Happy New 2016!

Aaaand... we are back! First day of school, a brand new start for both Takoyaki and Roast Meat.

Takoyaki brought a full bento for her first day of school, on which there was a long, combined recess for the whole school - an onigiri, a roast chicken thigh and the usual veggies.

This second box looks rather substantial but it's actually only a box for RM's mid-morning 10-minute snack. A mini onigiri, cheese cubes and grapes.

March Hols Ahead

After a hot and tiring Sports Day for RM yesterday, today is the last day of Term One. Yay! We are looking forward to some rest in the week ahead, perhaps a spot of shopping in Malaysia, and catching up with some revision and Scouting. Did I mention that RM is a Cub Scout? Well, he has lots of badgework to catch up on.

Today's menu consists of an onigiri mixed with homemade salmon flakes, cheese and some grapes.

Happy hols and see you one week later!

And we come to our second bento staple... Onigiri

This is why it is important to cook extra rice for dinner the night before. So easy to just mix in some furikake and pack into a riceball wrap.

Snack box: 

Prawn rolls and cheese

White and round Mystery item

Recess box:

Jack Skellington apple

Ham flower

Cuke sticks

White and odd-shaped Mystery item

Onigiri

Possibly Last Bento for 2014...

Ham-cheese-cucumber sandwich and fruits.

Finally Friday - Clear Pantry Bento

Friday is very much a Clear Pantry Day for me. Partly because my battery is almost flat by then, and partly because Thursday is when my part time cleaner comes and cleans up our pigsty, so I try to keep the kitchen clean after that by NOT COOKING d:) (What a great excuse, haha.)

Today's menu:

Weet-Bix Bites which are just the right size for bentos

Apple wedges (nothing fancy, I'm pooped)

Broccoli

Cheese sticks (cut from a block of cheddar cheese)

Happy weekend! We shall spend ours revising for RM's Science paper, so probably not that happy or relaxing....

Finally Friday - (Just a simple) Bento

It's the end of the week and I'm just looking to use up some of my stash. Like the Viennese sandwiches from M&S (RM's favourite and I won't deny I'm rather partial towards them), the cucumber rounds and the apple. Added a ham flower (last seen maybe two years ago?), a wedge of cheese and some pistachios in the green foil.

Let's call it an individual-picnic bento.

Easy Riceballs to start the week

With ham and cheese rolled up flower buds and the usual sides.

Tired Thursday - CCCCC

Which stands for Chocolate Chip Cookies & Cheddar Cheese. Which RM is always very happy with, especially if they're my CC cookies d:)

Simple Wednesday - Fruit salad and biscuits

Here's a comparatively easy and fast one - throw some biscuits in one tier, cut up some cheddar cheese and cukes and cherry tomatoes and throw 'em all with some grapes into the other ties. Voila! This is Roast Meat's.

Cheeseburger Bento

I made beef patties on Sunday for this week, on request, actually, from Roast Meat, because he wanted to bring "a real hamburger, Mum!" to school for recess.

And for a light bit of entertainment, here's a funny song called His Cheeseburger.

Fussy Friday for Two Fussy Children

It often happens that when I have plan-overs for bentos the next day, one of my two jokers will tell me s/he does not like it/want it for bento. If I'm in a good mood I just try and dig out other foods for the fussy feller. If I'm not, I scream and throw a pot at them and tell them to make their own bento or go buy their own food. Nah, I'm kidding d:P 

 

Takoyaki loved the Korean ginseng chicken soup we had for dinner so that was her lunch, good to go!

The fussy one got some (slightly deformed) mini buns and ooooh, his favourite - cheddar cheese cubes. On hindsight, I realise I forgot to pack some ice packs with them. Must ask him whether they were all melted or not, but recess time.

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.

PSLE Day Three

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

One last paper tomorrow!

Just like a Picnic Box

It's a simple ham-and-cheese sandwich day for Roast Meat. I was glad to be able to take out this square Lego box which is the only one big enough to carry all the sandwiches plus the frozen yogurt drink.

Picnic bento for RM's recess

Minnie's Dinner - Picture Frame Bento

By the shady eaves of the wood, two red bunnie graze on delicious grass as larks fly over a snow-capped mountain in the distance.

Edge of woodland scene

This is my first time making a bento picture, and I sure hope Minnie Mouse likes it! As far as I know, they're all her favourite foods, so the added picture factor will surely make her smile. Her Daddy gave me some feedback on the first bento that she didn't like the sesame seeds on the greens, so I'll take note of that. It's always important to ask for feedback from the bento diners.

The background is angel hair spaghetti tossed with chicken drippings from the boneless roast chicken thigh which forms the mountain. Sliced cheese was trimmed, placed on the chicken and toasted gently to allow the cheese to melt slightly. The trees and grass are blanched long stem broccoli while the birds are nori on the rest of the sliced cheese. Check out the How To for the tomato bunnies here.

Leftover Warm Soup Day

And true to their nature, both Takoyaki and Roast Meat cannot come to an agreement on which soup to bring (one hates soup A and the other dislikes soup B), so they each bring a different soup.

The other items on the menu are the same, thankfully. There's a cheese sandwich, veggies and fruits for each child.

Takoyaki's Beef Radish Soup Bento

 

RM's Cream of Mushroom Soup Bento

Salute to a friend and Hokkaido Fair

Today, I met an old acquaintance, a Chinese lady who has a Japanese husband. She told me she wakes up 1.5hrs before her husband and kids leave for work and school, to cook and prepare bentos for all of them. April, you are awesome!

Roast Meat's recess consisted of an edamame korokke (croquette) from the Summer Hokkaido Fair that's happening now at Tampines Mall. This is a yearly event that we all look forward to, when we can indulge in Hokkaido gelato, sushi dons, ikameshi (braised squid stuffed with rice) for me, and I get to buy half a year's worth of chinmi (pickled seafood). Yay!

Korokke bento

 

Then, RM had a Learning Journey to the Science Centre after school, so I brought him lunch when I went to pick Takoyaki, who has a short day. I do think the food looks really good in the new Totoro box d:)

A filling lunch before a field trip

Lunch menu:

- Rice with gomashio

- Blanched long stem broccoli

- Ketchup prawns

- Scrambled eggs with mushrooms and yellow capsicum

- Grapes

And this should be the last. Really.

Till the next term begins d:) Takoyaki is ecstatically anticipating what she calls her "real holidays to begin". Today is her last day of supp class and after that she's heading off to her classmate's home for a playdate with her clique of girlfriends.  Well, I do think she deserves a bit of a break. For a bit. Before I start freaking out and load her with practice papers, heh heh.

This was actually her bento yesterday. Just a simple ham, cheese and tomato sandwich with fruits on the side.

Not worth posting

But here it is. I ran out of dishsoap on Thursday night (yes, really) so I didn't want to do anything fancy, because that would involve more washing up.

There were certainly no complaints from the boy who would rather eat anything he brings from home than buy from the tuckshop.

Fishes Out of Water and Flower Bentos

I relaxed a little this morning and just gave Roast Meat some ham and cheese sandwiches plus grapes. 

Had a weird, disturbed sleep last night, dreaming  that my alarm clock was ringing, only to check my handphone and find it was only 12.30am. Then some time later, I jerked awake thinking someone was calling me, but it was RM (who sleeps in my room) talking very loudly, and for a long time, in his sleep! Argh. Plus the usual wakings of the almost 3yo for milk and pee. I'm concussed but today's not over yet!

Fishes out of water bento

Today, I got to bring Takoyaki lunch again, which means the photo can be taken in natural daylight (yay!). Flower shaped onigiris, noritama, blanched shanghai greens, edamame as well as flower-shaped apple cutouts.