Bento (94) - Corned Beef

And at long last - I advance to bento level 3 . . . now that I have conquered the art of attractively arranging meat! MU HA HA. Okay . . . I probably can't consistently reproduced the cuteness, but I did at last finally get an attractive meat-bento!

Left side is rice, lettuce, corned beef (cut into slices - and attractively arranged >.<) with carrot, cabbage, and cilantro flower. Far back right is kamaboko stuffed with pickled plum (will have to carve out more room for the pickled plum next time - but this was nommy!) and lower right is mango, kiwi, and half a cherry.

Om nom nom nom om.

Bento (93) - Fried Soba and Other Things that Make Me go Squee!

What can I say? I love cute food! The only thing I would change in this bento was adding cilantro "trees" where the wasabi peas were filling some awkward holes by the sauce container. Unfortunately, I didn't have cilantro. LOL!

Bottom level is soba noodles (fried with onion, carrot, 2 Tbs of Hon Tsuyu soup stock, and 2 Tbs of water) topped with red kamaboko slices. The top level is cucumber and carrots cut into flower shapes, and a small silicone cupcake holder with mango and a red cherry heart (slightly mangled). The red watermelon container holds additional Hon Tsuyu sauce, and I used wasabi peas to fill the extra space.

And in other news . . . I dropped by Pacific Mercantile to pick up some Pocky and other treats for a get-together with some friends . . . and found . . .

SQUEE!!!!!

Little chadango erasers! SQUEE!!! I tried to resist the compulsion to buy . . . but the tea cup . . . look at the tea cup! Kawaii!! >.<
I'm not sure what the two items wrapped in leaves are (one is a dark green leaf around something white - the other is a light green leaf around ham/spam(?) with sweet bean filling (?)) . . . if you know their name, please let me know! I'd love to try them sometime.

Yes. I need professional help.

Bento (92) - Fun with Rainbow Mochi . . .

MMmmmmMMMMmmmmm. I love rainbow mochi. My recent bentos have been missing their "cuteness factor" - so I decided rainbows and pink bunnies were in order, with a side of soy bunnies and a fishie egg. >.<

The fishie is being protected from two frozen cherries by a barrier of flower-shaped cucumbers. I'm not sure why the cherries turned out black on film - they were actually a brilliant red.

The edamame were slightly wrinkled, but they were also the last of my edamame. ::sniffle:: I sense another trip to the Pacific Mercantile approaching rapidly!

Bento (91) - Gyoza

This bento becomes much more impressive when I mention I put it together in under 10 minutes. The bottom is still lacking . . . color. A few furikake sprinkles or chopped up carrots would have helped! Oh well. Top level is imitation crab over avacado with a kiwi/rasberry salad. Bottom level is rice with a Japanese pickled plum, 3 gyoza, and a penguin sauce holder propped up with a raspberry.

Bento (90) - And Now for More Crab and Avacado . . .

Helllloooooo, Bento Blog! I promise I haven't forgotten you. With the first day of summer, Goose decided to fall and break his arm. :( Luckily it was only a hairline fracture. The cast is off and he is back to normal, but there were a few trips to the doctor that were quite necessary. There were a multitude of other time eaters . . . a trip to Las Vegas included . . . but now I'm back! I promise! (Though I keep sleeping through my alarm . . . which is not good for bento making).

Yesterday's lunch was crab and avacado, kept separate by artificial sushi grass. Top is rasberries with swiss cheese flowers. Don't ask me why the swiss cheese is reflective. I ate it anyway. >.<

Bottom is carrot stars with a silicone cupcake holder of balsamic vinegar. Not as color coordinated as ranch, but much better for me.

Bento (89) - Chicken Fingers from Black-Eyed Pea

Is it frightening that I built my bento out of 1/8 of my dinner? I love Black-Eyed Pea - but they give you five chicken fingers, two sides, rolls, cornbread, and dipping sauce. My bento is half the rice, once chicken finger (cut up), a few stir-fry veggies added from the freezer, and a mandarin orange/cherry flower. The kiwi sauce holder has leftover honey mustard dipping sauce. MmmmmmmmMMMMMMmmmm.

I'm still horrified. The entire bottom level was filled with ONE chicken finger. ONE. And they normally give you FIVE! For the curious - green is peas, orange is carrots, red is bell pepper and white is water chestnut. Not my best bento :) Not my worst bento :)

Bento (88) - All American Leftovers

Attractive arrangement of turkey leftovers - FAIL! If I have one bento weakness, it seems to be arranging meat attractively. ::sigh:: On the bright side, I chose to heat my turkey (and pepper jack cheese squares) in the microwave . . . and fresh roasted turkey with hot pepper jack cheese is NOMMY! Upper right is corn and peas with pickled plums in the center. Lower right is sweet potatoes drenched in melted marshmallows and sugar. YUM!