I wanted to make some wagashi, but unfortunately couldn't find any shiro-an paste either online or at the shops, so I decided to make some.

Ingredients;
650g Broad beans (also know as lima beans)
150g granulated sugar

Makes around 350g of paste

My little girl is a big Baymax fan (and so am I, whats not to like about a giant marshmallow man?).
She loved this bento, and helped make it by giving me instructions on what goes where : )

So, this time I experimented with making a ham flower, it looks a little messy unfortunately. I will have to try cutting it differently next time.
I made the stars & flowers out of carrots and broccoli (I used the stem).
The bunnies are made using moulds and I created the features with nori.

I asked the mini bean what she wanted in her bento box this week, her reply "a chick!"
I shaped the rice by hand into the shape of the head. Used nori for the eyes, ham for the cheeks, a little carrot flower for the "hair" at the top of the head and two pieces of sweetcorn for the beak.
The carrot and cucumber have been cut into flowers using a cutter.
I attempted the ham flowers again, more ham seems to be better in this case.

So, this week I made two bento's.
The first being the above.
I made the bear out of a vegetarian burger which I cooked, then cut into 3 circles (one big one for the head, and two little ones for the ears). I made the features with ham and nori.
The rice hearts I shaped with a cutter. Again using ham and nori for the features.
I tried to make little roses by rolling up the ham.....they didn't quite go to plan as the ham I was using was a little bit brittle and fell apart. I think processed ham would stay together better. Think I will try it with that next time round.

I made the cucumber and carrots into flowers. The octopuses are made from frankfurters and the panda is made from rice and nori.

So, here's my first attempt at making a bento box for my daughter's packed lunch.

I used frankfurter sausages to make the octopuses, teddy bear ears and arms.
The teddy bear is made from rice and features nori eyes, nose, mouth and bow tie.
I also included teriyaki veg and some raspberries.

Welcome to my blog & first post.

I've always been a fan of Japanese culture and cuisine. I have been fortunate enough to visit Japan on a few occasions and always come home inspired by the beauty of the country and people.

I'm going to use this blog as a way of sharing my love/obsession for Japanese food...mainly bento, but occasionally I will post about other things.

Thanks for visiting my page and please get in touch, I would love to hear from you!

Lou
-x-