Sunday, December 30, 2012

Pot luck the end of year party


We had the end of year party at our house. It was fun time, and forgot to take more pictures. 
This is before everyone brought dishes. We had more than we could eat! 
I found that it was a great way to have a party. We had variety of food, and 
easy to clean up, too! 


This is one of dishes I made, fried rice and stir fry chicken. 


We had a lot better food than snack vege. But just the sake of look on the counter :) 
What I've been liking is this cheese with cranberry in it. Yummy! 

Our party was successful. Amazingly, 11 kids were occupied with Wii, Lego, and 
some other games in the basement, so all moms and dads could have a great time, too :) 



Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Santa rice ball


This is a Santa rice ball. The santa's hat was made with red pepper, 
and white part is egg white from boiled egg. 

Onigiri with Pig fish sausage


Just to make sausages look more interesting, I made pigs. 
I got this fish sausage at Japanese market, it was quite good :) 


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Elf on the sandwich


Kids have been kind of sick. Or not quite 100 %. 
A bad stomach flu is going around, and they don't have very much 
appetite. It's difficult to make something when they are like that. 
I have to think, something not to heavy, something filling, 
and something somewhat nutritious. 
Hope everyone will get through without getting sick! 

Salmon Flakes


Hi there! It's been kind of busy, and I've been lazy that a lot of lunch are 
repeats these days. Sorry for no update for a while! 
These are salmon bento, salmon flakes on rice. It is quite good :) 
If you want to try, salmon flakes are sold in asian market in a jar, 
refrigerated section. 

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Reindeer Sandwich


Today's lunch is Mac and Cheese sandwich plus reindeer chocolate sandwich. 
Those pretzels are very useful :) 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Sticky Rice (Okowa) Bento


I had some left over sticky rice from yesterday. So there it is! Sticky Rice Bento.
It is yummy and filling :) 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Cat Bento


Today's lunch is cat's rice ball bento. 
I tired to curve "meow" on the apple, didn't succeed. 
JJ eats some Japanese flavor dishes. So I added Japanese pumpkin 
for her side today. Hope she will like it. 

Monday, December 3, 2012

Pancakes


Today's lunch is pancakes. A little tip: I put small cut parchment papers 
in between pancakes, so that they won't stick together. 

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Ninja Rice Balls

Ninja Rice Balls

This is simple rice balls. Just added same nori to make Ninja. 
Cute, aren't they? 

Friday, November 30, 2012

Hot Dog in a Blanket


It might have been a lot to eat! I packed egg salad sandwich with hot dog in a blanket. 
Extra is chocolate croissant. They normally eat only what they like. 
So.. should be okay. I'm having trouble getting up in the morning again! 
I will have to plan ahead :) 

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

My Lunch 8


I haven't had a chance to make myself lunch. (lunch in a box)
Today, I used sticky rice I made yesterday, got some goodies from my mom 
in Japan :) and added some peppers and mushrooms. 
Yum Yum Yum :) 

Quesadilla Curry with Vege for Snack


Today's lunch is quesadilla curry with strawberry jam elephant sandwich. 
fruits and vegetables in different lunch box is for snack time. 

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Sticky Rice


Many people asked me about sticky rice. Sticky rice is a kind of rice, not 
the way you cook. If you want to cook sticky rice, you have to buy sticky rice. 
You cannot make white rice into sticky rice. Where can you find it? 
Most Asian market has small bag of sticky rice, often label as "Sweet Rice." 

Now, the right way to cook sticky rice is to wash and dry over night, then cook 
in the next day. Of course, I cannot wait. So I just wash and cook. HA HA. 
That tuns out okay. 

 Ingredients: 2 cups of sticky rice, half stick of medium size carrots, 3 to 4 
Shiitake Mushrooms (dry kind, soaked in the water, don't throw away water!)
pork or chicken thigh one small piece, 3 Tbs soy sauce, 2 Tbs sake, 1 Tbs sugar, 
and 1Tbs Dashi soup (sold at Asian market), 2 Tbs sesame oil. 

First, on the stove, medium heat, heat sesame oil. Add meat, carrots, 
Shiitake mushrooms (all chopped small size), fry evenly for a few minutes. 
Add rice. Mix evenly. Add left over Shiitake water, soy sauce, sake, sugar, dashi, 
and another cup of water. 
(After you mix, water level is about half inch above the rice.) 

Heat until boil, then turn the heat down to low, and cover. 
Set the timer for 20 minutes. Don't open while cooking. 
Around 20 minutes, you can peek how much water you have left, if you don't 
see excess water, turn the heat up to high for 1 minutes, Remove 
right away from the stove, Let it stand for another 15 minutes before serve. 
If you see excess water, set the timer for another 2 minutes, check 
the water level, and last One minute of cooking should be in high heat. 
Don't forget to remove from the heat after that. 

That's it! Easy! and Yummy! 
Hope you will try this :) 

Pizza and Crackers


I know I'm getting lazy, aren't I? I had left over pizza from our favorite 
Italian restaurant. So I used it, cutting in star shape. I'm not sure if this is enough for CC. 
She's been eating a lot lately. 12 grain crackers, grapes and blueberries, ham and dessert 
sandwich, Nutella roll up. 


JJ's lunch is a little different. She loves jam which is convenient for me :) 
I packed strawberry jam and Nutella roll up sandwich, pumpkin pie, and ham. 
Well, all sweet stuff. Hope she won't go up and down bouncing around 
after this. Ha ha ha. 


Monday, November 26, 2012

Onigiri Bento


Happy Monday! What a weekend! We did a lot, and now I was 
hurrying up to decorate our Christmas tree. Today's obento is simple 
Onigiri-rice ball bento. I had some yummy goodies from Japan. 
Yellow stars are yum potatoes, and underneath are small fish. 

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Cute Details for Lunch


I'm not making lunches next several days, so this is something for you to look :) 
A little details always make lunches fun and cute. 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Chicken Nuggets


Kids like those panda pics. They don't need them, but they asked to add here. 
CC was watching me packing a lunch today, and said "when I become a mom, 
I will make lunch like this!" Then she came up an idea. 
"For Christmas time, we can make trees with cucumbers!" So that's 
what we did. With pandas, it look little like panda forrest :) 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Turkey Sandwich for Thanksgiving

Turkey sandwich for thanksgiving, 七面鳥サンドイッチ

It is getting close to Thanksgiving! It seems to be early this year, isn't it? 
I made turkey sandwich without turkey in it. Actually used bunny-shaped 
cookie cutter and made wings, and added apples on top. Inside is 
Netella chocolate. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Yakisoba Bento


A little tip here about noodles: make one bite rolls. 
They stick together in the lunch box, if you put in the large box without divider. 
Whole thing come out when kids try to eat. In order to avoid that situation, 
you roll (like spaghetti) as you pack. Then one bite amount 
come out as they eat. You can use this technique for soba also. 

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Tuna Mayo Rolls



I've been getting good at making rolls, and that's really fun. One roll makes 
nice 4 bites which is perfect for lunch.
I wasn't sure if JJ likes tuna mayo inside. She doesn't complain most of times. 
So I will see if she eats those rolls :)

Friday, November 16, 2012

Little Girl Rice ball Bento


Yesterday, I was helping JJ's kindergarten class. The teacher asked me to show kids
how to draw figures, so they can draw better than stick figures. 
I also showed how facial expression changes depending on where to put eyes. 
That gave me an idea for this rice ball. This is just a smily face, but 
kind of looks like JJ. After teaching little tips, kids were having fun 
drawing in the new ways. It was nice to see how they enjoy new findings. 


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Hot dog Rolls with Tulip Apples

Hot dog rolls, Tulip Apples, ホットドッグロールとチューリップのりんご

This is an easy way to make ordinary bento to extraordinary one :)
Just add tulip apples! 
CC got up early today and watched me make lunch. 
I didn't have anything special to pack, so I made apple shaped like tulips. 
Then she was excited. "Mommy, it looks so yummy! Can I taste it now?" 
I made hot dog rolls for JJ. She likes them better. 







Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Mac and Cheese Bento


When I have left over, it is quicker to pack lunch. 
We had mac and cheese left over, so that's today's lunch :) 


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Pig face Salmon Bento

Pig Salmon Bento, ぶたシャケ弁当

I normally make rice balls when I put rice in their lunch. 
This is new challenge, rice directly in the box. 
I think CC is old enough that she can eat it. I saw JJ's friends 
at Japanese school eat this type of lunch with chopsticks! 

Monday, November 12, 2012

Chicken nuggets and Pasta


It's Monday already??? I just quickly put together whatever I had today. 
After the weekend, my brain isn't working very well :( 
I have to think about something new to pack! Have a nice week, everyone!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Little Penguin Bento

Little Penguin Bento Lunch, ペンギン弁当

Today, I was a volunteer at the Japanese school. 
I was there all day for kindergarten class. 
So I'm so tired right now, but the good thing is I got to see how 
JJ was eating lunch. She actually ate the whole thing with a little encouragement. 
I guess they easily get districted. And sometimes it's not that important for them 
to finish all. I thought this might be too little, but it was actually a right 
amount. Some kids who had more to eat, of course couldn't eat all in time. 
They had a story time right after to adjust this quick eating kids and slow
eating kids. That was nice treat :) anyway, I had a good time. 


Friday, November 9, 2012

Sandwich with pasta salad


Today's lunch is sandwich with pasta salad. I loved this pasta salad when I was little. 
It is just pasta with apple, cucumber and ham mixed with Japanese mayo. 
Super easy and yummy!


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Snowman Rice ball Bento


CC is more picky eater. So I tend to pack something she eats. Oh, I just realized 
I forgot to pack ketchup. Oh well. She may not even eat chicken nuggets. 
I guess she just have to experience "hunger" when she's picky. I can't do everything! 


Hotdog Rolls

hotdog roll, sushi, norimaki, ソーセージののり巻き

Today's lunch for JJ is hotdog rolls. She can eat with soy sauce or ketchup. 
I used picks for small sides, so I don't have to pack a folk. 
Hope she'll like it :) 

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Curry Quesadillas

curry quesadillas

We didn't have school last two days. I almost forgot how to make lunches! 
It was nice to sleep in a little :) Now I had to get back to normal routines. 
Today's lunch is Curry Quesadillas. Most of times I made it with chili meat, 
but kids like curry, too. So just a little variations. 
One thing I'm glad is that day light savings is over. Now I can take pictures in 
day light again! That turns out much much better, don't you think? 





Saturday, November 3, 2012

Panda Bento

Panda lunch, パンダ弁当

Panda Bento for JJ's Japanese Kindergarten :) 

Friday, November 2, 2012

My Lunch 7

Lunch idea, my lunch, 大人弁当

I hadn't made my lunch for a while because I run out of ingredients. 
Today I got a package from Japan! Yay! There are tons of yummy stuff, such as 
black beans, brown beans, Gobo, Konbu, and these fish — Wakasagi, 
my very favorite!!! Those are taste of Japan, I got nostalgic! 
I didn't like any of those when I was young, now I really appreciate it :) 
Thank you, mom for yummy food! 



Grilled Cheese


Today's lunch is grilled cheese sandwich. I can't get up early in the morning these days! 
Our cat, Pumpkin comes to wake me up around 5:30 a.m. which is too early for me. 
I try to go back to sleep, but then next time I wake up, it's too late! 
Anyway, Halloween is over, and now everything is about Christmas! I picked up 
cute books for small gift for Christmas today. Fun fun fun! 

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Yakisoba (fried noodle) Bento


Kids always like noodles. Spaghetti, soba, ramen, etc. This is kind of like Chow men. 
A little alternative for lunch menu :) 

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Croissant Sandwich


I just realized nothing "Halloween" like stuff in here :( 
When I'm busy one thing, I cannot think about the other thing! 
Today is halloween, and CC wanted to be Merida from Brave, and that involved
curling hair to paint spraying her hair. Whew! JJ was a kitty cat, nice and easy. 
And they have class parties with treats and games. I was thinking 
"I have to pack something light, and something not sugary" 
Anyway, simple ham and cheese sandwich and egg salad sandwich. 
Can you tell I was in a hurry? The picture isn't even focus :p
Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Heart Sandwich


CC wanted to buy lunch today, so I got lazy. I made this for JJ but super simple. 
A heart sandwich with strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, ham and cheese in 
flower shapes. It was still very dark because of the storm. So the picture was 
taken under the light :) 

Monday, October 29, 2012

Witch Bento

Witch Bento, Food, 魔女弁当、やきそば、魔女のおにぎり

It is Monday again! Happy Monday, everyone! 
I couldn't think of anything, then found left over pot stickers. 
That was perfect little something for lunch.
Then I decided to make a witch. Does it look like one? 
I hope so. They are simple rice balls. 



Saturday, October 27, 2012

California Roll Bento


I'm hoping I won't have to make dinner today. It's Saturday. I just don't feel like it. 
I feel pretty much like sushi. We have a really good sushi restaurant in our neighborhood. 
Although if we go, girls will race to eat tuna, and sometimes I don't get to eat any! 
I'm getting better at rolling sushi. This is fun once you know hot to do it :) 


Happy Halloween Spagetti


Today's lunch is spaghetti with pumpkin bread. I made eyes with a brownie. 
Happy Halloween! 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Star Sandwich


Hi there! I totally forgot to post this lunch, and almost time to pick up kids!!! 
Today's lunch is regular sandwich with grapes and carrots, added some hotdog flowers :) 
GOT TO RUN! See you soon! 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Snowman Curry Bento

snowman curry bento, 雪だるま弁当

I'm not wishing for snow. I'm actually enjoying warm weather last couple of days. 
It's curry today, so this is easy solution :) 
For JJ, I made mashed potato ghost again... since she couldn't eat yesterday. 
As I predicted, she said "mommy, I couldn't eat, because you forgot to put folk in it!" 
I made sure everything is packed today. 



Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Owl, Bat and Ghost Bento

Owl, Bat, Ghost Bento, フクロウ弁当

As I post this picture, I realized that I forgot to put folks for kids. 
Hope they can find one at the cafeteria... otherwise, they bring this back! Oh no! 



In case you are wondering what they are: from left top, rice balls, bottom left, 
ghost shaped mashed potato, right bottom, meatballs.. trying to look like a bat.