Out of This World

I absolutely love this bento! It's a pancake bento where the pancakes aren't the star focal point which is always a challenge. But even better I managed to use these strange little picks for the first time. I've always assumed that they were from Anpanman, but I'm not absolutely sure. Can anyone tell me what they are? A-chan enjoyed the little 'alien' guys stealing her green peas, though.

In the bento: A moon apple, fried potato rocket and UFO, orange wedges, steamed cauliflower, soy sausage links, miniature pancakes, and tiny provolone stars.

To make the moon apple I used a metal moon cookie cutter from Wilton's. (I've tried doing apple cuts with plastic cutters and it never works for me.) Then I carved the peel from the inside of the moon using a small knife.

The rocket and UFO were cut from raw slices of potato and then shallow fried in a mixture of olive oil and butter until browned. The black sesame seeds seemed to be a perfect decoration for them and were just held on by the grease.