Salmon Salad LunchBots Bento

I made salted salmon (shiozake) to serve over baby lettuce greens in a simple salad for my kids' bento today. Since we still have fresh corn, I added fresh cooked corn off the cob as well. The salmon has flavor enough to make this small portion quite tasty. And since she loves them, I also pan fried some potato wedges and sprinkled with furikake in the next section. In the last section of our well-used LunchBots Trio I placed sliced elephant heart pluots (I think this may be our last batch of the season. So sad! I love these sweet dark red fruit very much) and carrots to round out the bento. The lid stays on well enough to keep everything separate for them come lunchtime. Perfect!

Rilakkuma Bear Burger Bento

Bear Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I should have shown you the turkey burgers I made! They're in there, I promise. I mixed in shredded zucchini and carrot along with ground turkey, onion, garlic, pepper, and... Worcestershire sauce! And ketchup. It came out pretty good, I think. I melted cheddar on them and then laid them on whole wheat sandwich thins with garden lettuce. Of course I had to make Rilakkuma's face on there. His ears are roasted sweet potato (I also made sweet potato fries along with dinner), and his face is made of white cheddar and nori. On the side, MisterMan has sliced pluots, garden orange sunsugar tomatoes, and grapes. And a little Rilakkuma fork. Awwws!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Pork in Lettuce Wrap Bento

Pork in Lettuce Wrap Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I made a Vietnamese style marinade using fish sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar using a recipe from Bon Appétit. And instead of pork chops I used thin cut pork loin, for kiddie-friendly eating. I did a pan sear, and served in home grown "baby lettuce" leaves alongside pickled carrots and daikon, and cucumbers. There's also a baby cherry tomato in there for color. Before I left for a 2 week vacation this past summer, I had placed a little planter of baby lettuce sprouts into my fig pot. When I got back, the lettuce had taken over and grown to an immense size. So now we have lots of salad in our future! The rest of this bento contains super juicy and sweet late-season pluots, grapes and cherries. A tasty bento lunch for the kiddos!
Added to What's For Lunch.

Mochiko Chicken Slender Bento

Mochiko Chicken Slender Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

How is it Monday already? I don't think I sat down at all today until just now. Too much weekend excess, I think -- how about you? Well, here's a bento to get the kids going: their favorite mochiko chicken (oven roasted version). Just stick a few piece in a bento box along with a smattering of extras, and that's pretty much a wrap. Just how I like a Monday to go! I can't believe we still had a pluot left; those Flavor Kings were my favorite summer eats this year, and man do I miss them already. We have some plums on the counter now, but they're just not the same. This box is one tier of a double stainless box set I got from Bento & Co, and it's just the right size for TinySprite. I like how the broccoli, carrots and Okinawan sweet potato squeeze in there to keep everything snugly in place. I secure the lid with an elastic felt band and she is good to go!

Chickpea Cauliflower Curry LunchBot Bento

Chickpea Cauliflower Curry Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I decided to make a vegetarian dry curry today, using a recipe that called for simply tossing chopped vegetables with olive oil, curry powder and brown sugar, then roasting the whole thing in a baking pan at 400F until tender and fragrant, about 30 minutes. I used diced eggplant, onion, red capsicum, cauliflower, potatoes and chickpeas. It's a nice mild flavor that the kids can handle, and a good way to get them to eat eggplant. I served it over some fresh spinach leaves in their bento, but it's good over hot rice as well. It's on the dry side, which makes it idea for bento, with no thick sauce to drip all over everything. This Lunchbot Quad keeps the curry separate from the rest of the food, which includes: carrots, corn, Okinawan sweet potato and broccoli; strawberries and raspberries; and pluots and blueberries. I thought this was a pretty big meal for my kindergartner, and I was pleased that she was able to finish it all. Score!

Little Tebasaki Drummettes Bento

Little Tebasaki Drummettes Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

I haven't made tebasaki (salt grilled chicken wings) in a long time, and the kids love it (see the method and recipe here). Usually I use a mix of drums and wings, or the entire wing, but I could only find the drummettes this time. They're kid- and bento-sized, and I was happy to see them fit in this box so perfectly. I made TinySprite a little rice "cupcake" with furikake and a baby radish "cherry", plus some lightly steamed broccoli and purple carrots on a skewer. The removable container holds more carrots, a few homegrown tomatoes, pluots, and a little Okinawan sweet potato bear shape. Just right!

Soy Chicken Drumsticks Bento

Soy Chicken Drumsticks Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Shoyu chicken was my absolute favorite dish as a child. I always requested it if my mom ever asked. This version is one I've posted before, and it's a Vietnamese style using fish sauce and coconut water. It has a different, less sweet flavor that I really crave, and when you make it in the slow-cooker you can enjoy the aroma for hours while you dash in and out of the house between kid chauffeuring duties. We are now cutting out soy due to allergies, so I had to adapt the recipe further (substituting with coconut aminos), but as MisterMan says, "It still tastes almost the same, like you know what it's supposed to be." Well, good! I guess. Kids (my kids, anyway) really like shoyu chicken, and I served this one over rice in the bento (out of view), and all the rice got devoured. Something about chicken & rice. The rest of the round box contains: Okinawan sweet potato flower shapes, steamed broccoli, carrots, pluots and golden watermelon. I didn't mean to buy a golden one, but it wasn't labeled as such. There's something weird about a yellow watermelon, though it tasted just like the red kind. I topped with a radish cut like an apple, with sesame seed detail. Simple!

Enchiladas of Love Bento

Enchiladas of Love Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

The kids get chicken enchiladas today, made with corn tortillas and filled with shredded chicken, onions, olives and cheese; smothered with red sauce and topped with more cheese. I packed MisterMan's in the rectangular two-tiered EcoLunchbox. The enchiladas lay on a bed of lettuce, with cilantro and tortilla "I love you" cutouts. I used the teeny tiny alphabet cutters that I think I found at Daiso. All the letters fit on three round plastic wheels, so there aren't a bunch of little letter cutters to get lost. It's so convenient! The upper tier contains cottage cheese with sunflower seeds and blueberries, alongside a handful of homegrown tomatoes, dinosaur egg pluot, strawberry and grapes.

Anpanman Burger Bento

Anpanman Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento features meeeeeeat! I made beef/turkey burgers for the kiddos. This one is MisterMan's, since it's packed between two whole grain sandwich thins. He can put the frisee inside the burger along with a squirt of ketchup inside the pig bottle. Every time I see a round bun I see Anpanman now. If you go back in the archives you'll see it's true. I made one ages ago here, and a more recent one (that I think looks much better) here, and then a naked burger here. The tomatoes are from my home garden, and the orange sunsugars and yellow pear varieties are doing really well right now. I had to barricade them to keep the dog away, since he loves fruit. I used red pepper for the mouth, and blueberries for eyes. I know, I forgot the eyebrows. Darn! He fit perfectly inside the EcoLunchBox, with the upper tier holding a selection of: carrots, pluots, strawberry, golden raspberries, lychee, purple cauliflower, and corn. I had to slice the tomatoes in half to fit, but the nice thing is that the top pushed everything down so it didn't move around too much, but not so much that it smushed. That's what I call a perfectly packed bento.

And by the way, it was our end-of-summer twitter food party today, and the star item was ... yogurt! I made cannoli ice cream. It was really an excuse to put pistachios and dark chocolate together in a creamy, divine way. And also to eat ice cream. ^_^

Salmon and Chick Bento

Salmon and Chick Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

You've seen this one before, like my kids too. So now when I make a salmon bento I feel like I have to put something extra special in here so it's not quite so ordinary. I try to feed my family salmon (or other fish) at least once a week. Luckily everyone loves fish so it's not a problem. There are lots of sauces you can make to prepare salmon, but I like the simple preparation best. I used to like misoyaki, but we're cutting out soy. Butteryaki, lemon dill and pesto are other good choices, and you can also slather the fish with kewpie mayo, sprinkle some furikake and pan-fry. I've been trying to add rice to TinySprite's bento since she's wheat-free these days, and she's not a big fan, but the furikake helps. I use an MSG-free variety. I added corn off the cob, and made her a hard-boiled beet-dyed egg decorated as a chick with nori and cute picks. She's a HUGE egg fan, by the way. The other side of this Daytrippers box contains pluots, strawberry, raspberries and blackberries. I hope she finds it delightful!

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento

Panda Egg Salmon Patty Bear Onigiri Lunchbots Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I packed a couple of salmon patties for TinySprite in the Lunchbots Trio box. Like with the bean burgers, I bulked them up with extras; this time I used brown/white rice and quinoa. I also added shredded carrot, and minced onion and celery. It's good with Dijon mustard and a little yogurt or sour cream, and a squirt of lemon juice. Just mix until the consistency holds together, then flatten some balls and pan-fry. You can serve with mustard Old Bay aioli on a bun, but I've just placed her patties in some lettuce leaves. There's a little bear onigiri, some carrots sticks, corn off the cob, a panda egg (I cut the ears, eyes and mouth from grapes by hand), and assorted fruit (strawberry, pluot and blueberries. The kids are really digging the burger variations. What else can I make a burger out of? Hmmm.

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento

Twin Bunnies Bean Burger Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today's bento is one for my wheat-free daughter. I made black bean burgers using the basic recipe I used here, but substituting garbanzo beans with black beans. I also used black rice to keep the color scheme. She's used to eating burgers "protein-style" (wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of on a bun), so I could've served it that way in her bento with no problem. You could layer a slice of homegrown tomato and grilled onions on top as well, but I chose to pack a double patty in here instead, in lettuce, alongside a silicone cup of homemade peach salsa. Peach salsa: have you had this? I've never tried making a salsa with peach and was dubious, but it is delicious. I diced some ripe peaches, tomatoes, sweet peppers and tossed with sweet corn. Refreshing, and it just screams "Summer!" I topped the burgers with cheese bunnies with nori faces, and the other side of the LunchBot Duo contains grapes, pluots and baby sweet strawberries. ^_^

Chili Rice Panda Bowl Bento

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Chili Rice Bowl Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This was the result of my last crockpot meal: turkey chili with beans and vegetables. And this bento is MINE! I packed the two kids' lunches in their thermal jars in the morning, and didn't feel like taking the time to snap a picture. I don't know when the last time was that I made a bento for me, but I am going to start doing it more often. I used the cute panda bowl bento set, which is perfect for rice bowls. When I was a kid growing up, my favorite thing to get at Zippy's was chili rice. That's how you order it: chili rice. I loved it for a long time until someone told me you get a lot more chili if you order chili cracker instead. I can see the logic there. After all, there's only so much chili you can pour over a giant scoop of rice. So I switched to chili cracker, but I always loved chili over rice. So I made it for myself. This chili is so jam-packed with healthy stuff you practically get younger after you eat it. There's tomato, carrots, zucchini, kidney and black beans, ground turkey, onions, sweet peppers, and kale. I topped mine with grated cheddar and a sprinkling of cilantro. Really hits the spot on a brisk fall day, don't you think? And I prepared a fruit tier for myself too: fall pluots, cantaloupe balls and three raspberries. And I cleaned it all up!

Slow-Cooked Turkey Chili

1lb. ground turkey (or whatever meat you like, or you can omit this entirely)
2 cans kidney beans, black beans, white beans, or other beans of your choice
1 32-oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 carrot, sliced
1 bunch kale, chopped
2 zucchinis, chopped
1 tsp. chili powder (or 2 tsp, if you like)
salt, pepper

Brown the meat in a skillet and drain. Add to slow cooker along with all the other ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours. Garnish with cheese if desired.

Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Deconstructed Pork Carnitas Tacos Bento

Deconstructed Pork Tacos Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Remember the slow-cooked ono pork roast from last week? This bento is an example of repurposed pork leftovers. I sliced some pork and fried it to get nice crispy edges, then packed it with tomato-onion-cilantro salsa and rolled tortillas for him to either build a taco at lunch, or eat separately as he chooses. I decorated with Okinawan sweet potato stars, and added late-season pluots, black grapes and raspberries. Yes, I know I'm using the same three-sectioned LunchBot Trio as I did for the original pork bento, but it's because this box is so ideally suited for deconstructed meals like this one. I've used it numerous times already, and it's still in great shape -- maybe a little scratched with tiny dents, but the lid still fits securely and the welded partition seams have held up without fail. Love it.
Added to What's For Lunch.

Mackin Cheese Thermal Bento

Mackin Cheese Thermal Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Here's another time-saving meal that I really should make more often. Who doesn't love mac and cheese? And it doesn't have to be plain and boring; you can feel free to add all kinds of interesting and fancy ingredients. It's your meal and you can make it however you want! So here's an "interesting" twist on this batch. I usually make mac and cheese on the stovetop and finish it in the oven and under the broiler (like here and here), but I just didn't have time for all that this time. After mixing the macaroni with the milky, cheesy, creamy sauce, I had an urge to make it more nutritious (surprise). I was going to throw in some steamed broccoli florets (which I sort of did, as you can see), but then I had a genius idea. What about kabocha? Since everything was already basically cooked, I steamed the kabocha separately, just enough for it to keep its shape without getting mushy. Then I diced them and gently tossed and folded them in. Since the squash is orange, it blends right in. Not that I was trying to hide it or anything. But I was so pleased with myself that I waited until the kids had finished licking their 3rd bowls before I casually mentioned that I had added "like, a half a kabocha" in there. TinySprite wasn't phased. She was the one who, when I asked whether she wanted mac and cheese, responded "Sure! I love cheese. What's mackin?" But MisterMan's head snapped right up and he said "What?!" That's right, buddy! Muahaha!! Okay, maybe their taste buds aren't all that discriminating. Or maybe there was just so much real cheddar in there that they totally missed it. But I am inordinately happy that my kabocha passed itself off as cheddar so easily. I really love this squash, if I haven't mentioned it already. ^_^
Added to Allergy-Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Mini Burger and Cheddar Jack Bento

Mini Burger and Cheddar Jack Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

A fun bento that the kids totally loved: burger and fries. Woohoo! Okay, they were turkey oat burgers and oven-roasted fries but still. I also snuck in some roasted kabocha, a couple colorful carrot sticks, broccoli, and a cup of red fruit: pluots, strawberries and raspberries. The burger is topped with none other than our favorite smiling "jack" - I know, I should have used jack cheese! Sheesh. What was I thinking? One more week of jack-o-bento to go... I think I'm gonna be able to pull it off. Hey, maybe next year I should go for a whole month of jacks! Nah only joke..

Candy Corn Quail Egg Bento

Candy Corn Quail Egg Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya♥.

I strayed from the jack-a-day series today because I wanted to make a little candy corn quail egg, and it took so long that I didn't feel like trying to find another food to carve into a jack-o-lantern. First of all, I didn't shape it triangularly enough, and then I didn't have time to soak it long enough to keep the colors dark. But then, if you've dyed eggs before, you know that the color tends to fade pretty quickly anyway. To dye this egg I used golden beet and regular beet juice. I first let the egg sit halfway in a cup of golden beet juice, then placed it 1/3 of the way into a cup of red beet juice. I had nice sharp lines of color demarcation at first, but then they bled out and faded. I had made these cuties before (in the two bentos here) and I think they looked better then. Oh well! This bento contains butterfish misoyaki (see my method here), homemade oven roasted "potato chips", steamed Okinawan sweet potato, corn, tomatoes, carrots, and a fruit assortment (pluots, honeydew melon balls and grapes) -- all packed up in my favorite Lunchbots Trio. Have a sweet day!

Anpanman Sandwich Bento

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

I'm posting this Anpanman sandwich I made earlier this summer but forgot to post, in keeping with the theme from today's snack. I was chatting with my pals on twitter last night about Anpanman and his delicious foodie friends, which include Currypanman, Melonpannachan, Shokupanman (which I ate this afternoon), and others with equally intriguing names and heads shaped to resemble their names. I wish we could watch the Japanese series, just so we can see what kinds of characters show up on each episode. This turkey and cheese sandwich is made with bagel thins, decorated with cherry tomatoes, strawberry, blueberries and nori to create Anpanman's face. On the side I packed some more berries, Okinawan sweet potato hearts, broccoli and carrots. I rarely use this box, but it does seem to fit this bread perfectly well, doesn't it?

Shokupanman is a slice of sweet potato bread, smeared with cream cheese, and decorated with blackberries, strawberries, grapes and jam. He was delicious~!

Tebasaki and Kabocha Jack Bento

Tebasaki and Kabocha Jack Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I packed another guaranteed kid favorite: tebasaki chicken wings. I won't tell you how many we make, but I always make more than I think we'll eat so that there will be enough to pack for bento. Today I cleaned out the wings at the butcher. If you haven't yet tried this recipe (see the method and recipe here), you really should. It's easy, and it's deliciously addicting. You won't be able to stop after 5, or 10, or ... well, now you see why I have to make so many. I skip the shichimi togarashi for the kids, but you can sprinkle furikake instead if you like. They are already salted, so my kids love them just as is, straight out of the oven. They are also good cold or at room temp, making them perfect for bento. I used a deep bento box to pack a bunch of wings, plus the usual sides: corn, broccoli, carrots, pluots, strawberry, blackberries, Okinawan sweet potato car, and my Jack-of-the-day, carved from a roasted kabocha slice. So it's really a Japanese pumpkin jack-o-lantern. How about that? ^_^

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. ^_^