Bento Lunch Series - February 2008

I love packing an attractive and well-rounded "bento box" lunch. I have a collection of a great many different style Japanese Lunch Boxes, and belong to a host of photo sharing groups on Flickr, which gives one great inspiration for packing a portable meal.

Very often, my packed Bento Lunch Jars are for breakfast and lunch, together. The model you see here is a "Mr. Bento" jar which contains four seperate containers which are generally leak proof, and slip into an outer jar which retains heat, or cool, exceptionally well. From time to time, I'll post pics of my Bento Lunches, which are always, ALWAYS more interesting than what I can buy at the cafe in my office building.

Pineapple, Pom Seeds, Tangerine and Lime Salad
Tomato Basil Soup
Pretzel Crackers and Soft Cheddar Cheese Spread
Greek Yogurt with Key Lime Curd

I am a manufacturer's dream. If I see "new" on a shelf, I gravitate right toward it. I saw these crackers, new, and got a box. Now I wish I'd bought them all. After Ak-Maks for health and "a plain canvas" these may be my favorite cracker ever. They are like a soft Ritz cracker, buttery, but one side is a thin pretzel skin. Not like the hard pretzel skins you can buy (I adore pretzels for some reason, not the thin skin crackers). They are called Pretzel Flips. One side cracker, one side pretzel. It's like the thinnest coating, like the thin crackly coating you get on a freshly baked brownie. I love them.