Because It's Been Too Cold

Tokyo rarely snows. Last year, it snowed (the not so heavy type) probably three times in mid February. So last weekend we went to Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata and had a great time. The very next day, Monday 14 January, the whole of Tokyo suddenly snowed. The heavy, snow-storm kind. For more than 24 hour straight. Pffftt. 

170113 Idea copied from a bento mag

The cold weather has been unbearable since it snowed. Makes me want to be at a warm, sunny beach right now, drinking some fresh coconut juice.

Miniature Fruits for Lunch

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The fruits are made of:

- Long beans for the grapes and cucumber for the stalk

- Baby corn, long bean and the leaf from broccoli for the corn

- Yellow pepper for the banana bunch

- Red pepper and cucumber for the cherry

- Orange pepper and the top of a cucumber for the orange/persimmon

While I was taking pictures of this bento, my daughter took hold of one of my bento magazines and went into the kitchen. She instructed my husband to do some chopping, and assembled this bento especially for me :D 

She tried to copy a Christmas tree bento from the mag

And yesterday, she made me a Thank you card.

She is so sweet, I think she is made of sugar. And just a little bit of vinegar :D

HERE COMES 2013

Apologies for being missing. Please don't ask whether I have been lazying around and thus not making any bentos. (Ashamed! >.<)

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Hello Kitty Snowman Sandwich is made of:

- Bread

- Cheese cut into shapes using a sketch as a guide, and coloured red for the bow, scarf and mittens

- Cheese cut using mini oval cutters and coloured black for the eyes and yellow for the nose and buttons

- Nori cut using a nori puncher for the whiskers

080113 An unplanned bento

The squirrel is made of:
- Carrots
- Black sesame seed for the eyes
- Pink denbu for the rosy cheeks

Have a great year ahead!!!

What does winter mean to you?

Me:

Winter = Red, runny nose + thick, heavy clothing you can hardly move + dry, itchy, fish-scaled skin. LOL! (Or should I say, Ho Ho Ho!) :P

Daughter:

Winter = Waiting for the snow to come + making lots of snowmen.

Thus, a snowman bento for her ;)

121212 The Funny Snowman

The snowman is made of:

- Japanese rice for the snowman and the ground

- Prune for the hat and the eyes

- Carrot for the nose

- Nori for the smile

- Cheese for the buttons and the stripe on the hat

- Crab stick for the scarf

- Black spaghetti for the arms

Also in the bento:

- Pan-fried salmon

- Yellow cauliflower

- Pomegranate, grapes, and dried persimmon

I also made festive lights mini-sandwiches, which I think I got the idea from Meet the Dubiens during one of my episodes-of-endless-googling-of-fun-food many months ago.

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The sandwiches are made of:
- Bread cut using an egg-shaped cutter
- Egg spread
- Cheese cut using the egg-shaped cutter, and coloured using food-dye
- The crust of the bread, spread with dark chocolate peanut butter
- Black spaghetti

Also in the bento:
- Yellow and red cherry tomatoes
- Mini tomatoes
- Blueberries

This post is part of a Holiday-Ho-Ho-Hop where a group of us bento bloggers are making bentos of the same theme. Click on the hop button below, and get ready to be awe-strucked by the awesomeness of Tiny Princess Lunch Box! Do keep on clicking the hop button to get loads of inspirations for Wintery-themed bentos!!

110212 @ Hokkaido Snow Festival

Fa La La La, La La La La

It is the season to be jolly; it is the season to shop and spend! Japanese do not celebrate Christmas, but you'll see the stores here selling Christmas-related items EVERYWHERE. From Christmas trees of all sizes, to Christmas outfits, to Christmas chocolates, to elaborately-decorated Christmas cakes. Apparently, cutting the cake on Christmas where families gather together is the way they celebrate it here. I myself do not celebrate Christmas. I do enjoy Hershey's Kisses Xmas Limited Edition Dark Chocolate filled with Mint Truffle :D

101212 The daughter was disappointed when she realised the decoration on the tree are picks, not chocolate!

Me love Cookie!

“Sometimes me think what is love. 

And then me think love is what last chocolate cookie is for. 

Me give up the last chocolate cookie for you.”

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Dedicated to my husband

Cookie Monster is made of:

- Cheese for the face, cut with the guide of a sketch on parchment paper, and coloured lightly using blue food-marker.

- India Tree blue sugar sprinkles.

- White chocolate buttons for the white part of the eyes.

- Cheese and Wilton black decorating icing for the black part of the eyes and the mouth.

A sweet welcome back…

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… after not bentoing for what feel like an eternity!