last week i received an unexpected package from a kind and thoughtful friend — it contained picks galore! i wanted to use the cute baseball cap and flag picks, and it’s baseball season (almost all-star time, in fact), so i put together a baseball bears bento.
i root for the san francisco giants, whose colors are orange and black… but these adorable caps were blue, so just use your imagination! certainly the sentiments on the flags (やったね translates to “you did it!” and がんばりましよう translates variously, according to my japanese-speaking twitter pals, as “go get ’em,” “hang in there,” “keep trying,” “work harder” or “give it your best shot!”) apply to my team… it’s been a rocky season so far, with some great moments (posey’s brilliant debut; beating the hyped-up red sox), and some not-so-great moments (getting swept by the dodgers; the shameful and disgusting decision to trade loyal veteran and mentor catcher bengie molina mid-season). um, keep trying, brian sabean. work a little harder, tim lincecum. sigh.
anyway, sorry for the baseball tangent, and thanks for the picks you-know-who, i love them!
i made these bears from a chicken egg and a quail egg, soaked in hot water with 4 drops of red food coloring. i cut the eggs in half the long way, and added ears/muzzles made from fish sausage and eyes/noses/mouths made from nori. my bears sit atop turmeric-dyed rice, which is layered on top of my favorite spicy stewed tofu. i have a butter lettuce “baran” to separate the rice from one vegetarian chicken tender, a vegetarian-ham-wrapped okra pod, two grape tomatoes, more CSA blueberries (plus two lovely golden raspberries, also from my share), and a few pea pods.
GO GIANTS! (and go bengie, even if you’re on the rangers!)
Super cute! Do you completely submerge the eggs in the dye-water mixture?
I’m a fair weather fan of baseball, not really loyal to any team, but I do have favorite players, like Ichiro and The Freak. Lincecum is great!
hey sonoma bento, i try to submerge completely but the eggs will want to float, so i just make sure to give them a turn every couple minutes in an effort to make sure they get evenly dyed. if a spot comes out lighter though, you can just cut it off, or do what sheri did and make it a cute bear nose: http://happylittlebento.blogspot.com/2010/04/brown-bear-shoyu-egg-bento.html !
glad to hear you are a freak fan 😀
Those are super cute baseball bears with caps! 🙂 Gorgeous bento with all of those vibrant colors. Our family is a Yankees fan by default since it’s Mark’s favorite team. 🙂 Happy 4th of July weekend!
thanks susan! so funny, you are rooting for the new york team, i’m rooting for the california team, baseball transcends borders i guess! hope you guys have a great holiday weekend too, regardless of who you’re rooting for! 😉
So cute! I love the pink bears and the picks are adorable! Love them!
thanks lyndsey! :o)
Adorable! I love a bento with a personal story behind it…and a gift of lovely food picks sounds like a delightful parcel indeed! The ones here really take the cake in the cuteness department 🙂
Happy and festive 4th of July weekend!!
thanks jenn, glad you didn’t mind my slight tirade, haha! have a wonderful holiday weekend with your hubby!
So nice to see the bento foodies are also Giants/ baseball in general/ Lincecum fans.
cool, right? how did YOU feel about the bengie trade?
Cute lil’ baseball fans!! Love the hats on the eggs! Gonna have to try it soon with my gift from that gifting bentogirl!
We’ll stay positive and look forward to a winning season with whatever team “we” have, and I support the Giants even though my heart is really with the A’s. It does suck to have our players leave; I hate it too, but let’s just say we’re sharing the talent and karma will bring it back to us manyfold. There are lots of young up-and-comers just waiting to get in the game too.
がんばりましよう !!
OMG they are so adorable! So jealous of your surprise package, those picks are pretty awesome 🙂
thanks steph! i’m so lucky to have sweet bento pals 🙂
happy weekend!
Gorgeous looking bento – those bears are super-cute! Love the bright pink! 😀
thanks asfora! the pink came out a little brighter than i intended, and it’s not really a baseball-ish color, but oh well, it’s fun and summery!
Great use of the hats on those cute bears!
thanks angeleyes! 😀
So cute this bears…
thanks pausebento! :o)