How To Make Cheese Characters (Tutorial) The Lorax



Cutout drawing, cheese, knife, toasted nori, whole puncher and tweezers are needed.



Lie your picture onto main cheese color and slowly "chop" around the picture.

Cut mustache and eyebrows off from picture and trace onto white cheese then cut out eyes, nose and mouth with straw. Use tweezers to place them onto the character and then punch out three circles, snip one in half and put them in their respective places.

You can do this with any character - but just remember that you need to toast your own nori over the stove (no matter what it says) and it should be placed on later so that it won't become soggy. Using your cheese as a base is what keeps this all together - but feel free to experiment and enjoy!





Bert and Ernie Bento

Its a little bit of simplified (mouth-less) Bert and Ernie on top of some extra-simple mini pizzas in a bento filled with fresh brocolli, cucumbers, spinach, cubed sweet potatoes and carrots. The pizzas were extra delicious and quick to make as they simply had a slice of tomato, garlic, herbs, red onion and olive oil on top of a whole-wheat cornmeal crust! On top there's a tiger-shaped pudding cup filled with raw vegan chia, mango and avocado pudding.

Bert and Ernie Bento Ingredients:
Soy Cheese
Tomatoes
Carrots
Nori
Brocolli
Cucumbers
Sweet Potato Cubes
Spinach
Red Onion and Tomato Pizza

I hope that you guys enjoy! ^^

Merry Christmas Spongebob Bento

I found some vegan food markers that I have been wanting to try for AGES. Spongebob is depicted as a simple limb-less sponge with a lot of holiday spirit (and a slight creepiness)! And Plankton is made in the same limb-less way because I felt a bit lazy and it would be heard to fit their limbs on the pasta. There's an artichoke and nori tree with fresh baked bread and even fresher vegetables.

Spongebob Bento Ingredient List:

Radishes, Tomatoes, Pea Pods, Artichoke Bottoms, Cilantro and Mushrooms

A serving of Spaghetti With Mixed-Bean Sauce

Nori, Soy Cheese, Vegan Food Markers

1 "Peasant Bread" Rosemary Bun

Carrots and Cilantro for the border

Sriracha for cheeks

This was the hardest bento for me to make - but remember kids, practice makes perfect. And it gets even better when you have pictures to reference the characters from. You could make your own little advent calendar for bentos and share the holiday spirit with your whole family every day of this month! Enjoy this little tidbit! 

Happy Halloween! Happy Invader Zim Bento

It looks like a few of the Irkens (and happy bee) got their holidays mixed up. But I guess a few people go trick-or-treating while dressed as a rabbit. Either way - these non-human life forms are having a good time!

Ingredient List:
Radishes
Green Bell Pepper
Vegan Sausage Patties (Bulgur and Green Lentils)
Sticky Rice
Sriracha
Soy Cheese
Plum
Grapes
Broccoli
Carrots
Mushrooms

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Here Doggy Doggy!

This isn't a bento but it can be easily modified to be placed into a cupcake tin for a bento. It's a vegan egg from this recipe with sriracha and plenty of veggies on the bottom. The trick is to fill about 3/4 of the holder with vegetables and just to allow enough brown rice to cover a bit of the bottom of the "egg". I used the cheap (clean) egg used for pantyhose to make this so that I didn't have to cut anything in half. Then I added some sticky rice mixed with soy sauce around the edge to make it softer and more of a mound shape. Then I added some sliced spinach and spring onion. It looks kind of like something from the Yum-Yum Bento Box by Crystal Watanabe and Maki Ogawa doesn't it?
Obviously not as cute - but it's a first and unique try.
Dog Bento Ingredients:
Soy Sauce
Vegan Egg + Yolk
Nori
Sriracha
Spinach
Spring Onion
Brown Rice
Sticky Rice
Your choice of vegetables

Construct as you like and enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

How To Make A (Vegan) Egg Sheet


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Four tofu sheets and one Lightlife Smartdog 

I mentioned this in my Adventure Time Sushi post but I decided to make a whole tutorial on it. Here is what you will need -

Tofu Sheet Recipe:
1/4-1/2 Block of Tofu (soft - not silken works best)
1/2-1 tbl Cornstarch
1/2-1 tbl Liquid Food Dye (I used chlorophyll for this example)
1/4 tsp Iodized Salt
A few teaspoons of Flavor-less Oil (to coat the bottom but not to make it oily)

Tools List:
1 Rubber Spatula (for lifting the sheet)
1 Rubber Spatula (used for mixing)
1 Food Processor
1 Medium-sized Pan (that heats well)
1 Lid for the pan (preferably clear)

Slurry for the Pig Face

Step 1. Mix your liquid food dye with the cornstarch. Put the liquid in a ramekin or cup first and then add your cornstarch. Stir it into a slurry and set aside.






Step 2. Break up your tofu but don't squeeze it out. Simply place it in a food processor and sprinkle with a bit of salt. Pour your slurry over it but just remember that the end result will be a much lighter color than what you started with. Get as much of the liquid onto the tofu and then puree it. There might be some color around the rim that hasn't been fully incorporated so you will need a small rubber spatula to mix it thoroughly. It should look like this -

Step 3. Oil your pan lightly and set it on the eye but don't light the fire yet. Spread your tofu around as smoothly as possible and if you have a large and round Wilton cutter then you can try to use it as your mold and guide. Just try to spread it as thinly and evenly as possible without having any holes. Place the lid on top of the pan and then set the heating level on low. Wait until it starts to steam and sputter a bit and then you can remove the top. Let that cook for a few minutes until the top has firmed completely. It won't be completely round, but if you want it to be you can take a smaller plastic top (as in from a crock pot) and place it in the middle while it is still steaming. Once the edges firm up you can remove it carefully and then cut it more easily from the ridges. If you're making the crown like I did, then you have to use water in place of the dye and add a bit of turmeric. Carefully scrape along the ridges with the bigger spatula, being careful with the center. Place it onto a plate and repeat the process until you have as many different egg sheet colors as you want.

Spreading the paste

Before cooking

Finished sheet

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Lunch With Totoro

I planned on making a bigger bento but forgot to buy a few things so I just stuck to some of the key characters and parts from "My Neighbor Totoro". Since I normally see Totoro made with black sesame seeds I decided instead to use cocoa powder and soy sauce (it tastes like coffee) to create a rather tasty Totoro. Next it was a vegan Chu Totoro egg. What? A vegan egg that isn't tofu? Yes, ladies and gentlemen - it's true. But first we have to get through the rest of the bowl. I made a catbus head out of couscous and store-bought hummus that was absolutely delicious, wrapped it up in plastic and stashed it in the fridge to keep it fresh. Next I added a nice English cucumber that you normally see in oi sun or Japanese pickles. I added radishes to symbolize the seeds and carrots for stability and a s a filler. As another filler and a double-agent I also used cauliflower for clouds. Nori and cheese made up the rest of the Totoros and then you're done.

I peered through two recipes for the vegan egg but ended up with my own combination. Because I didn't have soy creamer like most of the recipes required I ended up with an off-white egg instead. Still cute though, right?

Shin's Vegan Egg Recipe:

1 tbl Agar Agar

1/2 cup Soymilk

2 tbl All-Purpose Flour

2 tbl Cold Water

A pinch of Salt

Let the agar agar mix with the water for about 5-10 minutes and start to boil your soymilk with the flour, once that is done you can add the agar mixture and cook it for about 2-3 minutes. Whisk it together a few times and strain it into your choice of mold. I didn't have any actual egg molds that were shaped like eggs so I decided to use some of those 30 cent "eggs" used to hold pantyhose. After snapping on the tops and making sure that they didn't move, I stashed them in the fridge for about 2-3 hours and made my own Chu Totoro as per AnnaTheRed's instructions here, subbing soy cheese for the kamaboko and the whole egg for the agar mixture.



Other Recipes Links:
First Egg Recipe (that I found)
Second Egg Recipe (that I found)

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Sushi Time

Okay, I've been going a little crazy with tofu lately - I know. But there are so many things that you can do with it especially with the fatfree vegan recipe that I just used in my breakfast bento. I found that when you start the tofu omelette off in a cold pan and keep the lid on until the top solidifies - it's very similar to egg sheets used for kyaraben. They didn't turn out as smooth as normal egg sheets but I think that was because I didn't use silken tofu.

Finn's Face:
1/2 block of Tofu (of your choice)
1/2 tbl Tahini
1 tbl Cornstarch
1 tbl Beet Juice
1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Iodized Salt

Jake's Face:
1/2 block of Tofu (of your choice)
1 tbl Cornstarch
1 tbl Water
1/4 cup of Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp Turmeric (I didn't have this)
1/2 tsp Iodized Salt

For Jake's face I had actually only used a fourth of a package of tofu, so if you follow the recipe exactly you may need to split it up into two batches. After you oil your medium-sized non-stick pan, spread in your tofu mixture and make it as round as possible and as smooth and even on top as possible. Turn on the heat and quickly put on a (hopefully clear) lid on top. Check it every so often and once the top solidifies, turn off the heat and remove the lid and use a rubber spatula to carefully scrape around the sides. Turn it upside down on a plate until it cools then pat it down once corrected.

Cut out and place on top of sushi rice and decorate with nori, soy cheese, carrots and sriracha as you like.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

A Day In The Garden Kyaraben

This was a simple bento full of fresh fruit that I ate for breakfast but it's perfect at any time! I used more lightlife sausage in this one and combined it with some cracked red pepper and agave nectar. I covered the cheeks with some sriracha and cut out some nori for the facial features. To top it off I made a sweet potato pancake hat and some chocolate potato hair. Tasty, right?

Pancake Recipe:
"It's Pancake Time" recipe + Mashed Sweet Potato (for the hat)
Pancake Recipe + Cocoa Powder


Prepare them the same way but make sure that they're like regular pancakes, flatten them a bit more if you can, cut in half and make one with an edge for the brim of the hat. Attach them to some a sausage ball of your choice (that had been coated with panko) with some raw soba or rice noodles. Cut out the nori and cheese and dot on the sauce.

Next, make your omelette (I used beet juice instead of soymilk) per the directions of the fatfree vegan recipe (not mine) located here.

Line the bottom of the box with some spinach and put in your favorite fruits and vegetables. If you like, you can attach a small strawberry or a slice of a banana to the pancake hat to make a cute little flower.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Susuwatari Meatballs

Sorry that I didn't post this yesterday but happy late 4th of July for those who celebrate it! Last night's dish was another straight from Hayao Miyazaki's cookbook (okay, I made that up). Ever see spaghetti that had dark marks on it? Yeah, that's the soot sprites. I told them to try to clean up their mess this time though since it was a holiday and all.

(Ingredients)

• Lightlife Gimme Lean Sausage Style
• Pepper, Cracked Red Pepper, Garlic Powder, Rosemary, Oregano and Basil to taste
• Organic Red and Orange Peppers
• Olive Oil (to cook the meatballs)
• Soy Cheese
• Nori
• Spaghetti  + Sauce

(Directions)

• Fold the spices into about half of the package of veggie sausage
• Shape into balls. If it gets sticky you can use some water on your hands to prevent it.
• Fry them in olive oil to your liking and drain them on a paper towel while you cut out your cheese eyes, nori, and peppers in the shape of stars. .
• Cook your spaghetti and sauce.
• Arrange them as you like once finished.
• Enjoy!

A Bento For Mom

This is just one of the bentos that I made for my mom, cute isn't it? I'm so glad that I'm getting better and just wanted to show off my skills (and my love). Why not do the same or show your love with something a little different like Bento4Japan?

Ingredient List:

Brocolli

Radish

Spinach

Tofu + Beet Juice (for words)

Sticky Rice

Soy Cheese + Soy Sauce

Nori

Sriracha

Kale, Avocado and Sweet Pepper Salad

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3

Vegan Chicken Parmesan

This was absolutely delicious and full of flavor - the best part is that it's quick to prepare and can be finished within an hour! Most of the items are premade as I didn't have time to do it myself, but it would probably be even tastier if everything was homemade.

(Chicken Seitan Ingredients)

• 1 Package of Vital Wheat Gluten
• 1 tbl Original Mrs. Dash
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder, Rosemary and Oregano
• 1/2 can of Sodium-Free Swanson Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 tsp of Iodized Salt
• 3 tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil (per piece)

(Additional Ingredients)

• Vegan Cheese
• Marinara Sauce
• Oregano
• Nutritional yeast

(Directions)

• Combine the dry ingredients and carefully add the broth until it forms a loose but well-formed piece of seitan.
• Split it up into different pieces and boil them in the rest of the vegetable broth, more Mrs. Dash and a bit of water. Let them cook for about thirty minutes, drain them and then press them dry.
• Cook each piece in some extra virgin olive oil until the side has cooked and crisped to your liking.
• Place in a pan, slather it in your marinara sauce, and place on a small slice of vegan cheese.
• Place in the toaster oven(or regular oven) until sauce is heated and cheese has melted. Sprinkle the pieces with oregano and then some nutritional yeast.
• Enjoy!