I made this lunch for my companion Ken. I asked him what theme he wanted for his first themed lunch and he requested Penguin. He enjoyed it!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Penguin – 30 minute cheese bread, with cocoa powder, eyes – cheese and cocoa powder, nose – carrot (cheese and carrot attached with small pieces of spaghetti)
Top Right: Blueberries
Bottom Right: Fish – carrots, cucumber, and radish cut with cookie cutters, raw spinach
I made this lunch for my friend’s daughter Natalie. She likes cats so it was a natural theme for this meal. Also, I have a LOT of cat cookie cutters.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cat – cheese cut and imprinted with a cookie cutter, focaccia bread
Top Right: Pistachio nuts
Bottom Right: Cats – carrots cut with cookie cutters, snow peas
I made this simple meal for my friend Renae for lunch at my parents Lake House.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Beatles – Carrots cut with cookie cutters, focaccia bread
Bottom Left: Cheddar cheese, sugar snap peas
Bottom Right: Pistachios
I made this theme at the request of my friend’s daughter Elizabeth. She ate this lunch at my parents Lake House.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Mickey & Minnie – cheddar cheese cut with a cookie cutter, focaccia bread
Top Right: Pistachio nuts
Bottom Right: Mickey – apple cut with a cookie cutter, dipped in water with lemon juice to prevent browning, blackberries
I made this meal for my friend Carol for dinner at my house. I have made many cat themed meals for her since she has a cat named Sasha.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cats – cheddar cheese cut with cookie cutters, roasted asparagus, rice
Top Right: Roasted zucchini with toasted walnuts
Bottom Right: Cats – apples cut with cookie cutters, sprinkled with cinnamon
I made this simple meal for my friend Mark with leftovers from this meal.
Container: Prep Natural Glass Meal Containers
Left Side: Jellyfish – rainbow carrots cut with a cookie cutter, lentils cooked in vegetable broth
Right Side: Fish – rainbow carrots cut with cookie cutters, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, smoked paprika
I made this snack lunch for my friend Renae’s daughter Elizabeth. It was a bonus cute meal since I knew she would not like the soup everyone else had for lunch that day. I was happy to make it for her.
Container: ELB Snack Boxes
Contents: Red grapes, carrots, cheddar cheese (cut with a cookie cutter), cat tortilla chips (flour tortillas cut with a cat cookie cutter, place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, brush cats with olive oil and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp)
I made this lunch for my friend’s husband Jeff during a weekend at my parent’s Lake House.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: C3P0 – cheddar cheese cut with a cookie cutter, focaccia bread
Top Right: Pistachio nuts
Bottom Right: Blackberries
I made this ghost lunch for myself on a day that I made other rice lunches and wanted an easy theme for myself.
Left Side: Ghost – hot cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, carefully push rice out of cookie cutter, spread a little bit of Brie on top of the rice, Eyes – blueberry, green peas
Top Right: Walnuts
Bottom Right: Ghosts – apple (cut with a cookie cutter and dipped in water with lemon to prevent browning), blueberries
I made this photography themed meal for my friend Mark. He requested the theme and it was actually one I never did before! I represented photography of nature and people.
Container: Book Bento Box
Contents: Photographer – roasted garlic mashed potatoes cooled then cut with a cookie cutter, Photographer’s Eye – spinach, Camera – cucumber with carrot details attached with a piece of angel hair pasta, Butterflies – rainbow carrots cut with a mini cutter, lentils cooked in vegetable broth
Container: ELB Snack Boxes
Contents: Cucumber and Radish faces – details cut with Japanese decorative bento face cutters, Camera tortilla chips – corn tortillas cut into rectangles, brush both sides with olive oil, add smoked paprika details, place on cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp
Note: I cut a potato into a circle and small rectangle and used it as a stamp to attach the paprika to the tortilla chips before baking.
I made this meal for myself to eat at work. I don’t often make themed meals just for me but I enjoy it.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Maple Leaf – polenta made with broth and cornmeal (stir 1/2 cup cornmeal into 1 cup of vegetable broth, heat at medium-low heat while stirring, when it becomes a ball and is somewhat firm, remove from heat and spread onto a plate at the desired thickness for your cookie cutter. When cool, cut with a cookie cutter), Spanish Garbanzo Beans
Top Right: Macadamia nuts
Bottom Right: Maple Leaves – apple (cut with a cookie cutter), cinnamon
I made this meal for my Mom at her Lake House. The owl has extra indentations since it was difficult to release the cheese out of the cookie cutter but my Mom did not complain. She enjoys my themed lunches.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Owl – cheddar cheese cut with a cookie cutter, focaccia bread
Top Right: H-O-O-T – cucumber with letter cut-outs and carrots put inside
Bottom Right: Owl – apple (cut with a cookie cutter), cinnamon, Greek yogurt
For as long as I can remember, my Dad sometimes makes his special filled pancakes for a weekend breakfast. Similar to his Onion Rings, my Mom does a lot of the work but gets no credit. My Dad is skilled at cooking them.
I don’t have an exact recipe for you but the photos below will provide an idea of the process. It takes practice learning the consistency of the batter (thin crepe type batter), and time to learn how to flip and roll. My Dad has practice doing this!
Important Tools:
2 spatulas (flippers or turners)
Flat frying pan
Ingredients:
Pancake Mix
Water
Cottage Cheese
Blueberries
Cinnamon
Oil (for the pan)
Serve with:
Butter
Maple Syrup
Sour Cream
My family enjoys these on special occasions when we can convince my Dad to make them. Try making them for yourself.
I made this meal for my friend Mark. I like how the elephant turned out. The polenta was not smooth which gives the elephant some texture.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Elephant – polenta made with broth and cornmeal (stir 1/2 cup cornmeal into 1 cup of vegetable broth, heat at medium-low heat while stirring, when it becomes a ball and is somewhat firm, remove from heat and spread onto a plate at the desired thickness for your cookie cutter. When cool, cut with a cookie cutter), cut a separate piece of polenta for the ear, Eye – spinach, Tusk – radish, Spanish Garbanzo Beans
Bottom Left: Elephants – apple (cut with a cookie cutter), cinnamon
Bottom Right: Macadamia nuts
I made this easy but fun lunch for my Mom at her Lake House. She was excited to see that it was a Swan!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Swan – hot cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, carefully push rice out of cookie cutter, spread a little bit of Brie on top of the rice, Eye – blueberry, Beak – apple peel, green peas
Top Right: Walnuts
Bottom Right: Swan – apple (cut with a cookie cutter and dipped in water with lemon to prevent browning), blueberries
I assisted my 17 year old niece with making her lunch at my parents Lake House. The concept and food were her own. I suggested the addition of the olives (I was inspired by this). We think it was cute!
Container: ECO Lunchboxes
Contents: Totoro – cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a ball using plastic wrap, sauteed mushrooms with olive oil and butter, eyes and nose – olives, Soot Sprites – black olives with rice (make a hole with a skewer, then push in cooked grains of rice), broccoli
I made this lunch for my Dad at my parents Lake House. My friend Renae recently gave me a Capitol cookie cutter and I was excited to use it.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Capitol Building – hot cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, carefully push rice out of cookie cutter, spread a little bit of Brie on top of the rice, green peas
Top Right: Walnuts
Bottom Right: Red, White and Blue Fruit – apple, raspberry, blueberries
I made this faceless black bear lunch for myself. I don’t know why I neglect to add faces during creation and then regret it later. Regardless, it was a fun and tasty meal.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Black Bear – focaccia bread cut with a cookie cutter, cream cheese, cinnamon, spinach leaves
Top Right: Mixed nuts
Bottom Right: Fish – assorted melon cut with cookie cutters
Today is my birthday! I was fortunate to be able to take the day off from work and have my parents and my friend Mark over for a sheep themed meal. A co-worker thought it was strange that I was making lunch for my own birthday. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to make and share a fun meal with people who are close to me.
Sheep in a Field Layered Rice
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Zest – roast asparagus with a little salt and olive oil at 425 for about 10 minutes or until tender. Add lemon zest after plating.
Roasted Cauliflower with Almond Aioli – Roast cauliflower with some olive oil and smoked paprika at 425 for about 20 minutes or until tender. Serve with Almond Aioli.
Baby Potato Chips – Slice baby potatoes with a mandoline slicer. Fry in vegetable oil.
My Critique of the Meal:
As usual I am more critical than my guests. I think that the sides were the most popular. I tried to recreate the cauliflower and almonds with baby potato chips that I had in Iceland at the Blue Lagoon Lava Restaurant. It was not exact but it was delicious.
Plating is something that I continue to strive to improve. My plates are not as precise as the planning sketch I drew but I like how I loaded the plates with flavor. If I put less food on the plates it would have looked prettier but then my guests would not have as much to enjoy. That said, it was a hearty lunch with the Sheep in the Field Layered Rice. I think my plates have a rustic look to them.
It was a memorable meal and I am thankful for the people who came and shared it with me.
I made this lunch for my friend Mark to take home to have another time. He selected the theme and seemed happy with it. I love it when people in my life request fun food!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Race Car – hot Nishiki rice pressed into a car shaped container lined with plastic wrap, firmly press down, then carefully lift the rice out of the container. Brush some salsa on top of the rice. 42 – cut the numbers out of cucumber with a cookie cutter. (I didn’t attach them with spaghetti since I didn’t want holes in the cucumber but it is a way to help the numbers stay in place). Black beans, corn, and salsa.
Top Right: Pistachios
Bottom Right: Racing Flag – checkered apple with cinnamon
I am surprised that this is my first loon lunch! My Grandparents had and now my parents have a summer lake house so I grew up listening to and watching loons. They fascinate me. I made this meal for my Mom to take on a day trip in the Adirondacks to visit the Adirondack Experience museum at Blue Mountain Lake. When I asked my Mom for theme ideas she said, “loon”.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Loon – focaccia bread cut with a cookie cutter, cream cheese, cinnamon, dried blueberry, blueberries
Top Right: Mixed nuts
Bottom Right: Fish – assorted melon cut with cookie cutters
I made this black bean rice elephant for lunch for myself. I am not thrilled with the lack of color contrast but it was a tasty and fulfilling meal.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top: Elephant – hot cooked Nishiki rice pressed into a cookie cutter with plastic wrap, black beans (I used my food processor to puree black beans with some lemon juice), cooked broccoli
Bottom Left: Elephant – apple cut with a cookie cutter dipped in water with lemon juice to prevent browning, mini chocolate chip, raspberries
Bottom Right: Pistachios
I made this cream cheese and cinnamon Bald Eagle for my Dad on a day that we went on a day trip in the Adirondacks. It was a weekend that I visited my parents at their Lake House. We went to the Adirondack Experience museum at Blue Mountain Lake. It was a long time since I was last there and they have updated exhibits with interactive technology. We had fun!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Bald Eagle – focaccia bread, freehand cut into eagle shape, cream cheese, cinnamon, dried blueberry, cashew, sugar snap peas
Top Right: Mixed nuts
Bottom Right: Fish – assorted melon cut with cookie cutters
I made this cat face shaped bread for lunch for my friend Carol on a day that we went to the Genesee Country Village & Museum.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Cat face – 30 minute cheese bread. I made the bread without the cheese and shaped it to look like a cat. The eyes and nose are cinnamon, mouth – food coloring marker. The whiskers are angel hair pasta. Sugar snap peas
Top Right: Trader Joe’s Mini Brie, a few Brazil nuts
Bottom Right: Cat – watermelon cut with cookie cutter, cantaloupe
Today is my 8 year blogiversary! My life is very different now than 8 years ago but I am happy and have a good life. I maintain this blog because it enriches my life. I love the way that it motivates me to do things that I love–cooking for loved ones and making food cute and attractive.
I will share my 8 most memorable posts.
8. Sado Island Travel and Bento Lunch: This meal is memorable because my Dad ate the radishes I bought especially to make this meal.
7. Snoopy Mashed Potatoes: At the time, I did not share what was most memorable about this meal. My husband had dinner with my nephews and myself. I guess that I made individual meals for each of us. We ate this meal on our large wrap around porch. My nephew had this one and commented that it was too cute to eat. My husband then mashed it with a fork and said that the nephew could then eat it.
6. May Day Basket for Neighbor: I made this basket for my neighbors on May Day many years ago. I fondly remember those neighbors and this bread basket I made to show my appreciation for their being wonderful neighbors.
5. Horse Themed Lunch: I made this for my supervisor at the time. She requested a horse themed lunch but there was a mishap and the horses shifted so they looked like they were having “fun”. We had a lot of laughs over this lunch!
4. 3rd Flower Show Entry: When I see this post, I am reminded that I am resilient and/or that I need to create art in times of stress to soothe myself. I made this for a craft entry at a flower show and won a blue ribbon for all artistic crafts. The amazing thing was I did this weeks before my life drastically changed. I was preparing to move out of a house that I loved and was in the middle of a divorce. Yet I took the time to create a little edible bird seed angel tree topper with a hazelnut head and corn silk hair.
3. Vegetarian Easter Dinner: My friend Mayumi’s 7 year old daughter Anna made this meal memorable. She loved helping me cook and serve and she was more skilled with making the Bunny bread than I am. It was a joy to spend time cooking with Anna.
2. Girls Day Hinamatsuri Dinner: The memory of this meal is bittersweet since I enjoyed it with my 20 year old niece shortly before she moved back home. She now does not live as close to me. These were a more successful rendition of a meal that we created and shared years ago.
1. My Grandmothers Funeral: This is my favorite blog post of all time. I am happy with my effort with the meals and eulogy at a difficult time. I am glad that I shared it here. Sometimes I look at the post and read the eulogy.
I made this hand shaped bread for lunch for myself on a day that my friend Carol and I went to the Genesee Country Village & Museum.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Hands – 30 minute cheese bread. I made the bread without the cheese and shaped it to look like a hands, sugar snap peas
Top Right: Trader Joe’s Mini Brie, a few Brazil nuts
Bottom Right: Numbers – assorted melon cut with cookie cutters
I made this Red Panda themed lunch for my 20 year old niece awhile ago when we went to the Seneca Park Zoo. I was inspired by this. I think that my version looks more like a fox but it is cute and she enjoyed it.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Red Panda – hot cooked Nishiki rice shaped with a rice mold, ears hot cooked Nishiki rice shaped with plastic wrap, salsa, daikon (Japanese radish) with food coloring marker and black olive details, cooked broccoli and asparagus
Top Right: Pistachio nuts
Bottom Right: Checkered apple, blueberries
My friend Mark came over for lunch on the 4th of July. This salad was part of the meal. I did not use cilantro and I added more lime zest and juice. The stars are blue potato that I cut with a small cookie cutter and boiled. I boiled the corn and then cut it off the cob. I also served homemade star corn chips and homemade coconut ice cream with fresh raspberries.
Awhile ago, I had my friend Mark over for a vegan, gluten free lunch. I mostly followed this recipe but reduced the number of green onions and did not use thyme. It was visually appealing and delicious. The only thing I would change if I made this again would be to make sure my avocado are ripe enough.
I made this lunch for a man I dated for a few weeks in June. He requested a baseball themed lunch and I love how it turned out!
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Baseball bat – cantaloupe (cut with a cookie cutter), honeydew melon
Bottom Right: Baseballs, pretzels
Right Side: Baseballs – cheddar cheese with food coloring marker details, focaccia bread, sugar snap peas
In May, I went alone to Iceland for a few days. It was a time of transition (leaving one job and starting a new one) so I planned a last minute adventure to a new place. It was fantastic! Iceland was beautiful and it was easy to find delicious and interesting vegetarian food. I am glad that I made the time to travel alone to a new country.
I made this lunch for myself after I returned home.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Puffin – mashed potatoes cooled then shaped by hand, black olive, orange cheddar, black beans pureed in a food processor with lemon juice, sauteed zucchini
Top Right: Sheep – black olive and cauliflower, spinach leaves
Bottom Right: Whale tail – apple – dipped in water and lemon juice to prevent browning, blueberries
This was the Vegetarian Set menu from the Lava Restaurant at the Blue Lagoon. I loved the meal and setting! I want to try to recreate the cauliflower dish.
Last month, my friend Carol and I went to see the Rochester City Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty. I made a themed dinner for us to enjoy before the performance. Carol made the cute woodland themed arrangement from flowers in her garden.
Sleeping Beauty Castle Salad: Assorted greens, toasted walnuts, maple vinaigrette, sweet potato (cut with a cookie cutter), carefully boil to not overcook – I did not want the castle to fall apart.
Spinning Wheel Pasta: Mini wagon wheel pasta cooked, homemade basil pesto, green peas
Dragon Fire Tomatoes: Sauteed onion and diced tomatoes with black beans. Dragon tortilla chips (cut flour tortillas with a cookie cutter, place on cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray, spray dragons with cooking spray, sprinkle with dried basil, bake in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp)
Pastry Crowns with No Bake Cheesecake and Blueberries: I made my own pie crust and mostly used the directions from this but used a regular sized 12 cup muffin tin, I used this no-baked cheesecake recipe and served with blueberries.
I made duplicates of this lunch – one for my friend Mark to take home with him, and one for myself to take to work the next day. I put the sides in silicone cups for easy removal before heating if desired (I ate mine at room temperature).
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Hippo – polenta made with broth and cornmeal (stir 1/2 cup cornmeal into 1 cup of vegetable broth, heat at medium-low heat while stirring, when it becomes a ball and is somewhat firm, remove from heat and spread onto a plate at the desired thickness for your cookie cutter. When cool, cut with a cookie cutter), Spanish Garbanzo Beans (see recipe below).
Top Right: Hippo – honeydew melon (cut with a cookie cutter), blueberries
Bottom Right: Hippos – carrots (cut with a cookie cutter), celery with almond butter
Spanish Garbanzo Beans (2 servings)
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
1 medium green pepper, chopped
16 ounces of tomato sauce (I use more or less depending on how thick I want it and add more during cooking if desired)
15.5 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed
In a medium pan, heat olive oil until medium hot. Saute shallots and pepper until onions are translucent. Add tomato sauce. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add garbanzo beans. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I made this simple woodland lunch for my Mom.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Mushroom – Cheddar and spinach (cut with a cookie cutter), romaine, cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumber, feta cheese
Top Right: Pistachios
Bottom Right: Fawn – honeydew melon, Greek yogurt
I made this tomato and cheese tart for myself. The spinach decoration on top are supposed to look like sheep.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Spinach leaves
Bottom Left: Pumpkin seeds
Right Side: Sheep – spinach (cut with a cookie cutter), Tomato Tart
I made this lunch for Ayato, my friend Mayumi’s 12 year old son. He is a huge fan of soccer so it seemed appropriate to make this theme. I was inspired by this.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and olives
Top Right: GOAL – Carrot – (cut with mini cutters), sugar snap peas
Bottom Right: Strawberries
I made this dinner for my friend Carol and myself. It was around 500 calories and delicious. I love lemon so the fresh lemon zest in the pasta made this memorable. It is a dinner that we will remember fondly.
Salad with Green Beans, Pistachios, and Lemon Vinaigrette – (I did not use the thyme and I sauteed the shallots since I don’t like them raw)
I made this lunch for myself to celebrate the arrival of spring.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Tulip – Cheddar (cut with a cookie cutter), romaine, cherry tomatoes, black olives, cucumber, feta cheese
Top Right: Pistachios
Bottom Right: Tulips – honeydew melon, cantaloupe, and pineapple (cut with a cookie cutter), blueberries
I made this meal for my friend Carol. I was inspired by this. As usual, it was a simple and satisfying meal.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Daffodils – Cheddar cheese cut free-form with a knife, thinly sliced rolled carrots inserted in small hole (cut with a cookie cutter) in the center of the cheese, Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad (did not use the feta or pistachios)
Top Right: Pistachios
Bottom Right: Blueberries
While my friends were visiting from Japan, I wanted to give them some cultural experiences so I decided to celebrate the secular side of Easter with them. The 7 year old Anna helped set the table. In the photos, you can see her unusual but fun flatware placement. She also helped me shape the bunny rolls (she did a better job than I did!), thought of the tomato plating idea for the salads and helped serve the meal. I wish that I could cook with her more often!
Table setting
Since I currently like the look of place mats with a tablecloth, I ordered these colorful place mats from Kohls online. I borrowed my Mom’s Easter plates that I purchased for her from Wegmans many years ago. I mostly followed these directions to make the paper Bunny place cards. I ordered the honeycomb balls from Amazon and now have extras for other projects. The centerpiece is a large glass jar with white chocolate bunny, paper Easter grass and green jelly beans. The whole table setting was a huge hit! The kids Grandma even said that she felt like she was in a fairy-tale. That comment gave me a huge smile. I love the idea of creating a different mood and experience with my meals. I want to create fairy-tales more often.
Menu
I made little Easter baskets for each of them to provide a cultural experience. We also dyed eggs. This was a memorable meal for me and I hope that it will be something my guests will remember for a long time.
I made this simple Easter breakfast for my parents and myself. I borrowed the Easter plates from my Mom. Years ago, I bought them for her from Wegmans.
Mixed berries
Savory Easter Egg Pastries
Frozen puffed pastry
Ricotta
Lemon zest
Asparagus, cherry tomatoes ( vegetables of your choice)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry a little with a rolling pin. Cut into desired shaped with a cookie cutter or knife. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1/2 inch in from the edges of your shape. Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
Remove egg shapes from oven, spread with ricotta and sprinkle with fresh lemon zest. Decorate the eggs with vegetables of your choice (I used asparagus and cherry tomatoes). Season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 15 minutes.
It was simple, fun, and relatively healthy meal.
My 20 year old niece and I have a tradition of making egg ornaments for Easter. This was the 9th year. I blew out the eggs the weekend before. On the night of our craft we got takeout from Panera and simply used toothpicks and tacky glue to attach sequins to the empty eggs. They are fragile. I broke two while gluing sequins on the eggs since I kept dropping the egg.
My niece did the entire photo shoot for this.
Year 9 – Sequins
Year 8 – Ukrainian
Year 7 – Punched Paper
Year 6 – Diorama
Year 5 – Marble
Year 4 – Ribbons
Year 3 – Quilling
Year 2 – Simplified Ukrainian
Year 1 – Paper Cut-out
As usual, I enjoyed doing our special tradition this year. My collection of 9 years of different egg decorating techniques is special to me.
I made this for my friend Mayumi’s mother during their stay at my home.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Blueberries
Bottom Left: Cashews with green chocolate candies
Right Side: Tree and bear – spinach (cut with a cookie cutter), Tomato Tart
I made this lunch for Anna, my friend Mayumi’s 7 year old daughter during their visit from Japan.
Container: U Konserve
Contents: Crowns – cheddar and mozzarella cheese pizza (cut with a cookie cutter), blueberries, strawberries
I made this for my friend Mayumi’s mother during their stay at my home. Mayumi requested nature as the theme.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Flowers – Cucumber and carrots – cut with a cookie cutter, Peanut Noodles
Top Right: Butterfly – Apple, cut with a cookie cutter and dipped in water with lemon juice, strawberry
Bottom Right: Butterflies – Carrot – cut with a mini cookie cutter, vegetable cream cheese, celery
I made this lunch for my friend Mayumi’s daughter while they were recently staying at my place. I am fond of Anna and remember her as a dancing five year old during my 2017 Japan trip. It was a time of transition and I was a waterfall of tears. The waterfall dried up after spending time with Anna. I told myself, “how can you cry when there is a five year old dancing?” Anna is seven now and still a delight to be around.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Dancing Girl – Daikon (Japanese radish) with a carrot skirt – cut with a cookie cutter, Peanut Noodles
Top Right: Dancing Shoes – Radish (I was inspired by this), spinach leaves
Bottom Right: Music Notes – Apple dipped in water with lemon juice to prevent browning, blueberries
I made this meal for my friend Mayumi during her recent stay to my home. While planning their lunches, I asked Mayumi what theme she would like and she said ballet.
Note: Plastic Ballet themed cupcake ring is a non-edible decoration. Add after baking and remove before eating.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Top Left: Cashews with pink chocolate candies
Bottom Left: Strawberries
Right Side: Tomato Tart – see below
Tomato Tarts
Cut piecrust to fit the tart pan. Prick bottoms of tart shells with a fork. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately divide 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese between the shells.
Meanwhile, cut each tomato into slices. Combine remaining mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, basil, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Arrange tomato wages in each tart. Spoon some of the cheese mixture over the tomatoes in each shell.
Bake in a 425 oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and begins to brown.
I made this lunch for Ayato, who is my friend Mayumi’s 12 year old son. He was very interested in seeing the Statue of Liberty. I made this lunch on the day that we visited Niagara Falls. Regrettably while in NYC, Ayato was unable to see the Statue of Liberty since he was sick. He and his Grandma stayed in the hotel room while Mayumi, her daughter Anna and I toured NYC.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: Statue of Liberty – Daikon (Japanese radish) with cucumber stars – cut with a cookie cutter, Peanut Noodles
Top Right: Stars – apple (dipped in lemon juice with water to prevent browning), blueberries
Bottom Right: Stars – cucumber and carrots – cut with a cookie cutter
My friend and language partner Mayumi visited from Japan with her mom and children. I made this America themed lunch for Mayumi. We toured Rochester / Niagara Falls for two days before visiting NYC. I created themed lunches for each of my visitors to make the meals easy and fun.
Container: EasyLunchBoxes
Left Side: USA – Daikon (Japanese radish) with carrot details – cut with a cookie cutter, Peanut Noodles
Top Right: Star – apple (dipped in lemon juice with water to prevent browning), blueberries
Bottom Right: Stars – cucumber and carrots – cut with a cookie cutter
Last Saturday, my friend Mark came over for a vegan and gluten-free lunch. It was my first time cooking for him and I asked if he had any theme or food requests. We agreed that the theme would be “easy”. I added the hippos for no real reason other than I wanted a fun element. Themed food makes me happy and makes a meal more memorable. Now I can say, “remember the time we ate hippo corn chips?”
Hippo Corn Chips – I did not use the cumin or pepper but sprinkled smoked paprika on half of the hippos, cut with a cookie cutter before baking
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili – I did not use the red bell pepper, or cayenne and used slightly under the tablespoon of chili powder since I ran out.
Chocolate Hippos standing in Coconut Whipped Cream over strawberries and blueberries – use a pencil and a small hippo cookie cutter to trace hippo shapes onto parchment paper, melt vegan chocolate for a 30 seconds in a microwave (I used Loving Earth Bean to Bar Dark 2.5 oz chocolate bar), put melted chocolate in a ziplock plastic bag, cut off a small corner, and pipe over hippo shapes, chill until ready to serve. Use small pieces of coconut for the eyes. I used Nature’s Charm Coconut Whipping Cream and followed the directions on the can – sweetened with maple syrup. I chilled my bowl and beater in the freezer before whipping the coconut.
My critique of the meal: I liked the sweet potato in this chili. If I had the cayenne and enough chili powder the flavor would probably be more robust. If I made this again, I would try serving avocado on top. I think it was my first time making corn chips. They were delicious and fun to eat! It was my first time making coconut whipped cream. It whipped easy and of course had a coconut flavor but I loved it. Next time I want to try it with pineapple. It was a memorable meal.
Eclectic Lamb 
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