sweethearts bento

tomorrow’s lunch is really quite simple, but still sweet:  two lettuce-wrapped, molded onigiri (using leftover brown-and-white rice, in this mold) with purple hearts on top.  the hearts are made from a small amount of the same rice, mixed with my purple shiso powder.  using this concentration of shiso powder makes the rice very tangy and salty, but i won’t eat the hearts in one bite each — i’ll nibble a little bit with each bite of the plain rice.

the rest of the box has a piece of kosher hot dog, some purple potato slices, some clementine wedges, a beautifully ripe strawberry, a fancy-cut quail egg, two takuwan slices, a steamed broccoli floret, and a few pea pods to fill in empty spaces.  the other tier to this box (not pictured) has the rest of the hot dog, more takuwan and broccoli, a piece of cheese, and a piece of kiwi to round out the meal.

this had to be quick and easy, as i’m pretty busy this week looking for a new apartment.  this process, which i always avoid until the last possible second, is extremely stressful but also exciting.  wish me luck!