Breakfast For Lunch Bento, Pt. 2

Breakfast For Lunch Bento, Pt. 2, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Let's hear it for breakfast for lunch! Actually, what happened is that I didn't have quite enough salmon to go around, so I decided to supplement the bento with tamagoyaki (rolled with chopped spinach and scallions) and nitrite-free gluten-free maple sausages. This sleek bento is for TinySprite, and includes the savory treats I just mentioned, plus a little grape tomato, a sectioned satsuma mandarin, a little steamed broccoli tucked into the free space, and some Okinawan sweet potato butterfly shapes. I've discovered that a very small sampling of each food item doesn't seem too overwhelming, and she's more likely to eat it all. One tier of this double stainless steel bento set serves her kindergarten appetite perfectly. She hasn't started using "real" chopsticks yet, but she's pretty close. I got this pair for her to practice, forgetting that she's a lefty and this kind of practice pair is sided! Hmm. I took it apart and put it back together in what I thought might be a backwards way, but I tried it and it didn't really work. I gave it to her anyway, and she was THRILLED. Didn't even notice that the thumb pad and finger indent were off. And get this: she actually uses it pretty well. Go figure. Haha! Whatever, right? ^_^

Scallion Pancakes Bento

Scallion Pancake Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

Today I made a batch of scallion pancakes for TinySprite, and decided to make more to pack for her bento. It's perfect for her light appetite, and will satisfy her carb cravings. I adapted the recipe here (from use real butter) but used half whole wheat flour for fun. It comes out a little chewier this way, but the kids don't mind. All you do is make a flour and water dough, roll it out, add chopped scallions, roll it up and roll it out flat again. Do you notice that I used the word "roll" three times in the last sentence? Yeah, it's a LOT of rolling, and it's best to roll it very thin. Now I know why I am not a baker. My arms are aching. But don't let that stop you. It's very tasty and fun to eat! Into this bento I also fit a piece of steamed corn on the cob, broccoli, a grape tomato, and a golden beet-dyed quail egg decorated with nori and a bit of carrot to look like a baby chick. The other section contains a juicy strawberry, supersweet blackberries (love these with Greek yogurt and walnuts!), carrots and grapes. All fun finger foods for my preschooler. ^_^

Ginger Scallion Fish Bento

Ginger Scallion Fish Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.

Are you ready for Spring yet? I know I am. This bento has a bunch of plum blossoms to get us in the mood and signal to the world that we are ready for flowers (and sun)!

I steamed cod in shoyu, ginger and scallions with just a little cracked pepper and a final drizzle of sesame oil. At the same time I roasted some sliced yellow squash and broccoflower, which I placed next to the fish on the lettuce. In the next container I placed some purple potato chips (also roasted), a grape tomato and some red carrot flowers. All the veggies roasted together. I thought the purple might run off into the lighter colored stuff, but it held its color well. I brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with garlic powder during cooking and that's it. In the fruit section I put a strawberry, 2 cherries and a partially peeled mini mandarin. I was in the midst of peeling the whole thing like I usually do, but at this point I noticed that it looked like a little hooded creature! So I added eyes and a nose and put him in like that. Afterwards I also noticed that the cherry stems look like antennae, kind of.

This is a newish bento box that I got from a Korean market. It's nice because it has 3 sections as well as a transparent lid. The volume is 480ml, which is just right for MisterMan if I pack it full(ish).

Happy Monday friends!