Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Calzone Flowers Lunchbot Bento

Calzone Flowers Bento by sherimiya ♥
Calzone Flowers Bento, a photo by sherimiya ♥ on Flickr.
Welcome to the first day of the Lunar New Year! The kids happened to have yesterday off, so we spent the long weekend celebrating with family. And today's bento has meat! It's a meaty calzone I made with whole wheat dough, containing pepperoni, ham, mushrooms, arugula, tomatoes and mozzarella. I had to slice it so that it would fit in the bento box, and decorated with Okinawan sweet potato flowers with peapod leaves. I rounded out the meal with a giant strawberry, some sliced kiwi, grape tomatoes, grapes, carrots, and sweet yellow pepper rings. You can see that after the dragon tour de force, I am now back to my usual "plain" quickie bento arrangements, which take much less time but which can still look fresh and appetizing due to the addition of colorful, seasonal fruit and veggies. I am a big proponent of local, seasonal ingredients for bento; the fresher it is, the less preparation (and even cooking) you have to do. And who doesn't love that?

16 comments:

  1. That is true, the healthier it is - the cleaner it is for both your body and your dishes! ^^ I've been obsessed with calzones and egg rolls lately as well as dragons. Hope you have a great year, Sherimiya! ^^

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  2. Thanks AikoVenus!
    Healthy and clean living. It's what I strive for in myself and my family. Hard at times, but a worthy effort. I'm really digging the calzone thing too... wishing a great year to you and your family~ ^_^

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  3. Happy New Year!! love every details and colors in this bento. I wish we have Okinawan potato here, so far no luck :( but I saw some purple sweet potato and if you don't mind sharing how long do you boil it (or steam it)? Thanks Sheri ^__^

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  4. Hi Lina!
    Purple sweet potato is the same thing, I think. It's white skinned with purple flesh? I steam it, about 20 minutes or until you can cut it through easily but not mushy. It depends on how big (thick) the potato is. Bigger ones take longer, so I usually pick the slenderest ones. Happy New Year!

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  5. Beautiful!! :) Your children are very lucky.
    What are the purple flowers? <3

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  6. Thanks Cat; those flowers are cut from steamed Okinawan sweet potato.

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  7. Love the dragon!!! Happy CNY Sheri!

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  8. It looks wonderful. The fancy presentation is cute and looks great, but in the end, it's the ingredients that matter. And these fruits and veggies look downright scrumptious. Love the purple sweet potatoes.

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  9. cute bento

    Aarthi
    http://yummytummy-aarthi.blogspot.com/

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  10. Happy New Year Sherri!! Oh these bright happy colors, you truely serve a rainbow in every bento and it makes me smile!

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  11. Those pea pod leaves are so clever! I aim for minimal prep and lots of color, too. It seems to give me a clearer head during the day. This is much more color than I typically manage, though--you've set the bar very high!

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  12. Completely gorgeous and celebratory...a "yipeeee" kind of bento!

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  13. So jealous about your seasonal and local fruit and veggies ^_^! My girls would be eating winter carrots and swedes everyday :D.
    Beautiful bento with yummy calzone! I really enjoy the colors and the sweet flowers ;)

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  14. Thanks so much Susan, Ceinwyn, Aarthi, berrygirl, The Student, Jenn and karaimame.
    You are so encouraging and sweet to take the time to write such kind comments. Each one puts a smile on my face and makes my day. I'm so fortunate to have such supportive readers! Thank you!

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  15. Such a wonderful looking bento, as always! Looking at your colorful bentos makes me smile and I adore the pea pod leaves they are so cute :)

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