When the kid throws a curveball

"I want something different."

Miss Mads uttered these words during our daily rush - that flurry of activity that comes as she finds her outerwear paraphernalia for school and I work to assemble a winning lunch in 3 minutes or less. I had a feeling I knew what she was talking about, but I hoped I was wrong. Most of the morning school drop-offs of late had been inching closer and closer to the "have your kid here by this time, we totes mean it" threshold, and I was really hoping to buck the trend today.

So, I asked for clarification from her, my fingers mentally crossed.

"I mean I want something different!"

Ok... How so? Something different to wear? To drive to school in? Something different in terms of weather pattern? In the color of the walls?

I listed off anything I could think of, finally ending with what I knew and feared to be the answer. Something different for lunch?

"Yes!!"

Crud.

And, after the line of questioning, I was now down to 2 minutes.

Fortunately, I had picked up a package of hard boiled eggs at the store yesterday. Hmm. It sounds schmaltzy, but this curveball was turning into an opportunity. An opportunity to pull out a little bento tool I hadn't used in awhile.

It worked! The combination of hard boiled eggs and cashews, along with some pea puffs and a strawberry, was different enough to pass muster with Miss Mads. Mission Success!

Experimentation with a Sandwich Cutter

A month ago I ordered this sandwich cutter from J-list (my husband's Christmas gift came from there, and since I was already paying for shipping...), which I had been wanting to make adorable little sealed sandwiches. Fortunately, the instructions that came with it had decent pictures, which is good, because I'm about 5 years removed from the Japanese class that didn't get to a quarter of the kanji in use in the instructions.



To start, I pulled the leftover tuna mixture from here and grabbed two slices of bread. These are two slices of the Sara Lee 45 calorie bread, the whole wheat variety.



Tuna piled in the mold...



Top slice on and sandwich cutter flipped over.



Pressing down on the cutter.



Opposite side of the bread after cutting. I ended up pushing from the other side to try and help it along.



It looks good from this angle...



But not so much from this one. Hmm.

I did notice that the best seal was on the long side of the triangle, so that may mean that the crusts weren't allowing the shorter edges to get a good "squish". Next time, I think I'll try either cutting the crusts off the bread first, and possibly moving the cutter further into the center of the bread. That may help me get a good seal all along.

How to - (and how not to) Salmon Bento

Last night I was feeling pretty motivated, and did a big bento session, trying to do more things at the same time than was a good idea.



These are my new favorite bento staple. Often times my local grocery store will run individual fish fillets for 11 for $10, and I usually stock up. These are just the right size for lunch, full of protein, and low in fat! Cooking is pretty fast, too, just a few minutes in the microwave, but they can be bland if you don't give them some pre-cooking TLC.



Warning: The handling of raw fish may cause you to need to fend off a cat.



First I unwrapped the fillet, stuck it on a plate, and added some lemon juice.



Next, a squirt of wasabi paste, which I rubbed in to the fish.



Last of all, some low-sodium soy sauce, which I also rubbed in.



Then, I covered it in plastic wrap and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. This would later turn out to be a bad move. I would not advise the use of plastic wrap for this!



Since my fillet was wider than thick, I grabbed a more shallow box to use to put everything together. This is the point where I heard a suspicious sizzle from the microwave.



My fish! You can't see it as well as I hoped, but some of the escaping marinade from the fish started to boil, causing the plastic to melt (but not on the fish, thank goodness). I tossed the abused plastic wrap, and since there was still a good 50 seconds left on the cooking time, I searched around for something else to cover it.



Aha! Overturned bowl will stand in for a lid!



While the fish was finishing cooking (and then cooling in the fridge), I lined the box with a spring mix.



As well as some cilantro. I love cilantro, and have found that if I sprinkle it on a salad, I don't need a dressing. Your mileage may vary on this taste point, but I find it an easy way to save on fat and calories.



The now cooked and cooled salmon fillet! I put it in the fridge to chill so that it wouldn't wilt the lettuce.



The salmon went in the box, but the lunch was still wanting for some decoration. It looks a bit plain as-is.



A few carrot slices and a decorative pick helped.

The good news - the salmon was nice and moist the next day when I ate it. However, now that I look at the pictures, I could have fit more lettuce in the box. Ah well. It was still an excellent lunch!

Sewing: First Project

Today I finally got to use one of the awesome gifts I got for Christmas - a sewing machine! I remember learning to sew as a child, but most of my energy was focused on making barbie clothes. My actual garment experience is limited to when I made a shirt for a girl scout badge in 5th grade and an abandoned attempt at sewing a dress during the summer before 11th grade. In short, I hadn't put petal to the metal (sewing-wise, that is) for about 12 years.

I had been batting around the idea of relearning for awhile, but thanks to a recent obsession with Project Runway (next season starts on THURSDAY!!!), I was really feeling the drive. The problem is that I tend to pick up something, go nuts with it for a while, and then putter out. This is actually part of the reason for the blog - it helps keep me honest and accountable (or else the internet will come and get me. Seriously.)

This afternoon granted me enough time to pull out the supplies needed, since our apartment lacks enough space for me to dedicate a good work corner without a major re-org session (and since we'll be moving in 4-6 months, I'm not crazy about the idea), and work. The project comes from a book that I picked up right after Christmas - One Yard Wonders - under the guess that a smaller project would be easier.



The first bit of sewing. I'm editing out the measuring and cutting process, since it really isn't that interesting. I was so excited about that first square I sewed that I promptly ran to show it to my husband, DrCo.



This was the point where I began to suspect that a quick project didn't necessarily equate with an easy project. I'm attempting to turn two identical squares of fabric into something with a three-dimensional shape.



I made it through, though. Machine sewing done!



Turned right side out.



And stuffed and finished!



Taadaa! Wrist Pin Cusion! The irony in making this was the number of times that I realized just how handy a wrist pin cushion would be when trying to wrangle the fabric to go where it should. Good thing I decided to do this one first.

Now that I have a bit of confidence in sewing, I'm trying to decide what to work on next. Hancock Fabrics was having a sale on patterns this weekend, so I picked up a few at greatly reduced prices, but I'm not sure if I'll tackle one of those or one of the other projects in the book I have. It came with patterns, too!