Bento Update

Well, Michelle and I received our new Bento boxes from Japan this Saturday. I came home from praise band rehearsal to find Michelle standing in the living room, excitedly holding forth a yellow package containing our Japanese swag! Also included was my first pack of Black Black chewing gum. Let me start with that.

I was intrigued by the gum because it had an odd name. Not to say that most snacks and gum don't have odd names to us in Japan, but this one just caught my eye. Here's a picture:

The gum itself, as you might have guessed, is black as well as the wrapper. Anyway, it's a really strong "Altoid-like" flavor, and quite refreshing. It also makes an excellent cat repellent. Merlin hates mint, and this makes him run like there's no tomorrow. I'd love to know what the Kanji on the wrapper says. Also, here's a youtube link to a commercial for the gum in Japan:

Black Black Chewing Gum

I guess the gum is considered masculine, as well as capable of waking you up...kind of like...a girl dressed in silver, shooting you with a huge ray gun or something. Ah, Japanese TV. :)

So anyway, that's the gum. Moving on to what you really came here for, the new Bentos. First, I'll show you mine, mainly because there's less to say and because I can't get a really good picture of it. I'll try again, but for the moment, it's just not working. Maybe I'll try a lighter background. A couple of pictures:

So, as you can see, my box is black and grey and though I don't have a size comparison for you, it's a little larger in capacity than either of Michelle's. I haven't gotten to use it yet, but we're planning on a picnic at Central Park or something sometime soon. The box says "Liberty" on the lids, which is the particular model name.

And now, Michelle's more interesting box. More interesting because I have better pictures, and an actual lunch that she's taking to work tomorrow. Pics:

Here we are. I like this box a lot because it's a little more squared than her other one, and that presents some new options for packing. I also like the triangular Onigiri (remember that means rice balls) box. It's designed to hold two convenience store onigiri. They're available in Japan like burritos and nachos here. We're going to have to make our own for it, but the box is cool. I like the color as well.

As for the lunch we kind of tossed together tonight...

Obviously a banana. The top tier is a turkey and tomato sandwich on whole grain bread, wrapped in cellophane and decorated with dragonfly and flower stickers. In the bottom is yogurt, honey and dried cranberries. That's a little recipe we picked up from Gina's daily plate diary. Very tasty. I think it's listed as yummy yogurt on the diary. So, credit to Gina for the idea. It's decorated by a swirl of honey and a dusting of red sugar. The silicone souffle cup has a 1/4 cup of mixed nuts. Again, I'd love to have this tomorrow, but It's probably a clif bar for me. :)

So there you go! A Bento update as promised! I'll try to get a better picture of mine as well as the first lunch I pack in it. Comments and Questions are of course welcome! Thanks a lot for reading and see you again soon!

-J