hapa bento

I have a new bento box— compliments of our friends from JaponMania!  They asked me to review their new “Keep Cool Palette” boxes and I of course I agreed.  As a bento-nerd, I love talking about anything that has to do with bento boxes, bento-gear and bento shopping!  Bring it on.

The  first thing you probably noticed is that I did a charaben or kyaraben.   I know, right?  It’s not my usual approach for packing lunches… I’ll tell you more about this along with a special JaponMania discount later in this post.

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Woot!  Introducing a new bento box.  Two-tiered stainless steel!   I loves this box.

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These are the bento boxes that I wish to received this year… I know that Santa reads my blog, so I’m hoping he’ll recognize the hint.

I desire each one for different reasons.   Yes, bento making is my obsession, but what’s the harm except losing kitchen space to some of the most beautiful and the cutest lunch boxes you’ve ever seen.

Click on each image to read more about each.

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Bought some rainbow chard for the first time!

Not a bento post but I did use the chard in this bundle (far right) for two bentos here and here!  Arriving at this farmers market was  serendipitous; what a nice way to stumble upon fresh produce!  

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Here’s the first of our series of  back-to-school bento lunches!  But before we jump into the foods and fillers there are some guidelines that may be helpful for those who are new to packing bento box lunches. There’s also a special surprise!

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Summer in Seattle is the most spectacular of all events.  Growing up in Hawaii where everyday is a summer’s day, I took the warm sunshine for granted.  But now…

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Don’t let these dreary skies fool you!  An hour after this shot…it would be a glorious day!

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In the bento world, the summer of 2010 will be marked as the season of cute bento cookbooks!  And I love CUTE!  But…I have to admit that I pulled out the  thesaurus to write this post otherwise every other word would be “cute“.

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The long awaited cookbook by Makiko Itoh, The Just Bento Cookbook: Everyday Lunches To Go  is now available for pre-order on Amazon! 

Maki’s blogs Just Hungry and Just Bento have been my inspiration for starting my own bento lifestyle.   And for anyone who feels they can’t prepare authentic and delicious Japanese cuisine, Maki’s no-nonsense approach to cooking removes any doubts.   If her book is anything like her blogs we will all be in bento heaven!

It looks like you can get the new Yum-Yum Bento Box cookbook at Amazon Books now!

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While I was out and about yesterday, I unexpectedly found this cute box in the infants section of the Nordstrom RACK!  

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 I stopped by the Alderwood Mall’s Daiso store to check on their current supplies.  But it’s not the supplies that you may be thinking of… Read the rest of this entry →