Kawaii Cookies Bento

I saw some super cute cookies on Instagram the other day made by Ming of bentomonsters.com and I wanted to make some of my own. Now remember, I am not the most confident of bakers, but sugar cookies are relatively easy. And the amount of dough needed for these tiny guys is small enough that I can store the rest of the dough in the freezer for when the baking mood strikes me again (RARE).

In this bento: a tiny clementine, a cornbread muffin with a slice of jalapeno baked into the top, two deli rolls of steamed green beans inside of german bologna, cucumbers, some Lamb Chopper cheese cutouts (the cheese is from Cypress Grove Chevre), a few yellow cherry tomatoes, and my little kawaii sugar cookies.

Close up of the little cookies. I don't feel so bad about including these since there are really tiny. I used a stamp (like a stationery stamp) to make the face in the dough, but you could totally use chopsticks to make the eyes, and maybe half of a plastic straw to make the little mouth. 

Game Day Bento

I made this bento this past weekend when all of the exciting championship games were on... holy cow, those were some exciting match ups! Except for the Patriots game, snooze fest.

In this bento: edamame, a mandarin orange, olives on Game Day picks, a football-shaped PB&J with cheddar cheese stitching (aka lid decoration, ha ha), cucumber slices, carrots, and blue cheese dressing.

I got this really cool bento box during my last trip to Seattle at The Container Store. It has a built in ice pack in the lid to keep your meal cold. The size of this container is actually REALLY large for a bento, but would work okay as a sandwich container. 

And check out the top of the box! It has a goal post and a foam rubber 'football' so you can poke your eye out, er I mean, have a fun game while you eat your lunch.

See, the goal post swings up and locks. Pretty fun! I know there is a comment in here about the Seahawks/Falcons game and field goals, but I just don't have the heart to make it. WHY?! Why did Coach call a time out!?!? Ug. (Insert sad Charlie Brown music here.)

I have added this bento to Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays feature. Check it out for more great bento ideas!

Steak Bento and Ramen Road Trip

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to blog more and keep up with both my bento interests and my nail polish interests. Balance is the key, right? And in that vein, here is a bento post to kick off my resolution. :)

My sweetie and I headed into San Francisco this past Saturday to check out a ramen restaurant that was recommended by my friend Sheri of Happy Little Bento. Normally I head to Japantown in SF, but this was a part of the city new to me. We went to a shop called Saiwaii Ramen on Irving in the Outer Sunset part of the city. Besides having a tough time finding parking, we had a great time! I will detail the ramen in a moment, but first take a look at the bento I made on Sunday with the new bento box I got at the Ichi Ban Kan store on Irving! So cute!

In this bento: marinated flank steak, cheddar cheese cubes, raw cauliflower, broccoli  and a radish, and two Greek olives. Also a satsuma orange, and some blue cheese dressing for dipping the veggies.

The bento box is so cute, with green and pink colors and a lid that snaps in place. I put it in my backpack to take to my art studio yesterday, and everything stayed safely inside. 

Now for RAMEN! I sure do wish we had a good ramen place in Sonoma County. Somebody get on that. Here is my hubby outside of Saiwaii Ramen. It is a pretty small place and we were seated next to another couple sharing the same table as us. My hubby was not too thrilled to be sitting so close to strangers, but that is his odd quirk to deal with. LOL

OMG OMG OMG. I got the Spicy Garlic Tonkatsu Ramen with added egg and Pork Belly cubes. Let me say that last part again: PORK BELLY CUBES. Holy Decadence, Batman! The portion was very generous and I ordered the broth regular spicy. It was tasty and not too spicy, although the spice did build a bit. The big Sapporo beers we got with the ramen helped cool our palates. And I wasn't sure if I would really finish the whole thing, but it was so delicious that I was even poking around for any spare noodles at the end of the meal. Yum. I will definitely go back here. 

Hubby moved all the way to the corner of the table to try to avoid sitting next to our table mates. Silly man. He also got a donburi with unagi, which was a tasty little bite to add to the meal. 

Happy New Year my friends, and I will see more of you in 2013!

Leftover Bento and Bentobird Visit

This is a bento I made with more leftovers from Sizzling Tandoor. I used both the chicken tikka masala that I ordered, and the leftover lamb vindaloo that my hubby ordered. Both were great with the rice, and I just turned the whole thing out into a bowl and warmed it in the microwave at work for lunch. Yum!

In the smaller container: a slice of tangerine from The French Garden, a cherry plum from De'Santis Farms, and a few flower shaped pieces of watermelon.

My friend Jenn, also known as Bentobird, has posted about her trip to the Santa Rosa Farmers Market! She also has some great photos and descriptions of a visit to Point Reyes. It is really fun to see your home through someone else's eyes, especially someone who loves color and whimsy as much as Bentobird. I encourage you to follow her bento and food adventures on her blog.

Speaking of adventures, I am about to head off to Seattle to go to my 20 year high school reunion (eeek) and spend time with my adorable and brilliant niece (she's learning German and French at 6 months old!) and family. I see an inflight bento in my near future!!

Quesadilla Bento

Leftover pulled pork made its way into this bento (I made it last week, but am just now posting it), full of fun colors and flavors.

In this bento: a pulled pork quesadilla made with pepper jack cheese, pulled pork, and a handmade style tortilla from Sonoma County's La Tortilla Factory, a purple sweet potato flower, a few black grapes, half of a radish, a clementine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand, cilantro, sour cream, and salsa.

I am coming up on my 1 year blog anniversary (blogiversary?) and I am really excited. I will be recreating one of my first bentos, and I will also have a fun prize for you to win. Keep an eye out towards the end of the month. Have a great day, bento pals!

Pulled Pork Bear Bento

My hubby made some really delicious pulled pork yesterday. He made it in the crock pot, so our whole place smelled divine all day long. Really gets your mouth watering! Today I am having leftover pulled pork sandwiches (designed as a little bear) with some of the leftover coleslaw I made.

I designed this little sandwich bear using a trick I have seen Sheri of Happy Little Bento use often. With a paring knife, I cut two little half circles from the bun, and then pushed them up to make his ears. The face details are cut freehand out of nori. Also in this lunch: a clementine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand, broccoli, a few black grapes, and two baby carrots.

Coleslaw Recipe

1/2 head of cabbage, sliced thinly

1 carrot, shredded

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tblsp sour cream

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp mustard

1 tblsp sugar

1 tsp dried dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Combine cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Combine the rest of the ingredients in another bowl, then toss this dressing with the cabbage and carrot mixture. Makes enough for about 8 to 10 bento servings. Goes great with pulled pork!

German Bento

Heute habe ich ein Deutsches Bento gemacht. Es ist voller Deutsche Sachen, z.B. Sauerkraut, Weisswurst, Kartoffeln, und Curry-Ketchup. Ich habe es in meinem "Tiffin-Stil" bento eingepackt. Auch in diesem Bento: ein stueck Brokkoli, eine Tangerine, und ein Rettich. Die Tangerine kommt aus Schletewitz Family Fruit Stand. Die Serviette ist mit den Bayerische Farben bemalt -so toll! Ich habe diese Servietten in Deutschland in 1998 gekauft! Ach du meine... ist das schon so lange her??!

Und fuer meine Bento Freunde die nicht Deutsch lesen koennen: The rest of my bento posts will be in German. APRIL FOOLS! ;-)

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!

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!

Carrot Salad Bento

This past weekend I made matching bentos for my daughter and myself. She was at a church function during the morning, then we headed to a coworkers house to pick up some furniture for our new place, so I figured a colorful bento would be a nice treat during her busy day.

In this bento: a tangerine from Schletewitz Family Fruit Factory, a sweet pea blossom on a tatsoi leaf from Earthworks (a new vendor at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market), two Girl Scouts thin mints (!), carrot salad made with carrots, cabbage, green garlic from a vendor at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market (I didn't get their name, sorry), and walnuts from the Sass Family, plus tamagoyaki made with a Sonoma Valley egg, tasso ham from Franco Dunn, and more green garlic. The lower compartment is just rice. YUM.

Here are our two bentos side by side. There's a little dish of my first attempt at tamagoyaki, which turned into scrambled eggs. :) Not enough oil in the tamagoyaki pan.

Green garlic from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market.

I have been keeping my eye on tweets by the amazing Maki of Just Bento, watching the events unfold in Japan. The world is a smaller place and my heart feels bigger today, making room for my bento friends and their families. Donations can still be made to help Japan in the aftermath of this tragedy. Visit your local Red Cross or try ifrc.org to help.

Moving Is Hell Bento

So I am days away from the first official day of my move. Me and Mr. Sonoma Bento are moving to a larger apartment in our complex, so I am really looking forward to more space, but NOT really looking forward to all of the boxes and cleaning that await me in the next week. Yuck. Yesterday I spent two hours scrubbing the oven. :-( So this will be the last bento for a little while, until I get everything unpacked and am not worried about cleaning an appliance again so my landlord can inspect it.

In this bento: Yakionigiri from Trader Joes (love these!), baby carrots, a mandarin orange, a few cherry tomatoes from Trader Joes (not very flavorful this time of year), leftover salmon from Sam's For Play Cafe (dinner last night), and steamed broccoli shoots from Triple T tossed with a mustard and chili flakes vinaigrette.

This is a brand new bento box (well, kind of brand new) that I picked up at Border's bookstore. They carry products from Paperchase, and this is one of a set of four bento boxes. I really love these boxes because they are so cute, and with four different sizes for one low price, they are really versatile. Plus the lids seem to fit really well.

Wish me luck with the move! See you around mid March. :-)

Good Husband Bento

Ok, so all that whining I did about my husband breaking a bento box, I take it back. Oh, he still broke a box, but he just spent an exhausting 4 days dealing with snot-nosed, coughy, achy, whiny, lethargic, sick me. I got WIPED OUT by this latest bug. Seriously, I spent all day on Sunday just sleeping, coughing, and sucking on cough drops. I think I mentholated my brain.

So to make up for it, now that I am finally back to a somewhat-healthy state again, I made a Good Husband Bento. No silly stuff, it's not cute, and I even put it in a plain bento box. But it's filled with yummy stuff and will hopefully be a good lunch for him at work today.

In this no nonsense, Good Husband Bento: baby carrots, frozen edamame, Aidell's Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs, steamed broccoli from Triple T Ranch tossed with a soy sauce vinaigrette, a few walnut halves from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, half of a mandarin orange from De'Santis Farms, and a plain salted onigiri rice ball. The poor man even slept on the couch (mostly so he wouldn't get the plague, but also so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping him up all night with my hacking and sniffling)!

My bento is similar, although with better lighting. I have a 'side car' bento filled with the other part of the mandarin orange, a few blackberries, walnuts, and dried apricots. Also broccoli and baby carrots. You may have noticed my BRAND NEW Hello Kitty Thermal Jar. Heh heh! Got it while I was in Seattle at Uwajimaya. Today is her first trial run, and I am pretty impressed. I packed it with pretty hot jook at 8:30am (using a recipe from Sheri at Happy Little Bento), and it's still nicely warm at 1pm. I will try to eat earlier when I pack the thermal jar, just to be on the safe side.

Oh you wanted to see inside the jar? Here you go!

Lots of love to my hubs for being a good guy, who only accidentally ends up in the dog house for breaking something, but mostly deserves yummy bentos. I couldn't wish for a better Valentine.

I shared this on Shannon's What's For Lunch Wednesdays. Check it out to see what other bento buddies are whipping up!

Pupseria Salvadorena Bento

My buddy CocoCarina and I have a restaurant review blog, and we recently went to a great place in Santa Rosa called Pupuseria Salvadorena. Check out our review by clicking here. The food is great and the prices can't be beat. Plus the leftovers are perfect for bento!

In this bento: two Pasteles de Pollo con Papa (little potpies with chicken and potatoes), mandarin orange sections, and Curtido, a spicy, slightly fermented cabbage slaw. I made this bento a while ago, after our trip to the restaurant, but seeing it now makes me hungry for delicious Salvadoran food!

Pearls Before Swine Bento

There are lots of fun guests who come through the studios at the radio station where I work. And yesterday, one of my favorite artists stopped by to spread some holiday cheer. Stephan Pastis is the creator of the comic strip Pearls Before Swine. He is just as funny in person as his characters are in the strip. I had him sign a few things for Christmas presents (thanks Stephan!) and I also made this bento box with my favorite character from Pearls: Pig!

In this bento: pink rice in the shape of Pig with nori eyes and nostrils. Also radishes from Crescent Moon Farms, baby carrots, steamed broccoli, and pork patties. In the upper compartment: a mandarin orange from Twin Peaks, walnuts from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, and toffee made by my friends Kerry and Danielle.

Here's me and Stephan with the Pig bento. I think I like Pig the best because he is so gullible and innocent. I am pretty gullible, but not so innocent. Also, Pig tends to see the silver lining and I try to do that too.

Mmmmm, tastes like Pig ear. :)

Thanks to everyone for entering my 100th Bento contest! You still have a day to enter, and I love reading all of your suggestions for winter bentos. Now I have lots of ideas for when I get stuck. :)

Also, if you are on Facebook, CasaBento is hosting a best holiday bento contest. A few of us are finalists and would love your vote. Sheri of Happy Little Bento, Crystal of Adventures In Bentomaking, and me, Michelle of Sonoma Bento. Head to CasaBento's Facebook page to vote for your favorites.

Meat and Potatoes Bento

My hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He still refuses to eat any bentos, except for the Non Food Bento I made a while back, which featured Slim Jims and Ho-Hos. Sigh. But I think he might go for this bento, which includes potatoes and his favorite: meatloaf.

In this bento: a slice of meatloaf (I use a recipe from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook), baby carrots, boiled potatoes, raw broccoli, slices of watermelon radish from Wild Rose Ranch, walnuts from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, and a mandarin orange.

This was a leftovers bento, and it came together really quickly. I didn't do any cute elements, but I think that the colors look good together and the balance of nutrients is quite good. And my husband might even eat this one... that is, if I made one like it for him. This one was all mine! :)

Ham Hock n' Beans Bento

Note to self: if coworker ever offers some of her pig products again, be sure to take her up on the offer! I am a lucky duck! One of my coworkers has chickens, pigs, and lamb on her property, and she had some left over cuts of meat that she was trying to get rid of. She asked if I would like to take some smoked ham hocks off her hands. Hello?! Um, YES!

I used the ham hocks together with some heirloom dried beans from Crescent Moon Farms to make amazing ham and beans. I am not sure if I have ever made anything tastier! My hubby and I ate this for dinner, and there was enough to have some for left overs for a few days. And bonus, I still have two pieces of ham hock in the freezer, so I can make this again!

In this bento: ham and cheese sandwiches on baguette slices, a mandarin orange, watermelon radish 'flowers' from Wild Rose Ranch, boiled new potatoes, carrots, and steamed green beans. In the background is the small container with the ham hocks n' beans.

Closeup of the delicious ham hocks n' beans. The beans kept their beautiful speckled markings.

Happy me with my frozen smoked ham hocks!

If you see jars of these beans (or other dried varieties) at Crescent Moon Farms at the Santa Rosa Farmers Market, be SURE to snap some up!

Recipe for Ham Hocks and Beans

1 cup dried beans (best to use this year's batch!)

water

1 smoked ham hock

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped carrots

2 minced cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

Pick over beans to make sure there are no pebbles or other debris in them. Place beans in a pot and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Put pot over high heat and bring to a boil. Boil beans for two minutes, then cover pot and remove from heat. Allow beans to soak for 1 hour. Pour off soaking liquid. Add thawed ham hock, onion, carrots, garlic, and bay leaves. Add water to pan to nearly cover ham hock. Bring water to a boil, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 hour. Check beans to see if they are done. Carefully pick meat from ham hock and add to beans, discard leftover ham hock bone and grisle. Serves 4 to 6.

Salad Nicoise Bento

I just received my prize from the Food Ninja contest ("It's a Major Award!") and I am thrilled with it. It's a ManPans frying pan with a lid. This puppy is really well made and heats up super fast. I decided to break it in with a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe and it came out really well. I made steaks with baslamic dijon sauce, boiled new potatoes with herbs, and steamed green beans with lemon and butter. Today's bento uses leftovers from that meal (not the steaks, we scarfed those down).

In the large container: a hard boiled egg, tuna in oil, boiled new potatoes with herbs, and steamed green beans. In the smaller container: a mandarin orange, walnuts from the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market, and a Ghirardelli chocolate. The bento boxes are from a set of four that I picked up at Border's Books.

Here's the ManPans frying pan in action. It heated up really fast and kept the heat well. Normally my burners have cool spots in the middle, but this pan heated up evenly across the surface. And the sauce came together in a flash.

Here's our dinner. This sauce was really tasty and super easy. I recommend checking out Martha's Everyday Food section for easy dinner ideas. And big thanks to La Fuji Mama, Bella Limento, and Salty Seattle for hosting the Food Ninja contest.

Bentos Gone Wild!

This Boobie Bento Box Lunch is for my mom, who is going in for breast cancer surgery on Monday. She caught it early and that is great news. I have always felt that laughter is good for the body and soul, so here is my medicine for Mom: Jug-a-licious Bento Box! Scroll down for the uncensored version...

In this bodacious boobie bento box are two baloney sandwiches with hot dog nipples (secured with a tiny bit of cream cheese). The baloney boobie sandwiches include cheese, tomatoes, mustard, and sandwich rounds. Also a couple of grapes, baby carrots, and a few slices of radish. For dessert, a couple of tiny mandarin oranges. And a custom made "Save The TaTas" sign! I should have included melons, right?!

This will be a very exciting lunch to eat. (tee hee) Here's to advances in breast cancer treatment and to early detection! I think this is the breast bento box lunch I have ever made... ;-)

Grape Expectations

This is a leftovers bento box lunch with carnitas from last night's take out. I was too tired to do anything really crazy. Leftover carnitas in the silicone cupcake liner, with a radish cut into a flower shape, carrots, steamed orange cauliflower, and slices of green bell pepper.

In the lower compartment: orange slices, grapes (from Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods) on skewers, and walnuts. My freezer is literally packed with bags of local walnuts, which I get at the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market. There are a couple of families who grow and sell walnuts there, and I have never tasted a better walnut. Walnuts will keep in the freezer for 6 months, just long enough to last between fresh walnut seasons.

Wine Pairing Suggestion: We had Dos Equis beer with the carnitas, so that would be fine. But if you want something more local, I would try Hanna 2009 Sauvignon Blanc. It's fruitier than their previous Sauvignon Blancs, but that's why I think it goes well with the slightly carmelized meat and the rich walnuts.

Mother Daughter Bento-ing

I introduced my 9 year old step daughter to Bento Boxes this weekend, and she was a little skeptical at first, until we started talking about different colored foods. Once she saw some of the pictures of the bento box lunches I have made, she was ready to make one herself. My step daughter's bento includes: heart shaped quiche (recipe here), edamame (she loves saying this word!), yellow and orange bell pepper slices, and a heart shaped onigiri rice ball inside of which we hid an edamame bean. We also added a heart cut out of orange soy paper on the top of the onigiri. In the lower compartment, she arranged mandarin oranges, cucumbers, and a steamed purple potato in the shape of a heart.

My bento lunch uses many of the same ingredients: steamed purple potato hearts, red bell pepper slices, cucubmer slices, heart shaped onigiri, and grapes in the upper compartment. In the lower compartment, I have edamame, a heart shaped quiche, steamed broccoli, and carrots. I tried to eat my bento lunch right before our broadcast today, but got totally sidetracked, so I guess it is now a late afternoon snack.

My daughter mapped out what she wanted in her bento box. I helped her respell the words she had trouble with. It's a great plan!