Orange Pepper Jack O'Lantern Bento

Orange Pepper Jack O'Lantern Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I happened to find the most perfect pumpkin-shaped mini orange sweet pepper at the farmers market last weekend. It just begged to be carved, so how could I resist? I stuffed it with cottage cheese and sunflower seeds after seeding and carving it. This box is convenient for deconstructed fish tacos in that the cod can go in one section while the tomato-onion-avocado-cilantro salsa goes in another. Of course, you can put them together, but it's prettier this way. You can pack the tortillas separately if you wish. I put a fruit selection (strawberry, plum and grapes) in the last compartment, and topped with a purple Okinawan sweet potato bat. I think it looks fresh and colorful. And my boy really did eat the whole pepper, cheese and all ^_^

Flatbread Pizza and Jacks Bento

Flatbread Pizza Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Yes, I know we just had flatbread pizza like, 2 weeks ago, because I see it in my flickr photostream there. Actually, we've had it even more recently than that for dinner. Okay, we probably have pizza and calzones every week. The kids clamor for it, and they love it, and it's so easy. I'm thinking we should have been doing this all summer, in fact. Today's version is meatless. We used zucchini, baby portobella mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and basil. I added steamed corn and broccoli, a bat-shaped Okinawan sweet potato, pluots, strawberry, and carved orange cherry tomatoes. I carved these tomatoes into jack-o-lanterns for our twitter tomato party, and decided to use them in the bento here for festive fun. Is it too early for jack-o-lanterns and Halloween decorations? Last year I was on a mission to carve as many jack-o-lanterns as I could, from as many orange foods that I could find. You can see the collection in my set here. (I also did it in 2009, here.) I discovered there are quite a few orange colored foods that can be carved. Should I continue the tradition? ^_^

I've been asked: how did I carve the tiny tomato?

With a tiny knife.

Here's a tutorial I made showing how I carved a mini sweet pepper. The technique is basically the same for, well, all the little foods I carve into jack-o-lanterns. ^_^

How to Make a Watermelon Brain!

Okay, I saw this first on twitter, here. Warning: it's cool, but kinda icky. First, get a watermelon.

Cut in half lengthwise.

Shave off the green skin, leaving the white part.

Start cutting with a sharp knife.

Make brain-like folds as shown.

Mine looks kind of gruesome because the white rind was so thin that the red part showed through, making it look a bit too "bloody" for me.

But I guess it does look kind of brainlike. It creeped out my family! But they still ate it. And you know me, I had to make a mini:

Out of a radish. ^_^

Happy Halloween!!!

New Japanese Food Carving Book!

It's called The Decorative Art of Japanese Food Carving, by Hiroshi Nagashima, and I glanced through it at Kinokuniya Bookstore last weekend. It looks fantastic, with big glossy pictures and clear tutorials. I wanted to sit right down and read the whole thing immediately, but the rest of my party was restless. Just look at the cover photo of the mini foods ~ is it not the cutest thing you have ever seen, ever?? Of course, if you have been following my blog, you will know that I am a passionate miniature enthusiast...ok, I am obsessed with minis. And lately, carvings too! The tiny sandwich there just blew me away. The other intricately carved shapes are equally as wonderful -- look at the butterfly! Perhaps you might take a look in your local bookstore and see if it's something you might like to buy to give you ideas for cute bento. I know I would love it.... *hint* ^_^