Sushi Sandwich Bento

Sushi or pinwheel sandwich is so pretty and easy to make. This time I put ham and cheese filling. But you can use any ingredients that you want, for example : combination of smoked salmon, cream cheese, and dill or else. 
To make it, all you need to do is flatten the sandwich with rolling pin, put cheese sliced and ham on top, roll it and then cut into three.

Inside the box :
1. Ham and cheese sushi sandwich
2. Octopus and flower sausages (with cheese and black sesame seeds)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Milk jelly with nata de coco
5. Carrot flowers

Beside that, I also provided banana and yogurt for recess.

Sambos and Apple Pies Bento

Pretty simple lunches for the boys. I prepared ham and cheese sandwiches (sambos) with tomato ketchup and lettuce, and I cut them with corrugated knife.
I also prepared homemade apple pies that are very easy to make. You may find the recipe here.

Details as below :

What I prepared for my eldest son :
1. Ham and cheese sambos
2. Homemade apple pie
3. Melon jelly
4. Segmented orange for recess

My little one had the similar lunch as his big brother, but he had banana instead for recess.

Monkeys Bento

Celebrating the year of Monkey in 2016, I prepared these cute monkeys bento for my boys. To make the monkey, I used pepperoni, cheese, breadcrust, nori, and red apple skin.

Details as below :

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese sandwich with "monkey" on top
2. Fried pork wontons and lettuce leaf for baran/divider
3. Corn on the cob
4. Grape jelly
5. Apple checker for recess

My eldest son had a similar menu with his little brother, but he had orange cuts for recess instead.

"Happy Chinese New Year to you!! 

Wishing you and your family a good health, lots of happiness and success throughout the year".

Christmas Lunches

My first Christmas post! Unlike few years before, this year I have a hectic schedule and haven't got any chance to create Christmas-themed bento lunches earlier. Apology for that :(

I used these Christmas food decorating that you may find here :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Corn fritter
2. Minced prawn and carrot toast
3. Corn on the cob
4. Pretzel
5. Rockmelon cuts for recess

His little brother had the same lunch, but he had watermelon cuts instead for recess

Pretty Sambos Bento

I really love my corrugated knife. It makes ordinary foods look extraordinary. This time, I used it to cut the sandwich in triangular shapes. I really like how it turned out. I put lettuce, ham, cheese, and tomato filling in the sandwiches.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Triangular sandwiches
2. Fish drumstick (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Milk jelly with nata de coco
5. Rockmelon cuts for recess

My youngest son had the similar lunch as his brother, but he had apple cuts for recess instead.

Teddies are Back to School

It is the first day of term 3 and the kids are so ready to be back to school again. I prepared these cute teddies for their lunches.

Details as below :

For my year 1 son, I prepared :
1. Strawberry jam sandwich teddy bear (nori, white crab stick and eggsheet)
2. Fish drumstick (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Lettuce leaf
5. Milk jelly with nata de coco
6. Banana for recess

For my year 4 son, I prepared :
1. Strawberry jam sandwich teddy bear (nori, white crab stick and eggsheet)
2. Fish drumstick (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Hard boiled egg
5. Lettuce leaf
6. Milk jelly with nata de coco
7. Apple cuts for recess

Similar sandwich stamp in this post :

      

Farm Animals

My youngest son had a school excursion to Cuddly Farm few weeks ago. He was really excited about it. He woke up so early, got ready in no time because he did not want to miss the bus :)

To add the excitement, I prepared the farm animals bento for him and his brother.

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese sheep sandwich
2. Piggy hard boiled egg with salt and pepper (I coloured the egg with beetroot juice, ham for the snout and ears, white crab stick and black sesame seed for the eyes)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Carrot sticks
5. Ham flower (with shredded carrot)
6. Kiwi fruit for recess 

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Ham and cheese sheep sandwich
2. Cow hard boiled egg with salt and pepper (I used nori for the cow pattern)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Carrot sticks
5. Dried apricots
6. Apple cuts for recess 

Bento tool I used for this post :

Minion Toast

My weekend activity with the boys, making Minion toast for afternoon snack. To make the minions, just cut two arch-shaped side by side on one toast. Then cut nori to make the clothes. Tug the nori on the side cuts and glue them using cheese-spread. 
Cut the sliced cheese using big straw to make the eyes, and add nori for the eyeballs and mouths.

And for the other side of the toast, I spread Nutela and put sliced banana on top. Arranged them like flower petals and put cherry tomato to make it pretty.

The boys ate the cherry tomato first then the nori, and finally gobbled up the rest of the toast in no time. Mission accomplished :)

Triangular Sambos Bento

Sambo is actually an Irish and Australian slang for sandwich.
I really like how the sambo/sandwich turns out. I cut the sandwich with corrugated knife. The fillings for the sandwich are ham, cheese, lettuce, and tomato ketchup.

So the boys had similar lunches. For each box, contains :
1. Ham and cheese sambos
2. Mini arancini ball (recipe here) 
3. Homemade chicken nuggets (recipe here) with BBQ sauce
4. Red seedless grapes for recess

Farewell Bento

"It is hard to say good bye". That quote is so true. Sadly, last Friday was the last day of my boys in their school and today they are moving to different school. The boys are feeling so sad because they've been there since kindy and developing special bonding with their teachers and friends, but at same time they feel excited to the challenges ahead.

To cheer them up, I made farewell bentos for them. For the penguin, I used the mini rocket ship cutter and add black sesame seeds for the eyes and triangular carrot for the beak. And for the words "Sayonara" and "Adios Amigos" I used a set of mini alphabet cutters. And also for the waving arm, I used cutter set with 18 shapes, link as below :

 

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Strawberry jam sandwich with waving penguin said "sayonara"
2. Corn on the cob
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Fruit salad yogurt for recess

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Strawberry jam sandwich with waving penguin said "Adios Amigos"
2. Corn on the cob
3. Milk jelly with nata de coco
4. Watermelon cuts for recess

For the lunch boxes, I used ELB (Easy Lunch Box), you may find it here:

2015 International Bento Contest

Once again Bento & Co held the 2015 International Bento Contest with the theme : Sandwich bento. The contest is already closed and the winners have been announced. Big congratulation to all the winners! 

Although I did not win, I'm very happy with my creation. So I would like to share it with you, details as below :

In order to highlight the theme, I presented the sandwiches in 3 ways :
1. Sausage sandwich rolls (flattened sandwich is rolled with tomato ketchup, cheese, and sausage filling, then deep fried).
2. Strawberry jam sandwich with cheese and carrot on top.
3. Chicken roll sandwich (flattened sandwich with marinated chicken minced filling, then deep fried and sliced).
The other components in the box :  fried pork wontons, halves hard boiled egg (with black sesame seeds), lettuce and carrot slices.

I'm looking forward to the 2016 bento contest and sharing the excitement of making bento with all fellow bento lovers.

The Piggy Bento

The beginning of term 2, I made these piggy bento for the boys. Although they are big boys now (8 and 6 years old), they still don't mind to have cute lunches at school. 

Details as below :

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Piggy hard boiled egg (with nori, ham, and tomato ketchup)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Sandwich roll (recipe here)
4. Lettuce and carrot sticks
5. Apple cuts for recess

And for my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Piggy hard boiled egg (with nori, ham, and tomato ketchup)
2. Corn on the cob
3. Sandwich roll (recipe here)
4. Lettuce and carrot sticks
5. Banana yogurt for recess

Steamed Pork Buns Bento

Steamed buns reminded me of my childhood back in Indonesia. I'm so happy finally I can make it by myself. Here I shared you the recipe :

Steamed Pork Buns 
Adapted from Nombelina's food blog
makes : 16 buns

INGREDIENTS FOR THE DOUGH:
175 gr lukewarm water
7 gr dried yeast (1 sachet)
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs flavorless oil 
375 gr baozi flour or all purpose flour (I use all purpose flour)

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FILLING:
400 gr minced pork
1 cup button  mushroom, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 Tbs hoisin sauce
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs oyster sauce
2 Tbs honey
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1 Tbs Shaoxing (Chinese rice wine)

METHOD :1. Dissolve the yeast into the lukewarm water. Add the sugar and flavorless oil.
2. Mix the yeast mixture into the flour with a fork, until all the moisture has been incorporated. 
3. Knead for several minutes into a smooth dough. 
4. The dough is ready when it gently springs back after pressing a finger into it. 
5. Shape into a ball and leave it to proof for an hour in a covered bowl. 
6. For the filling, pan fry the minced chicken loose in a bit of oil, making sure you break the meat into small pieces. 
7. Add the onion, garlic, chopped mushroom and green onion along with the chicken and cook until tender. 
8. Add the rest of the ingredients and allow most of the moisture to evaporate. 
9. Turn off the heat and let the filling cool.
10. Cut parchment paper into 2.5 inch squares for the base. 
11. Knead the dough briefly to knock back the air. 
12. Divide into 16 equal parts and shape into balls.
13. Roll these into thin discs. 
14. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of the dough, keeping about an inch free from the edge. The filling can be slightly heaped.
15.You can bring the edges together and bunch them up. 
16. Place the buns on a piece of parchment and let them rest for about 20 minutes.
17. Steam the buns for 20 minutes in a bamboo steamer.
18. Keep enough room between the bun, because they do expand and tend to stick.
19. Let them cool slightly and serve on their own or with a bit of chili sauce.

notes : the buns can be frozen when completely cooled and can be reheated in a steamer or microwave.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Steamed pork bun
2. Sandwich rolls (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Lettuce and carrot sticks
5. Apple cuts for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Steamed pork bun
2. Sandwich rolls (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Lettuce and carrot sticks

5. Strawberry yogurt for recess

Variety Bento

I found that by baking goods on the weekend, will make packing lunches easier, especially when you are having a busy morning routine. 
This time, I shared two baking recipes that are very fast and easy yet delicious. Recipe as below :

Easy Salmon Quiche
by Mindfood; serve : 6

Ingredients :
4 eggs
2 spring onions, sliced
300ml cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
200g smoked salmon
1 sheet puff pastry
salt and pepper

Method :
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. 
2. Grease a 22cm fluted pie tin.
3. Line dish with puff pastry, trimming excess. 
4. Line pastry with baking paper, half fill with rice or pastry weights. 
5. Bake for 10 minutes. 
6. Remove paper and bake for a further 10 minutes.

7. Combine salmon, spring onions and cheese in a bowl. Whisk eggs and cream in a separate jug, before pouring over the salmon mixture. Season well.  Pour over cooled pastry base and return to the oven until set (around 30 minutes).

notes : add sprigs of dill to enhance the flavour.


Apple Yogurt Cinnamon Muffins
(makes 15 Muffins)

Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups Self raising flour
1/2 cup Caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
180ml Vanilla yoghurt (1 child sized tub)
1 Egg
1/2 cup Vegetable oil
2 Medium apples, cored, peeled and diced

Method :
1. Pre heat oven to 180c (160c fan forced) Line muffin tin.
2. Beat all wet ingredients in a bowl. 
3. Mix in dry ingredients. 
4. Fold in diced apple.
5. Spoon into muffin cases. 
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Easy salmon quiche
2. Fried wonton with sweet chili sauce
3. Apple yogurt cinnamon muffin
4. Dutch beef croquette (recipe here)
5. Segmented Navel orange for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Sandwich with butter, chocolate sprinkle and cheese slice filling.
2. Fried wonton
3. Dutch beef croquette
4. Carrot stacks
5. Kiwi fruit for recess

Baymax Bento

Finally the boys got the chance to watch Big Hero 6, and it is one of their most favourite movies ever!
For a surprise, I made these baymax bentos for their lunches. It was super easy to make, just cut two dots and a line of nori, and stick them on the hard boiled egg. Baymax is done!

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. Baymax hard boiled egg
2. Sausage and sandwich rolls (recipe here)
3. Corn on the cob
4. Milk jelly with nata de coco
5. Carrot sticks
6. Rockmelon cuts for recess

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. Baymax hard boiled egg
2. Sausage and sandwich rolls 
3. Corn on the cob
4. Milk jelly with nata de coco
5. Broccoli and Carrot sticks
6. Kiwi fruit for recess

Goat Sandwich Bento

Celebrating Chinese New Year in 2015, the year of Goat. I made these cute goat sandwiches for the boys. The sandwiches are ham and cheese sandwiches, decorated with cheese, nori, and black sesame seeds.

For my eldest son, I prepared :
1. "Goat" sandwich
2. Dutch beef croquette with mustard mayo
3. Corn on the cob
4. Broccoli and carrot sticks
5. Apple cuts for recess

For my youngest son, I prepared :
1. "Goat" sandwich
2. Dutch beef croquette with mustard mayo
3. Corn on the cob
4. Carrot sticks
5. Green seedless grapes
6. Kiwi fruit for recess

Similar tools I used for this post :