Bento Corner

Happy 2008!

Hope you all made your resolutions! Ours is to not move and stay put in one spot for the next 3 years since last year was inundated with one move after another. Our last move happened on Christmas Day of 2007 -- it was indeed a lovely Christmas (/sarcasm).

My daughter has started a new kinder now in the central part of Tokyo. This is a public kinder as opposed to her last kinder which was private and this one's much smaller. The last one had 300 students and this one has maybe 80 - 100 students. And the kids bring their own bentos everyday  unless kinder ends early for one reason or another. No bus to take her to school so we walk it uphill for about 5-7 minutes. I heard from another mom that the elementary attached to the kinder is quite well-known in the area and many actors and musicians send their kids to this particular school.

Bento above is of 3 cats -- my daughter said these were representative of the 3 cats we owned back when we were on the peninsula. We had to get rid of those cats and I feel for the kids as they are really wanting some kind of pet...and the robot dog we got them 2 years ago is just not cutting it anymore. I've no idea what to do since the condo we are renting does not allow pets and according to the husband we are to stay put for 3 years. I guess we should try and visit the zoo more often or opt for a mechanical cat??

Above bento includes 3 onigiri cats (ears made of ham, face parts of nori), tamagoyaki with imitation crab, chicken meatballs with sliced cheese in various shapes, broccoli, lettuce, and sweet beans. My daughter came home quite hungry after school and insisted I put more in her lunch. I actually thought I put in too much food, but turns out the new kinder also doesn't include a snack so the kids tend to get pretty hungry by the time lunch time rolls around.

Jack the Pumpkin King Bento.

My son loves The Nightmare Before Christmas movie. In the beginning of the movie, they sing this song where the chorus goes, "This is Halloween, this is Halloween..." and for the longest time I thought they were singing, "Christmas Halloween, Christmas Halloween..." until someone (probably my husband) corrected me. I tend to get a lot of simple lyrics wrong...I mean really wrong.

Like in Jingle Bells, I thought the lyrics went like this, "Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh. Oh what fears we go, laughing all the way. Bells on bob tails ring, making spirits rise..." I sang it like this into adulthood up until maybe 2 or 3 years ago when my husband stopped me one day...

husband, "What is it you're singing?"

me, "Jingle Bells."

husband, "Did you know it's 'O'er the fields we go' and 'making spirits bright?'"

me, "No, really?"

husband, "Yeah, it's not about bringing back the dead -- rising spirits sounds like you're singing about ghosts..."

me dumbfounded, "I thought it was about getting over your fears and making your spirits rise to a higher level so you become happy."

husband, *bursts with laughter unable to counter*

So yeah, I get song lyrics incredibly wrong...and don't trust me with idioms.

Above Jack the Pumpkin King sandwich is made  with sliced cream cheese (it doesn't really taste like cream cheese more like a mix of cream cheese and regular sliced cheese), smoked salmon, tamagoyaki, and nori. Bento also includes ham rolled around cucumber and macaroni au gratin.

Happy Holidays!!

We had gomoku inari for lunch yesterday.

The gomoku was  pre-made which included lotus root, carrots, fried tofu, shiitake mushrooms all simmered in a fish based broth. Just mixed that in with hot rice and stuffed into pre-marinated tofu pouches. So simple when feeling so lazy!

I also ordered a new set of craft punches and cutters so tried those out too.

The upper left inari is a girl, the one next to it is a lion and then one below is a sun. My daughter took one look and figured out each one without any hints. My husband on the other hand was quite clueless as to what each one represented.

In other news, we found a place to live in the inner wards of Tokyo and it is so vastly different from the current place we are living. Right now we are surrounded by fields of various vegetables and the water tastes fresh here. I imagine the air is a bit cleaner and all we see are students and greenery around these parts.

The new place is in the bustling hubs of Tokyo. Our immediate neighborhood is off the beaten path so it's quiet, but once you walk 10 minutes in any direction you realize you are right in the city. It's kinda crazy, but my husband likes the new neighborhood since he says it reminds him a bit of San Francisco. I like the new place too but I'll miss the wholesomeness of the outskirts of the Tokyo country.

Will take some amusing photos and post them here to contrast the two differences of Tokyo...like the fresh vegetable vending machine for example --such an oxymoron, yes?? And the "Blade Runner" scenerary within a 10 minute walk of our new residence.

Girl bento for my daughter.

Boy bento for my son.

Somehow the girl face just doesn't look very appealing to me. I think the face placement is not symetrical. I was actually having trouble with the placement of the left eye on the girl bento. My daughter didn't notice too much though. 

My son, on the other hand, took off all the facial parts and then ate the onigiri. I guess it's disturbing to him to have faces on foods. *shrugs*

Brother and sister bento side by side.

Bentos consist of salmon onigiri, tamagoyaki, edamame, fried shrimp, quail eggs, and root vegetables simmered in a dashi broth. Back in the US I used to salt and bake the salmon which was rather time consuming and then my mom got me some of cooked ready for onigir salmon in a bottle. It is super convenient. You can mix it in rice or use it for onigiri filling. Certainly not as good as freshly grilled, but my family hasn't complained yet!

My daughter is 3 years older than my son and yes, they eat about the same portion. I think they almost weigh the same, but my daughter is taller by 8 inches or so. I always get asked if they are twins.

My boy is going to be a linebacker...