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What is your 30-Day Bento Challenge?  For the month of April, what is that YOU want to try to do?  It is the beginning of a fun giveaway at Not Exactly Bento!  Here’s how it works…

1. Post your bento goals at Not Exactly Bento.  Do you want to make sure to pack a bento every day?  Every work day?  Every Friday?  Do you want to pack healthy bentos?  Cuter bentos?  Fancier bentos?  Whatever your personal goals are, list them below.
2. Come back each day (or however often you can) and let me know how the challenge is going.  Feel free to post links to a picture of your bento or your bento blog.  You may comment as much as you like.  Please support one another.  However, only one post per day will be counted as a chance towards the final grand prize.
3. Don’t let a mishap, setback, or other such thing get in your way.  If you don’t do so well one day, don’t let it stop you.  Start back the next day with your challenge and keep striving toward the end goal.  (This is the concept I have to work the hardest at!)

For more details on the challenge and associated prizes, please stop over at Not Exactly Bento and read about the 30-day Bento Challenge!

Hello All!

I'm Jenn from Not Exactly Bento.  Pikko has kindly agreed to allow me to announce my bento box giveaway at my website her on Adventures in Bentomaking.

I'm giving away a bento box every month for 12 months (started last month).  This month, I'm giving away a blue Urara dragonfly 2-tier bento box with some Scharffen Berger chocolate.

Details can be found here: http://notexactlybento.com/?p=2065

Thanks again Pikko!

--Jenn
Not Exactly Bento

[Hi there!]

  Hi there!

I,m Mandy, a 24 years old girl from the Netherlands.
I just started Bento-ing and I'm hoping to learn while reading this forum
I just bought my first Bento box and yesterday I ordered some stuff at J-list for the first time! Yay!

I have a blog: http://mandysf.blogspot.com
It's not just about Bento, it's mostly about scrapbooking, photography, my art and right now, the new house we've bought.
But I'm planning to do a regular Bento blogpost now and then.

Did you use water to seal the edges? It seems there's a huge difference when my sister and I used water to seal the edges closed. The first time I made shumai, I didn't use water and they fell apart as I was getting them out of the steamer. The second time I made them, I used water to seal the edges and came out perfectly.

Just have a small bowl ready to the side to dip your finger in and sorta paint along the edges of the wrapper. I think you're supposed to have the side with the corn starch up, so the starch will adhere to the meat filling.

Here's Mishima brand you can buy online: http://www.mishima.com/cgi-bin/mishima/00039.html?id=AApmguPJ

You can also follow the J-list ads to get other furikake flavors, but I don't see aji nori.

My blog address has changed to http://www.arkonitebento.net/
 

Now they come in COLORS!

So, it's not realllly a recipe.  But I came across these puzzle apples and just thought they were great!

http://kitchensimplicity.com/puzzle-apples/

That seems really cool! Shame my microwave doesn't work anymore... Bah.