Easter Bunny Chicken Burrito Bento

Easter Bunny Chicken Burrito Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

More bunnies, and more! This one is made from a hen egg, with cheese ears, nori face and spaghetti whiskers. He is smiling because he's got a garden of carrots waiting for him at lunch. They lie atop a pulled barbeque chicken burrito wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla, surrounded by broccoli, peapods, and radishes. The sweet side contains strawberries and grapes. There's that little chick again, trying to get into the bento. Sorry lil' guy!

Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori Beet Burger Sandwich Bento

Rilakkuma and Kiiroitori Beet Burger Sandwich Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Recently I've discovered the joy of beets. Beets, beets, beets. The only way I've ever prepared beets before was roasted and tossed in salad. But I love the flavor and figured, why shouldn't we try to fit them into a main dish meal? Today I made beet bean rice burgers which happen to fit perfectly inside these mini whole wheat sandwich rounds. I made these sandwiches with red leaf lettuce, and melted some swiss cheese on top. I got the idea for these burgers from the plethora of online copycat recipes that tried to replicate the famous Northstar Cafe beet burgers. I've never had those Northstar Cafe veggie burgers, but the pictures and the glowing review make me want to. I really wish I had taken a photo of the burger itself so you can see how red it really looks. ETA: I took some photos; see below. It's pretty cool; you can kind of see part of it at the left side of the bun. I layered two mini burgers in this bento box, and decorated the round bread with Rilakkuma's face cut from Okinawan sweet potato. I added carrots and his pal Kiiroitori (a turmeric-dyed quail egg with nori and carrot detail). Other side has blood oranges (sadly not very vividly colored), strawberry, peapods and cherries. Here's my sort-of recipe that I borrowed from here and greatly changed, because I like the flavors of these spices together. P.S. Don't wear white while making this.

Beet, Bean and Rice Burger

1 cup cooked rice
1 large beet, grated (other recipes say to dice, but I thought grated beet would hold together better)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1 squirt Dijon mustard (or to taste)
onion powder, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste

Mix rice and beet well, until uniform color. Fork-mash the black beans, and add. Mix well. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. My mixture was pretty sticky and a bit difficult to mix, but the stickier the mix, the better it stays together as a patty.

Taste the mixture and add more spice if you need to. Use an ice cream scoop to portion out the burger mixture, and shape into a ball. Flatten with a flipper and place into a heated, oiled pan on medium high heat. Cook for 2 minutes, or until you see a crust form on the bottom. Mine kept its integrity pretty well, so it was easy to flip over. Cook the other side another 2 minutes or so. Put some grated cheese on top to melt if you like. Toast some mini buns or sandwich thins, and serve with fresh greens, onions and tomato. Delicious!

Shifu and Kung Fu Panda Field Trip Bento

Shifu and Kung Fu Panda Field Trip Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

It's another field trip bento for tomorrow: I packed MisterMan a char siu bao decorated as Shifu from Kung Fu Panda. To remove the brown top layer of the bao, I slipped my small paring knife underneath and it came apart easily. His eyes are made from cheese stick and nori. Did you notice his goatee? I also added an egg panda decorated with blueberry ears and nori facial features. On the side: corn on the cob, broccoli, peapods, oranges blackberries and strawberry. Everything is wrapped in wax paper and packed in a recycled self-sealing strawberry box for disposal after use. All finger foods make it an extra bonus; no utensils needed. Have fun!

Black Beans and Pork Round Bento

Black Beans and Pork Round Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I found a recipe for slow-cooked black beans and pork loin that uses chili powder and coriander; it sounded so good I had to try it. I crossed my fingers that it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids. Success! I also added chopped onion, tomatoes and zucchini to round it out nutritionally. It came out sort of like a chili / stew; very tasty and hearty. Every time I use my crockpot I vow to do it more often. Is there anything better than walking in the door and realizing dinner is cooking itself? I scooped some over rice in the bottom bowl of this round stainless steel bento box I found in San Francisco a few weeks ago. I put some strawberries, grapes, carrots, peapods and cara cara oranges in the top tier.

The handled lid screws on top, securing both containers. This box resembles a tiffin, except that the screw top replaces the latches. I had my second-grader practice opening and closing it before I packed it to make sure he wouldn't have any problems. This set holds 800ml; there's also a 600ml and a 1000ml version that I saw. The round apple shape is a fun one, isn't it? Another MRB. Yay!

Meowth Pokemon Bento

Meowth Pokemon Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Okay, not an Easter bento but MisterMan requested a Pokemon bento so here it is. I had to scan the Pokemon directory (yes, such a book exists, luckily in his library) to find one with "a round face with bumpy edges" to match the ravioli I had. Have you heard of Meowth? Well, I hadn't -- but apparently he is a talking Scratch Cat Pokemon member of Team Rocket, who does much of the brain work behind their criminal schemes. I decorated the spinach and three cheese ravioli with carrot, radish and nori details for his face, and used somen for his whiskers. He is accompanied by peapods, tomatoes, grapes, and a strawberry. Hurry and eat this one before the Pokemon get it... they look hungry...

Mini Snowman Bento

Mini Snowman Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I wanted to make a mini bento for Christmas since I haven't made one in such a long time. I initally wanted to do a miniature Christmas tree, but then I thought a tiny snowman would be so cute! I planned to make little snowballs to go with him and everything, but after working with the snowman himself I think the microsnowballs would be too much trouble. As it was the "snow" stuck to the plastic wrap and thus doesn't look quite smooth. I made three balls out of cream cheese for the snowman, and decorated his face with nori, a carrot nose and a yellow carrot corncob pipe. He also has purple carrot buttons and a carrot top hat. His arms are dry somen. As you can see, just as real snowmen do he started to melt after awhile, and began to lean to the side. I propped him up for the picture but lay him down after I was done. He is on a tofu platform and there's a bare tree next to him as well as his watermelon radish mittens. I wanted to poke the mittens on his arms but then his arms would have fallen off for sure! The rest of the bento contains a satsuma mandarin, grapes, peapods and carrots. Merrry Christmas!

Hello Kitty On Ice Bento

Hello Kitty On Ice Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

This is a little snack bento I made for TinySprite. It's a sandwich on potato bread, topped with a quail egg Hello Kitty who is ice-skating on the bread lake. Her dress is made of turkey dog and pepperoni, and her skates are purple carrot. Her facial features are nori, cheddar cheese, and pink ume somen whiskers. There are peapods, a broccoli tree, carved carrots and grapes. This is the last week of school before Christmas break, and there are all kinds of parties and luncheons planned. I love this winding down of the school quarter. Christmas is coming! Is it cold enough to ice-skate where you live?
Posted at What's For Lunch!

Mac, Cheese and Christmas Tree Bento

Mac, Cheese and Christmas Tree Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I love mac and cheese. I love making it, I love eating it, and I love the way it's always an instant hit with everyone in the family. It's also a one-dish meal, which is my specialty (quick, easy, minimal thinking involved)! The great thing about mac and cheese is that it's a forgiving dish. You can make it pretty much any way you want, and it still turns out okay, to me anyway. I don't even really measure the cheese and milk and flour. Just put in what you have and keep adding until it looks good to you. Then, bake until everything meshes together and finish under the broiler for a crunchy top. Today I used mini penne pasta, two kinds of cheese, plus I chopped and added ham, spinach, some whole wheat bread slices and even... my favorite squash du jour: kabocha! I steamed it lightly, then grated it coarsely right into the mix. You could also puree it, but I like to see the little bits of kabocha. I don't remember if I even told the kids everything I put in it. It wouldn't matter anyway. They could eat the whole casserole quite happily. Good thing I reserved some for their bento. I don't show TinySprite's bento, but I made one for her too. Along with the mac and cheese, I squeezed in some carrots and peapods, a bunch of grapes, a satsuma mandarin, and a steamed broccoli Christmas tree with radish ornaments. I have a feeling I made this exact same tree last year, which I didn't realize until after I took the picture. Well, except for the star skewer, which completes the effect nicely, right?

Won Ton and Jack Bento

Won Ton and Jack Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

As did many others who participated in the #twitterfoodparty yesterday, I squeezed a bento out of my contribution. I made won ton mein (soup with noodles) for dinner, and simply packed a few extra won tons into MisterMan's bento box. As good as they are in soup, won ton are also just as good by themselves. If this were my bento, I would have drizzled chili oil all over these -- yum. I used my crescent silicone cup to separate the fruit from the rest of the meal, which included purple cauliflower, peapods and a little carrot jack-o-lantern. I took a chance on this dark red plum, and luckily it was a sweet one. I waited until it achieved a little softness to ensure maximum sweetness. I filled in the rest of the cup with that old winter standby, red grapes. Do you notice we are rockin' the orange and black today? Halloween (and SF Giants) colors are in the house! Making our way to the final countdown for Halloween week ^_^

Added to What's For Lunch. Check Shannon's site to see more!

Sweet O'Potato Bento

Sweet O'Potato Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Tomorrow there's no school for MisterMan since they are having first quarter parent-teacher conferences. So instead, I'm posting a picture of the snack bento I made for TinySprite this afternoon. She ate this when she got up from her nap. We didn't get her brother right away because he had music class after school. On these days I give her a snack to tide her over until I start dinner. Even though it's just a snack, I still like to put as many nutritious foods (including vegetables) in there as I can.

Today I cut a slice of steamed sweet potato with a pumpkin cutter, and stamped a face using triangle and square cutters without pressing all the way through. I added a couple of salami and mozzarella cheese stick skewers (the rest of the cheese stick is behind the sweet potato), some cherry tomatoes, sliced peaches, a strawberry and a tiny crab apple. I filled in the gaps with blanched peapods. First thing she said when she took off the lid of (my new Cinnamoroll) box was "Scary!" But she picked up the jack o'lantern and ate it first! Are you surprised to learn that she ate everything in this box? I was! I didn't expect her to eat all the peapods, but she did. It's cool because soon I'll be sending along a bento box lunch to accompany her to preschool, and I'm hoping the cute presentation will encourage her to finish everything there, even with all the distractions of other kids (and possibly junk food). Stay tuned and we'll see...

Pork Roast and Jack Bento

Pork Roast and Jack Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Continuing on with the jack o'lantern theme... Today's jack is cut simply from a regular orange carrot cross-section. I hand-cut the facial details with my tiny paring knife. Placing it on a black rice ball makes for a nice contrast. I made roast pork over the weekend and since it was so big it may make several appearances in bento in the near future. I used my mom's recipe; called Ono Pork Roast, which says it all.

Mom's Ono Pork Roast
Rub a 3-4 lb pork shoulder with the following mixture: 1-2 minced garlic cloves, salt & pepper, and 2tsp Worchestershire sauce. If using stovetop, brown on all sides in a large pot. I just put mine in my crock-pot. Add 1 cup water and 1/4 cup shoyu, and cook on high for 3-4 hours, turning occasionally.

Delicious over hot rice. This is one dish that the kids will be tricked, er, tempted to eat lots of veggies to sop up the sauce. Really! Broccoli goes well on the side. For this bento, I lay the rice and meat inside a green lettuce leaf and stuck some peapods around it. In the other cups I added broccoli, yellow carrots and yellow tomatoes, some black grapes and some red plum.

Five Spice Chicken Bento

Five Spice Chicken Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Chicken and rice -- that old standard that never fails -- makes an appearance in this bento once again. This time with some Chinese five spice in the mix. Super flavorful and goes really well with plain rice. Here's what I do:

For 3 chicken thighs:
Mix 3T shoyu, 1T olive oil, 2tsp five spice, 1tsp fresh grated ginger, and 1tsp fresh minced garlic. Marinate chicken a few hours or however long you have (doesn't really matter too much). Roast for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally. Reduce heat to 350F and bake additional 15 minutes. If you cut the thighs into smaller pieces for cooking like I did, they will cook faster and you can skip the baking step. Check to see when your pieces are cooked through, and remove from heat.

I put the chicken pieces and a furikake-sprinkled rice ball in a moon-shaped silicone cup along with a few colorful cherry tomatoes and a bunny cut from radish. This box is pretty deep so I was able to squeeze in a corncob, Okinawan purple potato, broccoli, yellow carrot flower shapes, peapods and some white nectarine slices into the rest of the space. I made a big batch of chicken so you'll see it again in near future bento as well. I just realized I should have cut a moon shape instead of flowers, for Mid-Autumn Moon! Next time.

Ninja Musubi Bento

Ninja Musubi Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

I haven't used this bento box in a long time, but it's a good one. It's deep and just right to fit these silicone cups to keep the foods separated in a pleasing, symmetrical manner. I made turkey-broccoli-oat burgerettes that I slathered with homemade sauce (ketchup, Worcestershire, garlic) in one cup, then added steamed broccoli in the next. The center spot contains a mixed rice ball covered in nori to suggest a ninja; and yes, I know it would have been more stunning to have used white rice but hey! He's an ethnic ninja. I added some pink carrot throwing stars and a pick for a dagger. He also got sliced Okinawan sweet (purple) potato, more carrots, peapods and yellow cherry tomatoes to fill in gaps. The fruit cup has grapes and strawberries. The lid is transparent and slightly raised so the food is snugly packed into place. It was really cute with the lid on, but I forgot to take a picture.  My boy said he knew right away it was a ninja by his eyes. Or maybe he remembered the other ninja I made for his sister. Success!

King Musubi Bento

King Musubi Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Salmon today is furikake salmon. What is furikake salmon, you say?

Here's what I do: Get a nice filet of wild Alaskan salmon and squirt kewpie mayo and sprinkle our favorite nori fumi furikake on both sides. Pan fry till cooked through, flipping carefully halfway. That's it! Super yummy! I can practically guarantee your kids will love it. Also good traditionally with mahi mahi.

Since the fish is so flavorful I thought I could get away with packing a musubi (there's furikake in here too). I made a face with nori and radish, and topped with a crown pick. This little box still had room to pack some steamed peapods, broccoli and purple carrots (which I cut into flowers and skewered on a cute tulip pick). Fruit section has super juicy Cara Cara orange slices, strawberry and a grape. This box is a bit on the small side (450ml) compared to what I usually use, but I think I still managed to squeeze in enough to make him a substantial midday meal ^_^

A Flower Garden Bento

A Flower Garden Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento is a spring garden bento, which will be submitted to Hapabento's contest. There's still time for you to enter too!

As you know, my boy is not a big rice eater, but I really wanted to use my red/brown rice as "dirt" for my garden scene. So I put a layer of roast chicken down, added furikake, and topped with just a thin layer of rice. In fact, I think you can even see the chicken below in some places. I really did put the minimum amount. I hope it is acceptable :) I also sprinkled more furikake on top, for taste. It can represent the mulch, let's say. Steamed broccoli form the border below, peapods are the stems, and the three sets of flowers are pink carrot "roses", yellow and purple carrot "daisies", and radish "tulips". I lined the box with green lettuce leaf as well, to further the growing garden theme.

The small box holds half a mandarin and a bunch of grapes. The sunset-hued (real) rose is from my garden (though the name of this one escapes me!). A lot of my roses are blooming now, and they are very lovely and fragrant. I chose every one for its scent as well as color and form. This one to me smells just like pikake; very strong and kind of citrus-y. It's putting a smile on my face right now as it sits next to me while I type :D

Brown Bear Shoyu Egg Bento

Brown Bear Shoyu Egg Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today's bento contains the ever-popular kid favorite rotisserie chicken, on a lettuce bed. I made a brown bear from a hard-boiled egg by letting it sit in a small bowl of shoyu. After rolling it around to get even color, let it sit on its side for a few more minutes without moving. You'll see that the spot it's resting on will be a little lighter in color than the rest. I used this spot for the bear's nose. His facial details are cut from nori and satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato).

There's also a cherry tomato half, some kumquats, strawberries, blackberry, grapes, baby carrots, broccoli and peapods. I really like this box too. It's just the right size for my boy's appetite, and all the sections allow me to keep foods and flavors separate.

I'm so happy we're starting to see some colorful fruits and vegetables in the markets. I'm hoping my bento get more and more colorful as a result, as the season goes on... how about you?

Shoyu Chicken Bento

Shoyu Chicken Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Does your family have a favorite "go-to" dinner menu? Over here, one of them is definitely shoyu chicken. As soon as my boy smells the telltale sauce he says "Yum! It's the sweet chicken!" I used chicken thigh pieces and also added baby potatoes during the 30 minute simmer. After it was cooked I sliced the chicken into more manageable pieces for him to eat in his bento. A quick time-saving tip: you can steam the broccoli and peapods in the same pot by placing them atop the chicken pieces towards the end of cooking. For this bento, I put the chicken, potatoes, broccoli and peapods on top of a green lettuce leaf. I added a cherry tomato which I cut open and stuffed with rice for fun, and decorated with a few maroon carrots cut into flower shapes.

The other side has a cup of red leaf lettuce salad with cara cara oranges and sunflower seeds, and a cup of cottage cheese with chopped strawberry and wheat germ. I made extra chicken to perhaps give him a followup repeat bento, thinking he'd request it, but when he came home today he informed me that today's bento (smoked salmon bagel thins) was "the best bento EVER!" Huh? Okay, so I guess I don't even have to cook to make the best bento ever ^_^ !

Spring Momiji Bento

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Spring Momiji Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Spring is here!
I can tell because the Japanese maples in my garden are unfurling their delicate leaves. Each morning I check to see if they have opened yet. My green one is completely open, but my red one will take a day or two more, I think. So for this bento I celebrate the anticipation I feel each spring while I wait for my tree to awaken from its wintry slumber.

Along with Korean Chicken, I made a lettuce-wrapped onigiri of kale/jade rice adorned with pink maple leaves. They are made of satsumaimo, Japanese sweet potato, which have been "finger-painted" with beet juice from fresh steamed beet. I decided to dye them this way because then I could get varying degrees of red color for each leaf. Plus, I didn't want to overcook by boiling in the beet juice after it was already cooked. Simply steam a small piece of beet for a few minutes, and it will begin to emit beet juice immediately. I placed the satsumaimo (naturally white in color) on the beet and lightly rubbed the color on. The leaf shapes are cut with a cutter. I like how they came out. To balance out the section, I added flower-cut baby carrots, steamed broccoli and peapods. In the fruit section I slipped in blood orange slices, a halved clementine and a strawberry fan.

It was also a positively spring-like day today, which means I had nice sunlight streaming in through my "picture" window by which to take the shot. Yay! I added a sprig of my fragrant jasmine, which is currently in peak bloom right now. Every afternoon while TinySprite naps, I relax by the jasmine vine in the warm sun. It has become the time I look forward to every day. Tomorrow I think I'll bring a cup of ice tea out there with me :)

Girls' Day Bento

Girls' Day Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Here's my Girls' Day little snack bento for TinySprite. It's a shy, demure girl in her purple carrot kimono with green onion obi. Okay, you'll have to use your imagination. I like the irony of making a shy girl for TinySprite; it really makes me laugh. TinySprite is NOT demure. If there is one very apt word I can use to describe her, it is LOUD. She talks loud, she laughs loud, she's very outspoken and not afraid to talk to anyone. She remembers everyone's name and always addresses their parent and siblings, if present, as well. She knows everyone, everywhere we go: post office, grocery, library, school, etc., and she gets more greetings than I do. You know those kids that always ask embarrassing questions at very awkward moments? I am just waiting for those. She already "reminds" people not to smoke, litter, or run too fast. Yikes. So I should have made this girl with an "O" mouth, wide open, to truly represent my girl :)

Anyway, to make this girl, I just wrapped a carrot peel round and round a quail egg for her body. As an aside, purple carrots appear to stain quail eggs pretty well. As soon as the peel touched the egg, it left a purple mark. By the time I'd wrapped the egg, everything was streaked dark purple, including my fingers. So if you need a dark purple egg, you might consider purple carrots next time.

Her head is a second quail egg placed on its end. I cut her hair and eyes from nori, and she wears a cilantro and maroon carrot flower in her hair. Also in this little snack box are two strawberries, a grape tomato and a peapod. Yellow sweet mini pepper flowers too.

I should have taken video of her eating this one, but I forgot. She ate everything, even the green onion, which surprised me. First thing she did was totally unwrap the carrot kimono and eat that by itself, and then all the flowers, and I was a little nervous about her just popping the eggs in her mouth so I made her take a bite from each one first. She had a lot of fun with this one, I think :)

Here's a closeup of the girl:

Happy Girls' Day, bento friends!

Bean & Rice Wrap Bento

Bean & Rice Wrap Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Today, since TinySprite has been stuck at home with congestion, I decided to do some cleaning. As a result I came across a bunch of photocopies I made several months ago of a bunch of lunch ideas. Wow, and on a day that I was putting off bento planning -- perfect! First on the list: Things to put in a tortilla wrap. Great!

So here's today's bento: black beans, black rice, soytaco, spinach, cilantro, green onions, and cheddar cheese. All folded into a whole wheat tortilla and cut in half. I didn't make a "roll" because if I leave the ends open, my boy will pick it up and half the fillings will just slide out the other end. But if I fold up the bottom, then fold in the sides, it makes a little pocket that he can eat more easily. To fill in this box I added a piece of steamed broccoli, some carrots, grape tomatoes and peapods. On the fruit side I was able to squeeze in a strawberry, a sliced kiwi and a couple grapes. This box is the Pokemon one, and it's super cute, but sometimes a challenge to fit everything in. After I took the shot, I lay the 2 halves down flat and put the tomatoes over on the fruit side.

I was so happy that the sun decided to make an appearance for my photo! Makes for a much nicer shot than the dreary ones I have been taking lately..