Corn Rice?

I have no idea what to call this, hahaha! But Roast Meat (and his little brother) does love corn.

So I mixed some corn kernels into his rice (which means I don't have to add furikake). In the snack box are some grapes and a homemade crescent roll.

Scallion Tamagoyaki and Riceballs

And karaage, which I seriously wonder whether Takoyaki can eat, as she's just had her braces adjusted yesterday *ouch* 

She said she "should be able to". 

Macaroni Alla Marinara and Mushroom Cheese Omelette Bento

RM is down with flu, so I got to focus on whipping up one of Takoyaki's favourite meals - tomato sauce pasta. As I fell asleep too early, I woke up in the middle of the night (3am) and went to cook the sauce.

I'd accidentally bought lots of macaroni pasta (long story), so was just trying to find a way to start using them. The macaroni was topped with some sauteed spinach and a mushroom and cheese omelette. It's a one-egg omelette, although it doesn't look like it.

Recipe for One-Person Mushroom and Cheese Omelette

Ingredients:

One white button mushroom (sliced thinly)

One large egg (about 60g)

Pinch of salt

Half a slice of processed cheese

Method:

Heat up a small frying pan or tamagoyaki pan over medium-low heat and add 2 tsp of oil.

Once oil is hot but not smoking, add shroom slices and saute till brown.

Meanwhile, add a pinch of salt to the egg and beat it lightly.

Spread shrooms out evenly in pan and pour beaten egg over mushrooms. Tilt pan to achieve an even shape.

Quickly tear the cheese up into little pieces and spread them out on half the egg, keeping cheese bits away from the edge.

Fold the cheese-less half of the omelette over the cheesy side. 

Flip after 30secs. Give the other side another 30 secs and remove from heat to cool.

Back to Simple Jap-style Bentos

Roast Meat's has pickled herring from IKEA and cucumber chunks "scattered" over his rice. While not traditional, I hope this can be considered "chirashi don"?

Meanwhile, Takoyaki has chuuka kurage (Japanese seasoned jellyfish) and some preserved veg (all from the Kyushuu Fair) over hers. It is meant to be a surprise as she didn't know I'd bought them. This girl will do ANYTHING for chuuka kurage.

I served up some homemade kimchi to include some fibre and probiotics.

Tri-coloured Cold Udon Salad

I was going to toss it up, then realised it would look more colourful and appetising this way. This is for Takoyaki.

Cooked fresh wheat noodles are tossed with kaeshi (short cut for me), then topped with (from left):

Homemade salmon flakes

Julienned cucumber

Omelette strips

Two Different Sandwich Bentos - Why do I do this to myself?

Aaaand here we are at another special episode of Two Different Bentos for Two Different Fussy Kids.

Granted they have certain same elements, but the overall concept is rather different.

Takoyaki is bringing her share of the patties to share with friends (if she and they so desire), plus a PB and Lingonberry Jam sandwich. Oh and I included chocolates for sharing.

Roast Meat, on the other hand, had patties yesterday so "I don't want to eat the same thing, Mum". Oh, these fussy children! So upon the suggestion of Takoyaki, I fried a leek omelette which was essentially the filling for HIS sandwich. If I had to go cook some other carb such as noodles I think I would scream.

It was tough trying to pack it in neatly and I almost couldn't close the box. 

Great practice for the annual Bento&Co contest! More details here. Alas, I will not be joining it this year because I have absolutely no inspiration or mojo. Not that it would make any difference. My bentos cannot make it.

Why have Two when you can have Three?

I do apologise if this sounds like a Singapore campaign to have more babies.

But I really think three stars look so much better than two. And they fill up the space more nicely too. Perhaps if I show this to Mouse he will say the first one is Ga-jeh, the second one is Gorgor and the one at the back ('cos it looks smaller in the background) is him.

I was lazy at first to haul out the star egg mould with which I made these moulded buns (How To here), but then I remembered that sooner than I can believe, Roast Meat would be a teenager in Secondary School, and who knows whether he might reject all cutesy stuff then? So, better make now while he still doesn't complain.

On the side are two beef patties (recipe here) with ketchup in a twist of cling wrap, cherry tomatoes and a delicious clementine.

Lovely Stink to start the week

Roast Meat will be over the moon today when he opens his bento and sees the natto.

Menu:
Cold somen tossed with kaeshi/mentsuyu, natto and corn nibblets
Salad kosong (no dressing)

Back to Nutritious and Filling Bentos

My guilt finally caught up with me. I decided to spend some effort giving my kids wholesome yet delicious foods to bring to school today. Well, actually, I have quite a lot of planned overs from dinner yesterday, so...

Mixed brown and red rice, I love the texture of this rice - slightly chewy and has a flavour reminiscent of hot black glutinous rice porridge 黑糯米粥 (hei1 nuo4 mi3 zhou1) or pulut hitam as it's known in Malay, which is one of my favourite local desserts. It took me three tries to get the proportion of water and rice right, as the ratio given on the packaging produces cooked rice that is too wet and mushy. So if you're thinking of giving this Songhe red and brown rice mix a try, for perfectly cooked rice that is fully cooked yet not mushy or sticky, the ratio of rice to water should be 1:1.5.

Takoyaki's bento is up first. She has a long break today, during which the entire school will be queueing up at the tuckshop stalls, so she appreciates bringing a filling bento which she can take her time to eat and not have to join the mad rush.

Red and brown rice bento

Her rice is topped with some furikake and to with that she has some leftover shredded roast chicken.

Roast Meat's is pretty much the same, it just has fewer fruits 'cos his lunch time is only 30 min or less.

Amazing how good Messy can look Bento

Just simple sandwiches in one half of the box, and an "artistic" (haha) mess of tamagoyaki, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli florets in the other half. Traffic light colours all over the place.

Simple Snack also must Bento

So these boxes are for the "healthy 10 min snack time" that both have on this day. I decided to include some cherry tomatoes to up the fibre content, then HAD to take a pic and put it up.

Not Worthy to be called Bento

Another simple day - ham-cheese-cucumber sandwiches with watermelon and some koala poo cereal for snack time.

Planned over Onigiri and Pork Jerky

Weird, eclectic selection of foods. Who cares? They're all yummy.

Term Two Begins with Sandwiches

Simple ham-and-cucumber sarnies with cherry tomatoes and watermelon to start the day/week/term.

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!