Puppy Love

Ahhh, Thursday.  What a perfect day for puppies.  These little guys were so quick and easy to put together.  They also made a morning sensation that created a beautific smile and cheerful squeal!  Cooking the chik nuggets took longer than packing the bento, but it worked out since I was able to sneak in some morning yoga as they cooked.

In the bento: Morningstar Farms chik nuggets, carrot sticks, plum slices, steamed broccoli, a potato and onion pierogie and chunks of mango.

The puppies' ears were cut from another chik nugget and attached with bits of soba noodle.  Their faces are provolone cheese and nori.  The carrot stick flowers were shaped with the use of a handy dandy flower cutter.

Time to Plant Yet?

Spring is being confusing this year.  The weather won't make up it's mind.  It is way too cold to be almost May!  Georgia is supposed to be warm and comfy this time of year and instead I'm freezing.  I want to start planting.  When do I get to play with flowers?

In the bento: Two onigiri with scrambled tofu, purple potato flowers, cherry tomato, pistachios, carrot flower, steamed broccoli and chunks of mango.

The potato flowers are decorated with sesame seeds and have cucumber peel leaves.  I used a knife to slice the cucumber peel from the cucumber and then used scissors to cut the leaves.  The letters were cut from egg sheet leftover after making the Cupcake Kitty.  Have I mentioned lately that I adore my letter cutters?  The thought of trying to cut them out by hand sends shivers down my spine.

Making scrambled tofu onigiri is very easy, however since the tofu is colored using tumeric the yellow gets all over the rice when mixing them together.  The end result is not as striking compared to using scrambled egg.

Cupcake Kitty

Remember the Cupcake kitten bento that I did a while back?  It was based on art that A-chan created, but I'm pretty sure her art was inspired by Samantha Whitten's incredibly cute art.  Her booth at Anime Weekend Atlanta is hands down A-chan's fav booth and it's one of mine, too.  We purchase things of cuteness there every year, but we love the Cupcake Kitties the most.   Not long ago A-chan asked me to make one of the Cupcake Kitty stickers for her bento.   The artist was very sweet and gave me permission (Thank you, Samantha!).

In the bento:  Cheese sandwich, purple mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, fried tofu and mango.

The kitty was created with egg sheets, nori, sugar sprinkles and somen noodles for whiskers.  I think that I still need more practice with the egg sheets!  The brown sheets were colored with soy sauce but for the tan and orange sheets I used food coloring. The purple mashed potatoes are from purple potatoes, no food coloring added.  They were a little sweeter than normal potatoes and A-chan has decided that she likes them just fine.

 This kitty was a fun challenge and you should go see the original art at the Sugar Bunny shop.  I can't wait to see what A-chan requests next!

Lions and Mango and Berries, oh my!

Another Friday, another pizza day.  A-chan and I have a bargain.  She gets pizza on pizza Friday twice a month.  Originally I wanted to not let her have any at all.  The idea of the school giving pizza for lunches made me wince.  But I'm glad that we compromised.  She enjoys the 1 slice of pizza twice a month and since we never have pizza at home, it remains a special treat.  It's not that I have anything against pizza, exactly, although I don't consider it a healthy lunch (unless it's home made and has veggies on it).  I just really, really, really do not like pizza.  The only time that I've had pizza as an adult and actually liked it was at a Pizza Hut in India.  Capsicum as a pizza topping?  Oh yeah, gimme more!

In the bento:  Lots of yummy strawberries, mango, and mulberries with two apple hearts.

I still get coupons for Pizza Hut India by email.  It's like a joyful torture.  Surely they can deliver to Georgia, right?

Earth Day

Over the years the idea of Earth Day has gotten slightly muddled in my head.  Recycling and being environmentally conscious are things that are completely ingrained in daily life.  And of course, one of the best ways (in my opinion, lol) of being Green is to pack waste-free bento lunches! So what does Earth Day mean to me now?  Hmm.  My wish for Earth Day is peace.  War harms the planet and all the creatures that live on it, big and small.  I will honor everything that lives on Earth this Sunday: plant, animal and human.  I will think about peace and wonder what it would be like if the nations of the world concentrated on preserving life on Earth.

In the bento: Scrambled tofu, green peas and sesame carrots on top of a bed of rice, a black olive on a bamboo pick, strawberry halves, mango chunks, mulberries and a peaceful Babybel cheese.

Fruit Friday

Ahhh, pizza Friday.  An excuse to make a fruit only bento Friday.  I may have been a bit ambitious with this one - A-chan probably won't be able to eat all the fruit and her pizza.  I love making fruit bentos so much!  They are like the royalty of fruit salads.  It's fun to put together all the different textures and flavors.

In the bento: Mulberries in a container, strawberries, apple bunnies, cheese flowers and mango chunks.

There are tiny bits of carrot decorating the cheese flowers for a change from sesame seeds.  I have to say that the sesame seeds are a lot easier than cutting teeny bits of carrot!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Black and White

This bento unintentionally became a study in black and white.  After I finished packing it and stood back to take the picture I had to laugh.  Although I often think of pasta as being 'white', in reality it is more of a yellow color.  I am always surprised by this when I try to make pasta from scratch and make it different colors! Again it is a very simple bento instead of a charaben, but it contains some of A-chan's favorite foods which makes both of us happy.

In the bento: Penne pasta with black live slices and a carrot flower in one tier.  The other tier holds matzo crackers and butter cheese, a container of quick cucumber slice pickles, carrot slices, strawberries and mango chunks.  Not shown is a container of freshly grated parmesan cheese for her to sprinkle over the pasta.

The quick pickles are extremely simple to make and are a great way to introduce pickles to kids who aren't fans yet.  (Though mine is a huge fan of pickles and would eat the whole jar and then drink the juice if I would let her!)  You can use any veggie, but some like carrots or cauliflower are better if blanched and dried first.  With only a few ingredients you can make them while you're getting the rest of the bento packed.

Quick pickles: This makes just enough for one bento.

3 slices of cucumber, cut into strips
Salt to sprinkle
2-3 TB Rice Vinegar
Black sesame seeds

Optional ingredients:
Sugar to sprinkle (for sweeter pickles, either regular sugar or brown sugar)
Cayenne powder or flakes (for hot pickles)

1. Spread the veggie slices out in a single layer on a plate or in a bowl.
2. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. Pour the Rice Vinegar on top and let soak for 5-20 minutes. The longer they soak the stronger the pickle.
4. If you want to add any sugar or cayenne, mix it into the rice vinegar before pouring onto the veggies.
5. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Note:  You can dry them before packing.  Or you can leave some of the vinegar as long as you pack them in a container such as the panda above.