Spring Roll Bento🌸🍱

Here's one to herald spring. Spring rolls! So fun for bento, and delicious at room temperature.

Today's one of those typically unsettled days with a little of everything. Warm and sunny when we woke up, followed by the sudden disappearance of the sun and subsequent black clouds and freezing wind. I'm expecting a downpour at any second. 😂

Luckily it's a fine day for fresh spring rolls. I put rice vermicelli in mine, with lettuce, napa cabbage, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, peapods, and shrimp. I sliced one open to show you, but I'll wrap it back up to keep it from drying out. I made peanut sauce for dipping (made with sun butter instead of peanut to abide by TinySprite's nut-free school rules).

Portobello Ecolunchbox Bento

Portobello Ecolunchbox Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Welcome back from a long Memorial Day weekend! Since we did a lot of grilling over the weekend, I decided to have a meatless Tuesday bento today. I broiled portobello mushrooms with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then garnished with green onion, cilantro, and various other herbs from the garden. I personally had mine with chimichurri, with which I am currently obsessed. It's a very intense and aromatic dressing/sauce, and I use garlic and sherry vinegar to give it even more bite. I like it with meat, pork, even just with bread or pasta, like pesto. MisterMan has sliced portobellos with savoy cabbage - carrot - daikon - sesame slaw, watermelon, corn, peapods, tomatoes, Okinawan sweet potato, blueberries and apricot. All packed in the 3-in-1 Ecolunchbox set. Super refreshing to kick off this brand-new SHORT week. The last week of school for us!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Hello Kitty Gluten-Free Calzone Bento

Hello Kitty Calzone Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I tried another gluten-free pizza dough this time; using Nicole Hunn's recipe at Gluten Free on a Shoestring. If you haven't worked with gluten-free dough before, you'd be surprised at the texture, but she explains what to expect, and my dough looked just like the picture she posted. You have to pat the dough out, since it doesn't stretch like regular pizza dough. It works well for calzones too, which is what I made for TinySprite's bento here. Since this dough doesn't stretch and just kind of sits there, it's actually just right for making cute calzones like this Hello Kitty. I just patted out a circle, put in my fillings (spinach, zucchini, pepperoni and cheese), folded in half to close, and added extra dough pieces for the ears and bow. After baking, it came out just the way it looked when it went in. I added nori eyes, but I should have made whiskers and a nose so she's recognizable. Can you see her? The rest of the bento contains carrots, peapods, a couple of beet-dyed cherry-shaped quail eggs, blackberries, blueberries and cherries. Do you think TinySprite liked this one? (Yep, she did) ^_^

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Oh, and by the way, The Huffington Post Kitchen Daily ran a bento article today, with a mention and a shot of my Hello Kitty Pizzawich Bento in there. Happy Little Bento represent!
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Gluten-Free Pizza Dough (from Gluten Free on a Shoestring)

2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (plus an extra tablespoon or two for drizzling)

1. In a medium-size bowl or the bowl of your food processor, place the flour, xanthan gum, yeast, sugar, and salt and stir to combine.

2. To the flour mixture, add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the water in a steady stream, either pulsing in a food processor or mixing with a spoon or fork to combine. If you are using a food processor, pulse while streaming in the water, until a ball begins to form. Otherwise, stir constantly while streaming in the water and continue stirring until the mixture begins to come together. If the dough seems super sticky, add some more flour a tablespoon at a time, and stir or pulse to combine. Press the dough into a disk.

3. Place the dough in another medium-size bowl and drizzle it with olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it with oil. This will prevent a crust from forming on the dough while it is rising. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area to rise until doubled in volume (about 1 hour).

4. After the dough has risen, wrap it in plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour before rolling it out.

5. To make pizza, roll between two pieces of plastic wrap. Create a crust by rolling in the edges, brush the dough with olive oil, and blind bake it at about 400 degrees F (that is, bake it plain, before topping it) for 5 to 7 minutes, sot he crust begins to crisp. Then, top it with sauce, cheese, and whatever else you have in the fridge, and return it to the hot oven until the cheese is melted, another 5 to 7 minutes.

Piggie Norimaki Bento

Piggie Norimaki Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Did not feel like cooking anything for bento, so I prepared the quickie backup bento of turkey dog rice and nori rolls. Not technically "sushi" but along those lines. I used a mixed rice (red, white and brown plus quinoa) for these rolls. After cutting into bite-size pieces, I decided to add little piggie faces to them, pink as they are. The rest of the bento contains the usual carrots, peapods, steamed broccoli and Okinawan sweet potato, strawberry, blackberries and lychee. Yes, lychee! I spied them in the markets here this past week, and I am extremely excited about it. As you can see, they are wonderfully white, juicy and sweet: my favorite fruit of summer. Well, early summer. Until mango season. Heh.

Added to What's For Lunch.

Purple Bunny Bento

Purple Bunny Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I know what you're thinking: they just had salmon this week already. But actually the bento from Monday was a late post from a few weeks ago -- so this is the first salmon of the week! I broiled this one with a cajun spice mix, and laid it upon some white/brown/quinoa/millet mixed rice in the lettuce cup. As usual, I roasted some veggies at the same time; this time some pencil asparagus which I tossed with olive oil and parmesan. There's also carrots, peapods, a section of fruit (strawberries, blueberries, grape tomatoes), and a steamed Okinawan sweet potato bunny with rice stick whiskers, because I realized at the last second that Easter is coming in a week or so, and I haven't made any Easter bento yet. Just in case the bunny doesn't cut it, there's a little fuzzy chick to get the point across. Happy Spring!

Veggie Chili Phoenix Bento

Veggie Chili Phoenix Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It may look at first like just another ho-hum veggie chili bento (see the vitamin-rich and hearty recipe and method I used here), but notice the very cool avian addition to the ever-present fruit and veggie side bowl. It's a phoenix, and I cut it from swiss cheese using my brand-new intricate cutter I received from Bento & Co! You might remember the dragon cutter I used for Chinese New Year (here and here). The phoenix is similar in construction and style. It's very well-made, sturdy, and cuts cleanly. You can see the craftsmanship here. I love it! Thanks Bento & Co ^_^

Posole Bento

Posole Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Our winter here in California has been pretty mild (or nonexistent), to say the least, but finally in the past few days we've had some cold temps and rain. It's nice to feel like having some warm soups and stews during winter, don't you think? I've always loved posole, and we have lots of Mexican restaurants around here that serve it, but only on the weekends. This past weekend I missed it again, and I was disappointed because it's the perfect weather for it! So I tried my hand at making it at home.

Posole is a chile-based Mexican soup of pork and hominy, and to make it traditionally, you use real dried chile pods to create the red chile sauce (by roasting the dried pods, soaking in boiling water, then processing it all). And it has to have the red sauce. I really want to try making the red sauce from scratch some time, but this time I took the easy way out and used canned red chile sauce. It was super potent! Too bad I had to dilute it way down for the lightweights in the family, but if it were just for the adults, I would have used it straight. Even as it was, I was a little concerned that my kids would balk at the diluted version too. I first served my daughter the ingredients with only a little soup. She tasted it, pronounced the first few spoonfuls "delicious", then stopped and said "Mom, when it goes down my throat, I feel the hot spice down here." I waited for her to refuse the rest, but she finished the bowl and requested more for her bento. Wow, I was so happy!

This bento is MisterMan's version: a thermos of posole, a container of tortillas with car shapes, and another container of cooling carrots, peapods, strawberry, blood oranges and grapes. Are my kids finally becoming heat-tolerant? *crossing fingers* ^_^

Here's the method I used:

Slow-Cooker Posole

1 pound pork, cut into cubes (I used pork shoulder)
1-10oz can red chile sauce
1-30oz can white hominy, drained
1 onion, chopped
1-7oz can diced green chiles (I had to omit! But I love these)
1 celery stalk, chopped (not traditional)
1 carrot, chopped (not traditional)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you like)
1 tsp ground cumin
water

fresh cilantro, chopped
white onion, chopped
cabbage, thinly sliced
radishes, sliced
lime, sliced

In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the cubed pork on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to crockpot. Stir in the red sauce, hominy, onion, green chiles, celery, carrot, garlic, cumin, and enough water to cover the meat. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender. You can customize this recipe by using more meat, more hominy, and more red sauce if you like. If it's too hot, add more water. I love the soup to be very dark red. Serve hot in bowls with cilantro, onion, cabbage, radishes and lime on the side to be added into the bowl.

Calzone Flowers Lunchbot Bento

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

Welcome to the first day of the Lunar New Year! The kids happened to have yesterday off, so we spent the long weekend celebrating with family. And today's bento has meat! It's a meaty calzone I made with whole wheat dough, containing pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and mozzarella. I had to slice it so that it would fit in the bento box, and decorated with Okinawan sweet potato flowers with peapod leaves. I rounded out the meal with a giant strawberry, some sliced kiwi, grape tomatoes, grapes, carrots, and sweet yellow pepper rings. You can see that after the dragon tour de force, I am now back to my usual "plain" quickie bento arrangements, which take much less time but which can still look fresh and appetizing due to the addition of colorful, seasonal fruit and veggies. I am a big proponent of local, seasonal ingredients for bento; the fresher it is, the less preparation (and even cooking) you have to do. And who doesn't love that?

Hello Kitty Chinese New Year Dragon Bento

Hello Kitty Dragon Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Since this was a no-cook bento I took advantage of the extra time to use a Chinese New Year theme. Since 2012 is a Year of the Dragon, today's ravioli are shaped into this mythical creature -- or rather, Hello Kitty dressed in a dragon costume. She's wearing a spinach-ricotta ravioli mask, her face made of cheese, nori and yellow pepper. Her whiskers are ume somen. I used picks liberally to achieve my charaben objective, showing that you can use ready-made items (and a bit of imagination) to reach your desired decorative goal. This bento was for MisterMan, and I realized that it was probably more appropriate for TinySprite, but he didn't mind. The girls teased, "You're eating Hello Kitty!" The rest of the bento includes: baby tangerine, cucumbers, carrot, peapod, strawberry and blueberries. Chinese New Year falls on January 23rd this year. Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Wonton Pandamonium Bento

Wonton Pandamonium Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made wontons today! (See my method and recipe here). I was craving wontons drowning in chili oil, shoyu and vinegar, topped with green onions and peanuts. So good. But of course for the kids it gets served PLAIN (that's how kids like it; go figure). They're not pretty but they taste delicious. I squeezed a bunch into the bottom panda bento tier along with a few peapods, then filled the top with corn, carrots, broccoli, bear-shaped Okinawan sweet potato, pluot and grapes. Did you notice the clever way I tied the picks into the theme? It's "Panda"monium! A bit obvious? Nah.

Mochiko Chick'n Chicken Bento

Mochiko Chick'n Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made oven-roasted mochiko chicken today (see recipe and method here) and tossed some sliced kabocha wedges in there as well. There's also something in this bento that I don't usually pack. Do you see it? That's right: rice! I got the idea for satsumaimo rice from Hapa bento's Okinawan sweet potato gohan post. I cooked a mix of black and brown rice, then tossed with diced satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) which I had tossed in the rice cooker whole midway through the cycle. I cut the imo after cooking, then gently folded into the rice. After packing the peapods, red plum, corn on the cob and Okinawan sweet potato stars, I had a little spot for a tiny hard-boiled quail egg chick. I cut the "eggshell" white with my small paring knife tip, and added nori eyes and carrot beak to the yolk "chick". I have a container of precut nori eyes and such, so that I can just use what I need right away. Too late, I just noticed that the two dots are different sizes. Oops. Still cute though, right?

Orzo Salad Bento

Orzo Salad Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It looks like we are finally getting our summer weather this week. Today was a hot 80F and more of the same is forecast in the near future. So I took advantage of the summery vibe and made an orzo salad. When MisterMan was a toddler, he had a friend whose mom always made spinach and orzo. It seemed so curiously healthy; I'd never heard of it before. So finally, numerous years later, I'm making it. Whole wheat orzo tossed with spinach-y pesto and topped with feta and more fresh shredded spinach. You could add olives too, if you like. I supplemented this meatless Monday bento with corn on the cob, peapods, carrots, grape tomatoes, a smiling apple-shaped Okinawan sweet potato, strawberry, and a pluot! I couldn't believe I found more pluots at my farmer's market this past weekend. One vendor still had them and when I saw that I scooped them up. Well, now I know why they're hard to find. They are no longer in season. Juicy, yes, but not sweet. Aww. The memory of the ultra sweet deliciousness from earlier this summer will have to suffice. Until next summer.

Totoro and Bear Calzone Bento

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

Today the kids get calzones again! I used roasted red peppers, caramelized onions, lots of cheese, and baby arugula in the meatless ones, and salami and pepperoni in the meatlover ones. Love them. MisterMan got Totoro, with radish and nori eyes and nose, and soba whiskers, and TinySprite got a brown bear.

The rest of the bentos contain broccoli, peapods, carrots, corn, plum, strawberries, blackberries and grapes. Love this pizza and calzone week. Super fun and easy, and everyone's happy! P.S. I think I'm getting the hang of shaping them now. No puffy pig snouts!

Hummus Rollup Bento

Hummus Rollup Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

What's that? Didn't we just have rollups? Um, yes. I wish I had taken a cross-section photo of this one to show you the goodies inside. I smeared a whole wheat tortilla with homemade hummus (I made mine pretty thick so it would act as a sticky spread rather than a runny dip), added shredded baby spinach, caramelized onions, roasted red pepper strips and rolled the baby up. I stuck a few cute picks to hold it in place, but as it turns out, this sushi box accomodates the rollup perfectly. How's that for multipurposing? I tucked a few steamed peapods on the sides and topped with Okinawan sweet potato heart shapes. There's a strawberry, blackberries, carrots, broccoli, and sliced plum. These plums are nowhere near as sweet as the pluots of last month, but they'll have to do. And if you have been looking at my bentos for the past few years you'll know I never put these in: chocolate covered raisins! I couldn't resist. They fit so perfectly in the chopstick slot. What do you think?

Sticky Rice and Purple Stars Bento

Sticky Rice and Purple Stars Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made sticky rice (see my basic method here) using shiitake mushroom, baby bok choy, Chinese sausage and kabocha (as I did in this bento here). Actually, today's bento looks quite like that last one from 6 months ago, doesn't it? Well, if it works... I like to add in colorful vegetables to increase the nutritional value and make it look appetizing. Since the rice is cooked in chicken broth and the sausage is tossed in during cooking, the rice is infused with lots of flavor. I topped with star-shaped Okinawan sweet potatoes. In this LunchBot, there's also steamed broccoli, peapods, carrots, pluots, strawberry, and cherries.

In other news, Happy Little Bento blog got a writeup on PBS.org by Alice Currah of SavorySweetLife. The article is called "Bento Lunches For Kids", and you can take a look at it here. I hope it gets a lot more parents interested in preparing healthy and nutritious bento lunches for their school-age kids this year!

Domokun Sandwich Bento

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

RAWR! It's Domo today! I recently realized I hadn't made a Domokun charaben in a long time. Here's another Domo sandwich I made. And another one. (Seems I only made him on field trips! How funny.) And why not? He's so cute. I made a tiny cream cheese sandwich using rye cocktail bread, which is square-shaped and comes in a long loaf. His eyes are bits of grapes, his mouth is a red plum, and his teeth are cut from mozzarella. This was a snack bento for TinySprite, so she got a few little cups of fruit: peach, nectarine and raspberries, along with cherries and grapes. I also squeezed a few peapods, carved carrots and tiny broccoli florets next to him. He looks like he wants a hug, doesn't he?
Added to What's For Lunch!

Wonton Tulips Panda Bento

Another TinySprite bento today: homemade pork scallion wontons (see my method here) scattered with Okinawan purple sweet potato tulips and peapod leaves on the bottom tier, with the most delicious summer hybrid fruit ever in the top: dark red pluots and deep orange apriums. They're both apricot-plum variants, but very different in appearance and flavor. I'm not a huge apricot fan, but these are fantastic. I'm looking forward to more as the summer goes on! Yippee! Happy panda bento! ^_^

Sausage Skewers Bento

Sausage Skewers Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I sometimes hear from parents who tell me they don't know how to cook, or they don't have time to cook, so there's no way they could make such an elaborate lunch for their kids. Guess what? I'm not a professional chef either. I have two kids at home and I don't have time to spend a lot of time cooking or preparing bento either. If you take a look at my bento posts, you'll see that many of them involve leftovers, or foods that can be prepared and assembled quickly (usually under 30 minutes). You don't have to spend a lot of time to give your kids a healthy homemade lunch; all you need is a little pre-planning. Most kids won't eat an adult-size meal, so a few vegetables, some fruit, a little protein and maybe some rice (or bread or pasta) is all you need to consider.

Take this bento, for example. I made this for my 4 year old to take to preschool. She's had a slightly smaller appetite lately than usual, so this one is a bit smaller than what she typically eats for lunch. The main compartment contains two skewers of pan-fried chicken and sundried tomato sausage rounds alternating with sliced zucchini. She'll love those because they're finger foods, and it's fun to eat off a stick. I always add at least two colors of vegetables -- in this case, steamed broccoli and peapods, as well as raw carrots I've carved into flowers with my paring knife. To finish off, she'll have a sweet ripe strawberry and some blackberries. If she had more time at school (or if she were at home) I might add a half corn on the cob and a musubi (riceball), or she might ask for string cheese or a hard-boiled egg, which are foods that are easily prepared ahead of time. Once you start packing bento, it'll become easier until it's just a part of the usual school routine. You'll feel better knowing your kid is eating a healthy meal, and she'll learn to look forward to lunch. Now that's a worthwhile effort! ^_^

Radish Doggie Bento

Radish Doggie Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

MisterMan gets chicken sausage and baby potatoes, steamed broccoli, peapods and purple carrots, grape tomatoes, strawberry, grapes and cara cara oranges. Cute detail provided by radish slice and nori. Woof! The background I used is the poster I got from The Fillmore after the Paul Simon concert last week. It was a 2 hour show and he (and his band) sounded great. The highlight for me was the title track from Hearts and Bones, my fave album. He also rocked That Was Your Mother, with the zydeco vibe, and got the whole place dancing to that one. And lest you wonder whether his 69-year-old voice might be failing, he pulled off a haunting Sound of Silence, alone with his guitar, in the semi-darkness without a hitch. The Fillmore theatre hands out free apples and specially designed posters for sold-out shows; a nice bonus. I love this one with the art deco-esque feel!

Hello Kitty and Octodogs Bento

Hello Kitty and Octodogs Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't shown a TinySprite bento in while -- they're usually a smaller version of her big brother's, so I only snap a photo of his bento. Lately, however, her appetite has been uneven, and there've been a few times that she's only eaten the fruit and left the main part of her meal uneaten. I find that when she eats lunch at home with me she has a much bigger appetite. Her favorite things to ask for are: a hot dog wrap (with melted cheddar and lettuce), egg-in-the-hole (basically buttered toast with an egg pan-fried right into a hole cut out of the center), string cheese, "whatever meat we might have leftover in the fridge", berries and yogurt. Yes, ALL of that. So I'm thinking that it may be she's eating less at school because she talks too much with her bff Ava R. Her teacher says they do everything together: ride bikes, hold hands on walks, even paint on the same paper. Okay, fine. So I've made a little cute bento in hopes that she'll gobble this one all up. I used a whole turkey dog to make two octopi and one crab (hidden under the broccoli tree), some peapods, and a quail egg Hello Kitty with radish ears, nori eyes and a yellow carrot nose. I poked the ears into slits I made with my knife, and I also pushed the nose into a slit as well, to keep it in place. At first I pushed it too far in, so I reached in with my plastic tweezers and pulled it back out. No problem! It just occurred to me that you might even cut a hole and let the yellow yolk show through for the nose. I also added a tiny strawberry and some chopped cara cara oranges, all in the cute My Melody aluminum box I found at Marukai on sale. Yay! How can she resist this one? ^_^