Bento (116) - Flower Bento

I gave myself flowers for lunch. Om nom nom!! Top level is edamame, carrot slices, soy bunnies, and a kiwi/mandarin orange salad. Sadly, my cheese was sporting green fuzzies, so the ears are actually carved from fishcake - which wasn't quite as nommy as swiss cheese. ::sniffle::

Bottom level is udon noodles with sauteed onion and carrot, and a kamaboko flower with carrot center. The kiwi sauce holder has more udon soup base.

I also discovered that the prior fuzzy photos were due to *cough* Goose fingerprints on my camera lens. Nothing like downloading photos from your camera and discovering at least 12 pictures of your child squinting at the flash. LOL!

Bento (115) - Teriyaki Chicken

Now that I know how to make teriyaki sauce, I eat it entirely too often. No regrets! None! The top level is my lovely panko-encrusted chicken accompanied by kiwi/blackberry salad. The bottom is stir-fry veggies, rice, and a pickled plum.

There is no sauce holder since I prefer more of a teriyaki soup and needed a large container :P

Bento (114) - Impulse Bento Box

I visited the Pacific Mercantile to replenish my soy sauce supply (try saying that three times fast!) - when I noticed a new shipment of bento boxes had arrived. Needless to say, I lost all willpower and found an absolutely kawaii (cute) bento box in my basket at checkout.


It's not the best photo . . . I blame the halogen lights at work. Plus, the box is a deep mahogany and highly reflective.

I immediately went back to the office and my co-workers got a unique chance to watch me talk to myself while scouring the fridge for any items I could add for color (unfortunatley, I didn't find any :( not even ketchup :( ). The colors may be a little bland, but it's not bad for a non-planned five-minute prep bento!

Top level is blackberry and kiwi salad, and the bottom level is noodles and beef with sweet soy broth. I threw a blackberry with kiwi "Leaves" on the noodles for a little added color. Really, I would have liked some red or yellow (maybe a scattering of corn?) - but it seemed a little too much trouble to photoshop it in :P

Bento (113) - Random Cranberry Art

My HR Manager begged me to participate in this year's potluck at work. Not having much energy or time (still caring for a sick kitty!) I decided I could handle bringing cranberry gel. Yes . . . the canned kind :P :P :P

However, my sadly neglected bento skills cried out with a sudden vengeance . . . and somehow my alphabet and flower cookie cutters slid into the bag . . .

Apparently everyone was afraid to eat the letters, so at the end of the potluck, someone helpfully rearranged them to read "Pinkish hat nog."

Happy Pinkish Hat Nog, everyone!

Bento (112) - Halloween Cupcakes

Okay - these probably don't qualify as bento . . . but I wanted to show them off anyway. I managed to scrape together enough energy to make some cupcakes for the potluck at work. I'm glad I didn't try the werewolf cupcakes I was thinking of - I would have been up until 2 am instead of 11 pm :P :P :P


Close up of the bat:

The bats would have been much cuter if I could "notch" their wings. However, the type of cookie I was using crumbled with alarming frequency . . . so after destroying 14 sets of wings by trying to add further detail, I gave up and settled for cutting the cookies in half.

Close up of the spider:

The spiders were fun and easy to make . . . except for applying 8 little sprinkle legs to each. Yikes!

Close up of the starry sky (with full moon!):


Easy to make - and great as a background for other things (like bats!). I bought blue decorative sugar and a shaker of "pearls" - mixed the two together in a bowl, and gently rolled a frosted cupcake in the mixture. Press on a yellow M&M for the moon and - voila! starry sky!!

Unfortunately, this has been a bad year for the fuzzies . . . much of my absence from blogging is due to caring for sick kitties. My apologies and hope to be back on schedule within a few months. I miss my bentos more than anyone else! LOL! So does my middle - I think I've gained a few pounds :P :P :P

Bento (111) - Mama Bunny and Radish Flowers!!

I always thought that radish flowers would be difficult. Turns out, they're one of the easiest things ever!! You simply cross-hatch the top with a paring knife and then make two straight slices on each side (all four corners . . . if radishes had corners . . . ) then soak in cold salted water until they open. Whee!

I also decided to try the usual treatment I give my miniature quail eggs on a full-size chicken egg - which is how I got Mama Bunny. Mama Bunny was delicious - but also took half a cup of soy sauce :P Might have to figure out some use for slightly contaminated soy so I'm not throwing out all the sauce . . . hmmmmm.

Bottom level was fried noodles with sauteed onions and carrot flowers. And the lettuce garnishes provided a perfect salad at the end of my meal!

Om nom nom.

Bento (110) - Panko Chicken!

What is panko? Panko is breadcrumbs. Just breadcrumbs. But super-nummy-fluffy-crunch-fried chicken breadcrumbs. I will now always have a box of panko hiding somewhere on my shelves.

I decided to add more veggies to my diet, so a forest of stir-fry veggies replaced some of the space I normally use for rice. And I used leftover veggies to separate the fried chicken pieces. Fruit is strawberries with cheese stars. I brought my teriyaki sauce in a separate container, since I like more of a teriyaki soup, and the standard sauce holders weren't quite big enough.