Measure Your Feet Day Bento

What the...?! Why yes, January 23rd is Measure Your Feet Day! A strange 'holiday' indeed. But a properly measured foot hopefully leads to comfortable footwear, so I guess I can understand why it is important. Did you know that your feet can grow after you turn 40? It's true! A combination of weight, loss of elasticity, and weakening tissues can result in up to a half-size growth every ten years after the age of 40. Bizarre! So go get your feet properly measured with one of those foot measuring contraptions, you know, this thing here.

To celebrate Measure Your Feet Day, and to keep the people at the Brannock Device company in business, I made this footsie bento! It contains a cheddar and German bologna sandwich with a cheese foot (not anatomically correct), a few blackberries, yellow pepper slices, carrots, and broccoli from Triple T Ranch. I finally made it to the farmers market this past weekend, so I will have some local produce in my next bentos, yay!

This is the one time I DO suggest putting your foot in your mouth.

This bento is also the 180th post on Sonoma Bento, which means I am making another donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank. Every 20th post I make a $20 donation to my local food bank. Not everyone has access to healthy food, or to the abundance that many of us enjoy. I encourage you to find a way to help feed your community as well!

Recipe Contest Bento

Hi bento pals! Sorry I have not posted in a while. I got sick last week and am still trying to get over the sniffles and cough that are SO annoying. This is my 160th bento post, and that means another donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank! Every 20 posts I make a $20 donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank. They provide meals to literally thousands of hungry people in the North Bay every day. As a food blogger I have the luxury to buy the foods I like and take time to make them look pretty, as well as share my bento lunches with my friends. For some people in my community, lunch may not be an option every day. They might have to pay the rent instead of buy groceries. This is my way of helping my community feed itself. I encourage YOU to make a similar commitment. Find a charity you can get behind and let your blog help those who need help the most!

Ok, now for the fun part. It's GIVEAWAY time!

Here is my bento for today: slices of garlic rubbed steak, a kalamata olive, roasted baby potatoes, broccoli spears, orange cherry tomatoes from The Patch, a small gala apple from Twin Peaks Orchard, and a few baby carrots. I decided that for this bento giveaway, I would encourage you to share a recipe for a simple bento ingredient. Your recipe should have no more than five ingredients, like the roasted potatoes in my bento. I will share my recipe for the potatoes at the end of this post. Here is what you can win:

The bento prize pack has a green two tiered bento box, a handmade bento box strap (the little fishy made by me!), two punches for cute nori designs, a set of vegetable cutters, and a cookbook!

Here is the bento box you will win. It has two tiers and the upper tier has a fitted lid so you can add saucy items and they won't spill on everything else.

There are two fun craft punches: one is a frog shape, and the other is a smiling face shape. These are great for punching little details out of sheets of nori (dried seaweed) and adding interesting details to your bento box lunches.

I love these vegetable cutters for adding quick cuteness to bento box lunches. There are three flower shapes in this set of cutters.

Here is the cookbook you will win. It is filled with great, simple recipes that will work in bento lunches. The recipes focus on fresh, seasonal ingredients. I really like this cookbook and have a copy that I use at home quite often!

Now for the promised roasted potato recipe. I used a spice blend from Savory Spice Shop in Santa Rosa, but feel free to use whatever spice blend you would like to flavor your version.

Roasted Baby New Potatoes

1 to 2 pounds of small new potatoes, washed and scrubbed

olive oil to coat potatoes

1 to 2 teaspoons of Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Arrange potatoes in a baking dish in one layer. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil. Sprinkle potatoes with seasonings and then gently mix the potatoes around in the oil and spices to coat all potatoes. Place baking dish in the oven and roast for 40 mintues to 1 hour until potatoes are cooked through and their skins are a bit wrinkled. Cool before adding potatoes to bento. Can store in the refrigerator for 4 days.

NOW it's your turn! :-) I would love to find out your simple recipes for bento ingredients! To enter the contest, simply fill out the form below. Please try to keep your recipes to 5 ingredients or less (salt and pepper do not count as ingredients) so that the recipes will be easy for anyone to try. You can also enter the contest simply by being a follower of this blog. You don't have to send in a recipe, but I would love to see what you like to prepare in your bento lunches. You can get extra entries in the contest by following me on facebook, twitter, and by following my new nail art blog at sonomanailart.blogspot.com. That makes a total of five possible entries per person. And yes, this contest is open INTERNATIONALLY! I will select a random entry from all entries on Wednesday, October 5th, 2011 at 6pm Pacific Time. And I will share all of the recipes sent in on a special page on this blog, so everyone can enjoy your ideas and try them out.

Thanks so much for following my bento adventures and GOOD LUCK!

Kung Fu Panda Bento

In honor of Kung Fu Panda 2, which is in theaters today, here is a bento with Po! Bwahahahahahaha! Ok, I have to let you in on a little something that makes Kung Fu Panda even funnier for me, and for all German speakers. The name of the panda in Kung Fu Panda is Po. Po is the word for 'butt' in German. So I really just start giggling like a 7-year old every time I hear his name. Po really knows kung fu! (Butt really knows kung fu!) See?!?! It's HILARIOUS! Ah Hahahahaahahah!

In this bento: edamame, cherries, baby carrots, slices of cucumber, and a bao bun filled with bbq pork. I decorated the bao to look like Po (snort) with nori and provolone cheese. I used a bit of mayonnaise to stick the nori onto the bao. Unfortunately none of the items in this bento are from Sonoma County producers, I just haven't had a lot of time to make it to the Farmers Market. Things are super busy at work. I hope to stop by the market this Saturday.

Here's Po in all his glory (giggle) with all of his kung fu pals! I can't wait to see the new Kung Fu Panda, he's such a great character.

This is also a fun bento because it is my 140th bento, and that means another donation to the Redwood Empire Food Bank! Every 20 bento posts, I make a $20 donation to my local food bank, Redwood Empire Food Bank. That's one dollar per post. They deliver 4 dollars worth of food for every dollar donated and have received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for their high level of efficiency. Redwood Empire Food Bank is a really inspiring organization, and I like to help them out in my small way. Bento bloggers are lucky to have the luxury of fun, cute, nutritious food everyday. Some people are not so lucky. I encourage you to make a donation as well, or to donate to your local food bank.

Have a great week bento buddies!

Char Sui Bao Bento

This is my 120th bento post, and that means it is time to donate to my favorite local charity: Redwood Empire Food Bank! For every 20 posts, I donate 20 bucks to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. That's a dollar per post. I like to think that my lunches are helping other people in my community enjoy a healthy meal as well. I was inspired to donate a dollar per post after seeing the wonderful example set by Susan Yuen of Hawai'i's Bento Box. She donates to her local food bank. Debra of Hapa Bento also makes donations for each bento post. We are a supportive community of bloggers, and it is great to see us making an effort to help others. I encourage you to find a charity you like and make a donation per post, or you can make a donation to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. For every dollar Redwood Empire Food Bank gets, they distribute $4 worth of food! They are very efficient.

Today's bento includes a char sui bao from Trader Joes topped with three nori hearts, a few baby carrots, steamed edamame, and fried rice with onion and carrots. I can't wait to go to the farmers market this weekend. I totally need to get more bento ingredients.

This morning I ran into dragonmamma at the grocery store! It was so fun to meet someone from the bento world in person. I know dragonmamma doesn't do bento so much, but she does have a fun blog and is in the midst of a fun 365 challenge: breaking a routine everyday. She's breaking habits left and right, and building new synapses along the way. It's really fun and inspiring, be sure to check it out.

Have a great day, bento pals!

Big Ol 100th Bento Blog Post

Cue the marching band! Bring out the dancing girls! Today marks my 100th Bento Blog Post! I am so happy to share this milestone with you. I started on this fun bento journey in April this year after spying some amazing bentos created by Sheri of Happy Little Bento online. I wanted to try bento lunches for myself, and incorporate the wonderful produce and artisan foods of Sonoma County. So far, I have made some great friends, learned new recipes, found a great outlet for my creative nature, and donated to the Redwood Empire Food Bank to help the hungry in my community. For every bento blog post on Sonoma Bento, I donate $1 to my local food bank. I was inspired by Susan Yuen of Hawai'i's Bento Box after I saw how she donates to her local food bank. We are so lucky to be able to create nutritious and cute lunches with a variety of delicious and seasonal foods. It is important to me to remember that not everyone has this same luxury. I encourage you to find a way to give back as well. You can donate to Redwood Empire Food Bank online, or choose to help the hungry and less fortunate in your own community.

Woohoo! In this bento: purple rice (naturally colored-it's a mix of Purple Forbidden Rice blend and white sushi rice cooked together) with a provolone and cheddar cheese 'cake' and nori and cheese candle, plus cheese 'confetti'. In the upper compartment: steamed broccoli, a radish, glazed mochiko chicken pieces, and roasted acorn squash from Ma and Pa's Garden.

To celebrate my 100th bento blog post (and coincidentally I also made it to 20,000 hits on my blog today!) I am giving away some cool stuff. You can win this cutie bento box plus the Angry Onigiri Bento Box Strap (made by me)! (The box in this photo is my bento box, but you will win an identical, brand new one.) See more cute bento box straps in my online etsy shop here.

One of my favorite bento making tools is my microwave steamer. I use it all the time for broccoli, edamame, dim sum, and other items that need to be steamed quickly. You will win this brand new one!

You will also win this craft punch to make cute faces from nori, and a set of three veggie cutters.

Here are some darling animal shaped picks that you will win, to make your bento box lunch very kawaii!

And last but not least, your very own copy of my Sonoma Bento 2011 Calendar! It's filled with adorable bento box photos along with monthly tips for making cute and nutritious bento lunches. You can order your own copy at zazzle.com to send to friends!

So how do you win this amazing pile of goodies?!? Glad you asked. There are a few ways to enter, so please read the directions carefully. This contest is open to EVERYONE. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. GOOD LUCK and thanks so much for following my bento adventures.

1. This part is Mandatory. You MUST be a follower of my blog. To follow my blog, simply click the Follow with Google Friend Connect button on the right side of this page, or click the Follow link located at the upper left corner of the blog. Leave a comment telling me that you follow the blog and what your Google ID or Blogger ID is.

2. Mention this giveaway on your own blog or twitter account for a second chance to win. Just post a comment here with a link to where you mentioned my contest.

3. Follow Sonoma Bento on twitter. Leave a comment to let me know that you follow me on twitter.

4. Follow Sonoma Bento on facebook. Leave a comment to let me know that you follow me on facebook.

5. For a final chance to win, leave a comment here telling what winter foods you like to pack into your lunches.

Please leave separate comments for each of your entries. Entry deadline is Sunday, December 19th, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Winner will be selected randomly from entries. Good luck!

 

Ghost Quesadilla Bento

This bento goes bump in the night. :) A ghost quesadilla filled with cheese and chicken. I used a cookie cutter to make the ghost shape, then put cheese and chicken inside to make the quesadilla.

Also in this bento: baby carrots, cucumbers (hiding under the ghost), cherry tomatoes, baked tortilla chips (made with leftover scraps from the ghost tortilla), and more chicken.

Oh and great news: yesterday when I was making my donation to Redwood Empire Food Bank for my 80th bento post, I found out that the Wine Road organization here in Sonoma County is holding some spectacular raffles with all proceeds going to the Redwood Empire Food Bank! So instead of making my $20 donation to the food bank, I purchased 3 raffle tickets for $25. That way Redwood Empire Food Bank gets the money, and I might win a cool Wine Road package. :)

RIP Sandwich Bento

Another Halloween Themed Bento for lunch today. I made a "tombstone" sandwich with PB&J. On the top of the sandwich is a stencil of a skull and crossbones! I got the stencil from Wilton and also used their brand of edible food spray paint. Wilton Halloween Mini Stencil Set, 8 Piece is the set I picked up with fun witch hats, spiders, skulls, and more. Wilton Black Color Mist is the food spray paint I used.

Also in this bento: baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, and daikon radish sprouts. I have included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. Be sure to check out the fun lunch ideas posted there!

This bento post also happens to be number 80 for me, which means another donation to the Redwood Empire Food Bank! Yay! Every 20 posts, I make a donation to my local food bank, because I think everyone deserves a healthy lunch. Food banks and other charities are suffering because of our tough economy, but if we can all commit to donating just a little, we can help feed the hungry in our neighborhoods. I am donating one dollar per post, so today marks another $20 donation. Special thanks to Susan Yuen of Hawai'i's Bento Box for her great inspiriation, and shining example.

Bento Fights Hunger

I am really excited about my 60th Bento post, because with it I am introducing my new pledge to fight hunger in Sonoma County. Susan Yuen of Hawai`i's Bento Box Cookbook donates a dollar to her local food bank every time she makes a bento blog post. She makes that donation each time she hits a twentieth post to make it easy to keep track of her donations. I LOVE this idea, and I am starting it with this post. Since it is my 60th bento blog post, I made a donation of $60 today to the Redwood Empire Food Bank. Redwood Empire Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief agency in Sonoma County, providing food to 75,000 people every month.

We are so lucky to have the luxury of farmers markets and cute food for our bento box lunches. Every kid, every mom, every dad should be able to enjoy nutritious lunches. I encourage you to support the Redwood Empire Food Bank, and to also find the food banks in your own communities who are working so hard to feed those in need. You can click here to donate, and I have also added their link to the right side of my blog.

Today's bento features a green zebra tomato from The Patch, cherry tomatoes from Ridgeview Farms, french radishes from Ridgeview Farms, leftover steak, homemade spaetzle, figs from The Patch, two chunks of Point Reyes Toma cheese, cucumber and basil from Crescent Moon Farms, and slices of charentais melon from Ridgeview Farms.

Charentais melons taste so amazing, they have more subtle flavors than cantaloupe. These are melons from Reenie at Ridgeview Farms. The charentais are the smaller ones with the green ridge along the outside.

I am also really excited today because I just got the pictures from a photo shoot I did with my buddy Candice Caballero. Candice is soooo talented. You really have to check out her work. She was asking for people to model for an upcoming photo exhibit so I volunteered. We headed to a local golf course with my scooter and did what I jokingly refer to as a "Scoot Shoot" - ha ha! Here's a few of the fun shots she got.

Probably no bento posts this weekend, since I get to head to the Taste of Sonoma on Saturday. It's going to be so much fun! Have a great weekend bento buddies!