New School Year

It's back to school, so I'm back to autopilot.  I wake up everyday at 6AM to make our breakfast and bento for Mini Shabu.  I most often start from scratch (like scratching my head for ideas - lol), especially when there's no left-overs from previous meal that falls into the criteria, which as we know are:
1) easy to eat - nutrition break is only 20min, *rolling my eyes*
2) will not spoil (e.g. cheese, mayo) - no fridge in school
3) will still taste good at room temp - no microwave
4) peanut-free - dope! the things you can do with peanut butter!
5) not messy to eat - minimal use of spoon/fork for dear Mini Shabu

Here's what I have kicked-off with so far:

Ube (taro) sliced bun, fish tofu squares, beans w/enoki mushroom, fruit cup (w/o the juice)

Mashed potatoes, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, quail eggs

cheese sandwich, hotdog, corn from the cob, peach fruit

I'm not a big-fan of hotdogs or anything high in sodium-nitrate, but I've been buying it lately as they're so easy and pretty on the bento.

Loving Sprinkles

My favourite Tim Horton donuts gotta be the honey cruller.  It is always half of my dozen. Right away.  Although the heavily-sprinkled Vanilla Dip is not far behind.  I like how there's texture and crunch in every bite.  For obvious reasons, we don't buy Tims often.  I would only for my overseas guests - like Welcome-to-Canada treats. 

So I'd do my version of the sprinkles for our breakfast, using whole wheat bread, whipped peanut butter, honey and sprinkles. My boys love it.

Water for Elephants

We watched Water for Elephants (Reese Witherspoon & Robert Pattinson) this weekend from the stick. Nice. Not a dull scene.

This is Sashimi's recap of the movie.

Kentucky Fried Chicken

 The best place we'd eat our KFC is at home, with gravy...

and rice! 

Mr. Hotpot needs a "Do not Disturb" sign while having his KFC.

What a Jerk!

I don’t say NO to Jerk Chicken. I could easily trash my baon (own lunch) if it’s on the Menu.  My Jamaican colleagues thought they were not authentic.  But, hey, I’m no authentic myself.  I can’t even make it half as good.  Besides, if it’s only 5-floors down from me, and only $4.99, then it makes this second to none... at least for now.

Our menu rotates, but  occasionally new dishes are introduced.  But there’s already a variety you can make out of Pasta Bar Tuesdays and Stir-Fry Thursdays, which is another favourite.

I always look forward to customizing from the selection of vegetables (bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, bokchoy, beansprout, zuccini), meat (tofu, shrimp, chicken or beef), sauces (Teriyaki, Orange Ginger, Red Curry, Peanut Thai, Szechuan or Sweet Chili) and carbs (rice or Asian noodles). It is prepared fresh and cooked while you wait.  Nevermind that the cooking time takes a big chunk off my lunch break, when the server fills my bowl to the brim - sometimes heaping - I’m a happy camper!

Dilettante Fruit Medley

Dried strawberries, apricots, cherries, pineapple, mangoes & blueberries in premium white/milk/dark chocolate

They're sooo good.  Costco used to have them. But not anymore =[  Anybody seen this elsewhere?

Bento Week Off

I’m taking a breather from bento-making on this last week of summer before another schoolyear begins.  Mr. & Mrs. Hotpot are taking this last week off to spend time with Mini Shabu. Weeee! Here are some of last weeks'.

 Spam croissant, Ritz cheese cracker, grape tomatoes, peach slices

 Croissants, fish balls, mushrooms, peach slices

 Croissants, crabstick, grape tomatoes, peaches, veggie crisp

  Cheese croissant, blue berries, carrot sticks, OTAP, grapes

 Raspberry fruit bites, corn & ham buns, grape tomatoes, mixed veggies

 Roasted potatoes, chilli-lime shrimp, peach slices, cheese/ube pandesal

  California maki sushi, corn puff, blueberries

  PB&J sandwich, edamame, hard-boiled egg, blueberries


Smiley chicken nuggets, cheese & ube pandesal, quail eggs, corn puffs, fruit cup

Mini Shabu's got 2 loose teeth during this time so his croissants are cut to pieces for easy chomping =]

Summer Camp Bento

Mini Shabu goes to Summer Camp for 8 weeks, so there is no rest from packing lunches/snacks. If you haven't notice I am having a rotation of items, frequent items, and lots of switching around. Until I whack my brain for more ideas to this very thought- provoking task, here's some more from July.

Mashed potatoes, cheese croissants, banana chocolate cake and marshmallows

Macaron-shaped ham sandwich, mandarin orange jello, blueberries, carrot muffin and carrots

On lazy mornings, I just stuff 2 buttered Philippine buns (tinapay), with orange and carrots

Bread w/jam, kekiam, Smiley potatoes, gummies and kiwi

For field trips, I pack 2 frozen juices and fruit cup to stay cold until consumption, while they also serve as ice packs. I also go easy on field trips, packing some "unhealthy" item that I won't normally let him have.

Chyrsanthemum Tea

Chrysanthemum tea is good at releasing the qi from the body, especially when I am having some acne outbreak, dry eyes, itchy throat and what nots.  My brother has this handy when he eats potato chips =]

I would love to get this RIKLIG teapot from IKEA $9.99.  It can hold 1.5 liters of tea, which you can serve hot or cold.

Before I get ya, I am using the French Press for now.

Blue Mountain's Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster

Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster at a Glance:

• Guests ride to the top of the Glades area and descend to the bottom of Grand Central Lodge
• Elevated cart track 1-6 metres off the ground
• Riders can sit one or two people per cart and control their own speed
• Carts slide over bumps, twist through corkscrews and zigzag through the trees of the glades
• Mountain Coaster can run in most weather conditions — even in winter! 

 http://www.bluemountain.ca/ridge_runner.htm

The best attraction of Blue Mountain by far.  It was launched on March 2011. 

Adult

$15 for 1 ride

$24 for 2 rides

$40 for 4 rides

One ride is good enough as this will allow you to truly enjoy and rewind the thrilling experience like no other.