Bento Miffy Sandwich Nijntje Boterham

Today's bento features Nijntje, also known as Miffy internationally, which is one of my favourite characters when I was growing up. When I was young, I remember my mom reading the books to me. Sometimes we would go to the library and I would pick out the books by the basket, literally begging her to bring all of them home. hahaha!
Many people might not know, but this little rabbit has Dutch origins and goes by her Dutch name Nijntje. Her creator Dick Bruna created this character in 1955 after telling his grandson stories about a little rabbit they had seen in the woods in Utrecht. Nijntje (pronounced roughly as "NAI-n-je" in the English way) was the typical child's pronunciation for Konijntje which means little rabbit in Dutch.

Although Nijntje is drawn with barely a few lines, it is instantly recognisable as a rabbit. Soon the character Nijntje becomes an instant hit internationally. Dick design his Nijntje books with minimal dialogues (some even without dialogues) because he thinks that the illustrations should speak for themselves and also because the books were also meant for children as learner books. Nijntje's books soon got translated into many languages and exported into many countries in the world, including Japan. But there was a big problem because not many people can pronounce Nijntje's dutch name. Soon, Nijntje got another name that is easier to pronounce, MIFFY. This is why all translations of Nijntje referred to her as Miffy, or at least with a phonetic translation that sounds like Miffy.

Bento Miffy Sandwich Nijntje Boterham

Many think that Miffy is Japanese, because Sanrio's Hello Kitty and friends are drawn using a similar line style. In addition, the Miffy brand is popular in Japan and there is a lot of Japanese-made Miffy merchandise. To complicate things a little more, Hello Kitty found a friend called Cathy in 1976. Just like Miffy, Cathy is also a rabbit who doesn't talk much and is drawned in a similar fashion. Of course Dick Bruna wasn't very happy about it and there was a long love/hate relationship between the company that owns Miffy, namely Mercis BV and Sanrio. On November 2, 2010, a Dutch court ruled against Sanrio and ordered the company to stop marketing Cathy products in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Sanrio raised an appeal soon after.

Following the 2011 March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Sanrio and Mercis BV settled the lawsuit out of court under the condition that Sanrio must stop worldwide production of merchandise that feature Cathy. Instead of continuing the court battle like most big companies are likely to do, the two companies will donate the legal fees to help the earthquake victims, which I thought was rather sweet of both of them.

Ok, I think this post is getting rather long. Sorry I got carried away, hahaha, because I really love Nijntje / Miffy a lot and she reminds me a lot of my childhood. I hope you like this Miffy Sandwich Bento or should I say Nijntje Boterham Bento as much as I do :)

Bento Babybel Bird

Yesterday Mr Bear and I had an oven dish. It consisted of potatoes, mushroom, ham and lots of cheese. There was a handful left over and there was also 1 piece of mini babybel sitting in the fridge, so I decided to use them to make this happy Babybel Bird bento.

Bento Babybel Bird in Ojue lunchbox

Close up of Bento Babybel Happy Bird

I used the deepest compartment of the Ojue lunchbox here because I am intending to use this on its own.

First, I lined the lunchbox with a large piece of lettuce. Next I put in the left over potato dish, taking care to push all of them to one side, so that the food surface is almost in line with the top edge of the bento.

Then I stuff julienne strips of lettuce into the rest of the lunchbox and I top it up with the piece of mini babybel cheese.

Sidenote: the beak I used here is from the wax covering the babybel. If the bento is intended for kids, I would replace it with a piece of carrot or surimi, just to be safe.

Bento Healthy Grapefruit Bunnies Salad

After binge-eating with Mr Bear last night, I woke up feeling like I had a food hangover. So I decided to go super healthy with this salad bento : Grapefruit Bunny Bento with lettuce. Detox!

First I put a few layers of lettuce and then the grapefruit. Not only does the lettuce looks pretty with the grapefruit, I've discovered by chance that the lettuce have an extra function. The lettuce layers "lift" the juicy bits of the grapefruit and I got to enjoy the texture of the grapefruit without them swimming in the juice. So I get to eat the grapefruit, then the lettuce and finally slurp up all the remaining juice that had collected at the bottom. What a nice discovery!

Healthy Meat-free bento featuring Grapefruit Bunnies

Close up of bento Grapefruit Bunnies

I used 2 large pieces of lettuce and 1 whole grapefruit. Just like the honeydew bunnies, I used the seed as eyes for the Grapefruit Bunnies. The bento box I used here is a 200ml air tight box I bought from Hema. Hope you like this healthy meat-free bento salad : Bento Grapefruit Bunnies :D

Cute miniature Curry Pot from Swiedebie

Some of you might have remembered the big buzz on Singapore's Cook-a-pot-of-Curry Day in August. Coincidentally at the Facebook event page I stumbled upon an independent designer Swee from Swiedebie who designed and handmade this super cute miniature Curry Pot. Its really tiny and everything was so carefully hand stitched. This Curry Pot measures about 3.5cm across and comes with a removable lid. Can you imagine how tiny those little pieces of ingredients in the curry are?

Miniature Curry Pot from Swiedebie

Super cute right? I just had to order it right away the moment I saw Swee's pictures! To tell the truth, this picture of mine (which I took immediately when I received it ) doesn't do it justice - It looked waaaaay better in real :D Check out her website and much better pictures here

Based in the Netherlands, Swiedebie is a regular participant in craft fairs all over the country, from Amsterdam to Utrecht and much more. For international customers, Swiedebie can also be found in Etsy. Everything in the shop is so sweet and cute, right up to the packaging and the tiniest details. Here is how my packaged arrived:

Handmade Packaging from Swiedebie

Swiedebie - handmade cuteness

Handmade cuteness! How true is it! Right up to the smallest detail!

SweeTreats a sweet jewelry collection by Swiedebie

Here's where you can find Swiedebie: http://swiedebie.blogspot.com/ . More projects can also be found at http://www.etsy.com/shop/swiedebie. Do check for updates because collections from her etsy shop changes very regularly. Happy Shopping!

Bento Sandwich Naked Baby Salami Star

Its been a long time since I made bentos that doesn't require any cooking. Today I have decided to wake up at 0700hr to make what I call a Cook-Free bento for Mr Bear.

Bento Sandwich Salami Star and Naked Cheese Baby

Close up : Bento Naked Cheese Baby and Salami Star

This is what I did while Mr Bear was getting ready to work:

- Cut of the crust of bread.
- Spread butter on 1 side of bread and lay the cheese and salami.
- Cut the bread neatly into half and squeeze them into the bento box.
- Add the salami star and cheese baby which I had prepared last night.
- Fill up the rest of the bentos with fresh strawberries.
- @ 0715hr BENTO FINISHED!

For this Naked Baby Sandwich Bento, I had used a black bento box from Daiso. I guess its meant for  men because of some funny words printed on the lid. It says, "THE KING OF KINGS the king wore a crown. he is the king of kings" :D :D :D I bought both sizes and this is the larger one.

For the cheese, I chose to use sliced young Dutch Gouda cheese ( Goudse kaas - Jong belegen) instead of the usual cheddar cheese because Mr Bear doesn't like cheddar and also because it doesn't go all floppy so soon. For the nori bits, I used a nori punch for the mouth and the leaf piece. The leaf shaped nori punch I had does not have the jagged edges, so I add them in myself. This is how I made this Naked Baby Salami Star Sandwich Bento. Hope you like it!