mini musubi bento

Hi bento friends! We had a fun weekend, how about you? To start this post, here's Monday's bento, inspired by Debra's beautiful Sampler Bento Box. Her lovely mini-musubi really intrigued me and prompted musings about possible variations on this theme...

So, from the top left, a mini musubi filled with avocado and topped with grilled eel, the next is filled with baby teriyaki octopus and has ume nameshi, pickled ginger and a punched nori decoration, middle tier has ginger salmon salad inside, rolled in ebi fumi furikake and an avocado filled version topped with pink and yellow radish pickles.

Farmer's market cherries and a ripe apricot added for juicy sweetness...

Speaking of the farmer's market, images from this Saturday: fresh garlic and garlic "scapes":

 

Perfectly ripe and delicate raspberries:

 

And cherries...

Pretty plants for sale...

 

This adorable puppy was relaxing in the crafts section of the market:

Walking home, there was a splendid blue-violet hydrangea:

 

We went into D.C. today, drawn back to the French buffet at the National Gallery...it was even tastier this time! I ate a huge amount of ratatouille...yum!

 

As a cold front moved in, storm clouds gathered...

By early evening, the storm had passed, revealing a brilliant blue sky...

 

 And rain-nourished flowers...

Have a lovely week ahead, bento pals!

a sweet morning in alexandria

Some images from an early morning walk in Alexandria featuring a visit to Buzz bakery/cafe, June flowers in bloom, and a breakfasting squirrel:

 

 

Incredible fresh strawberry tarts and banana chocolate bread pudding:

 

 

 

 

 

Nom nom....

 

Today's bento:

Along with roasted carrots, baby greens and sprouts we have furikake and mayo fish (inspired by versions in sherimiya's wonderful bentos) and bright citrus and kiwi slices...

I'm looking forward to the weekend...how about you guys?

 

berry bento and route 29 diner visit

 The heat was rising this morning when we arrived at the 29 Diner in Fairfax for a late breakfast; green and orange tendriled trumpet vines behind the diner had the humid, lush look of a Virginia summer:

 

 

The 29 Diner has been in Fairfax since 1947, a charming place with a wonderfully "old school" menu. Today they served up perfect Western omelets and crisp-tender home fries:

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday's bento:

The top layer features a brown and wild rice pilaf with almonds and pistachios, lamb with artichoke and tomato and accents of mint and fresh oregano. The sweets sidecar holds a vanilla coconut cupcake (garnished with a wild strawberry-like fruit that appeared in the garden this year), lots of blueberries and a thick slice of kiwi.

Looking forward to your new creations this week, bento pals!