Ski Trip Bento

I caught on a few weeks ago that Mountain Man has been silently wishing I would make him a bento for lunch. Since we both leave for work very early and I'm not enough of a morning person to make a second lunch, drive it the mile over to his house AND make it to work on time, I've been trying to come up with a clever alternative. My perfect opportunity was our ski trip last weekend.

The ski trip bento had to be 1) substantial and energy packed 2) sit light on your stomach and 3) be sufficiently impressive to satisfy the honor of being his first. I would have loved to have included some broccoli florets to round out my colors, but unfortunately, Mountain Man doesn't care for that particular green and it was all I had in the fridge. Shame. Therefore, these were the result. The first bento is the main meal while the second was meant for a snack on our way off the slopes at the end of the day.

Bento #1

• Top Tier
• Onigiri with simple canned tuna/salt/pepper filling and a sassy little skiing dude
• Ham rolls - spread with cream cheese and basil
• Kumquats
• Bottom Tier
• Norimaki chicken (see my recipe here)
• More onigiri and kumquats
• White sauce for dipping

A note about the onigiri - I'm not going to pretend I'm even proficient at making these and offer you a custom tutorial. There are many good resources out there to explain how these are made and filled, but my favorite is Maki at Just Bento. Go straight to the expert, people.

Bento #2

• Top Tier
• Pretzels
• Kumquats
• Bottom Tier
• Strawberries
• Hummus/olive oil/paprika

I know I'm just bursting with kumquats here, but as someone who doesn't like cherry tomatoes these are a great little space filler. Plus, Mountain Man really likes them and I had to throw him a bone since he doesn't care for strawberries and hummus isn't his favorite either. However, he was the envy of the lodge when he pulled this out for lunch! I was there, I saw that snow boarder's face.

What are your favorite skiing foods and how would you pack them into a bento? While you're pondering that and preparing to leave me comments, enjoy this picture of how to breath on a ski slope with a hacking cough. Or avoid the paparazzi.