Onigiri Bento

Today I really wanted to make something different. I wanted to make something that I had not posted about before. I wanted to make some onigiri. I have made onigiri before, but I have never taken a picture and posted it on the blog. Just a little info: an onigiri is a rice ball. It is essentially exactly what it sounds like, white rice typically in the shape of a triangle, but also made in other shapes as well, that is wrapped in nori (seaweed) and has a filling of some sort. Traditionally onigiri are filled with umeboshi (pickled plums), or other salty or sour ingredients. These are very popular in Japan and are widely available, especially at convenience stores.

In the top tier I placed three onigiri. You maybe wondering what is that purple stuff on them? Well I made two different kinds, the middle plain looking one was filled with homemade fruit salsa, and the two  other are filled with pickled cauliflower. The purple stuff is furikake, which is a dried seasoning intended to be sprinkled on rice. There is a wide variety of furikake, but here I used shiso (an herb in the mint family) furikake.  In the second tier, I placed a hard boiled egg. You may notice here... this doesn't look like an egg at all... it looks like a heart... Well there are these  Interesting little devices used to shape hard boiled eggs that are very popular in bento! I also placed some carrot sticks, and in the pink container is some Russian dressing for the carrots. I also added some dried mango and cheddar and gouda cheese.

I also included a bit of cucumber salad. This salad is very simple, but delicious. Its basically cucumbers in a dill sauce. 

Here's a picture of how the bento looked all closed up! It's so cute! When I saw this box, I knew I had to add it to my collection. :) I also stored it in a thermal bag with an ice pack for food safety. 

Well that's all for today, until next time, happy munching!

Valentine's Day Bento

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone!

Today, I made my fiance a bento to take to work! It is a bento that is domokun themed! I put the lunch inside this adorable domokun bag. It is actually made of very thick durable fabric and is quite cute.

This is the domokun bento box (closed view). It has two tiers, comes with chopsticks that fit inside between the upper tier lid and the bento box lid. It also came with this simple black band. The picture on the box is also very fun.

Now for the food! Inside I have an orzo pasta salad. I boiled the pasta, let it cool, and added finely chopped carrot, yellow pepper and yellow onion. I also made my own vinaigrette and tossed it all together. In the top tier I included two heart shaped chocolates, some almonds, some cheddar and dill havarti and a few pieces of chopped up beef pepperoni sticks. I also included along with this 2 boiled eggs in a Valentine's themed baggie!

I'm sure that he will enjoy this very nutritious and fun lunch that was made with extra love for Valentine's day! I hope you all have a very special day. :)

Until next time, happy munching!