My mother sent me photos of a gorgeous Mother's Day bento my stepfather got for her (and for himself too of course!) yesterday. It's from Hikagejaya, a restaurant in Hayama, a town near Kamakura in Kanagawa prefecture (where Yokohama, where my mom lives, is too). I've written about Hikagejaya previously; it's one of my favorite restaurants in Japan, and their bentos are just wonderful.

This is a very easy to make tamagoyaki (Japanese style omelette) that is chock full of spinach. Even spinach doubters may like this, since the egg, onion and garlic neutralize the iron-rich quality which some people have problems with. It is basically a whole load of spinach that is held together with egg. It does not use the rolling/folding technique used for plain tamagoyaki or the one-egg version, so you may find it a lot easier to make.

This is a very versatile vegetable-only or vegetable and chicken mix that can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or for a month in the freezer. As long as you use a vegetarian/vegan protein it will be vegan/vegetarian, but if you are an omnivore you can use chicken. Let me give you the recipe first, and then show you a couple of ways to use it.

A classic Japanese style bento using winter vegetables (since it's still pretty cold here) made by my mom from bento stash ingredients.

Learn how to make sushi rice, plus tips for sushi as bento.

Here's a super-easy tsukemono or Japanese style pickle that only takes about 10 minutes to prep. It makes a great bento vegetable or salad substitute.

Well hello there JustBento readers. Here's a recipe for you!

The Guy Does Bento is back, with a bento featuring his favorite way of eating chicken.