Trip to CandyLand

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Winnie the Pooh

Today, while arranging my bento tool box, I stumbled upon my old cookie cutters. It's been sometime since I last used my pooh cutter..... So I decided to make use of it to make tonight's dinner.

Hot dog again?? Actually I did not feel like eating hot dog..... I knew Hubby would not mind.... He is such a hot dog lover.... But I have limited choice because I wanted to use the cookie cutter.....

So sliced the bun, spread the sauce, placed the lettuce and hot dog.... Lastly, cut out the cheese with the cookie cutter and decorate it... Voila.... It's done! 

Oh!! It's so kawaii... 

Who can resist such a cute food...

It's almost too cute to be eaten...

Vrrommm....

Last term, my students learned about transportation..... After much discussion, they showed a great interest about land transportation..... To wrap up the theme about transportation, I decided to have a cookery activity with them to allow them to demonstrate what they had learned.....

The ingredients provided are hot dog buns, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, chicken cocktail, egg salad and wheel crackers. Seaweed and bento picks were also available for decoration.

The children's creations were amazing! They created taxi, racing car, van, bus and many others...... I'm impressed by their creativity...... Their products displays how much they had learned about transportation.

and most importantly...... they had FUN!!!!

Romantic Dinner for Two

 
 

Bento Catering

Creative Bento is all about indulgences – not the bank-breaking, hours-slaving-at-work, saving for months/years kind of indulgence. It is about cute bento that you can have everyday..... With that in mind, Creative Bento offers a thoughtful range of homemade bento using premium ingredients to produce first-rate bento.

From a light snack of mini burger with your afternoon cup of coffee or tea, a personalised sandwich to cheer someone up, or a wholesome conventional bento, Creative Bento is about indulging one’s self and one’s loved ones with the very best – whenever you want to.

I hope you relish eating my spread of delights as much as I take pleasure in creating them for you!

Cheers!

Cheep Cheep....

Hi there.....

After a long wait..... I finally got my first bento cookbook last August..... I am really recommending this book to all bento lovers..... Today’s bento is a remake of one of the bento featured in the book. Chicks......!!

First, I shaped the rice using a small bowl..... If you want a glossy rice, you need to make sushi rice by adding sushi vinegar, salt and sugar once the rice is cooked.... Mix them carefully and fan the rice as you mix them..... But today I just used ordinary rice as I was rushing for time..... 

Second, I cut-out two small circles out of seaweed for the chick's eyes.... The beaks were made out of corn kernel..... I think it was very adorable..... and the rosy cheeks and the comb were made out of chicken wiener..... Btw, does chick have comb??? Hahaha.....

This bento is for hubby...... The portion is of course bigger...... As a result, I couldn't use the corn kernel for the beaks...... They were way too tiny for his chick, so I used carrots instead...... 

Both bentos have chicken wiener flowers..... (I did not really do a good job in cutting..... The knife was too blunt..... I need to buy a good knife......), chicken kaarage, cherry tomatoes and broccoli.....

I also added fish chikuwa filled with carroy stick and asparagus..... They added colour to the bento......

Let's eat!!!

Recommended Bento Books

Yum-Yum Bento Box Cookbook  

       This book is a must-have!

Yum-Yum Bento Box: Fresh Recipes for Adorable Lunches

by: Maki Ogawa, Crystal Watanabe

Oh, boy obento! These cute, yummy, healthy lunches are all the rage in Japan, where mothers think of them as an expression of love for their children. Yum-Yum Bento Box is one of the first cookbooks in English devoted to these healthy and adorable meals. They're fresh, they're tasty, and they're almost too cute to eat!

Hawaii's BentoBox Cookbook-2nd Course 

       Learn to create cute, whimsical lunches!

Follow Susan Yuen, the author, on Twitter and her blog, Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook!

Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook: 2nd Course

by: Susan Yuen

Hawaii's Bento Box Cookbook 2nd Course presents a new assortment of imaginative bento and ono dishes that will make lunch a one-of-a-kind treat for even the pickiest of eaters. The bento box continues to be popular among all ages, especially kids who can enjoy some fanciful food while benefiting from a nutritious meal.

My First Catering Order

Yawn..... This morning I woke up soooo early.... Two hours earlier than my normal routine. Few days ago I received my first order via sms..... I was so excited..... 

A pretty five years old girl will be having a party at school..... Her mom asked me to make something for her to bring to the party..... At first we were thinking of sushi..... but then her mom remembered that the girl's Japanese friend might bring sushi.....

Hmmm... After brainstorming, we decided to make mini burger and mini hotdog for her.... They don't need to be warmed up, they won't turn bad easily, they are wallet friendly and most importantly..... kids love to eat them..... 

There are twelve children in the class..... So I would make six hot dogs and six burgers.....

In close up, they look like these.....

Aren't they lovely?

I love the Santa chocolate..... It's a treat for them for eating the veggies...

Each burger and hot dog is packed individually in a plastic transparent box. Besides burger or hot dog, they also get five crinkle-cut carrot sticks..... I chose carrot because normally kids like to eat them..... Just say "Bugs Bunny eats carrot....."

Garden is the theme for the burgers..... Different types of flowers make the burgers look pretty..... and L is for Lana..... the prettiest girl of all.....

Shapes is the theme for the hot-dogs.... Stars and Hearts..... I named them: "You are a star" and "You are the King/Queen of my heart" 

Hope the children like it...... Enjoy the party, Lana and friends..... hip, hip hooray!!!

Note: If you are in Singapore and you want to place an order, you can drop me an email

creativebento@gmail.com

The price, theme and type of food can be catered according to your needs and budget

It's a wrap!!

Busy, busy, busy..... I've been so busy lately that I did not have time to blog..... Not only blogging is neglected.... Bento making is also skipped....

While browsing an old photo album, I found this picture of smoked turkey breast wraps which I made few months ago..... Well.... actually it's not a bento because it was not served in a lunch box..... But I think it still looks kawaii..... xixixi.....

The idea of making wrap came because I'm getting bored of eating rice and bread. I thought a wrap would be a great substitute for rice and bread as it is also a carbohydrate. Hubby also likes to eat wrap.... His favourite wrap is KFC's breakfast wrap on a Saturday morning accompanied with The Saturday Times.....

When I planned a meal, I always try to follow the healthy food pyramid..... Do you know that the base of the pyramid (food that we should eat more) is not the carbohydrate..... It should be the fruit and vegetables..... 

So I shredded lots of lettuce (iceberg and local) to stuff into the wrap..... I also diced tomato, onions and capsicum..... Not only they are excellent sources of vitamins and fiber, they also gives colours to the warp..... They make the wrap looks more appetizing..... This a theory of planning a meal which I learned from my Food and Nutrition teacher when I was in secondary school..... Her name was Mrs Peter..... She shaped my basic principle of  meal planning.....

You can say that I'm obsessed with fibre.... I even used wholemeal tortilla to make this wrap.... Xixixi.... :) Anyway the price of wholemeal tortilla and plain tortilla is the same.... So why not choose the one which gives you more..... Hahaha.....

Making wrap is very simple.... Just place all the ingredients (smoked turkey, veggies and sauce) then roll it up..... If you want a warm tortilla, you can always used a pan  or use a microwave to heat it up for a while, before you place the other ingredients.....

My wrap is served with Mr. Smiley fries, cherry tomatoes and broccoli with..... 

Cheese....

Yakitori Bento

Both, Hubby and I, love to eat Japanese yakitori..... Hubby likes the asparagus rolled with bacon and I like the chicken yakitori.... Whenever Hubby likes something, I always feel challenged to cook the dish..... Hahaha..... My mom also displays the same trait.....

So off I went to supermarket to purchase the ingredients needed..... Bacon, asparagus, boneless chicken thigh and yakitori sauce. I also bought green capsicum and leek..... I think leek and capsicum would make the yakitori tastes better.....

First, I cut the chicken into bite size cubes and marinate them with yakitori sauce. Remember to use yakitori sauce.... Because it creates charcoal-grilled aroma to your yakitori. I left the chicken to absorb the flavour for about 2 hours. While waiting for the chicken, I prepared the asparagus and bacon. I alternated bacon with leek..... The leek would give a nice aroma......

  

 step 1: roll the asparagus with bacon    step 2: use the Japanese yakitori skewer

 

Ahhhh...... I love yakitori!

Back to chicken yakitori.... After marinating, I placed it on the skewer. This time, I added capsicum and leek...... Just look at those yakitori sticks...... Are you hungry??

Ta Daaaa...... This is how I served the yakitori sticks...... The one on the left is of course mine and the other belongs to Hubby....... Hubby's tummy bulged out after he finished his meal..... Phuahahaha........

*satisfied* 

Bee Industrious

My dad named me after an Israelites judge. Truthfully, I do not really like my name. Partly because some people made fun of my name but mostly because people cannot pronounce my name. But my name has a wonderful meaning..... It means industrious bee..... Wow...(^-^) Industrious! A trait which I yearn to have.....

Well..... Hubby often grumble that I am too blasé.... Laid-back....  In fact, Hubby is not the only one who pointed out this character of mine..... My primary school teachers, secondary school teachers, parents, siblings and even friends also agreed with Hubby..... Hiks..... (-_-;) 

I want to change...... I told Hubby that I want to be an industrious wife..... Like a bee..... Just like my name..... Debora = Industrious bee..... So as a promise, I made a bee bento..... 

Indonesian style bento..... Yellow rice bee, cucumber 'lalap', chicken floss in banana leaf, dried tempe, salted fish and cherry tomatoes......

                                        

Teriyaki Tenggiri Bento Box

Yesterday, while shopping at supermarket, I found tenggiri steak on sale (n_n). Since the price is reasonable, I bought 4 slices. 2 for me and 2 for Hubby. I marinated the steak with salt, pepper, lemon, herbs and garlic powder. After marinating for about 2 hours, I grilled the steak in the oven then poured teriyaki sauce and sautéd it for a while.

It has been sometime, since I've made the conventional bento using the lacquerware box. So, I decided to prepare a traditional bento for Hubby with teggiri steak as side dish....

The first compartment is filled with onigiri. It was made out of sushi rice and nori. I used my big onigiri mould to shape the rice before adding the seaweed.

Next to onigiri, I placed the tenggiri steak with teriyaki sauce, lined with lettuce. Yummy!

Veggies is a must for me.... So I made salad using cabbage, lettuce, zucchini and cherry tomato. It looked quite plain, so I added two salmon fishcakes..... Aren't they cute?

Lastly, I halved herbal tea egg and placed it in the last compartment. B'coz Hubby loves to eat egg.....

Hubby's Teriyaki Tenggiri Bento Box



Bento for Your Party

Thinking of serving bento for your child's birthday party? Planning to give something special to your loved ones? You can order from creative bento now.... Drop me an email  creativebento@gmail.com

You can choose your favourite character or theme for your order.... Creative Bento will help you to search for decor items, i.e. table cloth, paper cups, paper plates, etc, to match your party theme.

You may also order character cookie for goodie bags or party favours..... Some of popular character cookies include hello kitty, miffy, chip and dale, mickey and minnie mouse, pooh, tigger and piglet.....

Prince and Princess Bear

I've been wanting to do a bento burger..... Hubby loves to eat western food..... Burger is one of them. So I went to supermarket and bought all those ingredients needed to make burger... Burger bun, chicken, lettuce, tomato, onion, zucchini  and cheese....

I love to make burger. It is easy and fast to prepare.... First I placed the chicken patties into the oven. I prefer grilling than frying.... It is healthier.... Washing up is also faster because I lined my baking tray with aluminium foil. While waiting for the chicken to be ready,  I washed all the veggies and sliced them thinly.  

A prince bear for hubby

A princess bear for me

The bears' ears were made out of meatballs and cheese. I tried to use spaghetti to secure the ears onto the bun. However, they were kind of heavy, so I replaced spaghetti with toothpicks.

Crowns, eyes and nose were made out of zucchini cut-out. I used my new bento cutter to cut these details.... I was quite happy to see the result..... :) I added red tomato ribbon and black sesame eye lashes for my princess..... Gosh..... She looks dashing..... Xixixixi.....

After everything were stacked..... The burgers were sooooo thick..... Phuahaha..... 

I served the burger with prawn and fruit salad in a glass...

Yummy, yummy food for our tummies!!!!