Loco Moco Bento & Overnight Trip

Today's menu... Meat balls, Fried egg, Carrot kimpira, Spinach/corn salad, Salted salmon.　　
I've had this aluminum bento-bako from my childhood.  Tiny Poem/Kazenoko Sachan (breezy child) was one of my favorite Sanrio characters at that time.  Though I had also plastic containers and a ceramic tea set of this character, lost it imperceptibly.





One week ago, we took an overnight trip to suburb.  The view from our room at hotel Greenpia.
There was a skiing area beside the hotel.


A lot of swans and ducks on frozen lake!


"Feed me!!"


It was so cold there that the whole lake was frozen!

Tonkatsu Bento

This is Yuppi's bento.  I forgot to take a picture of Hubby's bento!
Today's menu...  Kuromame gohan (black soy beans mixed rice), Tonkatsu (pork cutlet), Simmered konnyaku skewer,  Ham-wrapped egg salad, Julienned veggie salad, Yogurt with strawberry preserve.
Yuppi doesn't like mame gohan, but it's healthy!  I like it.  This egg salad of ham wraps is boiled egg seasoned with some mayonnaise and a little curry powder, it's yummy!
Recently bought this rectangular bento-bako at 100 yen store (not Daiso).  I like both nice bento-bako and cheap-looking ones, and love the red lid in particular.
I'm going to leave off this posting now... Cause I'm starving!!

Mantou Bento & Happy 101 Award

I finally got a new computer!!  However... can not manage it well...  Bento photos have accumulated, though.

At first I have something to want to post.  gamene/bentozen passed along an award to me!!   That's unexpected so I was so surprised and happy.  gamene is a great bentoist who produces bentos nobody can make, and I love her bentos.  Here is the award.  I saw this award everywhere before.  Although I don't fully understand about this award...  Well here goes!

The Rules for Happy 101 Award
Copy the award image into a post.
List 10 things that make you happy.
Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
Link to their blogs.
Notify the award recipients. (who should link back to the sender’s blog)

But...I don't know many other bloggers because it's not been a long time since I started this blog.  Plus I guess the related bloggers have already received this award.  So I couldn't tag 10 bloggers, it's rule violation, though.  If you want to see my favorite blogs, check out the list on side bar.

Here is the 10 things that make me happy

1) My family
My hubby is a mild man.  He lets me do anything I like.  And my daughter always tells me that she loves me and she'll be with me forever.  Her smile is my happiness.

2) Seeing bento
I love seeing various bentos other people made.  It makes me happy anytime.

3) That my bento is finished nicely
Makes me smile smile.

4) Tea break
I have various drinks, Cafe au lait, Aojiru, Milk tea, Houji tea, Green tea, Jasmine tea, Herb tea and so on.  Tea time between housework really relaxes me.

5) Taking trip
Near place or far place from my town, and anywhere.  It makes me so refreshed to get off from my daily life.

6) Disneyland
While we're there, we are happy through.  And Mickey and his friends make us so happy every time.

7) Talking with mama-friends
Japanese Moms are so energetic and fun.  They always give me a lot of energy.

8) Music and English
I enjoy various genres of music, have a lot of favorite musics.  They always brighten my life.
My daughter recently started learning English in a cramming school.  So I also decided to learn English to teach her it.  As you see, I'm not good at English.  To be honest, I've not studied English except a junior high school.  I know, it's pretty reckless to write blog in English without skills of English.  When I was a teenager, learned English from musics, videos and movies but I forgot it all.  So I learn it through writing and reading blogs now.  It's so nice to me to memorize English words and phrases I never know yet. 

9) Devising soap recipe
My other hobby is to devise new soap recipes nobody has made yet.  Once in a while I share it with people who enjoy soap-making.  I feel happy when a satisfactory recipe is completed.

10) My boyfriend
At last I have to pick up him.  He is a so cute guy, I love him so.  He did never leave my shoulder even for a moment.  We kissed many times.  But he's gone to the house his family waiting for him.  Now I'm sitting alone in front of the computer.  He really made me happy.  He's still smiling on my profile icon.  Yes, he is a pet of my sister... hahaha  I'm missing him!

Today's menu... Stir-fried shrimp and chicken, Zeera aloo (cumin potato), Blanket roll shrimp, Salad, Siratama dumpling with Zunda (sweet edamame paste).
I made mantou (Chinese steamed bun)  but couldn't make it well...  But it's yummy.  I'll try it again!  This zeera aloo is my best recommendation.  How to... Boil whole potatoes, peel it, cut into bite-sized, stir fry with olive oil and cumin seed, season with salt and some kinds of spice (garam masala, coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder).  I'd like everybody to try it!

Hubby's bento... Pork roll negi, Blanket roll shrimps, Salad, Salted salmon, Red cabbage pickle, Brown rice.  The shrimp's blankets are made of skins for syumai ^.^*

Thanks and Notice

Thank you for your visit! I have something to want to notify. Now my computer is in so bad condition. So I can not write any posts by my PC. I'm sorry but will suspend my posting and commenting for a while. See you after I get a new one!!  ^o^

Oyster Sauce Shrimp Bento & Ome-rice Lunch

Today's bento menu...  Oyster sauce shrimp, Tamagoyaki (omelet), Red cabbage pickle, Salted salmon, Broccoli ohitasi.
Ohitasi is veggie boiled and soaked or tossed with syoyu, dashi, and others.　This shrimps are stir-fried and seasoned with oyster sauce and a little salt.

This is yesterday's lunch.  Ome-rice (Japanese spelling "omuraisu"), Lettuce & cucumber salad, Samosa.
Samosa is Indian snack like fried pastry.  I made it using gyoza-no-kawa (thin skin of dough).  So these samosa just look like fried gyoza!  Its filling is made from rice and a retort rajma masala (spicy kidney beans) from my friend.  Actually I wanted to make potato filling, but it took too much time to make.  Because we were hungry, wanted to have lunch soon.  But this idea was NOT mistake.  The samosa were so tasty!  We started eating it greedy.  But it was... too hot!!!

Gyoza Bento & BBQ Sauce Chicken Bento & Fried Egg Lunch

Today's bento menu... Gyoza (Chinese name "jiaozi") , Fresh greens salad, Carrot and chikuwa kakiage (mixed tempura).
These gyoza are leftovers from last night, and so, things I should do were only to re-saute the gyoza and to make kakiage.  Time's up when these kakiage were completed.  I wanted one more dish to fill the space of the bento box, but I had no time to make other thing, was so impatient, and looked for in the fridge, no good thing for bento except tobikko, grabbed it, packed it in the bento box, done.  Yay!!  I'm not an early riser...
Tobikko is processed herring roe.

This is yesterday's bento.  Yakiniku sauce chicken (barbeque sauce chicken) with sweet potato and carrot, Negi nori omelet.  This time also, put ikura and purple daikon pickles in as space-filler.  Dishes I made then were the only two!

This is today's lunch for Yuppi (my daughter).  Looks like breakfast!

Snow Bunny Bento

Today I made Saturday lunch with leftovers as cleaning fridge.  These rice balls are snow bunnies (not white bunnies though), because I used brown rice.

Today's menu... Rice bunny, Stir-fried bacon and cabbage, Broiled mayo-chicken, Fried egg (syoyu tasting), Leftovers salad, Tofu shiratama (mochi rice flour dumpling) with Sweet sesame paste.  I love bacon-cabbage and sesame dumpling!!  I have finally finished a big red cabbage.

The bunnies hiding in dishes

Usually shiratama becomes firm when refrigerated, but soft-tofu mixed shiratama keeps soft.  Plus It's much tastier.  This sesame paste is made from ground sesame, sugar, shoyu, starch, water.  Both are so easy to make!

Chicken Cutlet Bento & Green Yakisoba Bento

Today's bento menu... Spinach goma-ae, sauteed lotus root & chikuwa, tamagoyaki, chicken cutlet.  Goma-ae is veggie tossed with ground sesame, syoyu, sugar.

This is shio yakisoba (salt-seasoned fried noodle).  Did not add food color.  Ramen noodles contain alkali, alkali turns the purple color of red cabbage to blue.  That's why yellow noodles turn into green noodles.  If you like to add vinegar to yakisoba, you can turn green yakisoba to PINK yakisoba!  The ingredients of the green yakisoba are red cabbage, pork, shrimp, ika, naruto-kamaboko, salt, sesame oil.

Marble Butter Cake

Oinarisan Bento

Oinari-san is aka Inarizushi, made of sweet salty aburaage pouch & vinegared rice.  These aburaage pouches are simmered with syouyu & sugar & mirin & dashi.  This vinegared rice is mixed with sesame seed & simmered cut veggies (lotus root, dried siitake, carrot, hijiki and so on).  I had made them last night, and did stuffing this morning.  This time, garnished with ikura (salmon roe), broccoli sprout, julienned thin omelette, and ginger pickles.  And nimono, sweet roll omelette (not datemaki).  Nimono is simmered veggies, a traditional cuisine we have it during the first three days of New Year.  Actually didn't make nimono during the period, so made it belatedly yesterday.  It includes dried siitake, konnyaku, satumaage, carrot, satoimo (taro), edamame (green soy beans).  I'm STIll enjoying the New Year's mood.

Ikura-don Bento

The first bento in this year!  My hubby's work starts today.  My bentomaking in 2010 starts, too.
Today's menu... Ikura ikura & ikura, yes ikuradon, so simple!  Vinegared rice under the ikura & kinshi-tamago (means golden egg thread) & kamaboko cherry blossoms.  Side dish, sweet sour chicken, boiled broccoli, purple daikon pickles, kamaboko bunny (doesn't look so), and New Year flavor plus a little bit.  I guess many people resumed their work after the holidays, while the winter vacation of the elementary school continues.



How to make Ikura
Disentangle salmon roe apart using wire net.
  Rinse and drain the salmon roe well. 
Season with only some sirosyouyu (light color soy sauce).
If you like, you can use normal syouyu, mirin, sake.
Image Pictures of Maiking Ikura

Happy New Year!

It has quite become a white world around my town.  Now, the New Year has come, the snowy  New Year! 

May this New Year be filled with pleasures, treasures, splendid encounters, and delicious things for us all. 

And...  Have happy holidays!