Chef Bento Noodle Contest Results

Wow - so exciting and incredible to place first in the final 10 (of 172 worldwide entries) at the Bento & Co contest! Thank you, friends, for voting for my bento! I really am appreciative and honored! 😘❤🍱

Werewolf Bento

Raaaaaaawr!

What's Halloween without a werewolf bento? A piece of jagged cheese on a mini whole wheat bagel, and a few nori cutouts make this one not-too-scary. Also in our LunchBots Clicks: edamame skewer, carrots, radish, and grapes. I wish I had a wild animal type of fork to use for this lunch; that would have been cool. Good thing we have the upcoming weekend to get ready for the trick-or-treaters; if this year is anything like previous years, we're going to have to majorly stock up. Like bulk candy Costco run!

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? ^_^ 

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!

Puppy Pancakes Bento!

In celebration of Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, and National Pancake Day, we're having pancakes for lunch today! We've had breakfast for lunch recently in the past, and it was a big hit then, so I suppose it can't hurt to repeat with pancakes instead of waffles this time. I tried to make puppies, and I'd say the results improved with each successive pancake, so I put the early ones in the back. I decorated the face with cheese and nori, and even gave the lil' guy a mozzarella bone. TinySprite also gets some all-natural chicken sausages along with some ombre blood orange segments, blueberries, and a grape tomato. Happy Fat Tuesday, everyone!

Bunny Eats a Rainbow Bento!

This one is just a fun snack I threw together for the kiddos to take advantage of all the colorful fruit and veggies slowly starting to appear in the markets these days. I can't wait until we are in full spring fruit season! This one, packed in the "Zen" box from Bento & Co, contains a rainbow of goodies: strawberry, satsuma mandarins, tamagoyaki (okay, not a fruit or veggie, but the egg contributed such a bright sunny effect here), kiwi, blueberries, and Okinawan sweet potato. I added a cheese bunny holding a mini fresh garden carrot too. Don't fear, spring will be here before you know it!

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. ^__^

Panda Rice and Chicken Bento

Just a little more of that unbeatable (for me) comfort food combo: chicken and rice. I used the Vietnamese Soy Chicken Drumsticks recipe that I've made several times before (you can see my version and the link to the original recipe here). So good. Sometimes I pack the drumsticks whole, but today I pulled the meat off the bones so I could arrange a cute bento in this enameled stainless steel bowl (from Daiso). I can pack a lot of food in here because it's pretty deep, and it has a translucent tupperware-type lid to keep everything secure. The advantage to packing a tight bento like this is that the food doesn't move around like it might in a larger box. Besides the chicken meat, this bento contains a mushroom-cut radish, steamed broccoli, a panda rice ball (with cucumber "bamboo"), carrots, grape tomatoes, and blood orange segments. Aren't those cute pencil chopsticks? I have a pair in 5 other colors. They don't really function as color pencils, by the way. ^__^

Just curious; I notice another bentomaker often photographs her bento on a pure white background, and it seems to make the food stand out. I tried the same, but I'm not convinced I like it better. Maybe I have too many shadows. What do you think?

I Heart Chili Riceball Bento

Another cold day calls for homemade chili (I used this recipe but with lots of extra veggies thrown in, because you know me) in the 17oz. Stanley thermal food jar; this larger size is great for kids whose appetite is bigger than the usual 12oz. jar can hold (like my MisterMan). I also like this jar because it's virtually indestructible; very heavy-duty and all stainless steel. To pack alongside, I used two EcoLunchBox Eco Dippers: one holds a heart-shaped shiso musubi with a nori face in a lettuce cup and a grape tomato. The other holds sliced kiwi, blood oranges, and fresh (yes, fresh!) pineapple chunks. He'll take the very practical combo spoon/fork/knife with him too. Happy Wednesday, friends!

Chinese New Year 2014 Bento: Year of the Horse!

Chinese New Year 2014 Bento: Year of the Horse!, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Happy New Year! And Happy Chinese New Year too! This year the Chinese (Lunar) New Year falls on the 31st of January, and will be represented by the Horse. To celebrate, I've made a brand new bento with a horse theme! This one is for me. I used my super kawaii red goldfish nesting bento box because when you turn it on end, it has a horse shape. Can you see it? I made kabocha curry yesterday, so I packed some curry and rice in the big box with a cucumber separator. I decorated the rice with broccoli and cucumber to create a horse face, and added grape tomatoes for nostrils. The baby fish box holds Greek yogurt with raisins, a tiny satsuma mandarin, some carrots and a cheese nori face. This one is a pony. Awww! I hope this upcoming year brings you and your loved ones much happiness and good health. Kung Hay Fat Choy!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Spooky Skull Cheese and Chili Halloween LunchBots Bento

Spooky Skull Cheese and Chili Halloween Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's heeeere! Halloween is today! For the final theme bento, I send the kids to school with thermal food jars of homemade chili (Thermos Funtainer brand for TinySprite, and LunchBots Thermal food jar for MisterMan). I decorated his with a mozzarella cheese and nori skull, and hers with a tiny baby bell pepper jack-o-lantern. The side boxes contain a variation of strawberries, grapes, plums and steamed purple sweet potato. With the weather getting cooler, they're welcoming the thermal bento more and more these days. Are you planning to go out trick-or-treating tonight? Have a great time, all you goblins and ghouls! Happy Halloween!

Jack Skellington and Salmon LunchBots Halloween Bento

Jack Skellington and Salmon LunchBots Halloween Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

One more day until Halloween! Can you stand it? I don't usually pack rice for my kiddos, but I made an exception here so that I could fashion a creepy Jack Skellington riceball for TinySprite! The Lunchbot Quad also allows me to keep the salmon and brussels sprouts separate from the roast potatoes and carrots, and the teeny baby strawberries in their own little corner. Happy Halloween Eve!

Jack o'cheese Pasta EcoLunchbox Halloween Bento

Jack o'cheese Pasta EcoLunchbox Halloween Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Remember I went through a big jack o'lantern phase at Halloween a few years back? (Check them all out here if you like) Wow, that was weird, wasn't it? I did discover plenty of ways to cut a jack-o-lantern out of food, though. This is my first jack this season, and it's an easy cheddar cutout. I used a squash/gourd cutter that makes these jacks look a little like skulls (to me). So maybe they aren't the *cutest* jacks, but lets see what TinySprite thinks. The rest of this meatless Monday bento includes rotini pasta with zucchini and mushrooms, plus a bonus broccoli sprig. This fit into the EcoLunchBox Solo Cube perfectly. I sent along an EcoDipper to hold the sliced Asian pear and cute sugar plum. A perfectly sized Halloween lunch for my 1st grader.

Spider Egg Halloween LunchBots Clicks Bento

Spider Egg Halloween LunchBots Clicks Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

No-cook bento alert! Actually, this bento contains leftover soy chicken (stripped off the drumsticks), black rice, and steamed broccoli from a couple days ago. I added a hard-boiled egg for extra protein, and little rice sticks make a white spider. What do you mean you don't see a spider? Trust me! A happy face means: non-spooky! The smaller LunchBots Clicks box holds sliced nectarines, grapes, strawberries, and steamed purple sweet potato. We're still keeping up the spidery Halloween theme. How much longer can I go? Let's see...

May Day Flower Lei Fried Rice Bento

May Day Fried Rice Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

On May 1st we celebrate May Day in Hawaii. And May Day is Lei Day in Hawaii! So for TinySprite, I served her fried rice with a hard-boiled egg girl decorated with nori. She's wearing a lei of carrot, radish and cucumbers, and some fresh nasturtiums in her hair. The top tier contains strawberries, broccoli and cara cara oranges. Can you believe it's May already? I'm ready for the warm weather and brand new garden blooms!

"...May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Garlands of flowers ev'rywhere,
All of the colors in the rainbow
Maidens with blossoms in their hair
Flowers that mean we should be happy,
Throwing aside a load of care,
Oh, May Day is Lei Day in Hawai`i
Lei Day is happy day out there."

~ Red Hawke, 1928

Added to What's For Lunch.

Snowman Onigiri Christmas Bento

Snowman Onigiri Christmas Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This is TinySprite's version of the comfort chicken and rice I made yesterday. I always pull her meat off the bone to save her lunchmates the sight of messy carnage. Plus, I can get more meat in the bento this way. In one section there's chicken and broccoli; in the next a little two-ball onigiri snowman with nori detail and a steamed Okinawan sweet potato hat, some carrots; and finally a baby satsuma and a few blackberries. She also has a class snack party, so I don't expect her appetite to be all that big. I can tell my little girl is growing up when I look at her big brother's bento boxes and think: it may be time for her to use this one now. Yep, he has used this worn old three-sectioned box for years. It has kept all its pieces intact, and the latches, gasket and clear lid are all in great shape. What a workhorse! Love this one.