flower fried rice bento

i had a looooong, busy weekend with very little relaxation/”me” time, so tonight the boyfriend and i ordered from spice thai and i threw together something bright and cheerful with the leftover veggies from the crudités platter i served at today’s book club gathering.

the entree is spicy ginger fried rice and tofu, topped with a vegetarian ham, cucumber, carrot, and fish cake flower (hand cut).  behind my pink lace baran (another score from my trip to ichiban kan in beautiful san francisco — but you can buy your own online at j-list), i have carrot sticks, steamed broccoli (with two little fish sausage flowers, held in place with heart picks), takuwan flowers, red pepper spears, pea pods, grape tomatoes, blackberries and a strawberry.

for props i’m using one of my new laser-cut felt doilies (from artsy athina on etsy) and a cute little clickety-click fork.  speaking of props, i picked out a bunch of fun and cool things in the props section of my amazon store — some of you are just starting to experiment with props (i only started a few weeks ago), and it’s a whole new world of fun bento styling, am i right?  in the comments, i’d love to hear any of your cool new prop ideas…

poinsettia bento

leftover veggie curry and basmati rice tonight with some fresh veggies for… well, freshness.  top section:  broccoli, takuwan sticks, snow peas, blackberries in a heart-shaped cup, teeny tiny grape tomatoes, twist-cut carrot sticks.

poinsettia made of red pepper petals, green pepper leaves, and takuwan center (with yellow heart picks). inspired by pikko’s beautiful bento, as well as hapa’s lovely cupcakes, both featuring this seasonal flower.

prop-wise, we’ve got the new red pencil chopsticks sheri found for me at nyc’s own pearl river mart, a doily, and a candy cane with a bow.

granny choe’s bento

tried a new brand of kimchi tonight – granny choe’s – SO YUMMY!  tangy, stinky, delicious, just like the website said it would be.

used their recipe to make kimchi pajun (pancakes) to welcome my boyfriend home from a business trip to london with some comfort food.  you can see two of them in the bottom right corner of the veggie portion, and there are several more propping the veggies up.

also in the veggie section: 호박 jun (another simple and traditional korean dish; egg-battered zucchini), red farmer’s market carrot skewer, last of my snow peas, yellow wax beans, a twist-cut cucumber, purple cauliflower, a strawberry and a blackberry.

rice section has spicy tofu underneath a layer of simple steamed 밮 (bap – rice), with granny choe’s logo cut from 김 (kim – seaweed)!

[as seen on granny choe’s blog]

h’ors d’oeuvres bento

had a friend over for a mini-cocktail and scrabble party on friday night, so now i have goodies for tomorrow’s lunch.  clockwise from left center:  marinated artichoke hearts in a silicone cup with a food pick, cornichon pickles, wedges of gruyere and gouda cheese, vegetarian “meatballs” and tomatoes on bamboo skewers, stuffed grape leaves with a cucumber flower, carrot sticks and yellow wax beans.

the top tier is not pictured, but has sesame and poppy seed crackers, pomegranate seeds in a food cup, kiwi slices, blackberries, and a leaf-cut plum.

lemongrass-chili tofu bento

reason #147 why i love this bento box (a gracious gift from hapa bento):  it makes all food look pretty, even when i work late and bring home leftovers from takeout.  (the takeout was yummy, btw – from xe lửa vietnamese restaurant.)

top left:  golden plum fan with kiwi slices, pomegranate seeds, blueberries, a blackberry, and grape halves.  center hole:  vietnamese spring roll.  top right:  lemongrass-chili tofu and a container of hoisin sauce for the spring roll.  bottom left:  vermicelli with sriracha sauce, bean sprouts, and a sweet potato and purple potato flower.  bottom right:  sauteed veggies (broccoli, carrot, cabbage, and celery) with snow peas and a grape tomato.

mushroom turnover bento

top, from left:  red grape tomato with a leaf food pick, twist-cut kirby cucumber, takuwan and purple potato flower, sweet potato mushrooms (on top of simmered lotus root in a food cup).

middle of box has mushroom turnovers (from the frozen section at trader joe’s) with pasta hair bows and nori faces.

bottom, from left: cheese and egg sheets wrapped around snow peas, plum fan, pomegranate seeds, blackberry, and yellow wax beans.

[as seen on “cute food – the adorable, edible art of kawaii cooking” and japanisches allerlei (all things japanese)]

soondooboo bento

this bento was very inspired by sherimiya’s beautiful round ones!

leftovers from my favorite korean restaurant, seoul garden: veggie fried rice with pea pods and sweet potato-purple potato flower, and soondooboo (also spelled “sundubu” soft tofu stew with zucchini, mushooms, onions and scallions), topped with red and yellow grape tomatoes.

fruit section has red plums, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, blackberry, kiwi slices, and grape halves, with a purple pinwheel food pick.