Bento Corner

So I finished the bento this morning and handed it to my husband so he can take a photo of it for me to post on this site. He takes the photo on the deck and comes back to show my daughter this photo:

"Daddy, this is upside down. It should look like this, " and with that my daughter turned it around so it looked like this:

But my husband insisted, "No, no. It was right the first time. They are ducks."

That's when I interjected and informed them both that my daughter was right and they are meant to be elephants. Though my husband still insists that they look better as ducks.

Bento includes left over spring roll, tamagoyaki with kanikama, cauliflower sauteed with hotdogs and ketchup (my daughter requested this again), ambiguous onigiri with umeboshi and sakura denbu/nori, and fruit picks of strawberries, blueberries, and grapes for dessert.

 So what's the verdict? Ducks? Elephants? You decide...

This is not a repeat...this is Mimi -- Hello Kitty's twin sister with a yellow ribbon on the opposite side. *beams*

Bento includes par boiled cauliflower sauteed with ham in ketchup -- I know it doesn't sound great, but I found the recipe in my bento book and it was not bad. Below Mimi is tamagoyaki with spinach and to the right is salmon patted with flour seasoned with salt and pepper and pan fried. I also put in some tartar sauce with the salmon since my kids eat it better this way. Tartar sauce is made with sweet relish and mayonnaise mixed to taste. And on top of Mimi is sliced apples.

You can tell I am getting really lazy with bento lately. I mean, Mimi should really have 3 whiskers on each side, but I thought two was enough and I was running out of room and time...

My daughter finishes the summer session of preschool in 3 more days! But she (and therefore I) really get no break since she starts kindergarten the following week...

Billy goat bento -- or does it look like a sheep?

My husband took one look at this bento and said, "This is a repeat." But it's not really -- I meant for this to be a goat, not a sheep. We had left over chow mein and since I haven't used noodles in a while, I thought this was the perfect opportunity to change things up a bit (read: I was too lazy to pass up an easy bento packing opportunity).

Also added tamagoyaki with nori left over from the goat face and kabocha. When I asked my daughter about the bento after school, she said, "Well, it was good, but when I bit into the kabocha I streched my legs and ate it," or something like that. I didn't get what she meant, so I asked a second time about the kabocha and she said the same thing. It's a very Japanese way of answering things since she didn't directly say she didn't like it. I believe she was trying to convey that when she bit into the kabocha it made her toes curl like when you are eating something you don't like but can't spit it out so you muster the courage to chew and swallow.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is how a parent can build endurance in their 4 year old...

My daughter's preschool went to the local park on a hike and this was the bento I made for that event.

My daughter started preschool last spring when she was 3.5 years old. She has never been a big eater and even her pediatrician was worried about her growth. She would eat in small bites and chew her food morsels for what seemed like eternity. At that time, I used to make bentos for her but barely put anything in there because she took so long in eating her food. I would include only one roll of onigiri, and 2 other oakzu in small portions. When I think about that time I am amazed that she has maybe doubled to tripled her eating portion. And she comes home and eats a pretty healthy portion for snacks too!

So, for this bento, I included 3 onigiri -- 2 umeboshi and one sake (salmon)! I am so happy to just be able to write something other than umeboshi or shibazuke! Ha! I also sprinkled some denbu on the cheeks of the onigiri, but you can't really see it very well.

Bento also includes sweet teriyaki chicken; salad with orange, wakame, and shirasu; and edamame and grapes on picks.

See where my husband decided to take this photo? It's on the railing of the deck. He is really getting brave where he takes his photos. He is pretty accident prone too, so I don't even want to think about what would happen if he actually dropped the bento...