Fireworks Display 4

These are... I'm not really sure, but probably haven't posted them yet. They contain my bento standards such as chicken katsu, broiled chicken, ninjin shirishiri, potato salad, tamagoyaki and what not. They look so familiar, not new at all. I think homecooking is repetition. Okay, an excuse again haha!



I loved the tiny purple turnips. They are a quick pickle I only sprinkled with a bit of salt. By the way, I hardly put daikon (cooked or pickled) in bentos because of the unlovely smell. For those not familiar with the difference between kabu (turnip) and daikon (radish). At least here in Japan, kabu is a fat stem of some cruciferous vegetable, while daikon is a root. Plus, in my opinion kabu doesn't smell sulfurous so much, which is bento-friendly. Though, they look so similar you can't tell which is which just by looking.



Noriben is one of the best ways you can enjoy rice itself, which means you don't need to fix so many items for bento. I know there are some people who prefer crispy nori to wet one. When I was a kid, omusubi wrapped in nori was more common than that type you wrap naked one in crispy nori yourself right before eating. I like the crispness, but you can enjoy the real umami flavor of nori only when it's wet with the moisture from the rice.



I believe that except for pasta salad, napolitan (Japanese ketchup pasta) is the only pasta dish that is good even when it's cold and soggy haha! That also means? Bento-friendly, you know!



I like fried-anything just fried, but for some reason everybody is happy when they have deep-fried stuff in their bentos.



The greens next to the turnip pickle are leaves of the turnips. I stirfried them along with some kamaboko slices. The rest are broiled chicken and some usual items.



Here is how they turned out. I say, bento-packed comfort food to me.


In the meantime, the series of my fireworks event is coming to an end.



I knew that I couldn't take nice photos of night view or fireworks because I didn't take my tripod with me there. However I couldn't help but shoot this romantic scenery.



At last! You can see the fireworks! Hmm it's not much LOL.



It's always a real bummer, leaving your heart there, you have to go before the last climax. We hate being stuck in the terrible traffic jam. Goodbye Summer 2014!

Thank you for reading!

Fireworks Display 3

Here are some of bentos I have made recently. My diet itself is getting even simpler so I don't do that much work for everyday bentos. Maybe my bentos aren't so much fun to see anymore. However, something consistent about my bentomaking is that I'm heartening and cheering for my family through bentos. I want bentos that I made to be *pick-them-ups* when they feel tired or down at work or school.


















It was getting a bit dark. You can see the first Starbucks in the city, which is a very comfortable space to relax between seeing around.



Also, you can see us faintly reflected on the middle of the window, heehee. Having shared my oyakodon with the two hyenas, I was already hungry at this point. Had a piece of spinach quiche and plenty of cold drink. It was a hot night.



I was still roaming around haha! This is an Italian restaurant on the street.



A ramen shop, *Aburi*.



Although I've been there a number of times (because it is my home town), I love hanging around the street each time.

More photos coming soon!

Fireworks Display 2

People are gathering to see fireworks display. There is still some time to wait and it's still light.



Another goal of ours was to have delicious sundaes at our favorite cake cafe.



I've actually never been a fan of sundaes, but theirs are an exception, made of quality soft serve ice cream and whipped cream, and some additional goodies.



I tried the matcha and azuki version for the first time, but thought afterwards I liked the strawberry version better. Both were delicious though. Hubs and Yuppi were so happy with their sundaes.



Mini harbor right out of the cafe.



Bnetos this time. Menchi katsu (panko-fried pork patty) bento.



Umm, as you see... Teehee.

Fireworks Display

It looks like my very short, harsh summer will end soon. I can even feel the hint of fall these days. How fast time goes by, sigh. We really got to cherish every single moment, appreciating everything around us. Since I'm getting older, I feel this way very often.

In the meantime, we went to see fireworks early this month. Speaking of fireworks, the thing that most reminds me of summer is that. Every time I watch fireworks display I feel kind of sentimental remembering fond memories. Though, everything that went by is in the past, both good things and bad things. I hope to be always facing forward, not backward.



Since we got to the fireworks place a bit too early, had to charge our bellies first. Our choice was an old, nice osobayasan. It was an oyakodon kind of evening to me.



Yuppi's choice was katsudon.



Hubs had, I don't remember what kind of seiro, but anyway he had seiro soba (cold soba noodles with a hot bowl of dipping soup). He always prefers soba. He's been a soba lover since he was a little kid, which is strange in general. Most young kids prefer ramen, right?




We had a bit more extra time until the fireworks going off. I walked around taking pictures of random stuff there.



A cute, pink house of gelato.



A cute double decker bus. I want to get in.



This area is probably the most popular place for sightseeing in Japan. There are beautiful flower arrangements everywhere, welcoming visitors from inside and outside of the country. By the way, I'm a bit impressed with how this lens worked. I also like the angle of view of 35mm lens.



See these electric cables on the background. Very Japanish!



I'm not supposed to forget to post bentos of course, yeah! I made fried rice with delicious salty salmon and fresh corn. In the side bowl are pickled cuke and tomato marinade. I'm thinking... What is the difference between pickle and marinade? There aren't any differences in this case, LOL. Both tomatoes and cukes are vegetables.



This bento has panko-fried shrimp, cuke slices tossed with yukari, a chunk of broiled salty salmon, and Aiko tomatoes as is. In the bento, the only thing I worked hard with is the panko shrimp, haha!


More photos coming soon, and a little love from me. Happy weekend guys!