It’s sunny and it’s hot! Is the summer weather finally here to stay? Do I dare to wish for that?? Seriously, this winter weather has just been going on too long. It’s time for some nice sunny warm weather!!!  Anyway, there’s only one more month of school left. That means one more month of bento too. In the summer, there will be less bento posting but a lot more camping food posts, eating out and hopefully baking posts. I have so many recipes earmarked but have never gotten around to trying them.

Today’s bento is a simple bento containing half a croissant, carrot and onion omelette, cucumber with Ranch dip and pineapple

I definitely have spring & summer in my mind when I made this bento. A very nature-filled bento filled with ham flowers, cheddar & mozzarella cheesestick flowers, pineapple flowers, chocolate pringles and Telera sandwich bread.

Our local weather is finally warming up enough to be running outside in summer clothes especially this coming weekend. Definitely a welcome break from the long, wet  and dreary winter. I am hoping that the warm weather streak is here to stay because I am so ready for our summer camping trip! This year we might be bringing my in-laws with us for our camping trip. We’ll see how that turn out! : )

Have a great week, everyone.

It’s May already??  That means it’s almost the end of the school year, so let the craziness begin……  Every year it seems like the last month is just a crazy month filled with a whole whirlwind of school activities. I am sure it will be the same this year too. Hopefully I will make it through this month unscathed. On the other hand, I am really looking forward to a fun summer. Camping and road trips are on the agenda now. : )

Bento for the day: Fried vermicelli, spam omelette, Ritz peanut butter cookie and raspberries.

This week is testing week at C’s school. So she has been working hard at school. I thought I would pack a sweet lunch filled with lots of love! Yeah, I know, it’s kinda cheesy Heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches, Babybel cheese, carrot sticks, fried wonton skins, raspberries, a bell-shaped chocolate for a special treat.

Even though I am trying to stay away from processed or canned food, somedays we need our Spam fix! C’s favorite way to eat Spam is either Spam and pineapple fried rice or Spam maki sushi. In this case, it’s Spam maki sushi for lunch. Also in the bento are orange slices and carrot sticks with Ranch dressing.

Phew, that was a long break! It was Spring Break for C and we had a nice relaxing week culminating in a short weekend away by the lake. But now it is back to the grind of our busy daily lives. It was hard getting back into routine this morning but I did manage to drag myself up and made a nice breakfast and lunch of homemade waffles. Have I mentioned how much I love my waffle maker!  The waffles were fluffy and yet a little crisp on the outside. I made a little extra and wanted to pack them for C’s lunch but when it came time to pack lunch, there wasn’t much leftover!! Next time I will have to remember to make more.

Anyway this bento contains waffle squares complete with a dab of strawberry jelly in the middle, orange slices, carrot sticks, potstickers, and a couple of chocolate thins (or better known as “chocolate pringles”)

Have a great week everyone!

It’s Good Friday today. We have half-day school and then we are off for Spring Break! Yay! Even though we have no Spring Break plans, it is still nice to have a weeks break from school and just chill. So the last bento of the week contains bunny Nutella sandwich, fudge brownie, a stack of honey ham, celery sticks with Ranch dip and finally, Cara-Cara oranges.

I think nowadays C has become a little grazer especially at lunchtime. I am not sure whether it is due to the fact that she only has 20 minutes to eat or it’s because she is too busy talking to her friends during lunch. For  a while, she was bringing back half-full lunch boxes. So nowadays I pack a lighter lunch for her and makes sure I bring her a snack when I pick her up from school. Today’s bento contains Trader Joe’s croissant, teriyaki chicken, grapes and chocolate M&M cookie.

I love bread, especially freshly baked bread. I use to bake a lot of bread a couple years ago but lately I haven’t. But C has been asking for homemade bread lately, so I dug out my bread maker, dusted it off and made bread just for her.

After a not-so-successful attempt with my Pullman pan, I decided to try it again. This time using this recipe (Thanks, HappyHomeBaking!) and the bread turned out awesome.This bread was made using the TangZhong method (water roux method) which is supposed to be the secret to making soft bread without using bread improver.

It’s soft and fluffy. Even after 2 days, the bread is still soft. Love it!

I will definitely be making more of this bread soon.

If there is one food that C will eat everyday and every meal is she could is pizza. It is easy to make pizza at home  especially when all you need is a small portion for the kids. Mini bagel, tortilla, pita bread, flatbread or even just a piece of regular bread can all be use as the base for pizza. Add a layer of tomato or white sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake. It’s perfect for the lunchbox