I have to admit that many days I am just hungry but uninspired. Today was was of those days. The bento is filled with healthy stuff but of the wrong color palate for inspiration. Missing are the red, and orange colors. Difficult to see from this picture the veggie straws are actually orange and the inside of the meat roll is red. Oh well...you win some and you lose some.
It's finally Friday bento is ready for school. It's been a long 5 days. Inside this adorable set of Ms. Red Riding Hood boxes I have placed homemade white pizza with Alfredo Sauce, steamed snap peas, cinnamon goldfish cookies and a shiny red apple. Very autumn like don't you think?
As a child in New York State, our family was able to go to apple farms and pick our own apples off the trees. I know most families up North have this shared experience and it somehow defines Fall. In Miami, the Avocados are still forming and it's still hot outside. The closest I can get to apple season from New York is this tiny bag of apples I found at Whole Foods. They are delicious and trigger sweet memories of family fun.
Saturday was my day to bake up a storm. Although it is still warm outside mid-September triggers the desire for me to bake bread, quick bread, and all things bread like in form. It all begin with mini-muffins and now we have moved on to mini-scones. Inspired by bento sized objects my goal was to create tiny bite sized scones to pop into my boxes. These little goodies are cranberry-orange scones with glaze. I intend to store them in the deep freezer and thaw one at a time when needed or should I say desired.
I am working on my colors and packing this week. There is always room for improvement in this area of my bento boxes. This bento is filled with purple potatoes, turkey/cheese rolls, and corn with furatake. The second tier is two fat-free blueberry mini muffins, sliced cheese bits, green grapes and carrot slices for my snack bento. Since I stay at school from 7 until 5 three days a week I often pack a snack bento to hold me until supper at 7. The purple potatoes are a real treat. I sprung them on my family for supper the night before with limited success. One teen tried them and ate two little ones. One teen could not get past the color. My husband stated that they were not bad if you pretend their not purple. Personally, I thought the flavor was really good. They have a thin skin like a new potato and they are sweet like a red potato. Just goes to show you how powerful color is to our taste palate. I tried them out on my faculty today and most of the women were pleased with the taste. The male member couldn't consider eating a purple potato. He just turned up his nose and walked away. 
Today's lunch was filled with more leftovers. The bottom tier meat ravioli in red sauce with lounging panda bears. The top layer was filled with diced papaya and the side car has bunny mix. The little panda box is from the Paper Chase line found at Borders Books. When I first purchased this box it felt really small, but I find it holds a great deal. Maybe I am learning better portion control. See I can be taught!
Every where I turn this season I see green. Apparently, I am on a green swing since it is now the color of my newest bento and seems to satisfy my palate too. Todays lunch is diced honey dew melon, sliced pear, a peanut butter/jelly sandwich on pain de mie bread and bunny pretzel mix. This tower of food is actually lunch and after-school snack. The box performed well but will leak if packed with very moist foods. It fits very nicely into my lunchbox with room for a water bottle and icy.
