Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Minnie's Dinner - Herby Couscous Meal


Now that school is out, I am glad to still have an occasional chance to bento for my little niece.

Tonight's menu:
Couscous with parsley
Cilantro chicken
Baked halibut with herbs
Blanched broccoli
Cherry tomatoes

I hope she likes the bento!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Chapati Wraps Bento

Chapati wrap bentos

Takoyaki made a batch of chapatis two days ago and they were just the right size to make wraps for bento! Here I rolled the chapatis around ham and cucumber strips, after I spread the chapatis with some cheese spread.

Kids declared them a keeper!

Monday, November 4, 2013

Minnie's Dinner - Eclectic Chicken Dinner


In the upper tier is some fusili in tomato sauce, and in the bottom tier are some steamed chicken (always a favourite in our family), blanched broccoli and cherry tomatoes. I was told that she finished every last morsel d:)

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

What's Up Wednesday - Yachaejeon minis and Taiwanese sausages

The light bulb finally went on in my head to make mini veggie pancakes rather than the huge ones taught by Maangchi. These are much more suitable for bento (and take less time to cook, although I have to fry them in batches). They can also be cooked then stored in the refrigerator and just reheated in the morning either on a frying pan or in a toaster oven (I used the latter method).

Method: Just chop all the veggies and shrimp/crabstick smaller and pour the batter onto a hot, greased frying pan by tablespoonfuls to make mini pancakes.


Roast Meat is having his yachaejeon with Taiwan-style cocktail sausages, cherry tomatoes, Jap cuke discs and grapes.

Takoyaki doesn't like these pancakes so she had some storebought wassant buns instead.


Monday, October 28, 2013

Welcome to another episode of...

You Can't See The Rice For The Toppings!


On the menu are:
1. Korean style Soybean sprout
2. Sauteed prawns with scallions
3. Stir fried greens
Over a bed of white rice

Dessert:
Grapes
M&Ms

And Takoyaki's hot lunch today was...


1. Rice with gomashio
2. Noritama
3. Stir fried 小白菜 xiao3bai2cai4
4. 莲藕汤 lian2ou3tang3 or lotus root soup

Finally Friday - Rice Bento

Rice - a staple of our diet. And recess. 

Menu:
Rice mixed with gomashio and other furikake
Oven toasted chicken karaage (Tay's)
Cuke sticks / rounds
Apple

Takoyaki's

Roast Meat's

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Two Ways to Serve Hardboiled Eggs in Bentos

One is simply sliced and served over noodles. This was for Roast Meat because he refused Option 2, which was my original intention for both kids.


Option 2 - egg mayo sandwich for Takoyaki who reported that it was delicious except I may have used a little too much black pepper d:{


Monday, October 21, 2013

Post Nice Long Break...

From bentoing that is, since there was no school the whole of last week thanks to four days of PSLE marking and one PH, but it was revision for exams week! Well ok, we did take two days off to go for a day trip to Johor Bahru and the Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb exhibition, so it was kind of relaxing.

And now back to exams week! For Roast Meat, who is pretty blur at times so I am rather worried. Yes. (Can any mother not be?)


There are 4 packages in the Lego lunchbox but the sandwiches inside are exactly the same, heehee! All are pork jerky with green oak lettuce sandwiches. I used up some small pieces of precut foil leftover from previous bentos to wrap them up. On the side are green grapes and cherry tomatoes.

RM wants to buy wantan mee from the tuckshop tomorrow and Takoyaki does not want a bento, so I'm free to do some of my other stuff tonight, such as catching up with blogging about homeschooling on my other blog, and preparing materials for said homeschooling.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Finally Friday - Mediterranean Rice Salad


Made of cooked rice, cuke cubes, red capsicum squres, carrot slices, olives and shredded crabstick tossed with a squeeze of lime juice, pinch of salt and drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Today's fruits are longans.

He did not like the raw carrot slices.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Fancy Thursday - Two Completely Different Bentos

First up was Roast Meat's recess bento - leftover chicken raisin rice from dinner last night, with Basil Grilled Chicken and a veg salad.


I was pleased to have a chance again to deliver a hot lunch to Takoyaki in school. Hot somen in soup with pork slices and 菜心 (cai4 xin1) or choy sum or yu choy.


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

What's Up Wednesday - Garlic Herb Toast


Because I made a fresh batch of Garlic Basil Butter (recipe here) so RM was just dying to have some toast d:) The rest are toasted chicken pieces from Tay's and longans.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Simple Tuesday - Cream cheese and spring onion pocket


With chicken frank and cuke canapes, cherry tomatoes and apple bunnies.

He reported that many of his classmates came up to ask if they could have a sausage, but the answer was no d<)

Monday, October 7, 2013

Leftover Monday - Tamagoyaki is about it

Packed last night and refrigerated overnight, these bentos were raring to go early this (sleepy) morning.


Menu:
Rice mixed with edamame and homemade gomashio
Tamagoyaki with spring onions
Homemade kimchi
Cherry tomatoes
Grapes

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Wednesday - Ham and Cheese rollups


Roast Meat requested for Oreos so I rolled a slice of shaved ham and a slice of cheese around a cucumber stick, then secured it with a long piece of cucumber skin for the protein factor.

I will not be packing a bento for RM or Takoyaki tomorrow because they will be having Children's Day celebrations and from experience, the teachers will be giving out a lot of goodies.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

We have survived our first PSLE!

Today is Takoyaki's last paper and I am feeling all the burdens fall off my back. So much that I am now rather weak, actually. Which is why it's such a good thing that I packed Roast Meat's bento last night, concurrently with Minnie's dinner bento.


Braised chicken with sesame oil, stirfried veggies over rice, and apple slices.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Minnie's dinner - Three Colour, Rice Bento

Minnie's dinner tonight is a selection of foods from our own family meal this evening. On the menu are: 
1. Chinese-style braised chicken with sesame oil aka 麻油鸡 (ma2 you2 ji1) {brown}
2. Stir fried 奶白 (nai3 bai2)vegetables with dried shrimp {green}
3. Baked halibut fillet with Italian seasoning {white}
over fragrant Jasmine rice drizzled with some chicken gravy and wolfberries 枸杞子.


PSLE Day Three


Egg mould mini buns, cheese, strawberry tomatoes and fruits.

One last paper tomorrow!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Day Two of PSLE for Takoyaki

And I confess - I am so much more stressed than she is. Worry that she is not prepared enough, worry that she will be careless... argh. I gotta stop worrying and start believing.

So here are two very simple sandwich bentos for both RM and Takoyaki.


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Bakery Bun Picnic Bento



To go with a yogurt drink, cucumber sticks and an apple bunny. For Roast Meat.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Minnie's Dinner - Ayam Siow Don

I was a little apprehensive about giving Minnie this because I wasn't sure she'd like it. Don't know if her parents have ever given her Peranakan food before. But they had told me before that as long as it's not one of the foods she's allergic to, they always want her to try and accept new flavours.


Ayam siow is served over plain Jasmine rice. On the side are corn kernels, carrot flowers, stirfried spinach, strawberry cherry tomatoes and some lotus root from our soup which I did not pack for her.

Leftover Day - Teriyaki Chicken Don

It was really convenient and fast to pack these bentos the night before, straight after dinner (making sure the food was uncontaminated first, of course) and throw them into the fridge.

Sides are kimchi, boiled carrot flowers and clementine.

Takoyaki has a konnyaku jelly for a treat

Roast Meat doesn't eat konnyaku jelly

Saturday, September 21, 2013

A Slow Long Week of Stomach Flu

The bug has been moving around in my family and our neighbours, and it's been tough trying to keep up with the illness as well as PSLE prepping for Takoyaki. Plus I dropped my handphone and the camera lens is scratched, resulting in blurry photos. Bummer. Here are the bentos this week that I've been more pleased with.


1. Made things easier for myself by buying a chicken pie from Polar (upon request of Roast Meat). 


2. Same things - steamed buns, cocktail sausage, edamame and apple bunnies - for both.


3. A super blurry pic of a bento Takoyaki made for herself for her PSLE Listening Comprehension day, because I was too zonked out with battling the stomach bug (I spent practically the whole night with the porcelain goddess). I am so glad she has the know-how, although her camera skills can do with more work d:)

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Bentos at Teachers Day Celebrations

To celebrate the end of the term (and a nice rest from bentoing because I was just too stressed up), I made some inarizushis for both kids to enjoy at recess.



From the left, inarizushi with chopped up cucumber, inari with homemade salmon flakes, strawberry cherry tomatoes and clementine wedges.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Kimchi Bokkeumbap Bento

This was a filling lunch for me and almost-3yo Mouse (whose birthday is tomorrow), which we had in school as it was the Full Dress Rehearsal for the Teachers Day Concert. For more on my experience with the concert, please see my other blog.

I have been very surprised over the past few months as Mouse seems to have found a strong liking for spicy, sour kimchi. As long as we have kimchi on our table at home, he will always ask for it. That's why I did not hesitate at all when I felt like having kimchi fried rice for lunch in school today. As long as I cut down on the kimchi juice and it wasn't too spicy, I knew he would like it (and eat a lot).



My kimchi bokkeumbap is made of only kimchi, leftover rice (steamed up hot), and chopped ham. I topped it with a sunny side up and some strawberry cherry tomatoes. Learn how to cook it at Maangchi's website. She also has lots other scrumptious authentic Korean recipes (with video, yay!) on her site and that's where I learnt a lot of my Korean cooking.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Mojo Returning

So I gave them some power bentos today.



Leftover panfried chicken thighs with julienned cucumber on rice and the usual sides. Those cute little things in the rice are a strawberry shaped cherry tomato that is absolutely cute and tastes so sweet!

Saturday, August 31, 2013

A Very Bare Week

Because I fell ill, had bad headaches and dizziness, and was under stress for some PV projects. I barely found energy to bento for Roast Meat. But I managed to use a couple of energy spells to do up some really plain ones for both of them.

Cheese and kaya sandwiches plus noritama

Cocktail sausage canapes and steamed mantous
It was horrible being unwell and unable to bento. I felt really sorry towards RM who is used to bringing a bento everyday. Thankfully, he was very understanding and agreed to buy from the school tuckshop when I told him I really could not do anything.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Store Bought Mini Buns. For When I'm Feeling Burnt Out.

After a week of Parent Volunteers duties, I am left with very little energy to do much in terms of Bento. So when I went to buy a surprise birthday cake for Roast Meat last night (he turned nine yesterday but we won't be celebrating till next weekend, a combined birthday celebration with Mouse and DH), I bought some mini buns from Four Leaves Bakery as well. 

Took less than 10 min to get these bentos done up. Phew. 


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Goma Onigiri


Simple but tasty. If I had ground the sesame seeds up (no time, no energy), it would be a grey onigiri, just like in my Totoro.

Love my new Chopper One Piece boxes!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Baked Fish Rice Bento - And Minnie Too

Baked halibut and blanched choy sum to go with rice and fruits for Roast Meat.


I gave Minnie some tomato bunnies to cuten (is there such a word?) up her box.




Monday, August 19, 2013

Planned Leftover Char Siew Rice Bento

With leftover soup. Easy peasy. And nutritious. And yummy.


I made a bento for me and Mouse too, to eat the next morning. Packing for three is the same as packing for two.


The recipe for Char Siew is at my earlier post.

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Pseudo Temaki (Japanese Handroll) Bento


This is a twist on the traditional temaki or Japanese handroll. On the side are apple chunks, cherry tomatoes and M&Ms in the sauce cup. I hope the kids like it d:)

How To Make a Bread Temaki
Cut a big square of nori (toasted Japanese seaweed) in two to form two rectangles. 
Lay one nori rectangle on the board or work surface. (Keep the other rectangle for something else).
Flatten a slice of bread with a rolling pin or a tall glass and place it on the nori.
Top with a slice of ham and blanched french beans (you can use other fillings).
Starting from the horizontal edge nearest to you, roll the whole thing up across the diagonal of the bread to form a temaki shape. Let rest for a few seconds on the board so the nori can soften, stick together and hold the shape.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Cold Chicken with Angel Hair Pesto

A repeat of earlier ingredients. On the side are blanched french beans and fruits.


And yesterday was rather lacking because we all overslept d:/


That is why I was so thankful that I'd already made the onigiris and tamagoyaki the night before, so in those 5 flurried minutes, all I had to do was slice the tmgyk, wash and slice the veggies and pack. Phew! (I'd originally planned to include some boiled edamame but it didn't happen.)

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Kebabs

Because practically everything is on sticks. Nothing fanciful, just boiled bratwurst with Jap cucumber, cherry tomatoes, grapes and mini Bear buns filled with kaya.


I will be having a long break because tomorrow is National Day celebrations in school and there is no recess. And the rest of the week is filled with Public Holidays, woohoo!

Monday, August 5, 2013

Minnie's Dinner - Fish Maw Soup

Which is not pictured here but in a tiffin container. She will be sharing the soup with her Mum but this is her box.

Minnie's dinner packed by Takoyaki

I was pleased and glad to have Takoyaki be my assistant this evening while I rushed to pack another one for Minnie's Mum. She's got quite the touch, I must say.

Minnie's Mum's dinner

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