Thoughts.

Looking through my past bento posts. I can't believe i made them.
Kinda glad i diligently took pics of them cos at least have some keepsake now.
I still remember how stressful it was cutting the tiny bits of nori and parts for the faces.
Then when i see the pics of kids happily eating what i made, i have a sudden urge to pick it up again.

But lazy.

And also, am no longer staying on our own now so it's not my kitchen anymore where i can make anything i want anytime or peer into the fridge freely. But hey, i may still be able to do something during weekends at parents' place!

Ok.. will be sitting on this thought for now.

New Year 2011 cupcakes

And so, another year is going...as we welcome 2011. Supposed to be a good year for dragons so let's just hope it is really that way. The past 2.5yrs has been really shitty for me, filled with much uncertainty & resentment. We'll see if this new year brings forth more happiness & good health for me & everyone at home. I never was or liked being a sad person so give me some light! As i age, i realise how important health is. Without it, no amount of wealth or anything else in this world matters cos you're not even in the physical good state to enjoy and bask in it.

So, abundance of good health to everybody! Happy new year!

おせち料理 (Osechi) that we had on 1 Jan. This time, my dad didnt over-buy like last year. Can't stomach too much of these sweet stuff u know. The sashimi & sushi were refreshing sides and complimented the osechi very well.

Close-up of the warm molten choc cupcake. The inside is supposed to be slightly sticky and soft.


Uncooked cupcake batter before popping it into the oven.



First batch. Cracked at the top after i left it in there for 5 more mins cos it wasnt "crowning" very nicely.

Total cupcakes baked: 23

Only made a couple with green frosting (which failed miserably cos didnt know had to use buttercream/butter to stiffen the icing+water mixture) The green just kaput flat onto the cupcake.




Overall taste: i found it bit too sweet for my liking. Super rich cos of the choc melting inside too. After just having 1, you literally can feel your waistline expanding by 2 inches. They didnt "sell" so well too..i think cookies, though they require more time & effort, are easier to eat, cos they are small bites, great for kids' tea time snacks, goes well with coffee/tea and not too filling. And you can have like a few at one time without feeling irky.


So.
I'm sticking with cookies. Thinking of trying out the hello kitty and pooh cutters next.

X'mas 2010 cookies

Suddenly felt like baking some cookies after seeing some gingerbread man cookies on some blogs. So i rummaged thru my cobweb covered box of bento tools and selected a random few.
Ok not exactly a few, quite a lot.

Kids helping to cut the shapes out (at the beginning) and then i shooed them away cos they were just making too big a mess & starting to fight (as always)

Done cookies. Bit too thick my dad said. The dough wasnt very easy to cut as they seem to soften very quickly once removed from the fridge.

Made total of about 8 batches of cookies, that took 4hrs (with a dinner break in between). The shapes get better as we make cos there's a way to press down the cutter onto the dough and lifting it up gently so as not to break it. The cookies were a hit. Both at home with parents, kids, maid and also i brought a box with me to the X'mas party at lyne's and they loved it too. Was great with freshly brewed nespresso coffee.

My daily breakfasts

Cant believe it's been close to a year since my last post.
Not that I've picked up bento-ing again, but since I've started using my bento boxes for breakfast nowadays, thought I'd post some pics.
The kids have, however, been asking for bento, onigiri with seaweed, when they saw the bento boxes. Am in the midst of moving back with inlaws at the moment, so everything is kind of in a big mess. Not exactly convenient too to make bentos there, so maybe when I'm at my parents place, I may make for the kids.
Recently, I've been thinking about baking too, just that I've got neither baking tools nor any idea how to begin. Have compiled some recipes though.

My breakfast yesterday made by mil. Ham, egg & cucumber sandwich with Shinkansen.


What I had this morning.
From some famous charsiew bread shop & eggtarts for mid-morning snack. With pikachu.
Yup, just the charsiew bread isnt quite enough to sustain me through till lunch.

Merry Christmas 2009

I've stopped making bentos for the past month or so, due to illness.
So fast..it's a month now since the last bento.
Actually wanted to make a birthday one for Rn and also Xmas ones for the kids but didnt get down to it eventually.
Maybe next year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010!

Wishing for 2010 to be a happier & healthier year for myself and my loved ones.
2009 was a bad one for me.

Bento #50 Robotic Trio

Finally I hit my 50 bento target! Too long... especially since i have not been making much the past 2 months. I do enjoy making them, just that sometimes really need to have the mood and idea as to wat to make. Another problem is that I find it taxing that when I'm preparing the ingredients and cutting or watever, the kids would be "disturbing" at the side and it gets disruptive for me. Like having to run to the toilet for Ks or clean up watever Rn spat out or spilled on the sofa. In fact, i get quite annoyed.

Anyway i made these 3 bentos for Sat's dinner at inlaws. Since we were making fried rice so decided to make something.

Rn's bento

Ws's bento

Ks's bento

So here they are. I call them the robotic trio cos of the way their arms are placed & the squarish faces...look like robots?

,

Bento #49 Ugly piggy

Made these simple buns for breakfast on 11 Nov. Had no idea wat to make so since i bought some butter buns, I just decor the bun with ham & cheese to make 2 ugly pigs!

Also made 2 ham filling buns for papa to take away to office for his breakfast.