Category Archives: italiano

Kindergarten bento – Autumn colours (12/Sep/17)

13/09/2017

Incidentally when I finished packing my daughter’s bento this morning, I realised that the colours of autumn was everywhere. Tangerine, mustard, forest green, burgundy…

Usually, I would have put a bit more green to make it brighter (afterall this is for a small child), but thought that I would keep it as it was, hoping she would get my intension to teach her the subtle expression of a changing season.

Menu: Macaroni Amatriciana with broccoli, Boiled egg, Mashed pumpkin & cucumber salad

Japanese “Mikan” orange & Kyoho grapes for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Japanese vs Italian (29 & 30 May/17)

30/05/2017

Which bento do you prefer? Japanese bento with rice, or Italian bento with pasta?

29/May 

Pork shabu-shabu salad, Nori seaweed omelet, Stir-fried potato & spinach, Cherry tomato, Rice with furikake sprinkle. Banana & grapes for dessert
30/May

Macaroni with broccoli & tuna, Steamed pumpkin tossed with chicken soboro, Cherry tomato. Apple mousse & banana for dessert

Kindergarten bento – Pork & radicchio ragu (23/May/17)

23/05/2017

Today’s lunch was farfalle pasta with the pork & radicchio ragu which was the leftover from the dinner the evening before. I improvised the recipe using the generous amount of pork slices we received from our dear friends, a lovely family who live next door with whom we became friends through our daughter’s school. They apparently received a huge amount of pork as gift (quite common in Japan to send food as gift), and they kindly shared some with us. 

Apart from the pork, there was some leftover radicchio I used for salad the previous day and some cherry tomatoes in the fridge. The three ingredients reminded me of this simple yet highly tasty radicchio risotto I once ate in a small Italian city of Marostica, possibly more than ten years ago. It was the first time for me to eat cooked radicchio – it was delicious with some bitterness and hint of buttery & nutty flavour. And I remember the colours – this dark shades of red sauce on my plate, contrasting beautifully with the white of grated parmiggiano, and opaque steam coming out of the freshly cooked risotto… a divine dish.

The taste came out quite differently for my sauce however, because I used a lot more pork than I can remember from the risotto I had eaten years ago. That’s why I served it with pasta rather than rice, since I thought the meaty flavoring was a bit too heavy for risotto. Nevertheless it turned around to be great ragu, and moreover I enjoyed trying to replicate the dish I had tasted years ago on my own, this time for my dearest family.

Kindergarten bentos – Deadline (17-19/Apr/17)

19/04/2017

I have been working on a subtitle translation for a documentary film since Sunday (I work freelance from home) and can’t seem to find the time to write! The work is due later this evening, but I thought I’d take a few minutes to at least upload the bento photos for the past three days.

Monday, 17/Apr/17 (Grilled snapper)

Tuesday, 18/Apr/17 (Tori-don)

Wednesday, 19/Apr/17 (Sword fish farfalle)

Now back to working on subtitling. Wish me luck!

Kindergarten bento – Cold pasta (15/Mar/17)

15/03/2017

Menu: Pasta with cherry tomato, broccoli and soboro (chicken crumble), Boiled snow peas,  Pumpkin & sweet potato mash

Syrawberries for dessert


My daughter requested pasta for bento today. I asked her if she didn’t mind eating it cold (I prepare it warm in the morning of course, but it cools down by the time she eats it around noon). She said it’s ok because it is because of time as opposed to having it cooled deliberately in the fridge. Interesting observation.

* Note: There is no microwave at school.

Kindergarten bento – Macaroni with broccoli & chicken (8/Mar/17)

09/03/2017

Menu: Macaroni with broccoli & chicken, Plain omelet, Cherry tomato, Boiled broad beans

Strawberries & banana for dessert

Cooking pasta is actually quicker than preparing Japanese style bento. 

While boiling the macaroni, in a cooking pan with extra virgin olive oil, I cooked diced chicken, broccoli (steamed ones, leftover from the previous day) and chopped celery. After a while I added some boiling pasta water to cook further without drying the ingredients. Just a minute before the pasta is ready, added salt and pepper to taste, poured the cooked pasta into the pan and tossed them all together. At the end, sprinkled grated parmiggiano for extra flavour. All of these steps took only 15 minutes. 

Viva pasta! Buonappetito! 

Kindergarten bento – We love pasta (24/Feb/17)

01/03/2017

Menu: Farfalle with aubergine & tuna in tomato sauce, Baba ham kyuri, Mashed pumpkin with boiled egg

Apple mousse & mashed sweet potato for dessert. Dash of cinnamon on top

When I was growing up, my mum never packed pasta for lunch. Maybe sandwich if not rice, but never ever pasta in my recollection. In fact my mum hardly ever cooked pasta as it wasn’t as popular and widespread as it is now. As far as pasta is concerned, I remember my mum’s macaroni salad (i.e. macaroni mixed with sliced cucumber, carrot and ham, seasoned with mayonnaise) and Spaghetti Napolitan (i.e. spaghetti with bacon, green pepper and onion, seasoned with tomato ketchup – no idea why it’s called Napolitan though).  That’s about it.

I remember going to this brand new, rather posh cafe/restaurant with my mum and sister in our neighbourhood in the suburban city of Gumma (where I grew up), ordering some pasta with very exotic names such as “Spaghetti Monte Mare (combination of mushroom & seafood)” or “Spaghetti Basilico (prepared with Japanese shiso herb instead of real basil because basil just didn’t exist at that time in Japan).” Considering how limited the options used to be for Italian dishes, it is incredible how authentic Italian cuisine has become over the years in this country.

About ten years ago I lived in Italy for over a year, and I fell in love with Italian pasta. I actually lived on it during my stay there. And now I cook pasta all the the time since I often get this craving for it. My daughter, being fed by me on a daily basis, loves pasta as well. When I ask her what her favorite food is, she always answers, “PASTA!,”not rice. Being Japanese, I feel somehow neglected by my own daughter, but the good food is universal, and so is the content of my daughter’s bento.

Kindergarten bento – Cheese on top (18/Jan/17)

18/01/2017

Menu: Fusilli bolognese with grated Parimiggiano Reggiano on top, Steamed sweet potato, Cucumber sticks, Cherry tomato

Kiwi for dessert

The grated cheese on top of the pasta. By the request of my daughter’s class teacher, the graceful Miss N.

To be honest I prefer putting the cheese separately so that the amount of cheese can be adjusted as I eat. Like mother, like daughter, our four year old also likes to have a control over this kind of thing. At home she loves scooping the fine powdery cheese with a small spoon and sprinkle it as she shakes her entire body. And naturally, once for our daughter’s bento, I put the grated cheese in a plastic wrap, twisted the top and placed it on the side of the pasta, expecting her to enjoy  sprinkling the cheese by herself as she ate. But according to Miss N, a disaster apparently happened that day. Our girl’s clumsy fingers bursted the plastic wrap open, spreading the whole grated parmiggiano around her neighborhood… Miss N told me that day as a matter of factly that the school, focusing highly on building up children’s self-confidence, believes that the cheese should be pre-sprinkled on top of the pasta going forward. As diligent as I am… voila! The cheese, is now on top of the pasta.