No.108 'Butternut squash and garlic stars' bento

This is Wednesday's bento for little t. I have given him a little more of our leftover pesto pasta, some slices of fried butternut squash and some homemade (vegan) garlic bread stars. For his dessert he has a satsuma and a little pack of caramel flavoured biscuits. My husband brought lots of these home from a recent hotel visit since he doesn't eat biscuits at all. They are one of those wonderful 'accidentally vegan' discoveries! In fact, I just had a couple with my evening cup of tea.

No.107 'Maths' bento for back to school!

It appears I've cast a shadow over the bento when I took this photograph. That's a shame, but the colours are still quite vibrant looking. Big T and little t are back to school today and now that I have my morning chores out of the way I am embarking on an afternoon of quiet, PhD related work and tea drinking. Big T took the same food as little t today but hers was in a large lunch box and not arranged like a bento. She prefers things plainer now she's in big school. The second year of big school! In this bento, little t has some breaded tofu, pesto pasta, mini carrot sticks and pea pods as filler and some hand cut carrot numbers to make it a maths bento. In the dessert layer he has a home made vegan shortbread boy and some sliced plum. 'A little plum for my little plum' as I always say.

I hope they enjoy their first day back at school. They were both super excited to be going back. I can't wait to hear how their day has been.

No.106 Tofu Wiener Octopus and Spirulina Rice

For tomorrow's bento for little t I have made some super-healthy rice! One cup of rice cooked in my rice cooker with just a quarter of a teaspoon of Spirulina and a half teaspoon of white pepper for seasoning made this gorgeously green coloured rice. I have used the green rice to create an ocean scene, with a hand carved carrot crab, rocket leaf seaweed and tofu wiener octopuses. In the dessert layer he has nectarine and pitted cherries. 

To create the tofu wiener octopuses chop the wieners in half and slice through one half of each piece, four times, creating the tentacles. Boil the pieces for a couple of minutes to fluff out the tentacles. The eyes are drawn using a toothpick and some vegemite and the little mouths are thin strips of carrot.

No.105 'Sack Boy' Bento

Recently my children have been playing the 'Little Big Planet' game for Playstation. I have to admit, although it's not the sort of game I enjoy playing, I have developed a fondness for it. The game's graphics, music and playability are not only wonderful but it also presents quite a gentle virtual environment. The character 'Sack Boy' that a player takes on is very endearing! My children particularly enjoy customising his looks as they go along.

As a surprise for little t's bento tomorrow I have created a little Sack Boy for him. A spicy couscous bed and a cauliflower pakora Sack Boy with tomato, cucumber and carrot embellishments and Vegemite eyes. In the second layer is a three fruit salad of mango, kiwi and strawberry. He's going to love it!

No.104 A Jubilee Bento

At the beginning of June there will be events throughout the UK to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Like with the recent royal wedding, there will be street parties and parades and in the case of myself and a few friends, a jubilee themed picnic! With the Diamond Jubilee just around the corner, royal emblems and British flag themed colour schemes and designs are popping up everywhere in shop windows, merchandise and even clothing ranges. Most of the associated merchandise and paraphernalia is not in my taste, but I am well known for having crown shapes in my jewellery. I even have what I refer to as my 'birthday tiara' which is a sparkly little item I pop on my head to wear only on my birthday. So, since crowns are somehting I'm very fond of, I was pleased to re-discover this purple crown food pick in my collection and use it to create a bit Jubilee-ness in little t's bento for tomorrow!

Little t has noodles cooked in a home made broth of vegetable stock and chili, some raw pepper 'frills' and some black pepper fried crispy tofu. In his dessert layer he has a piece of vegan ginger cake I baked yesterday, some satsuma pieces and some juicy blueberries. There in his ginger cake is the crown tooth pick, as placed by the little hands of little t himself.

Below is a picture of another recent bento that was particularly tasty. It has roasted vegetable couscous, grilled vegan burger slices, and a cherry tomato. In the fruit layer there was some pieces of 'Welsh cake' which is like a flat, fried scone, some kiwi and satsuma. Delicious.

If you have any Jubilee celebration plans of your own, leave me a comment and let me know. I'd love to hear what's going on.

My bento article in the WTKF online newsletter

In April I wrote an article to highlight my bento creations, and the making of bento in Western society, to be entered in "Shomen" The Welsh Traditional Karate Federation newsletter.  I've attached a link on the previous text. Take a look. I think it turned out quite well!

Vegan Simnel Cake

Happy Easter! I'd like to share my vegan friendly Simnel cake recipe with you. It makes a deliciously moist, light fruit cake with a lemon and cinnamon flavour.

To make a round, two layered cake and have enough mixture left over for approximately 9-12 Simnel muffins, use the following quantities:

550g of self raising flour 

300 g of caster sugar

300g of dairy free spread (I use Pure spread)

300g of raisins

300g of chopped glace' cherries

2 tbsp of cinnamon

5 generous tbsp of lemon juice

1 tbsp of mixed spice.

Rice milk or water to soften.

Allow the raisins to soak in the lemon juice overnight. Mix the dried ingredients first, along with the spices then blend into a thick paste with the spread. You'll need to add a little rice milk or water as you mix it up to loosen the paste, but don't make it as sloppy as you would for a cake that includes a raising agent such as baking powder. This cake won't do very much rising since it is meant to be a denser, fruitier cake, more like a loaf. Separate into two tins with enough mixture to just about fill to the brim. Any excess mixture can then be baked at the same time in cupcake cases.

It will take approximately 25 minutes to cook in an oven set at 160 degrees. Check often and take the cupcakes out as soon as the tops have started to brown slightly. 

Before the two sponge halves of the cake have properly cooled, place a layer of marzipan between them. It will melt slightly into the cake and form a nice filling. Once cooled completely decorate the top with a further layer of marzipan and add the traditional marzipan balls if you like. 

Enjoy!