The First Bento

While sorting my photo folder today for a design project, I came across the above shot from several years ago: my very first attempt at bento making. How nostalgic!

To anyone who is learning how to cook like myself, I would highly recommend taking photos of what you make as frequently as possible. Not only is it an effective way for one to stay motivated on his or her cooking/diet schedule (think about lazy weekends after a rough week of work), visual records are always helpful when it comes to providing a better understanding of how much one is learning day by day.

What would your food photo look like a year from now?

The World of Bento

Bento is a Japanese term for "packed meal in a box". As part of the ongoing tradition, many children in Japan grow up with the taste of their family through bento (i.e. in many schools it is expected that students would bring their own lunch), and a good number of them would become bento makers for their own family in the future. Oh, did I mention that making bento is also a great way to diet?

Above are photos of the kind of bento I bring to school these days. Watch out for future bento collection tags at this blog for more showcases and related recipes!