Bento Supplies: A Starter's Guide

I'm a huge fan of Anna the Red's blog.  I found her blog to be quite inspiring and have spent the past few months accumulating knowledge and tools. Thanks, Anna, for giving me a shoutout on your blog, Twitter and Facebook! =)

I've been getting some questions about how to get started.  Here are some of my bento goodies and a list of places where you can buy them!

This is my bento box.  I got it for 2.00$ from Ebay (minus shipping).  It's awesome because it's got chop sticks and Western cutlery.  And of course it's awesome because it's Hello Kitty (I feel my readership going down now).  Yeah, that's right, I like Hello Kitty!  Alternately, you can use any air-tight food container that you have on hand.  <3

I got this for $2.00!

Now, here are some common bento supplies:

These are my bento supplies. I have yet to use most of them! Stay tuned for updates :)

Here are some of my items and their uses

1. Bento box ($2.00, Ebay). Used to carry and store food.

2. Brontosaurus sandwich cutter ($1.00, Dollarama). Used to cut sandwiches in funky shapes.

 3. Heart sandwich cutter ($1.00, Dollarama). Used to cut sandwiches in funky shapes.

4. Silicone chocolate moulds ($5.00, some specialty cooking store), and cupcake moulds. Used to hold thick sauces or little foods.

5. Egg moulds ($7.00 for the two, Ebay).  Shapes hard-boiled eggs into these cute characters!

4. Metal cookie cutters ($1.00 for a pack of 6, Foret Dollar; $1.50 for the round at Stark & Whyte). Used to make pretty food.

5. Panda bear food picks ($1.00, Ebay). Used to make the bento look cuter or to string together small foods (such as olives or edamame beans).

Click this link to see the tutorial of my first kyraben (character) bento.  My next project will be posted as well, so stay tuned!

How to make a Kirby / Nintendo Themed Lunch

Here's my very first bento.  It took months of accumulation of items and study of Anna The Red's awesome blog to get me to do this.  Here's how to do it if you want to get started!

Sharmycakes' Kirby/Nintendo-Themed Bento!
Thanks Anna The Red, for your awesome tips!

What you'll need:

-       A bento box (or Tupperware-type container)

-       Scissors

-       Cookie cutters

-       Toothpicks

-       Nori

-       Cheese

-       Lettuce

-       Broccoli

-       Carrots

-       Sweet Potato

-       Ham

-       Salami (or other red-coloured deli meat)

-       Mayonnaise

-       Hot sauce (or ketchup)

-       Mustard

This is my sketch and some of the cookie cutters I used

The tutorial is broken down into each character/component:

Mario Star:

1. Cut cheese with a star-shaped cookie cutter.

2. Cut nori (dry sheet seaweed) eyes and place in desired location.

Mario Mushrooms:

Yummy!

1. Cut cheese with a mushroom-shaped cookie cutter (really, who thinks to make that?).

2. Use the top part of the mushroom-shaped cookie cutter to cut a slice of red deli meat (for the red mushroom) and a slice of lettuce (for the green mushroom).  It may help to cook or nuke the lettuce before cutting to make it more manageable.  Place on top of the cheese.

3. Cut small pieces of cheese and place accordingly.  Alternately, you can use a hole puncher and punch holes from the meat and lettuce.  I cut the cheese with a knife and then discovered that a pizza cutter sped up the process.

4. Cut nori for the eyes and place in the desired location.

Kirby:

The flying Kirby is in the sky (sweet potato star and moon) and standing Kirby's on the ground (broccoli trees)

Kirby is basically a circular ham and cheese sandwich with an extra slice of ham over top (with a cute Kirby design).  This is Anna the Red's design, but I had to alter a few things because I had different tools.  Here's how to make it.

1. Use a circular cookie-cutter to cut pieces of toast.  I used 2 large pieces of toast to make 4 slices (which makes 2 Kirbys). 

2. Cut 2 slices of cheese with the circular cutter. This goes in the sandwich.

3. Use a smaller circle cutter (or the top of a heart-shaped cutter, as I did since I don't have a smaller circular cutter) to cut Kirby's arms and legs.   You'll need a total of 8 Kirby "limbs."

4. Cut 4 or more slices of ham with the circular cutter (depending on how much ham you like)

5. Spread mayo and mustard onto the slices of bread

6. Add the cheese and ham.  Save 2 slices of ham for Kirby's face/body.

7. Place the remaining slices of ham on top of the sandwich

8. Slide Kirby's ham "limbs" in the desired locations

9. Cut nori eyes and mouths

10. Place some mayo onto a toothpick to draw on the whites of Kirby's eyes

11. Place some hot sauce (or ketchup) onto a toothpick to draw on Kirby's rosy cheeks

Here's another shot of my first bento and the feelings I got after making it! 

So excited to eat this tomorrow!

The End!

Hip Hop Karaoke Video

I actually look like I kinda know what I'm doing, thanks to Oopey's awesome photography!

I've been getting some requests to see the video.  It's sure to give you guys a few good laughs.  Here it is (thanks Mon and Nakubu, for setting it up.  What a nice surprise)!

For more pics and videos (there were some really awesome and fun performances), check out HHK's website or find them on Facebook for the freshest info!

Also, props to Oopey Mason for the pics!  Here are some more of his pics from the show.  Be sure to check them out on the HHK Facebook page!

"Ready or Not" Translation

After having memorized and performed the entire song, Mon, Nakubu and I still didn't have much of an understanding of what the song means.  Fail, especially since I've been listening to this song since the album first came out in the 90s.


Luckily, the interwebs found me my answer in the form of an articulate woman on Youtube, who goes by the name of MISSRuby.  What I found most interesting about her translation is that she illuminated a lot of historical and pop cultural references that went over my head, while I was able to make sense of the few lines she couldn't decipher.


Listen to her breakdown of the lyrics here (Go to 0:56 to skip her intro):

Unfortunately, she also got stumped with the "Toss me high - only puff la" lyrics I mentioned in my previous post.  The mystery remains unsolved!

Mon's 1upcake Cupcakes Tutorial

Featuring Mon, Sharmycakes, and Nakubu

The 1upcake (pronounced one-UP-cake) is a cupcake fashioned to look like a Mario brothers 1up mushroom. Iconic in its vibrant green coloration and its power to grant the player an extra life, the 1up mushroom is perhaps the most coveted of all mushrooms.  Here’s a recipe to make your cupcake, or 1upcake, the most coveted of all baked goods. 

YOU WILL NEED

The X-ed out ingredients are for a future project...

Cupcake mix (read box for required ingredients and baking tools)

White frosting

Green icing

White icing

Black icing

Icing tube nibs

Cupcake tin

Cupcake baking cups

STEPS

1. Prepare the cupcakes according to the package instructions

Before the apron

After the apron

2. Let the cupcakes cool fully
3. Once they are completely cool, apply frosting as smooth and flat as possible

Make sure they're cold or the icing will melt!

4. Place the frosted cupcakes in the freezer for 15 minutes
5. Once the cupcakes are cold, take them out of the freezer and prepare your icing tubes with the appropriate nib



Mon = Awesome

6. Fill in the green section of the 1up first

7. Fill in the white second
8. Outline the black third

Close-up of Mon's 1upcake

9. Continue until you can no longer feel your fingers

The ghetto ones are mine.

10. Eat until you reach 1up status

OM NOM NOM

The End!

Wyclef's Part Memorized!

Last night I had dreams.  Strange ones.  All in the image of my drawings from yesterday.

They looked something like this:

I also woke up to the realization that somehow, overnight, or perhaps because of my experimental illustration memorization technique, I had MEMORIZED WYCLEF'S RAP! GREAT SUCCESS!


Now, I have the immense challenge of figuring out a way to teach my students this technique -- without coming off as a complete weirdo.

Memorizing The Lyrics to "Ready of Not"

I'm going to be rapping "Ready or Not" ON STAGE in about a week. I desperately need to memorize all the lyrics.  This task is particularly difficult for me, since I've often forgotten the lyrics to MY OWN songs and performance poems. 

The trouble is I can't bring a cheat sheet up on stage, and if I forget the lyrics, I'll not only be embarrassed, but I'll get booted off stage!

Having the responsibility of teaching my students effective memorization methods, I'm well aware of the techniques available.  However, none of them seem to work for me.  Therefore, I have devised a new method of memorization, albeit experimental.

The technique is relatively simple.  I will rewrite AND illustrate my understanding of the lyrics.  Luckily, I already know Lauren Hill's part.  However, Wyclef's verses mess me up, so I'm going to start with WYCLEF:

(I know a few lines here by heart:)


If I ruled the world, everyone would have gun
In the ghetto of course, we giddy-upping on the horses,


(and back to the part I don't yet know) 

(And YAY, I know the rest until Praz's verse!)

Stay tuned for Praz's part... to be posted once I effectively memorize these pictures!


******
Update: May 15, 2011


Having listened to the song dozens of times since this post, I internalized Praz's part.  Perhaps it's because his part is relatively uncomplicated, save for one line that I have yet to decipher.  It sounds like "Toss me high - only puff la."  Please let me know what this means, if anyone out there knows it.  Kthxbai.

Living with Parents: Part 2

The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents
Part 2

Pro: Free rent

Con: Having to follow the same rules you had in high school

Living with Parents: Part 1

The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents


Despite what most people might think, living at home when you're nearly thirty certainly has its benefits.  

Sometimes, however, the very same situation that is a "pro" can quickly transform into a "con." 

The following is part 1 of a series I'm calling "The Pros and Cons of Living with your Parents."

Pro: Free Food

Con: Being Forced to Eat Gross Vegetables

*Bitter melon, or bitter gourd, is a vegetable grown in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.


It also grows like weeds in my backyard.  


Bitter melon tastes EXACTLY as it sounds.  


It is bitterness personified.  


Eating it is like bitterness b*tch-slapped you in the face.