Hot dog mouse

The cute little mouse hiding in this bento was inspired by Maki Ogawa at Cute Obento.  Her amazingly cute hot dog and sausage characters have been making me oooh and aaah for years!  I haven't been able to come close to creating the cuteness that she does, but her tutorials and creative ideas keep me trying.

In the bento: Vegetarian hot dog mouse, cherry tomato halves, grapes on heart picks, steamed broccoli, vegetable fried rice with baby corn, green peas, carrots, onion, scrambled tofu and shitake mushrooms.

Half of a hot dog makes the mouse.  There is a wedge cut out to allow room for his ears which are just hot dog slices with provolone cheese centers.  His mouth is a provolone cheese heart with a tiny pink sugar dot for a nose.  He has a little tail but I don't know if it's really visible against the tomato.

We're off to the Georgia Aquarium for today's adventure.  I'm looking forward to it, especially spending some time watching the Beluga whales which are my favorite!  A-chan is excited about petting the sharks and rays, she thinks she's tall enough to reach into the petting tank now.  (I sure hope so!)