I'm putting this here rather than in the general recipes section because I think it kind of applies to bento cooking in terms of increasing food safety, and so I'm hoping there might be lots of bento-intended recipes that will work quite well. :)

Hey everyone! Hope your holidays were awesome! Santa got me what I wanted so I'm pleased haha! Though it was hectic this christmas, 12 of us all staying in my tiny house and 2 young kids. Wow. Anyway, my Mum does pickles every year for gifts, lime pickle, picalilli, beetroot etc. This year I got a couple of jars!! Both quite large, one is pickled garlic (I use garlic a lot in cooking so very useful!) and some pickled ginger slices. Now these babies are HOT, helped clear my sinuses of my cold xD But sooooo very tasty!

So, it looks like spring is finally here for real, and I am thankful as I was starting to get fed up with winter vegetables :P I've been experimenting with making tsukemono, and I'd like to try making misozuke, however the info and direction I have found online are contrasting, especially about the pickling time, from overnight (for example here http://www.openkitchen.net/cook/carrot/carrot-e.html ) to two weeks, up to three months (like here http://www.theblackmoon.com/Jfood/ftsuke.html#miso) °_°

Hi there! I'm a little overwhelmed as to where to start with the vegetable portions of my bento boxes. Most boxes I see have raw, cut veggies that are cute - but I can't eat them.

Hi everyone. I'm not great at eating my vegetables and always had a problem with them as a child, but i would like to fill my bentos with more that just meat and carbs! Does anyone have any recipes i can try with veg that i might actually enjoy? I tried the Maple red peppers but i wasnt so sure and i'm contemplating the orange juice carrots. So if anyone has any other suggestions i'm up for it! :D