Fried Rice for Camp

Have you ever looked at a word, one that is very familiar, and been totally convinced that you'd spelled it incorrectly?  The word 'summer' went all wonky on me this morning.  It just looked wrong!  Ah, well.  I would attribute it to heat stroke except that it hasn't been very hot at all.

In the bento: Veggie fried rice, a huge cherry tomato, peach slices, grapes, pickled cucumber slices and black olives.

This bento is another one from last week's summer camp which A-chan absolutely adored.  Again, I kept it very simple.  The fried rice has green peas, roughly cut carrots, onions and scrambled tofu mixed into it. I put a little too much soy sauce in the rice as I fried it, so it ended up more brown than normal.  It seemed overkill to put in a soy sauce bottle with her bento, lol.

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.

A Cheer for A-chan

A-chan was feeling a tad nervous about her school play today.  She confessed this to me yesterday as we picked mulberries from the tree in the backyard.  Her bento this morning was an attempt to encourage her and help her get rid of the butterflies in her tummy.  She did a great job, all of them did.  And the play was fun to watch with lots of singing and even some dancing!

In the bento: Garlic and basil couscous, green peas, carrot heart and carrot sticks, a strawberry, mulberries and a tofu heart.  Hidden underneath the tofu heart are the awkward pieces from the heart cut out.

The girl is made from provolone cheese (I'm sure that comes as no surprise, lol) as well as the letters.  The sign was cut from a baby spinach leaf.  Her hair is inari, her face is nori and the little beret is part of a black olive with a soba noodle pinning it into place.  The tofu heart was sauteed in sesame oil to give it a bit of a crunchy coating.

If you aren't familiar with mulberries, they are very similar to blackberries but grow on trees instead of bushes.  They can be a little more tart than blackberries.  We love to eat them straight off the tree, but we gathered a lot yesterday so that she can have them in her bentos.