Mini Perry Sandwiches

Here’s Perry again, this time in the form of mini sandwiches.  The platypus are made from PBJ sandwiches with cheddar and sugar eyes and are served along with pluots and a few cucumber slices and baby carrots.  Three more days until Phineas and Ferb the Movie!  :)

Perry’s demise…

PBJ Ferb Sammies

Since I made Phineas yesterday, I just had to make a Ferb bento today!  Ferb’s head is long and thin so I could make two Ferbs out of one PBJ sandwich.  To make Ferb I just printed out a picture of him, cut his head out, and used it as a stencil.  Then I used a sharp knife to cut him out and assembled my PBJ sandwich complete with cheese eyes and a few sprigs of parsley for his hair.  I thought about using cucumbers for his hair but figured it would just make the bread soggy.

Anyway, Sean loved it and he thought the Ferb sammies were pretty funny looking.

A Tale of Two Bentos #129

A reader (Hi Linda!) recently wrote to me about the logistics of bento making.  Well to begin, my day starts at 5:30 am.  I wake up early because I enjoy having a cup of coffee, reading the news, and spending some time with my hubby while it is still peaceful and quiet in the morning.  At around 6:15 am I start Paige’s lunch.  Depending on what it is, Paige’s lunch will take me anywhere from 5 minutes (for sandwiches) up to 30 minutes for bentos that require cooking like the one pictured above.  I keep things really simple and try to do as much prep as I can the night before.  I also make sure that whatever I make for dinner that I save a small portion for Paige’s lunch the next day.  For example the bento above contained misoyaki chicken, corn, rice, and watermelon.  Since we had misoyaki chicken for dinner the night before, I saved some of the cut and marinated the chicken to cook the next morning.  We also had watermelon and corn for dinner that night so I reserved a few pieces on the side for Paige’s lunch.

Sandwiches are much simpler and faster to put together since they require no cooking.  I prep everything the night before (including cutting the carrots and the details for the sandwich’s face) so that all I have to do in the morning is assemble the sandwich and  tuck it in a bento box.  Really the key to an easy morning is to do as much prep as you can the night before and just do one simple cute thing for your bento.

Piggy and Lion Sammies #121

This past month has been dedicated to a lot of home improvement at the Yuen household.  We sorted though all of our accumulated junk and we finally stored some and then donated the rest.  I find it amazing that we have collected so much junk over the years!  We also repainted all of our walls and have almost re-floored every room.  Needless to say because of all of this, my posts have become pretty sparse and I have to apologize for being so slow to answer emails, questions, and comments.  Bear with me as the end is near and I will respond to your questions.

Much love and thanks to Lynne for matching my donation from the previous post to the World Food Programme and Hawaii Food Bank!  And much thanks to Sonoma Bento who may soon start her own charitable donations per post!  You ladies are super awesome!!!

This piggy sandwich is a makeover of the piggy bagel that I made a few weeks back.  One reader asked how I keep everything in place on the bear sandwich that I recently made.  For these particular sandwiches, it’s important to chose the right sized bento box so that the sandwich doesn’t shift around during transport.  I also place a small piece of waxed paper (parchment paper works well too) over the face and close the lid.  The lid presses lightly down on the face holding it in place.  Alternatively you could just wrap the whole sammy in plastic wrap and that will keep everything in place too!

I made this lion sammy yesterday and Paige thought it was a cat.  Close enough I guess.   BTW the newsprint (and the strawberry paper for the piggy) is actually waxed paper that I picked up from Rakuten.

The Biscuit Madness Continues…

Today’s post is a non-bento post since we stayed at home to eat lunch today.  The sandwiches were quick and easy to assemble because I had made the biscuits earlier this morning before we went out for our walk with our dog.  I was planning on putting them into a bento and going to the park but I was too exhausted by the time we got home.  We live on a pretty steep hillside so we usually walk down the hill to warm up and then walk back up to exercise Macky.  About a third of the way up our hill Sean managed to kick off his shoe which hit the side of a parked car and then found it’s way into the gutter. O_O  Soooo, I had to pick Sean up and gave him a piggy back ride up the hill to our house.  It actually wouldn’t have been so bad if Macky wasn’t with us, but I had to hold on to his leash and carry Sean at the same time.  Paige had offered to hold on to Macky but he weighs just as much as she does now and probably would have pulled her into the street or something.  Oh well, at least I got my workout today!

Anyway, the biscuit sandwiches are filled with sliced honeyed ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and mustard.

BTW, check out all of the bentos at What’s For Lunch Wednesday on Shannon’s Blog, What’s for Lunch at Our House!

To make the biscuits, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and prepare pan by spraying it with non stick pan spray.  Open a can of Pillsbury buttermilk biscuits (the smaller can and not the Grands) and place two biscuits in each opening.  Press the dough evenly into the pan to shape it.  Bake in oven for about 20 minutes or until biscuit becomes golden.  Slice in half and prepare your sandwiches to your liking!

Fun Finger Sandwiches Bento #102

Here is a bento that you can eat with your hands!   Mini finger sandwiches made with deli meat, were decorated with cheddar and mozzarella cheese butterflies and flowers.  I also dressed up the mini sandwiches with cute picks and sugar eyes for the butterflies.  Along side the bite-sized sandwiches were pretzels, strawberries, and a small side container of mayo.

To see more fun finger foods and bite-sized lessons check out Kawaii Bento Club’s Bento Summer School, week 2.

These are the cutters and picks that I used for today’s bento.

Spring Flowers Sandwich Bento #88

After today, Paige is off for the rest of the week.  We decided to make it a movie night tonight and hopefully we’ll be able to find something that both kids will agree upon.  Mark and I need to go out on a date/movie night soon because I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie that wasn’t rated G or PG.  I’ve been wanting to see Iron Man 2, so hopefully we can go and see that…(hint, hint- Mark).

Today’s bento is a quick PBJ sandwich bento.  I cut the sandwiches to fit into the muffin cups and added on sugar eyes (love these!) and cheddar smiles and flowers.

I also wanted to mention all of the cool contests going on!  Check out these fabulous bento blogs!

Hapa Bento- Hello Kitty and Cookbook Giveaway, BOMB for May

Bento Zen- New Apartment Giveaway

Adventures In Bentomaking- Little Red Riding Hood Giveaway

An American in Bento- Bento Box Giveaway

Don’t forget to enter!!!

Book Signings!

Here is an updated list of my book signings for Hawai`i’s Bento Box Cookbook, 2nd course! If you are in the area please stop on by, I would love to meet you all!  I will be having food samples, like the ones pictured above, at the following locations- Barnes and Noble Ala Moana, Japanese Cultural Center, Barnes and Noble Kahala Mall, Borders Express Mililani, and Borders Kaneohe.  They are mini versions of a pumpkin sandwich that I have in my new cookbook and are filled with slow cooked pulled roast beef, a recipe that is in it as well.

Sat. May 1^st- Barnes and Noble- Ala Moana, noon
Sat. May 1^st- Borders- Ward 3pm
Sun. May 2^nd- Japanese Cultural Center 10:30am
Sun. May 2^nd- Borders- Waikele 2pm
Tues. May 4^th- Marukai- Dillingham 10am
Tues. May 4^th- Marukai- Ward 1pm
Sat. May 8^th- Borders- Pearl Ridge 1pm
Sun. May 9^th- Costco- Waipio 1pm
Sat. May 15^th- NEX 10:30 am
Sat. May 15^th- Costco- Iwilei 1pm
Sat. May 22^nd- Barnes and Noble- Kahala Mall 1pm
Sun. May 23^rd- Borders Express- Mililani 1pm
Sat. May 29^th- Borders- Kaneohe 1pm

Hope to see you there!!!

Twin Girl’s Day Bento #46

Yesterday I met with Sachiko Uchida who hosts the popular Japanese radio show on J-wave called the Colors of Hawai`i, as well as OC 16′s Doko Ga TV.  We recorded a short interview for her Colors of Hawai`i show talking about how popular charaben bento has become in Hawai`i, as well as in the US and abroad.  Even Paige got to answer a few questions and was thrilled to be on the radio.  Thanks so much to Sachi and Chiho for letting us be a part of your show.

Girl’s Day  is tomorrow!  We picked up a few boxes of baked rice crackers from Marukai for Paige to share at school for Girl’s Day.  The boxes are really cute and if you pull on the tab their eyes change.

Crouching Tigers Bento #37

Yesterday I got a cool bento tool from a fellow bento enthusiast that just made my day!  My first thought was of course- “I can make tigers out of this! Yipee!”.  I made PBJ sandwiches today and with the help of my nifty cutter, I made all these wonderful tigers and a sweet heart too.  I used chocolate sprinkles for the stripes and really big sugar eyes that I attached with a little bit of icing.  After arranging them in the bento box, I thought that they really did look like cats of prey- crouching and getting ready to pounce to their next meal.

Isn’t it a beauty!