Tuesday 30 July 2013

Om Nom from Cut the Rope and the Garden Snail


One of my favourite bento because it's so pretty and colourful. Details as below :



For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. "Garden snail" sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich with mushroom made of eggsheet and bread crusts, snail made of eggsheet, carrot, nori, and black sesame seed, and Granny Smith apple cuts for grass)
2. Sea shell shaped milk jelly
3. Broccoli
4. Hard boiled egg with carrot "flower" on top



For my little one, since he loves Om Nom (from Cut the Rope game) so much, I prepared :
1. "Om Nom" sandwich (strawberry jam sandwich with Om Nom made out of Granny Smith apple, egg sheet, nori, and black sesame seed)
2. Car-shaped milk jelly
3. Halves hard boiled egg
4. Sausages

Similar tools I used for this post :


Love Letters


Details as below :



The white box consists of :
1. "Love letters" onigiri (white steamed rice, nori, cheese, and carrot)
2. "Octopus" sausages
3. Stir fried baby corn with ham and egg



For recess, I prepared :
1. Corn on the cob
2. Sultanas
3. Extra sausage :)
4. Carved Granny Smith apple

Friday 26 July 2013

The Snake and Its Prey


This bento I made for my year 2 son. The white box contains :
1. Mini quiche
2. Broccoli and carrot sticks
3. "Snake" sausage
4. "the cracking egg" as its prey
5. Mini money bags



In the blue box I prepared honey dew cuts for his recess.

Yesterday he said one of his tooth start wobbling. Hope it won't make him lose his appetite...

Thursday 25 July 2013

Spotty Egg and Flower Carrot


The best thing about bento is that you can use the same food, and with a little of creativity, it creates completely different results. I used the beef puff, mini quiches, and mini money bags from last batch. I just reheat it whenever I need.



For my year 2 son, I prepared :
1. Beef puff with hatched chick on top (nori, cheese, carrot, hard boiled egg, and black sesame seed)
2. Mini money bags
3. "Tulip" sausage
4. Corn on the cob
5. Broccoli



For my kindy son, I prepared :
1. Mini quiche with flower carrot on top
2. Mini money bags
3. Sausages
4. Corn on the cob
5. Kiwi fruit

Here is the recipe for MINI QUICHES :

Ingredients:

2 pcs store bought puff pastry, and use a glass to ‘punch’ out circular shapes to line the tin.
 4 eggs beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup greek yogurt
4 rashers of bacon, rind removed
1 brown onion finely chopped
1 cup grated cheese

Method :
1. Preheat oven at 180 degrees
2. Put the puff pastry cuts into muffin cases.
3. In a jug combine the eggs, milk, cream or yogurt and whisk to combine.
4. Fry the bacon and onion until starting to brown – divide the mix evenly into the muffin cases.
5. Pour the egg mixture over the top and sprinkle with cheese.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and puffed.

Recipe Hints and Tips:

Mini Quiches freeze very well.  Allow to cool to room temperature and seal in a zip lock bag for up to two weeks.  Defrost in the fridge, then pop them back in a hot oven for 5 minutes to crisp.


Back to School


First day of term 3. My kids are so excited to start the day. They miss everything about school, especially their cute lunches :)
Yesterday, I  baked beef puffs, mini quiches and mini money bags that are perfect for their lunch box.



For my eldest one, I prepared :
1. Beef puff with cheese and carrot rings decoration on top
2. Broccoli and carved carrot
3. Corn on the cob
4. Mini money bags
5. "Little boy" hard boiled egg


For my little one, I prepared :
1. Mini quiche with teddy bear on top (cheese, carrot, and nori)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Carrot sticks
4. Mini money bags
5. Kiwi fruit

Similar tools I used for today post :



Monday 22 July 2013

Potato and Silverbeet Torte


I got this recipe from Stephanie Alexander, founder of Kitchen Garden Foundation.(http://www.kitchengardenfoundation.org.au/). She teaches the kids to enjoy eating vegetables by growing, harvesting, then cooking them straight away fresh from the garden.

I put a little twist in the recipe by adding specks and omitting the parsley and using chives instead, and it turns out so yummy and my kids love it. They didn't even notice the silverbeet inside :)



Here is the recipe : POTATO AND SILVERBEET TORTE
Preparation time: 20 min
Cooking time: 40 min
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients
Olive oil pastry
200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
½ teaspoonsalt
1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup (125ml) cold water

Filling
1 bunch silverbeet
2 teaspoons salt
2 medium potatoes, peeled
½ onion, finely chopped
150g mozzarella, grated
10stalks parsley/chives, finely chopped
50g specks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 egg

Method
Olive oil pastry 
1. For the olive oil pastry, place flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.

2. Combine oil and water in a small bowl, then with the motor running, add to food processor, mix until dough forms a ball.

3. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Transfer dough to workbench and knead for 1 minute, then transfer the dough to a large clean bowl. Cover with a dry tea towel and set aside to rest for 20-30 minutes.

Filling
1. Preheat oven to 200°C.

2. Separate the silverbeet from their stems by slicing along the centre of each side of the thick central stem. Slice the stems finely and place in a medium bowl. Rinse and dry the silverbeet leaves.

3. Shred the silverbeet leaves and add to the bowl with the stems and 2 teaspoons salt.

4. Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a saucepan over high heat. Cover with cold water and a pinch of salt.

5. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender.

6. Drain and cool slightly, then chop into bite-size pieces. Place in a large bowl with the onion, mozzarella , specks and parsley/chives. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the oil.

7. Place silverbeet stems and leaves in a colander and quickly rinse with cold water. Shake off water, then place in a clean tea towel and squeeze to extract any excess moisture.

8. Add silverbeet to bowl with potatoes and season with black pepper. Add the egg and mix to combine.

9. Place the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a small bowl, then brush a pizza tray.

10.  Roll out two-thirds of the pastry on a clean, lightly floured work surface into a large circle, 3-5cm wider than the tray. Carefully lift the pastry circle onto the oiled pizza tray.

11.  Pile the potato and silverbeet mixture on top of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border.

12.  Roll out the remaining pastry to form a lid, then lay over the filling.

13.  Roll the bottom outer edge up and over the top outer edge, then pinch together to make a good seal.

14.  Prick the pastry lid all over with a fork, brush it with remaining oil and scatter lightly with salt.

15.  Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until golden and pastry is cooked through.

16.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then use a serrated knife to slice the tart, to serve.

Enjoy!

Friday 19 July 2013

Prawn Fajitas




It's been so long since I wanted to try Mexican food. I think this one is suitable for lunch box as well and the flavour is so fresh and yummy. The kids love it!. The Mexican flavours of lime, garlic, and coriander infuse these tasty tortilla wraps, served with creamy guacamole that is easy to make too....you should try it!

Here is the recipe :

PRAWN FAJITAS

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 large brown onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
1.2kg large green king prawns, peeled, deveined
12 burrito tortillas
½ cup light sour cream
1 large avocado
1 medium tomato
1 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 medium red onion
1 lime

Method
Heat half of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat. Cook capsicum and onion, stirring occasionally, for 6-8 mins, until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic and cook for 30 secs, until fragrant. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Heat remaining oil in same pan on medium heat. Add fennel seeds and paprika and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add prawns and cook, stirring occasionally for 3-4 mins, until just cooked through. Transfer to a serving bowl.

To make guacamole :
Roughly mash the avocado in a bowl, and add 1 finely chopped tomato, 1 finely chopped red onion, chopped coriander, sour cream and juice of 1 lime. Mix and season it.

Meanwhile, heat tortillas according to packet directions.

Serve prawns, capsicum and tortillas with guacamole.

PS : There’s no need to clean the pan after cooking the capsicum, as it will impart a lovely flavour to the prawns.

Enjoy then!


Saturday 13 July 2013

Bebento A49


It's been so long since my last bento for my husband. During school holiday, I kinda miss making bento, so I prepared this for my hubby :)
It consists of :
1. Onigiri with salmon furikake on top
2. Double smoked chicken drumettes
3. Roma tomatoes and corriander leaf
4. Eggplant cooked with sezchuan pepper and corriander
5. Potato curry

Friday 5 July 2013

School is Over, Welcome Holiday!


To mark the end of term 2 and the beginning of school holiday, I made this "clock" sandwich that showed the end of school day at 3 pm.

This bento consists of :
1. "Clock" sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, nori, and carrot)
2. Home made chicken nugget
3. Tamagoyaki
4. Broccoli
5. "Heart" shaped jelly with coconut jelly and basil seed

Hoot Owl and Sulley from Monster University


The ideas are from Giggle and Hoot ABC4Kids TV program and James P. Sullivan or Sulley from Monster University. Details as below :


For my eldest one, the bento consists of :
1. Sulley monster (white steamed rice, eggsheet, black sesame seed and nori)
2. Home made chicken nugget
3. Broccoli and carrot sticks



For my little one, the bento consists of :
1. Hoot Owl sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, eggsheet, carrot, and nori)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Carrot sticks
4. Fish shape jelly
5. Kiwi fruit

Wednesday 3 July 2013

Nobita



Nobita is Doraemon's best friend. I love watching this movie when I was little. Just to bring back the memories :) In this bento I prepared :
1. "Nobita" sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, eggsheet, and nori)
2. Tamagoyaki
3. Home made chicken nugget
4. Milk jelly with coconut jelly and basil seed

Doraemon and Hello Kitty


Famous Japanese cartoon characters : Doraemon and Hello Kitty. Details as below :



For my little one, I prepared :
1. Hello Kitty sandwich (ham & cheese sandwich, eggsheet, and nori)
2. Corn on the cob
3. "Car" shaped jelly
4. Kiwi fruits


And for my eldest one, I prepared :
1. Doraemon jaffle (pressed sandwich, eggsheet, carrot, and nori)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Ham "flower"
4. Broccoli and carrot sticks
5. "Shell" shaped jelly

Tuesday 2 July 2013

Winnie the Pooh


This bento consists of :
1. Winnie the Pooh onigiri (white steamed rice coloured with turmeric powder, nori, eggsheet, red capsicum)
2. Char siu pork slices
3. Broccoli
4. Milk jelly with coconut jelly and basil seed
5. Banana for recess