Picnic bentos for us to have at the Red Hatter picnic tomorrow!
(I even went out to get matching bento boxes for us, because… you know… it’s me 
and any excuse to shop bento supplies!)
So we have:
Top tier – Starfruit, kiwiberries, blueberries, strawberries, mandarin, Broccolini, grape tomatoes, cucumber, radish.
Bottom tier – Strawberry thingies (marshmallow with strawberry centre), carrot/cucumber/radish/okra flowers, vegetarian sushi. Tamagoyaki (egg roll)
I’ve switched to posting all my bento stuff on a different blog, but I wanted to share a special bento I made for MiniObsi’s 8th birthday!
Sticking all those sesame seeds on, and moving them into the right positions, took a phenomenally long time!
Top is boiled eggs with some coloured noodles I bought from a Japanese store, nori eyes, ham cheeks and “rollup” (fruit leather) mouth (though that melted with the moisture, so I’ll have to remember that next time)…Ā with carrot, kiwifruit and blueberries. Bottom tier is rice with tuna and sesame seeds, with coloured cheese and pea pod bits.
And I wrote a birthday message in rollup… and it’s in her special Monster High bento box – made by taking an otherwise boring bento box, printing out a pic of her favourite character on sticker paper, cutting it out and sticking it to the lid – then covering it with clear packing tape, to make it a bit more durable.
I wasn’t going to post more bento things to this blog, as I’ve made a new blog for my bento.. but I thought I’d share this one I made last night.
Made for a gaming night snack for 4 people.Ā It amazingly took me 3 hours to make!Ā it soooo doesn’t look it lol.
Tuna & avocado sushi (made in the cool “inside out” way so the rice is on the outside), cherry tomato “ladybugs” on a bed of lettuce with some small pickled onion stars and grape flowers. Strawberry and Kiwifruit cut into flower shapes, apple bunnies (my first go at those!), Carrot and cucumber flowers, with “mini baby bell” cheese.Ā Centre is cabana supposed to look like flowers with a pea centre, but didn’t work as planned….. with a cup of choc-filled cookies.
Donna also requested octodogs, but they didn’t fit in this container, so I brought 2 of those in another container with a tiny mango jelly cup for each of us, and a container of pickled ginger, for the sushi.
I just realised I put a link in the side menu, but didn’t mention anywhere else that I’ve now moved the majority of my bento related stuff to it’s own blog…
http://obsibento.wordpress.com
I’ve got reviews of the products I’ve tried, recipes and tips and stuff, as well as links to some awesome bento sites around.
I occasionally post on bentolunch.org and bentolunch.livejournal.com which are cool communities to check out if you’re a bento enthusiast.
May the 4th is apparently Star Wars day…Ā see… “may the fourth be with you” – clever hey š
Well,it just so happened that my long lusted over Star Wars cookie cutters (that I’d been wanting for such a long time, but the online store that sells them doesn’t ship Internationally, and the friend I asked to get them procrastinated and ended up never buying them, so had to ask a few other people who said yes, but then never did, until finally one did and I got them!)… came a few weeks ago…
… and on May 4th I finally got around to making MiniObsi a Star Wars bento-ish lunch using them. (painted food colouring onto the cookie cutter details and stamped it into the bread).Ā Not particularly stunning, but she thought it was grand.
(I was going to make bread legs for R2, but I was in a hurry and couldn’t be arsed, so they are painted on [reminds me of that thing mothers say when you’re being lazy “are your legs painted on” heh])
Now… the interesting thing is… I had no idea it was Star Wars day when I made that!… (not sure how I missed that, living under a rock evidently!) until I got on facebook after dropping MiniObsi off at school, and seeing people talking about it.Ā MASSIVE COINCIDENCE!
See.. the Force really was with me!Ā HahahahaĀ But then now knowing it was Star Wars day, I figured I had to tie [no pun intended] dinner in with the theme too… so I used the cookie cutters again, to make stamped detail on the top of pie lids!
Star Wars pies, for the win!
I just bought MiniObsi a proper bento box:
It’s a 2 tier box… We picked it to go with this insulated bento bag
Though now I look at the bag again, I’m not sure if it’s pink or red… I thought it was red, so we picked a red bento box… but it might be pink… I don’t know if that means I’ll have to buy a pink Hello Kitty box so they match…Ā I’m fussy about stuff like that…. I’ll have to wait and see…and I bought a freezer block thing to match too… which wouldn’t fit the red theme, no.. and we have several freezer blocks anyway, but I couldn’t resist matching…
I didn’t know MiniObsi actually liked Hello Kitty, I just started looking for ebay stores that sold insulated bento bags, saw that one and liked it and asked MiniObsi is she wanted it, and she was very enthusiastic šĀ I’ve wanted to buy her a proper bento box for ages (probably 3 years, when I first discovered bento)… but their price and the fact I don’t know if they are “safe” plastics always turned me off… especially since I do really like the “fit & fresh” box I use….
But, enabled by some people talking bento on facebook, I decided to splurge.Ā Not that it was a huge splurge… the box was about $18 and the bag about $7… from here.Ā I think we’ll use it only occasionally, as something special.Ā I can’t wait to make some bento in it though!
So we’ve been going through, getting some more ideas for bento.. Continue reading
MiniObsi is now in grade 2!
(that’s her looking at the camera going “muuuuum”)
Amazingly… she came back from a sleepover at my parents place a few weeks ago and asked for a boiled egg!Ā Poppy had given her one and she’s decided she likes them again – woot!Ā She went off them 2 years ago after I spent like $15 buying funky bento egg moulds to make shaped boiled eggs, so I was pleased I could use them again, so she had a cute bunny egg for her first day back at school bentoĀ to celebrate! (you mould the egg then use diluted food colouring to paint the features.. I was in a hurry, and managed to spill blue food colouring on myself, so one eye is a bit pox..)
The rest of the bento was boring, since first day back was a Friday, so I didn’t bother buying anything fancy… so the photo of it was too boring to bother adding… it was a rolled up piece of ham (her request), cucumber sticks, a rice ball (tuna inside) and carrot slices cut into flowers.
MiniObsi’s first bento in her new bento box…
(It’s a rice bar thing….. Ā a pink coconuty rice cake thing….(the spoon is for the salad) 3 chicken nuggets (she likes them cold…) a salad made of cherry tomato, cucumber and carrot, and 3 little choc biscuit ball things…
And I went all out and bought some special punches to make faces from nori sheets, so I could make cute rice balls!
MiniObsi won’t eat “rice balls” but she will eat them if you call them “sushi balls” – so there you go…Ā So it’s tuna filled “sushi balls” (I even gave themĀ slightly rosy cheeks with some jam!)… with pea necklaces, carrot sticks, and some “hello panda” cookies for lunch… and a choc-chip muffin and a tub of homemade custard with banana (the yellow tub)… for recess… and an apple for her “fruit time” thing.
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And a bento from a while ago…
It’s a caterpillar made of cherry tomatoes and cucumber (cream cheese mouth and vegemite eyes)… hiding behind 2 carrot star flowers (the green stems are “food picks” you can buy)……with cheese flowers in one container and carrot/cucumber star/flowers in the other.
…well.. maybe not the best (though it is purple ;))… but I am so thrilled with MiniObsi’s lunchbox, I wanted to rave about it
The Lunchbox is a “fit & fresh” – though the newer version has oval smaller containers, rather than the hexagon sort of shape these are.Ā We’ve had it for 2 years now, and it’s still going strong (it was $15 at Howard’s Storage world).. It’s BPA free…Ā I love it because it suits our lunch needs perfectly. It’s been used in most of my bento posts
So… Ontop of the lunch (whatever that may be – a sandwich, pizza slice,Ā bento, salad etc)… I put a piece of PUL fabric… to keep everything nice and neat(ish) before the iceblock goes on…Ā Ideally I should cut a sheet of silicone… which would be easier to clean, and I have had to replace the PUL 3 times now as it can get mouldy if it’s left wet too long.
The iceblock is like a floor/divider thing as well as keeping everything cool.Ā It has holes in it (so you can put your finger in to lift it out)
2 smaller containers go on the iceblock…Ā These are perfect because there is a designated “fruit time” they have before recess, so one container can have cut up fruit in there, leaving the other container for recess, usually a homemade muffin or pikelets or something, but if I’m lazy a muesli bar can fit, and her cutlery (for a salad or something) can go there too
Then the lid goes ontop, and I put it inside an insulated lunchbag to keep things together and keep everything in there cooler.
The only disadvantage is her insulated bag is sideways opening, so by the time it’s thrown in her bag – sideways, I have to pack her lunch well or the bento bits can become all messy
In summer she sometimes has a frozen yoghurt tub (which partially defrosts by lunchtime) for lunch, so I’d put the yoghurt in the bottom, with the fruit container beside it, and her recess thing in it’s container ontop of the fruit container and a spoon ontop, with the iceblock divider under the lunchbox in the bag…
I’m still into the idea of bento, but sometimes it’s hard to think of what to put into them, particularly since MiniObsi won’t eat cold rice or boiled eggs and other things you’d traditionally use…
So I’m making myself a list of ideas here of things I know she likes and would eat..
More of MiniObsi’s school lunch bentos
Cooked corn cobbs (steamed the night before then cut in half), carrot slices, cubed baby beetroot, cut cherry tomatoes and a yoghurt/jelly/peach dessert (Mixed yoghurt with some peach pieces and gelatine to set it)
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Sushi made with purple (naturally purple!Ā – yes, it exists!!) rice (with tuna and carrot filling), made into a catterpillar with a pea eye, carrot antenae and an apple mouth. With carrot slices and cherry tomato
The bottom compartment has star shaped ham & cheese pizzas, carrot slices, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, a pink rice bunny head and beetroot.
The top compartments have apple slices and pikelets.
I made more of the moulded rice, but Miniobsi didn’t like them.Ā So I ate them.
and a closeup of the mini pizzas
I’m in a “stealing ideas from other people’s bento” mood again… and reinspired to do some more interesting bentos
I’ve been getting into making Bento lunches for my daughter for kinder… here are some of the ones I’ve made.
cucumber slices on the top/bottom edges, then flowers cut from carrot (orange), capsicum (red) and beetroot (deep red – which I patted dry with paper towels)ā¦ the beetroot flowers with stems (cucumber peel) are on cheese stars because Iād cut them before actually planning what Iād do, and didnāt know what else to use them forā¦ The heart in the centre is capsicum, and the dark things are purple rice balls (purple rice [yes there is such a thing!] seasoned with a bit of mixed herbs and salt, formed into balls)ā¦ and there are some pasta T-rex shapesā¦ since I cooked up some of that before planning what Iād do and also didnāt know what do do when them, ditto with the peas, which I had planned to thread into toothpicks in a corn, pea, corn pea configuration but couldnāt find the toothpicks, and couldnāt neatly cut down a skewerā¦ so I popped a few peas in for gap filling purposes. All that on buttered wholemeal bread.
Another miserable excuse for a bento, but I didnāt go shopping as planned, so was working with what we had in the house. She was happy at the thought of sushi for lunch though, so thatās the main thing. It is tuna sushi (with some beetroot offcuts from the flower making in there) topped with a cheese flower with a nori (seaweed) flower cutoutā¦ with a flan case of cheese and some cut up cracker, mini corn, carrot slices and sultanas. Bread stars to fill the gaps. There are cucumber ālidsā to keep everything from moving about.
Ham sandwich stars, cheese teddy bears, carrot slices, watermelon pieces and cherry tomatoes.
Apple bird in an alfalfa nest, cherry tomatoes, peas in the pod, carrot stars and cheese hearts.Ā And a closeup of the bento birdā¦. it even has a pea pod eye šĀ Not the most stunning piece of sculpture, but not too shabby for something done quicklyā¦ and with no planning (cut by hand, not with a cutter)
Gah, dare I say it, but I’m getting almost bento’ed out….. spent soooooooo many hours seaching the net for pics of bento for inspiration.
Anyway…. a list of things I want to get.
* toothpicks – preferably cute ones
* More cookie cutters…. including tiny ones (perhaps look at cake decorating shops?)
* More craft punches, particularly small hearts, stars and a smiling face of some kind, like these
* Metal patty pans to give the quiche a go
* Black sesame seeds
Stuff I’ve got:
* Some sticks to make balloons (on order)
* Egg moulds (on order)
* Silicone patty pan/flan cases
* Heaps of little fish soy sauce bottles (coz I hoard stuff)
Ohh… I’m inspired by the world of bento. What’s that you ask….basically its making special funky looking lunches…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bento
Visual Inspiration:
http://flickr.com/search/?q=bento
http://www.lunchinabox.net
Some ideas I’ve got so far….
* Small apple – cut it to make it look like a creature
* Use craft (scrapbooking) punches to cut out nori sheets for interesting designs, store precuts in ziplock bag or container with a sachet of the moisture absorbing crystals.
* Soak rice paper in coloured water and then use as nori sheets for coloured sushi or cut designs as above
* Use metal piping bag ends as small cutters (for eyes etc.)
* Dress up a salad/fried rice with scattering of hearts/stars etc.
* Cut larger shape (eg heart) from one food and cut a smaller one from the centre, then switch… eg have a carrot heart with cucumber centre. Looks good with star/flower cut from slice of cucumber with the skin on.
* Use decorative pasta shapes
* Coloured eggs in egg moulds for fun effects
* Peel carrot slices and roll them into a decorative scroll
* Cut nori into eyes and mouth to make creatures from anything
* colour eggwhite to cut shapes from (presumably cook it flat, like pour into a flat container and put that in a pot of boiling water?)
* Pea pods/beans make good grass/leaves
* Black sesame seeds look cool, and can be used for nostrils and other details.
* Make mottled coloured rice by putting rice in the rice cooker and drop food colouring in, then be careful not to disrupt it too much when adding water, cook without stirring…. the rice should cook with light and dark patches, or you can blend colours.
* Mix and match colours – like a pair of mushrooms made with cheese stalks and a cap of ham on one and egg yolk sheet on the other, with contrasting spots.
* Toothpick/skewer with peas and corn, or beans threaded on
* halved cherry tomato with nori spots makes a ladybird
* Make a fish by cutting the shape and using circles of cheese/ham/something as scales
* Octodogs (wonder if they work with kabana?)
* Easy frogs – green rice sushi with cut green olives for eyes
* Silicone flan cases/patty pans for reusable food dividers
* Corn kernels with pea centre makes a decent daisy!
* Skewer/toothpick of the same shape cut vegies but in different colours – eg carrot, cucumber, capsicum
* Make samosas or other pastry items and cut the airholes in a face (eyes and mouth)
* Swirl cutouts can make zany eyes
* Cook quiche/frittata in metal patty pans
* freeze riceballs and other things in premade portions
* Mini corn cobbs…
Obsidian's Ramblings.... 
