Tag Archives: bento

Kindergarten bento – Sandwiches (19/Apr/18)

21/04/2018

My daughter asked for sandwiches for bento, so I made them. It’s easier to get a request like that, I don’t have to think about the menu.

She must’ve liked the sandwiches, looking at her empty bento box after we came home. Even if it is not such a big deal, it still makes me happy and puts a smile on my face. I asked her how her bento was, whether she liked it or not, just to get a reassurance that she really liked it as I had assumed. I wanted to hear it directly from her.

Then she told me she actually wanted to eat tortilla wraps instead.

Kindergarten bento – How many ingredients? (17/Apr/18)

17/04/2018

Here is the list of ingredients in the bento today, not including the seasonings such as salt, soy sauce, etc.

11 ingredients in total, with a good variety of veggies. Protein from chicken, egg and broad beans, carbo from rice, and vitamins from fruits. Iron from broccoli. I guess it’s not too bad from a nutrition point of view.

  1. Rice
  2. Furikake sprinkle (to be precise there are a few in there, but let’s say this is just one)
  3. Corn
  4. Egg
  5. Chicken thigh
  6. Pumpkin
  7. Broccoli
  8. Cherry tomato
  9. Borad beans
  10. Strawberries
  11. Kiwi

Kindergarten bento – Where happiness lies (16/Apr/18)

17/04/2018

What makes me happy about making bento is making my daughter happy. This morning she came up to the kitchen counter, stretched herself up and looked over at what was prepared for her for the day, and said “Wow!” with a huge smile on her face in the most genuine manner.

This – is worth more than anything.

Kindergarten bento – a new school year starts (11/Apr/18)

11/04/2018

A new, and the last school year for our daughter started at kindergarten on Monday, and today my daily bento making resumed as well.

Proud to be one of the oldest kids at school, our daughter prepared almost everything on her own in the morning, from getting dressed, preparing for breakfast, and to wrapping her own bento in her new furoshiki* fabric.

Being the oldest kids at school and to prepare for an elementary school, they are encouraged to do this on their own – another great tip from her school to help the kids become more independent in the cutest manner.

* Furoshiki is this square shaped cotton fabric that is used for wrapping almost anything, mainly for transportation. In Japan it is quite common to wrap a gift with it, to protect the gift from bumps as well as to conceal what’s in it.

Kindergarten bento – Toshi-No-Se (15, 18, 19, 20, 22/Dec/17)

24/12/2017

In Japan, it is said that “toshi-no-se,” the year-end, is bound to be busy, as everyone starts acting somehow anxious to finish off things prior to the fresh start of the new year. As mentioned before, the new year is a big deal in this country, and we do everything to make sure the new year to be quiet and special. 

This year was no exception for me also, and I was running around like a headless chicken without any time to stop and take a big breath… until we left for our Christmas holidays in the Netherlands to visit my husband’s family. Hesitantly we dropped unfinished errands, hurriedly packed our suitcases, left beautiful & sunny Tokyo, and arrived in the equally beautiful, but quite dark Netherlands yesterday. It is Christmas Eve here in the Netherlands, and things already seemed to have slowed down, and people are starting to relax for the festivity to begin. The sense of rush I was feeling in Japan is nowhere to be seen here. It’s an interesting realisation what a huge difference there is depending on which culture you’re in.

Looking back at the bento photos I didn’t have a chance to upload before our departure, I can vaguely remember how I managed all these bento making during my busy schedule. It’ll resume in the new year, but for now I’m relieved that I won’t have to do it for the next two weeks.

Happy Holidays!

15/Dec/17 – Grilled cod in saikyo-miso

18/Dec/17 – Simmered sword fish

19/Dec/17 – Nikudon-don

20/Dec/17 – Macaroni genovese 

22/Dec/17 – Chicken soboro 

Kindergarten bento – Time (4, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12/Dec/17)

12/12/2017

Whether it’s my age or I’m just being busy or preoccupied by my daughter (& husband) on a daily basis, the speed of time passing in front of me has recently been unbelievably fast. I feel this more clearly especially in December, because in Japan we tend to “finish” whatever is left undone by the end of the year so that we can have a fresh and burdenless start of the new year. The new year is a big deal in this country, just like Christmas in the West, and people become quite adamant about it. While I’m grateful for all the friends who contact me to have this one last cup of coffee of the year or to meet up for ‘Bonenkai,’ a year-end party, I can hardly find the time to do so.

This morning I looked back at the bento pictures I hadn’t uploaded and realised I didn’t upload any of it for the entire week last week, without really noticing all the days gone by. And it’s already Tuesday today. Where has all the time gone?!
4/Dec/17 – Grilled cod in saikyo-miso

5/Dec/17 – Penne amatriciana

7/Dec/17 – Sukiyaki

8/Dec/17 – Chicken (inspired by the Phillipina Adobo)

11/Dec/17 – Macaroni genovese

12/Dec/17 – Salmon fried rice

Kindergarten bento – Variation attempt (29/Nov/17)

04/12/2017

As I am still suffering with my strained back, I didn’t get a chance to go to a grocery store to replenish bento ingredients. This means I need to depend on my stock in the freezer. It’s handy, but I’m running out of the options.

Today I made an attempt to go for a Soboro (chicken crumble) variation. I mixed the Soboro into freshly cooked rice along with wakana sprinkle. It tastes more or less the same as my bi/tri-colour bento, but hopefully the new visual presentation makes a bit of s difference.

Menu: Soboro & wakana sprinkle mixed in rice (with nori seaweed on top), Simmered pumpkin mixed with lightly fried bacon, Boiled egg, Steamed broccoli, Cucumber sticks, Cherry tomato

Apple mousse & strawberries for dessert