Circular Logic Bento

Today's bento is in fact NOT from today. I never posted this lunch (which I actually made LAST summer), but I saw this picture and it got me thinking...

One of the most pleasing box shapes for preparing bento box lunches is not actually a box with sides, but a circular shaped container like this one. Bento makers call it a Magic Round Bento. Food placed in a circular bento box naturally falls into place, with one food gently resting on the next, echoing the circular flow of the outside of the container. There really isn't a need to plan placement in a circular container, because each bit of food fits easily next to the other bit. And an empty pocket is the perfect spot for the tiny globe of a cherry tomato. I also photographed this bento on a piece of scrapbook paper dotted with circles. (whoa, dude!)

In this bento: baby carrots, bbq pork, tamagoyaki (Japanese omelette), radishes, edamame, and a cherry tomato. Happy bento-ing!

How Does That Bento Fill You Up?

I am giving myself a refresher course with Maki's Just Bento online course. So far it has been really fun! The course is designed for people new to bento, but since I fell behind on bento making for a while, I think this is a good way to reinforce good bento skills. Lesson 2A is called What Do I Put In It?

One thing I have heard a lot from my friends and family when they see my bento box meals is, "How do you get enough to eat with that small box?" Maki takes on this idea in Lesson 2A by having you show the food spread out on a 'normal' dinner plate, and then see how you can put that food into a 'relatively' small container. Here is my bento:

In this bento: two pieces of leftover crispy fried tofu from Goji Kitchen, leftover grilled pork with rice noodles and some lettuce also from Goji Kitchen, three slices of cucumber, a radish, and four yellow cherry tomatoes. I had the fortune cookie in this picture, but I actually forgot to take it with me today for lunch!

Here are the ingredients spread out on a dinner plate, and actually, I was able to fit one more cherry tomato and one more slice of tofu into this bento box! Spread out like this, it looks like a normal portion of food for lunch. And I felt perfectly satisfied after eating this, not deprived at all.

Here is my ADORABLE Hello Kitty bento that I picked up in SF Japantown the last time I was in the city. This came in a set of three boxes, each one a bit smaller than the last. The big box was too big, so I chose this one, which is big enough to hold 300ml of food. 

Maki has posted the next lesson in her Bento 101 course today, which deals with finding the right kind of bento box for you. I think I find TOO MANY right kind of boxes for me, ha ha. But they are sooo kawaii!! I encourage you to check out the courses on JustBento.com because I am sure you will learn something new. 

I have also included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. See more great ideas for lunch inspiration!

Fake Strawberry Bento

I am playing with your mind in this bento! What looks like a strawberry is actually a slice of watermelon radish! Moohoohahaha! I guess it would have been even more subversive if I had cut it in the shape of a watermelon, huh?

In this bento: corn from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, bbq pork from G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa, slices of armenian cucumber from Redwood Empire Farms, the crazy strawberry shaped watermelon radish slice (from Orchard Farms), tamagoyaki omelette made with an egg from Hector's Honey, a bit of Violet Queen Broccoli (so pretty and tasty) from Orchard Farms, and lightly steamed green beans from The Patch. Super local bento!

And here's a look back at the bento I made a year ago today. Quite fun, it's got an ant made from olives and nori, plus teeny tiny deviled eggs made from hard boiled quail eggs. Tee hee!

Sorry I am not posting so much right now. I am covering the morning show again for coworkers, so my bento making is not happening as often (if I tried to make bento at 4am when I have to get up, they would be very ANGRY bentos), and when I do make them, it's mostly leftovers. Not so inspiring. Only 3 more weeks of covering the morning show! Zzzzzzzz....

Conversation Hearts Bento

CasaBento is having another contest on their facebook page, and this was my second entry for the contest. Sadly, they had so many great entries that mine didn't make it into the top eight. But it sure is fun to check out the other great bentos. You can vote now for your favorite Valentine's Day themed bento on Casa Bento's facebook page. Good luck to all of the finalists!

This bento was made with some help from my friend CocoCarina who suggested the "Bento Love" verbage for one of the conversation hearts. I thought "Bite Me" would be fun and playful for the second heart, since you do actually eat this and biting is encouraged. :) The "candy hearts" are actually made from egg sheet (I used Lia's great tutorial on Bentolicious to make the egg sheet) and alphabet pasta colored with food coloring pen for the words. Also in this bento: rice, edamame, char sui bbq pork, a blackberry, steamed broccoli from Triple T, french breakfast radishes from Ortiz Farms, and baby carrots. The doily in the photo was actually made by my husband's mom, Phyllis.

Happy Almost Valentine's Day!

Mini Pork Buns Bento

This bento uses frozen mini pork buns that I picked up from Asia Mart in Santa Rosa. I love freezer stash items, because they make it really easy to put together an interesting bento without much fuss.

In this bento: fried rice made with char siu bbq pork from G&G Supermarket and baby chard from Triple T Ranch and mini pork buns. In the second compartment: more slices of char siu pork, cucumber slices, a Sonoma Jack wedge of cheese (strangely it's actually from Wisconsin!), walnuts from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, and sections of ruby red grapefruit from De'Santis Farms.

I included this bento in Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays blog. I love seeing what other bento makers are up to each week!

Fear The Sushi Beard!

Ha ha! Today is National Sushi Day in Japan and a few bento buddies are celebrating with a twitterfoodparty showcasing sushi. I have never made sushi rolls before, so this was a perfect opportunity to try it out. I have to say, for my first time, I think I did pretty well. And of course, today the San Francisco Giants could clinch the World Series in Game 5, so I had to make a Fear The Beard Bento! Two birds, one bento.

Fear The Beard refers to closing pitcher Brian Wilson and his playoff/World Series beard. It's quite the sight to behold and I am pretty sure he is dying it black with Just For Men dye.

The sushi portion of the bento has mango, coconut shrimp, and cilantro rolls, baby carrots, bbq pork from G&G Supermarket in Santa Rosa, a fish container with soy sauce, and a piece of broccoli.

The Giants portion of the bento has a Brian Wilson onigiri decorated with nori beard and ballcap, cheddar cheese bill, nori eyes, and bell pepper mouth. Also in this section: grapes from De'Santis Farms, purple bell pepper from The Patch in Sonoma, french breakfast radishes from Ridgeview Farms, baby carrots, and steamed edamame. I put a panda pick in the edamame to represent Pablo Sandoval, nicknamed Kung Fu Panda for his wicked hitting skills.

GO GIANTS!