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.

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. 

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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!

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

Sesame Rice

Which is just gomashio (salted black sesame seeds) mixed with rice to give it some flavour, since I did not prepare any gravy for them.

Takoyaki's Sesame Rice Bento

Roast Meat's Sesame Rice Bento

It was only when I was editing the photos that I realised I'd forgotten to use the lovely green coral lettuce in my fridge to line the bentos! *facepalm*

Chirashi Don + Review of Kago Onigiri Box

Is a great way to pack the ingredients for a bento if you're running out of time.

RM's chirashizushi don

I knew if I'd tried to push the rice into sushi moulds we'd be late for school, so instead I just packed a bed of sushi rice and quickly arranged the toppings. Roast Meat will be having some aburaage (sweet deepfried beancurd skin), surimi crabstick, arctic surf clams and Japanese cucumber. Oops! I forgot to pack him some soy sauce d:/

Takoyaki doesn't eat any of the seafood (fusspot) so I just gave her inarizushi plus some ham to up the protein factor.

And this one... is lunch for me and Mouse (the tot) in my new Kago Onigiri Box from Bento&Co. I have decidedly more toppings d:P including pork floss tamagoyaki, edamame and seaweed chicken (for Mouse).

Chirashi Bento in my new Kago Onigiri Box

I love love love this box! Just the sight of it fills me with indescribable happiness. The natural smell of the bamboo is calming and adds fragrance to the rice. Ok my rice is sushi rice but I'm entitled to think what I want, yes? d:)

Review of Kago Onigiri Box

The box itself is very sturdy because it has reinforced corners and bottom. I had expected it to be rather soft but it's quite the opposite. This box is as strong as my other plastic bento boxes any day! The food will not be squashed in it. And it's as light as a feather - this is a decided plus. Only thing left is to see how well it washes, but according to Just Bento, all I will have to do is use a non-abrasive sponge to scrub it, then let it dry completely.

(Update: Because I used wax paper to line the box, washing was a breeze with my 3M sponge. I just left it on the dish drainer overnight to dry out completely and back it went into the cardboard box it arrived in - it's own "home", so sweet.)

To hold onigiris is it's original intended function, but here I've packed a bed of rice (on a layer of wax paper to prevent sticking), and I can see myself packing sandwiches sometime soon. It's certainly spacious enough. You can pack a full bowl of rice in for an adult AND still have lots of room left to add sides and fruits. The height is adequate for medium to long picks to stand upright. Since it's porous, it is not advisable to put foods with a lot of gravy or sauce, not even with silicone cups. You will have to put any wet stuff in a small box with a tight-fitting lid, such as the smallest box in my One Piece, Matryoshka or Cowboy sets. The box requires a bento band or furoshiki to keep it closed and secure in transit.

The price is not cheap, but to me the quality is worth every cent. I got it shipped free to me so I certainly saved a bit there!

This box is NEVER going to school with the children.

It's the weekend, yay!

Warming Korean Food For A Cold Day

There was an incredibly strong gust of wind in the middle of the night which blew all my clean laundry down, followed by lots of rain. So this day began cold and wet. I was glad to be able to pack some hot food for the kids to bring to school.

Menu:

Leftover kimchi soup with pork slices and sweet potato noodles

Roast Meat had some leftover yachaejeon (Korean vegetable pancake) from dinner last night, while Takoyaki had seasoned seaweed.