Chocolate Peanut Butter Acorns

So, a little over a month ago my aunt Jackie posted a link to her Facebook page.  I've been wanting to do these little guys ever since:

Today, I finally got my chance.  I assembled the three ingredients:

And got to work unwrapping those Kisses.

Now, I should point out, that this is not a milk-free recipe.  But it was so cute, I had to do it anyway.

As a side-note, you may want to hide the ingredients until the day of the craft, if you have husbands (or kids) that will snack on your blogging materials.  (This is the second bag of Hershey Kisses I've bought for this purpose.)

Slowly my plate filled with unwrapped chocolates.  (Not as slowly as if I could have been snacking on them though.)

Next I poured a small amount of mini chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl.   The Six in the Suburbs blog where I first saw this recipe says half the bag, but that seems excessive.

You microwave them for 10 seconds or so at a time, stirring well in between.  When they start to get melty like this:

Stop heating them, and just keep stirring till they look like this:

Now dip the flat end of one of your unwrapped Kisses into the warm chocolate, and attach it to a Nutter Butter Bite (or a half of one, depending what look you want).

Repeat:

Now you are ready for the finishing step.

Dip the flat end of one of the un-melted mini chocolate chips into the melted chocolate (you may have to reheat it, depending how long the last step took.)

And place it on top to finish your acorn.

Keep going until they all have toppers.

You are done!  Congratulations on your very cute acorns.

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Sculpture

Our favorite dessert place to go to is Ice Cream Renaissance. So when my husband signed his contract for his new job, we decided to go there and celebrate. We ordered an "Indecision" for him and they brought him this fantastic two-toned ice cream sculpture in the shape of a bear with "congrats" written in chocolate syrup.

We snapped a picture before digging in. They also have a nice variety of milk-free sorbets (including Chocolate Decadence which is to die for!) for me to choose from. If you are anywhere in the area, you should check them out. All their ice cream is made on site, and it is delicious!

Jack and Sally Bento

I am so excited to share this next bento with everyone. I am very pleased with how it turned out.

But first of all, a little background info: I am already getting excited about Halloween. I had my "Trick or Treat" mug out this weekend and was sipping spicy teas from it; dreaming up designs for my jack-o-lantern this year. So it was only natural that my mind would turn to The Nightmare Before Christmas when choosing a bento to do for Monday.

(For my mom, who I'm sure will be shocked that this is now a favorite flick of mine, I must say, "It's not really about ghouls - it's a romance!")

I was at home feeling pretty puny all weekend, which gave me plenty of time to mess around with this bento and get it just the way I wanted it. And here it is:

Close-up of the love-birds:

All packed up and ready to go:

Contains:

• Steamed white rice background
• Usuyaki tamago (thin omlette) moon
• Nori cut out of Jack and Sally
• Iceburg lettuce filler
• Homegrown tomatoes (4)
• Carrot shards
• Filet mignon

Happy Bento!

Related Posts:
How To Cut Nori

Introducing... Kyarabenn artist Mitunatumama

Lately I've been enjoying pictures of wonderful kyarabenn lunches. Where have I found these inspiring images, you ask? Japanese blogs. Makes for quick reading, since I don't recognize one character on the screen, right? But it is worth it to see the amazing lunches these Japanese moms are creating.

I received permission from one such kyarabenn artist to showcase some of her lunches, and point you in the direction of her blog where you can see much more. Her name is Mitunatumama. She has been creating bentos for her two children (a boy and a girl) for about two years. Here are some of her lunchtime creations:








Aren't they amazing? Click on any of the photos above to visit the original blog post (in Japanese). Enjoy, and...

Happy Bento!

The Cuteness Resumes (Hinamatsuri)

Evidently, in Japanese tradition March 3rd (the third day of the third month) is Hinamatsuri, a Girl's Day or Doll Festival. This was the theme of this week's Bento Challenge. (Follow the link to see cute food!)

My little bunny doll getting in on the fun:

And here is bento #84, my entry:

Contents:

• turkey sandwich with decoration made of ham/turkey/nori
  
• banana slices
• Rice Krispy treat
  
• raisins to fill the gaps
  

Here's a close up of my girl:


Even closer:


And special thanks to my friend Andrea whose thoughtful birthday gift made these carrot stars possible:

Happy Bento!

Turkey Bento

Ironically, bento #36 does not contain any turkey meat.


On the left I have pot roast forming the turkey's neck and head. Coriander is his eye. Nori is used for his little pilgrim hat and the letters. Tomato for the gobbler, and carrot for the beak. On the right I have pork chop skewers with pineapple and apple.

Happy Thanksgiving! (I'm celebrating a bit early since this will be my last packed lunch before then.)

Breathtaking Bento

Are you ready to be amazed? Here come some georgeous bentos created by people more talented and experienced than me:


This Octopus bento is posted on Flickr by Los Dragónnes. Click here to see more of his impressive bentos.





These four bentos were created by Sakurako Kitsa. Need to see more? Click here and you can.

These are the images that keep sending me back to the kitchen, dreaming of creating my own food art. Bear with me as my skills improve, k?

(A BIG thank you to Los Dragónnes and Sakurako Kitsa for letting me use their photos!)