Yes, this is the long-overdue update which I have been putting off for the past month or so. Hehe... I've been lazy, I know. Anyway, my current dilemma is that my camera has broken down and I am yet to get a replacement. This, of course, translates to a lot of made bentos and other food things which I couldn't document. The only good part is that I somehow managed to get several last few shots of stuff before my camera completely broke down, so I'm not completely devoid of material. Yet. ^_^;;

In any case, I just wanted to post pics of my latest bento box. I found it while my boyfriend and I were browsing one of the many garage sales which surround the building that we live in. It was stuffed under a thick carpet, beside a triangular stainless steel teapot, and on top of a stack of vinyls.

It DOES look quite similar to that other red bento set that I have, except that this one has two layers and is square. This one also doesn't have a carrier of its own, but I use a piece of purple rope to secure the layers together, and I have to admit that it's effective and it looks great, too.

Hehe... I can't help it. I have such a weakness for boxes of this type, and if I only had more space here at our apartment, maybe I'd even consider actively going out to get more of these things. I consider it a good buy, though, since it's still dirt-cheap, and I do love making a lot of food that I can bring to my parents' or a friend's place. Plus, I can always use it as an accessory or trinket box in case I feel that I don't want to use it for food anymore (though I highly doubt that).


( Akai desu! )

Bento that I made shortly after buying my "Love me little. Love me long." and Putifresh bento boxes (check my previous post. ^_^)

Consists of:
- rice with furikake and naruto slice, and shredded kani with a dollop of mayonaise
- tamagoyaki on a bed of greens, and a mushroom/mixed-veggies/cut-up naruto stir-fry (that's a lot of hyphens there...)
- dessert box with banana slices and flower marshmallows.

As the subject of the post suggests, it just finally occured to me to get a tamagoyaki pan, so I picked one up from the 88-peso/100-yen store near our house to try it out. I like it so much since, not only is my fried egg pretty (yes, I'm shallow), I can use it on other small stuff, too, like hotdogs or whatever. Really convenient especially if I'm just cooking for myself since I don't have to lug out the heavier iron pan that I usually use just to cook a small amount of food.

Since I've tested it out on a cheaper (thinner, flimsier) pan, I'm now convinced and I plan to invest in one of those higher-quality tamagoyaki pans which are more expensive, but with better heat distribution and higher sides, since I think I'll be using it a whole lot more now.



( More pics because I couldn't make up my mind on which pics I like better + dessert box )

Lolz. Yep, it's my first chance to use sauce containers after having hunted them for so long. I only have fish and square containers right now, so I'm now hoping to get the ichigo-shaped ones soon. Hehehe...

Even though I knew that it needs to suck water in and then squeeze it out again, I never knew they were kinda hard to clean...

Anyway, just a simple one...

Rice and corned beef with a bit of basil and salt on the rice, some cream croquettes, sandwiched in between the croquettes is a container of soy sauce for the Kisu fry (fish) that the croquettes are resting on. And some marshmallows. Those things have pink hearts on them, so it's really too bad that it doesn't show in the photo. :/ Oh well.



( 5 pics under the cut. So I got excited... )

Haha! I was at WalterMart yesterday to meet a buyer for our MTG cards whom I met via eBay. After completing the sale, I figured I'd drop by the grocery and get some supplies. As I was shopping, I decided to drop by their 88-peso houseware bin. I was considering getting a mini-teflon pan that had a flower-shaped mold (flowers... me... I know, I know...), and as I walked around the bin, there it was! The lone pair of egg molds, tucked away in the far corner and covered by other cooking implements. I put the pan back immediately and grabbed the molds, dusty packaging and all. Hehe...

I remember that I went hunting for that pair of egg molds once, and I visited three malls just to try to find it but went home empty-handed. That was months ago. Then, one day, there it was when I wasn't trying to find it! Just sitting there! Needless to say, I'm happy. ^_^

And here they are:



( a couple of more egg mold pics + resulting eggs )

Hehe... I'm happy that my first attempts at egg-molding turned out okay, but I'm just a bit sorry that, well, the bunny's and the bear's ears are non-existent. Sigh. The one time that I only got large eggs, and not extra-large ones...

Anyway, I suppose it's not so bad. I still like the fact that at least the faces came out clearly (though my camera refuses to show them...)



I pack three bentos a day now. Two for my and my boyfriend's lunch (which we eat at the office) and one for my dinner (Lem is home by then since my shift starts later than his).

( And here they are )

Happiness!

Here's my second attempt at a bento, though I have to admit that it isn't much and it's still mostly fried stuff with not much effort involved.

For one thing, I've been kicking myself lately for two things:
- I forgot to buy sauce containers (I am sorely feeling the necessity for it now...)
- I forgot to buy divider/partitions/smaller cups (also sorely feeling the necessity for it now...)

and, tadah!

- I splurged on bento supplies but didn't buy food. *kicks self*

Sigh. Sometimes I miss living in my parents' house... at least the fridge was always stocked. ^_^;;;

And so we make do with more iceberg lettuce and tonkatsu sauce...



Todays lunch consists of rice with nori and cheese (hehe.... the slices aren't even...), curry korokke and kisu fry.

( more pics + new chopsticks )

My boyfriend and I have also now sworn our allegiance to curry korokke.

(xposted at the bentolunch LJ community - here)

Well, as stated in a former post, I went shopping for bento paraphernalia today. It was a pretty good haul, considering the tight budget, and I walked away happy. My one gripe is that I forgot to buy sauce containers and those paper cup-thingies and separators. Guess that'll have to wait for another day. Hehe...

And, here's the swag!



as Shown and numbered in this pic:
1 - lime green bento box with 2 partitions
2 - red bento box with black interior and removable dividers
3 - set of 3 mini-tupperware cases in blue, pink and white (for deserts)
4 - hobby box for storing bento supplies when not in use
5 - Urara bento box (red Usagi)
6 - Urara bento box (tan Sakura)
7 - Extra large bento box with permanent partition (for hungry boyfriends)
8 - a pair of onigiri molds (large and small)
9 - set of 3 onigiri molds (kuma, heart, star)
10 - furoshiki
11 - pair of Usagi cookie cutters
12 - bento bag (matches the Urara Sakura bento box)
13 - elastic band to match red Urara bento box
14 - elastic band to match tan Urara bento box

And all that for less than 1,300 pesos (around US$26.00?)

( 9 individual item pics under the cut. Hehe. )

I'll soon be putting these to good use. ^_^V

(xposted at the bentolunch LJ community - here)