Bento Corner

And this was my daughter's final bento for kinder.

The red backpack is called a randoseru which most elementary school children in Japan carry. It's made of heavy leather and is quite cumbersome. Also can't carry as much since the material is not flexible and although the newer models are light, they are traditionally quite heavy and nowhere near as light/convenient as the nylon backpacks...so what are the merits? I'm still trying to figure that one out too, so enlighten me if you have any ideas. Anyway, when in Japan, do as everyone else does or else you get left behind and isolation is never a good feeling now is it?

Oooh, so ranty.

The lettuce is there to hold the bento in place to avoid the last bento fiasco.  I really didn't want this one messed up since this was technically the last bento I needed to make for her as a kindergartner. Once in elementary school, she will have lunch provided (kyuushoku). So for sentimental reasons, I wanted to make this last one right.

The girl is made of cheese, imitation crab, nori, and ham. Underneath there are umeboshi onigiri, tamagoyaki with imitation crab, broccoli and apples on the sides.

Reflecting back over the last 3 years, I got a bit sappy about the girl who used to continually dream about rabbits:

Sotsuen omedetou. Sannen kan obentou wo gambatte tabete kurete arigatou. (trans: Congratulations on graduating kinder. Thank you for diligently eating obento for 3 years.)

The girl is growing up so fast...

Now somebody pass me some tissue! *quietly sobs*

Many thanks to all those who've commented on suggestions for "what I can get my husband so I may get out of the doghouse"! I'm here to report that the husband has been busily searching through all the great links and I think he's been quite pleased. I do want to encourage all posters to put your name in because how could you miss out on great things like this:

Beer Kewpie:

OK, OK this one's really cute -- Tamago Kewpie!

Flip it over:

No? OK how 'bout Bee Kewpie

Ultraman Kewpie

How about freaky Kewpie of the Eye (say it like Cate Blanchett in LOTR -- v. dramatic!)

The choices are endless!

You can search for more here.

For the record, Kewpie searching is totally not a waste of time -- just file it under cultural research or some other loophole.

This bento is modeled after this:

Kewpie dressed in Cinnamon. Don't really see it? Humor me, please -- if my daughter can do it, you can too.

The Kewpie/Cinnamon is made of cheese, hanpen (fish cake), nori, and tomatoes.

Bento also includes yakiudon, kiwi, and Anpanman sweet potatoes which look like this:

This bento was a logistical disaster as too many things shifted about in transport and by the time the girl opened up to eat it, there was just a pile of mess. Ooops.

Only one more day of kindergarten to go and then the girl will finally be going into first grade.

This bento is a variation of the rolled sandwich and pancake sandwich.

The pancakes were super easy to roll -- I have never made roll sponge cake or jelly roll  cakes, but I imagine it's a miniature version of that. I actually prefer the taste of these over the rolled sandwiches. The pancakes were made fresh in the morning so that might have added to the better texture.

First spread the cream cheese all over the pancake and spread the jelly only on the edge of the part you will roll -- like you would roll maki-sushi. It was less messy to roll this way -- the jelly does spread out a bit but it makes for a cleaner, prettier roll in the end. Plus they were pliable enough that they kept their shape without the use of saranwrap to help hold the log roll shape.

Super easy lunch to pack and knocked out both breakfast and lunch in one shot -- always a plus for us slackers! My kids love pancakes so they can eat them for days without getting bored.

Bento also includes sausages, apple slices, and edamame.

In other news, it's White Day today and my daughter got a return gift from Yun-chan and everyone in the family cheered. Then my husband started in...

husband: Hey, it's White Day today?

me: Yes...

husband: What am I getting?

me: ??

husband: I got you a Valentine, remember? Where's my gift?

me: *grabbing one of Yun-chan's chocolates* Here you go, honey! Happy White Day!!

husband: *silence*

So obviously, I suck in a big way. I offered to make him a bento as an afterthought but he wasn't impressed.

Any ideas out there? If you have a rock star idea please share. My husband is a S/W Architect and his interests are anything technical, cool gadgets, Dilbert, South Park, and Dr. Stephen Hawking.

For the best idea, I'll send you a couple of the Kewpie keychains of your choice. On second thought,  to make it more democratic, I'll enter your name in a drawing and have my girl pick out a name -- that's pretty fair, right? Just comment below and I'll collect ideas for one week and then we'll do the drawing.