Monday, September 3, 2007

Broccoli Madness Salad, grape tomatoes and white chocolate chip bites. Nonfat peach yogurt and bran buds, ritz crackers and cheese stars.















Pigs in a blanket, ketchup for dipping, mini peanut butter cookie bites, spiderman cheesenips, watermelon and juice.
















I wanted to make something different that I knew would be a hit. So, I went for the old pigs in a blanket trick. They are quick and bake in 11 to 12 minutes.
Pigs in a blanket made with crescent rolls and hotdogs, peanut butter bites, ketchup, and spiderman cheesenips.

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Stashing Away Treats!

Stashing away treats saves money. So, in order to keep bento efforts cost effective and delicious, I made up a bunch of the family favorite cookies and bites. I'm putting them in zip bags and freezing them.


Oatmeal Cookies without nuts and Oatmeal Bites.
















Peanut Butter Cookies and Bites


















Chocolate Chip Cookies and Bites
















White Chocolate Chip Cookies and Bites
















Brownie Hearts and Bites

Friday, August 31, 2007

Bento 08-31-07

Chinese Dumplings with soy and tokanatsu sauce, Red Roast Pork, Bun for stuffing rrpork, watermelon, grapes, cookies and a little sample from Target ...archer farms product...banana split?














Thai lunch bento (they call it binto), with spoon stuck in it, other box in background.

















Close up of the thai lunch binto. My kids used to take this one, it's the smallest I've seen, about 4 inches in diameter. Seagull brand.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Bento 8-30-07

Frankie's Bento has a steamed Char Siu Bao/Salapao with nori, grape tomatoes/red grapes, cow egg with nori spots, dumplings, soysauce and tokanatsu sauce.













Jack's bento today has a steamed Char Siu Bao/Salapao with punched nori, pink pig egg, grape tomatoes/redgrapes, and two dumplings.

Stashing Day!

The secret to keeping up this bento habit is to make stuff when you have time. So that you aren't stuck when time isn't on your side.
These are onigiri. It's basically rice pressed into a mold with red roast pork in it. I came up with an efficient way to make them. I line the mold with a plastic foldover baggie, scoop hot rice, with an icecream scooper , press down the rice with the baggie, making a deep impression for the meat. Insert the meat, top with more rice, fold over the baggie and press down firmly with the mold. It works beautifully. I read on Lunch in a Box that you can also toast them in a skillet. I added the nori only to the ones that would be consumed soon. The rest went into the freezer. More stash!





























These are eggs, molded using some ice cream sandwich molds I got at Williams-Sonoma for $9.95 You boil the eggs, and while they are piping hot, put them in the sprayed with Pam mold and wrap with rubberbands. Set in ice cold water for 10 minutes and gingerly take the plunger part off, and voila! You have molded eggs. To get the cool colors, just set the egg in a small bowl with food coloring. Thanks to Lunch in a Box, who taught me how. I used nori seaweed cutouts to finish off the cow.
















I grew up on these...Char Siu Bao!! My stepmom would bring them home from Japanese Village in L.A. We knew what gems were in that pink box with a cotton string holding it together. I enjoyed these as well while living in Thailand, and made them up to put in lunch box. My son loves them so much, and you can microwave them for 15-20 seconds, and you have a delish treat.














These dumplings are Thai. When we lived in the northern city of Chiang Mai, I used to shop at Rimping Superstore, and outside of the store, you can buy a bag of these with fried garlic and a wonderful salty/sour sauce. You stab the dumplings with a skewer and relish in its divine taste! Perfect for the hungry and tired shopper....and for bento.

08-28-07



Uncrustable Ham salad sandwiches, koala march cookies and blueberries for Jack. There's also spinach underneath the sammies for jungle leaf effect.



Ham salad with spinach on whole wheat, doritos and mini nutter butters for Frankie.

Bento 08-27-07

Yum Korea!! Jap chae, cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, cukes, soysauce, and gingerbreadman shaped carrots on a stick for me. YUM KOREA was made with Apples and bell pepper cutouts.







Jap Chae! Korean Noodle Salad, fish chips, panda cookies for Allie.