Spaghetti (Squash) Bento

This one is so cheery it almost makes me forget we're in the middle of winter. I always used to roast my spaghetti squash but this time I used the microwave for 8 minutes per half and it seemed to work just as well. I noticed the strands were more fragile though, and they were soft and broke easily. Anyone else notice the same? Otherwise, the kids didn't seem to mind there weren't any actual spaghetti noodles.

This box is called Saladbook (I don't know if it's still available as I didn't see it on Amazon) and it's shallow but the diameter is quite large, so you can fit a lot of food in here, and not just salads. The lid snaps tight and is leakproof; a plus with kids who jam their lunch totes into their backpacks on the regular.

Inside MisterMan's Saladbook: spaghetti squash, meat sauce, avocado, romaine and tomato salad, pickled red onion and radish, steamed Okinawan sweet potatoes, strawberries, blood orange slices.

😊❤🍱

Angel Hair Mushroom Saute Bento

Angel Hair Mushroom Saute Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.

This one involved cooking, but only very minimally, which made it an easy Monday meal. I sauteed a variety of mushrooms (crimini, beech and enoki) in butter and some olive oil until softened, along with minced shallot and garlic. Salt and peppered to taste, parsleyed, and grated some aged manchego into the pan with the heat turned off. Tossed the cooked angel hair into the pan with the mushroom sauce, and it was done. And the kids gobbled it up! I packed some for MisterMan's bento, topped with some dark-skinned purple sweet potato which I found locally. He also gets the first baby nectarines I've seen at the market this year, baby strawberries, and fresh pickled cukes, kumquats, and watermelon radish. Happy Monday!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Bento

Whole Wheat Spaghetti Bento, originally uploaded by sherimiya ♥.
Hello bento friends! Another day in the week of bento. But we're half way done already, yay! Before I forget to mention it, CSN Stores has contacted me about doing a review of one of their products. Never heard of them? Me either, but it turns out they have over 200 online stores where you can find a huge variety of stuff: anything from swingsets to cookware to yes, even bento supplies. I'll be checking to see what kind of products they offer that we might be interested in using for bento or cooking purposes. Stay tuned for that in the next few weeks.

MisterMan's bento is a quick spaghetti tossed with bacon, mushrooms and chard, and topped with fresh grated parmesan. Other side of the LunchBot holds sweet orange slices, carved carrots, watermelon radish "flowers" and a couple of grapes. Super fast and easy, so I can go on to other things. Happy Wednesday!