Annie loves her new school! The kids are awesome and she loves her teachers. Yay! A simple but still fun bento to celebrate. Tiny oranges, crackers, and carrots with a cheese/nori stamped heart are on the top. On the bottom are nori decorated tomatoes, sugar snaps, and leftover creamy potato turkey bake. I cannot say how excited I am for Annie!!

Nissa's snacks just got a whole lot better since Annie gets bentos again! It's the extra sobas from Annie's lunch and some oranges. She's happy!

Annie starts a new school today. We already knew we were going to switch schools next year but were worried since we were on the wait list for the new school. Low and behold, a space opened and she was able to start immediately. This all happened in the span of three days and Annie couldn't be happier if not a but nervous too. So today called for a "real" bento meaning some old Asian inspired standbys and decorations.

Soba Noodles
-Cook Soba Noodles according to package. I throw in carrot strips I've peeled with a potato peeler to add more flavor and color.
-Rinse noodles/carrots with cold water until the gooeyness (it's a real word) is gone. I really have to wrestle it with my fingers for a while until their just smooth.
-In a bowl, blend 2 parts soy sauce (or alternative) and 1 part toasted sesame oil until they've emulsified. Mostly my parts are tablespoons unless its a huge batch of sobas. I usually use a chopstick to emulsify but I think that's only because I saw a video of this somewhere and that's what they did or maybe that was a dream?
-Toss the noodle carrots until they are coated. Here, I usually like to add some chopped scallions but I don't always have them on hand so I sadly couldn't do it this time. It's still delicious though, I promise.

Dill Tamagoyaki
Really this is just a sort of rolled omelet. The Japanese version calls for some dashi and sweetener (usually sugar) to be added but I'm pretty sure there are tons of variations. My kids get enough sugar elsewhere so I usually don't add it.
-blend one egg thoroughly until its smooth.
-add a tiny amount of salt, 1 teaspoon dill, and pepper to taste.
-heat a pan (I have a rectangular Tamagoyaki pan but I just used any old pan before) to just above medium heat.
-add a generous amount of your oil of choice to pan and "mop" with a paper towel. You will use this paper towel inbetween rolls to oil the pan so keep it handy.
-pour 1/4 of the mixture into pan and spread around thinly
-when it us nearly cooked through, fold it over on itself twice. If it breaks a little, you can cover it the next roll.
-pour another 1/4 into the pan and be sure to lift your folded egg enough to flow the new pour under it. Once it's nearly cooked, fold the old folded egg twice and repeat.
-It took me a while to begin to do this and I still struggle with it but the girls love it!

The other foods in this bento are sugar snap peas, orange/apple slices, and cheese shapes decorated with seaweed (nori).

Good luck sweet girl! Can't wait to watch your spirit grow!

Two steamed cabbage bao (buns) and carrot sticks on one side with kamaboko, honey roasted sunflower seeds, and a mini deep dish cheese pizza in the other. I'm not sure they'll like the cabbage in the buns but they'll eat the outside I'm sure. That's why I threw in the pizza too so I knew they'd have something to fill their tummies. I also included my homemade granola bars and an orange so they should be good.

It's the return of the soba noodles, kamaboko, and quail eggs. And now that I think about it, kiwi and oranges are a part of that return. These are all my "go-to" bento foods. I even decorated a bit, but just a bit. Nissa's month of no school lunches is almost done. It's been fun making lunches for her again but it's always a little tough since her food likes are significantly less than Annie's. These are all favorites, so it's all good!

Nothing too fancy but still full of love for Love Day. Edamame, Chocolate Chips (can't be valentines without chocolate can it?), carrots, meatballs and bread hearts with a felt valentine as my card snuck in there. I threw in some apples and oranges for Chinese New Year on the side too. Might as well cover all my bases!! Happy Valentines!

Annie put this together herself. I made the Onigiri but she is learning. So the Onigiri are rice balls seasoned with Furikake (mixed seasonings, this one hade seaweed, fish flakes, salt & pepper, and some other seasonings but those were the most prevalent.) and surrounded by chocotrees. I'm curious how those will taste being so close to each other. The other container has a green tea mochi treat, a slice of ham (I told her she needed to have some sort of protein), a wedge of cheese, some kiwi, and finally, a handful of raisins. The little container on the side has more furikake seasoning for extra flavor and crunch. Way to go Annie and this allowed me to watch Downton Abbey!! Yay!