bunch of new bento stuff. Yay! This multi-sectional box is one of them. I found this one at a store in Little Tokyo called Tokyo Japanese Lifestyle. It's a very cool store, and you should check it out if you're in the area.

This box also came as a two-tier option, with the lower tier a box of the same size without dividers or containers. Each section of this box holds 170 mls, and the label claims the total volume is 1.2L. I guess this takes into account the convex lid (which I don't show here), which does allow you to stuff extra food in there.

Anyway, this size is just perfect for my first-grader. I don't have to fill up the sections fully, but yet each stays separate from the others to keep sauces and flavors distinct. I love it!

For the first use, I gave him Singapore rice sticks in the red box, a green salad with marinated artichoke hearts and grape tomatoes topped with crumbled feta in the green box, pan-fried garlic enoki and broccoflower along with 2 carrot goldfish in the purple box, and a selection of desserts in the yellow box: cherries, kumquats, a beautiful strawberry and a piece of homemade zucchini bread.

This box is a little wider than my others, and it barely fits in his insulated lunch tote, but I squeezed it in there. What do you think? It's a pretty fun box, eh?

Sausage & Forbidden Rice Bento

Sausage & Forbidden Rice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Chicken sausage (all natural, TJ), Forbidden black / brown / white rice onigiri with radish and sweet potato detail, sesame spinach and garlic enoki. Maroon & yellow carrot skewer. Purple & yellow cauliflower, tomato, peapods.
Fruits: plum, strawberry, black grapes and golden raspberries.

This one is not so fancy, but has lots of interesting tastes :)

Kitty and Mouse Bento

Kitty and Mouse Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Chicken & spinach all-natural nitrite-free sausage, peapods, purple cauliflower, enoki mushrooms, purple carrot skewer and cherry tomatoes. Kitty onigiri is made of carrot rice with carrot, nori and yellow pepper detail. He is sitting on a sweet potato.
Fruit side has strawberry mouse with golden raspberry ears and purple carrot eyes, blackberries, grapes and (yellow) plum.