New (Kind of) Bento Box Bento

I am debuting my new pink "Floral Time" bento box today! It's not technically new, since I purchased it from someone on eBay who was selling her gently used bento box. I have been trying to win some of the awesome bento boxes that are part of the Bento4Japan eBay auction, but I keep getting outbid. WHICH IS AWESOME! :) I'll keep trying though, lots of great things are up for auction. Make sure that the Bento4Japan auction you are bidding on is donating 100% of the final sale price to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund - a GlobalGiving Project. There are (sadly) some people trying to profit from the Bento4Japan auction. You can easily tell if a bento auction is legit, because it will say that 100% of the final sale price is going to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund - a GlobalGiving Project. Find Bento4Japan items by clicking here.

In this two tiered bento: leftover udon noodles with veggies and leftover chicken, a few turkey and provolone cheese rolls, and slices of radish. In the lower tier: a char sui bao from Trader Joe's, steamed edamame, a few slices of red bell pepper, steamed Okinawan sweet potato (cut in a flower shape), and a little carrot from Triple T. The leftover noodles have some asparagus from Triple T (first of the season!!) and green garlic from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market.

And here's my cutie patootie new(ish) bento box. I just love it. PINK! And the flowers on the lid are so adorable. Have a great Monday, bento friends!

Pasta Bento

Today's bento is made with lots of leftovers and little bits of this and that. The Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market is open on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and I usually start running low on ingredients right before the next market day.

In the larger container: penne pasta mixed with green garlic from the farmers market, tasso ham from Franco Dunn, red bell pepper, onion, broccoli, and some leftover chicken drumstick. I tossed the pasta with a mixture of shoyu, lime infused olive oil, mirin, sugar, and freshly ground black pepper. YUM! In the smaller container: slices of pepper jack cheese, a tangerine, and little crackers.

One of the items I put up for the Bento4Japan auction on eBay sold today! Woohoo! This lovely bento starter kit is still up for bids. Please click here to make your bid, the auction for this set will be over in 1 day. We've raised over $1500 in one week! Find out more about Bento4Japan and how you can help by clicking here.

I've featured today's bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Check out more fun lunch ideas on her blog!

Mother Daughter Bento-ing Part Three

We had a really stormy weekend in Sonoma County, and my step daughter and I were stuck inside all day on Saturday. My hubby had to work, so it was just us girls. We decided to make some fun bentos and work on decorating her new bedroom. We didn't have all of the supplies for her bedroom, so I had to finish it up on Sunday. The bentos turned out great though!

My bento has easter egg-shaped pink onigiri (one decorated with nori, the other plain), greens from Earthworks, baby carrots, a chicken drumstick, hard boiled quail egg and red carrot from Triple T Farms, small tangerine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand, pepper jack cheese butterfly, and a few slices of red pepper.

My daughter's bento includes: more pink onigiri, chicken drumstick, pepper jack duckie and butterfly, baby carrots, greens from Earthworks, tangerine from Schletewitz Family, and hard boiled quail egg from Triple T.

And this is her room! We are still looking for a different bedspread to go with the underwater theme. We did the 'waterfall' of tulle, ribbon, and fabric together. We also worked on the fabric wall stickers together (with an idea that I saw posted by ChantaleP ~thanks!), but the fusible web I got initially didn't work so well. I had to go back to the craft store and get a different kind.

The Bento4Japan eBay auction is still going on with new items added! Please bid or put up your own items for auction to help.

Irish O'Bento

Get it, O'Bento?? Ha ha! Anyway, Happy St. Patrick's Day! This is an international bento, filled with corned beef and cabbage.

In this bento: boiled red potatoes, boiled carrots, boiled corned beef (from Trader Joes), and steamed cabbage. Also a cute little green monkey pick, and a monkey container filled with some mustard.

Beverage Pairing Suggestion: Guinness, natch!

Our Bento4Japan ebay auction is going strong, with more items added and some great bids. Today I added a fun bento starter kit with a handmade onigiri bento box strap. You can add your own auction items, just be sure to put Bento4Japan in the title of the auction. Get more details on how you can help at the Bento4Japan website. We hope to raise lots of money for the people of Japan who are working to put their lives back together.

Bento4Japan

The bento community is working together to raise money for the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund on ebay. So far there are signed bento books, bento starting kits, bento boxes, and a cute bento box felt strap with bento box that I posted. 100% of the sale price for these items will go to the relief fund. You can also post items on ebay, just be sure to use the words "Bento4Japan" in the title of your item, and select the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund as the beneficiary. And be sure to shop for items in this auction to help raise money for our friends in Japan! Raise money and make bento! It's a win-win.

Mils and Debra have put together a great website with all of the information about this international fundraiser at Bento4Japan. Thanks to Chantale for her efforts with graphics and to everyone who sells or bids in this auction!

In this bento: yakisoba made with broccoli, carrots, green garlic from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, cabbage, and chicken. Also in this bento: steamed edamame, a tangerine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand, and a few slices of pepper jack cheese.

We bought a ginormous block of pepper jack cheese, so I am guessing it will be featured in many bentos for the next month or so. :) This bento is also featured in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. See what other bento makers are up to on Shannon's site!