3 Bento #236 - Three's Company! (Teacher Lunches)

...aaand I'm spent.  Maybe this should be titled Bento #236-7-8? I happily volunteered to do our teacher appreciation lunch yesterday.  I wasn't initially going to do bento boxes, but I remembered I had recently picked up these two large snap-style boxes which are really cool.  I cracked them out of their packages and went to town.  I didn't want to make them too cutesy, but I also wanted them to be a little fun. :-)

First, Ella's lunch.  I gave her chicken teriyaki pineapple and jasmine rice leftover from dinner, as well as a jasmine flower onigiri.

Flower cucumber centers!  And grapes!

The teacher lunches were both the same, with jasmine rice, (and a flower onigiri each) sauteed spicy Italian chicken sausage, roasted mixed veggies in balsamic butter sauce, and fresh grapes.  The three savory ingredients were meant to be able to be mixed with any one of the other items, if desired.  I gave them each a couple of deco picks to keep if they wanted.  The boxes were also theirs to take home!

There was also lemon creme cake for dessert.  I was at a loss as to what to pack it in, so I channeled my inner [misfit] Martha Stewart and used some large cello bags, and tied them with ribbon.  I also added a pink fork to each bow, but I didn't get a pic of that (of course.)  Probably not the most practical way to eat cake...but it's cake!

All together now!

I LOVE the carrying handles on these!  I hope I can find more the next time I go back to Super H Mart.  Before anyone asks me where to buy them...I looked everywhere on Google and could not find anyone who sells this particular box.  It's a Korean brand called KumHo Chemistry/Komicomo Wellbeing Brand and the box is called Quarter Lock.  Do let me know if you come across it!

All packed up in an Easy Lunch Box cooler.  Fit both of them PERFECTLY!  I can't get over how roomy they are.

Anyway, I hand-delivered the boxes that morning.  Hope they enjoyed them!  Ella got a kick out of having almost the same lunch as her teachers. :-)

Bento #236 - [Ella] Aidell's teriyaki pineapple chicken meatballs, jasmine rice and caramelized onions, grapes, and cucumber flowers. Snack - Clemetine (not shown.) [Teachers] Spicy Italian chicken sausage, jasmine rice, grapes and roasted veggies in balsamic butter.  Dessert - Lemon creme cake.

11 Hello Kitty Lunch Time

It's getting to be that time of year again.  Only a few weeks left of summer vacation and then my child goes back to school.  She'll have the same schedule as last year, 3 full days a week, so there are lots of bentos in store!  Of course, being the dedicated shopper that I am, I'm always on the lookout for school items, especially lunch related.

The other day we were at the mall trying to get someone to look at my iPhone 4 at the Apple store. (Ha!  Yeah right, did you know you need an appointment at that place if you want an employee to even say hello to you?)  After we left, we passed a Sanrio store called Domkimeki Japan, and I Ella couldn't resist going in to see all the new Hello Kitty items.  I've said since last year when I picked up this lunch box from another Sanrio store that if I ever saw another (even the exact same one!) I'd snap it up, because it's the BEST lunch box/bag design ever.  Seriously.  Well, my dreams came true and I found the exact same design, except it's got a different HK motif.  It even comes with a plastic lunch container inside, like the other.  I cannot express how much I love this bag (I swear I'm not the one actually using it.)  The barrel top unzips and is the perfect size and shape for an aluminum bottle like the .3L size Sigg (and we have a Hello Kitty one, imagine that.)

The main compartment has a deep, rectangular area which is perfect for stacking bento boxes - upright, so no spillage!  It's got a zippered mesh area that's underneath the top barrel which is great for storing utensils, or even a cold pack.  Zippered side and front pouches give it plenty of storage, and lots of good insulation.  So yeah, I love it.  Like last year, I'll be removing the long strap so E can carry it with the top handle.  I think the only thing that's different besides the motif is that the side pockets have adjustable straps, which I suppose can be very useful.

These pictures are terrible, but just to show you.