Winter Hats!

Quick post today… Paige’s bento contains two snow people onigiri, chicken kara-age, and some fruit and veggies.   The hats for the snow people are actually these cupcake picks from Bake it Pretty.  Check out their site, you’ll love them too! :)

Top Hat Frosty #138

Recently, I received my order of cupcake picks and toppers from ShopBakersNook.com!  They had a whole bunch of fun seasonal picks and cool hat toppers, like this top hat that I used for Frosty.  Cupcake picks are such a fun, quick, and easy way to decorate a bento.  Today’s bento includes a snowman onigiri, fried chicken, carrots, cucumbers, a cherry tomato, and a mini apple.

Here are some of the other cupcake picks and toppers that I picked up from ShopBakersNook.com.  Super cute right?

Hawaiian Style Bentos #137

Recently, I made two Hawaiian themed bentos to contribute to a Japanese book printed in Japan.  The book is about Hawai`i and its culture, and is written by Sachiko Uchida Ka’aihue of J-wave, who is also the host of OC 16′s DokoGa TV.  The first bento is a surfer boy against a wave made of rice with the Hawaiian sun shining down upon him.  The bento also contains Kalua pork, a few fruits and veggies, and a side of lomi lomi salmon.

The second bento is a hula girl onigiri adorned with a haku lei.  The bento also contains Portuguese sausage and Spam, both of which are Hawaiian staples!  Hope you like them.

The Just Bento Cookbook, Everyday Lunches To Go and a Few Good (Snow)Men #136

Recently I received my copy of Makiko Itoh’s, The Just Bento Cookbook which I picked up online from Amazon.  First off, I am a big fan of Maki and her site Just Bento which is full of wonderful recipes, tip, and hints to making and packing healthy bentos.  While her cookbook contains a lot of delicious Japanese recipes, I was pleased to find a lot of international recipes as well.  Maki’s cookbook is really the complete package, as it not only gives you recipes, but also provides you step-by-step cooking and packing techniques.  There are hundreds of beautifully taken photos that will inspire you to get up and make your own beautiful bento.

One of the first recipes that I tried was the Chicken Kara-age with green onion sauce.  At first I was taken aback by the amount of fresh ginger that the recipe called for which was 1 teaspoon of fresh grated ginger to 4 ounces of chicken.  I made a pound of chicken so I needed to use 4 teaspoons.  Personally I love ginger, but I was afraid that it would be too strong for the kids.  Anyway, I did as the recipe instructed and I was so impressed with the wonderful flavor of the chicken!  The ginger was not overwhelming at all, and my kids and husband absolutely loved it.  The chicken was moist and flavorful on the inside and amazingly crunchy on the outside.  The green onion sauce was a delicious addition to the chicken, so don’t forget to make that too!  The bento pictured is my lunch today which contains Maki’s chicken kara-age on a bed of lettuce, white rice with pearl barley, Japanese pickles, and ume.

This was one of Paige’s bentos from the other day.  It contained two snowman onigiri, fried chicken, sauteed broccoli and carrots, and a mini apple.

Rudolph, Snowmen, and a Few Kitties #135

I can’t believe that it is December already!  Only a few more weeks until Christmas and then New Years is right around the corner.  Time is flying by way too fast!

Today’s bento is inspired by Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.  Along with the reindeer onigiri are garlic shrimp, sauteed Brussels sprouts and carrots, a mini apple, and fresh pineapple.

Here is another Christmasy bento with a simple snowman and snow-woman.  The bento also contains fried chicken, a mini apple, and sauteed Brussels sprouts and carrots.

The kitties are made from a combination of brown and white rice, and their noses are actually just picks.  I thought that it made them look like there were butterflies resting on their noses.  The rest of the bento includes homemade chicken nuggets with a honey & mustard dipping sauce, a mini apple, butterfly carrots, and fresh pineapples.

The Rudolph bento is posted on What’s for Lunch Wednesday!