Cheese and Crackers in my Paris Bento Box

A week or so ago I made this bento with Paris on my mind. What a world we live in. Such evil and such goodness.

I like a lunch like this - a little bit of everything. We have black grapes and dried pears in one box. A mix of cheese, tapenade hummus, purple radishes, and a Bubbies dill pickle in the other. Crackers on the side.

Chicken and Rice Bento

Teri-chicken with pressed rice, a pickle, dried fruit, omelet, and cheese bento came with me to work this past week. Lots of change coming this month too.

Please Deliver Me Kiki Bento

A Thursday bento designed to make me happy.

And well nourished.

And satisfied.

There's nothing to eat, Mr. Bento

There's nothing to eat, Mr. Bento, a photo by Judy's Notebook on Flickr.


There's plenty to eat, but nothing looks good, and I want to be served too. All this rushing around before work to make sure I'm not just gulping down a bag o' chips and Dr. Pepper. Life is tough. 


Oh boo hoo. 


So I got out the old Mr. Bento and marveled at just how much space needs to be filled. Pickles and grapes fit into the smaller rounds nicely. A bean and cheese quesadilla sizzled in the stove. Easy and crunchy. My new motto?

Rolled some lovely scrambled organic eggs and used pups and penguins picks for some tasty salami. Lots of protein proportionately, but this lunch was perfect for the cold rainy day.

I think autumn may be here at last.

Gerry the Giraffe gets a round bento

I didn't notice how round this bento was till I looked at the photos. I mean, had I thought of it, I would have cut the dill pickles in round slices, then the roundness would be complete.

No, this bento was made for the rice, which has a calming effect, which I needed.

The champagne grapes were so sweet like candy, and the blueberries were divine as well. I used green accessories because I didn't have anything green to eat, but wait, the dill pickles are green. That counts!

These dills were also very garlicky, so they got a wrap in cellophane.

The really fun addition here is the Ko-Umeboshi. I bought a jar from Gold Mine Natural Food, a cool online resource.

I love my leafy Totoro bento box too.

Remember Me Bento

This charming box was one of the first ones I purchased two years ago when I started to bento. It adorns the header of this blog, my twitter page, and many photos in the old flickr account. I love it!

This box is also rather large and I find that size is an important aspect of my bento experience. I need a variety of proteins, a good dose of fruit and veggies, and whatever else sounds good.

I always pack my bento in the morning but often plan the night before or even days before trying to make dishes that will be good served as leftovers.

Teriyaki sesame chicken is a fabulous lunch. Tasty cold. So are garlic fried shiitakes - that's what is in the cup with the heart jeweled pick. Picks are a great way to add a smile to lunchtime.

Here's the whole shebang. In the same box as the chicken, there is fruit, as in cherries and cut up nectarines. In the other box is cucumber sushi and soy sauce in a pig on one side, and fresh cucumber pickles and dill pickle slices with an egg dish called Tamagoyaki (Japanese-style omlette) inspired by a recipe in The Manga Cookbook.  

orange you a good pup

I started this blog 9.10.09 and during the first year I had a blast buying, making, and eating bentos. This past year I fell out of the groove, primarily due to the severe illness of a dear friend. It was the same for all my blogs actually. I just couldn't write or think about writing.

Well, I'm back now, I think, so I'll see you around.

A Little Bento Love

I made this bento last week for Tuesday's lunch. Little rice balls with Nama Shoyu and Hello Kitty kimchee sprinkles, a couple slices of steak in the top tier. The other tier has homemade cucumber pickles, garlic olives, and artichoke heart slices with a dollop of mayo.

I still love bento, so here's a little bento love.

Ribs for Lunch on Thursday

This is my Kiki's Delivery Box. Nice and big to hold two baby back ribs and a big old container of hummus. The penguin pick is for the blueberries. The crackers for the hummus. The pickle for crunchy deliciousness. The kimchee for my health.

Go to the very bottom of this blog and feed the goldfish. Peace.

Three Amigos Bento

Last Thursday I took this nutritious lunch to work with me. It really was a jungle out there!

The sandwich box, the yellow one with the holes, had whole grain crackers, whole wheat bagel with PB, a donut peach whole, donut peach cut up, and a piggie in a blanket.

The front box had pickles, carrots, celery, jicama, hummus, pecans, and my three amigos holding pieces of white cheese in the shape of a star.

They're really cute with their covers, aren't they?

Mr. Bento is such a stud!

Mr. Bento came to work with me this past week.

I made a batch of teriyaki chicken as per hapa bento's suggestion to have a bento stash. Good idea hapa bento! (She's having a giveaway too!)

Also made a quick chili with black olives. The crisper was bare, so no additional veggies, darn it. But lots of cheese melted in (which is why it looks so orange) (that and lovely florescence lights at work).

Organic wheat thin styled crackers. So good. And Botan Rice candies! smile smile smile

Hard egg that is sliced-o-matic, hummus, pickles, raspberries, and bacon.

I can never say "bacon" again without sounding like that dog in that commercial.

Notice the background? That's my beachy desk - all speckled with sand.

A week of winter bento or not

I was poorly prepared for bento this week. Partially because the baby back ribs that would be fodder for Tuesday's bento did not come out. That is to say the ribs didn't taste right. Apparently they were defrosted and re-frozen when the power was out last week.

So I had to resort to hummus and pita bread and that was fine. I am experimenting with pickles, so the carrots and radishes are actually pickles and they are sitting on a sprout mix.

The delight of Tuesday's bento was the miniature tangerines. No seeds and really sweet, they were a fun addition.

Wednesday I was at a loss. I decided to buy a deli sandwich near work, and immediately wished I had my $6.73 back in my pocket. 

Oh well, I have to make that mistake every once in a while to remind myself that even a few basic things from home are usually better than old deli food.

Thursday's bento is a bit of a joke. This tiffin was bought prior to my bento adventure. I never really got used to using it because the clamps are vicious. They require such pressure to snap and unsnap, I think my thumbs will snap instead. 

In the end the bottom tier didn't even close, so the V8 and apple went into a brown paper bag. 

Silas wanted to jump into that bag too, the little muffin. By Thursday he has had enough of me leaving him alone all day, and I rather agree wishing I could stay home and curl up with him and a good book.