Back-to-School Bento #4

Today’s back-to-school bento contains items that are near-and-dear to my heart.  When I was a kid,  we called our packed lunches, “home-lunch”!  

 ”Did you bring home-lunch?”  What’s in your home-lunch?”, the other kids would taunt.   In my middle to low-income neighborhood of my childhood , there was a slight stigma with bringing  a packed lunch … being seen with a lunch-pail or box meant that you were more “low-income” than “middle”.

This was  a strange notion because many kids in my class used lunch tokens (provided by the state) to pay for their lunches.   Kids are ruthless and I suppose bringing a ”home-lunch” made you different somehow… and you know what happens to kids who “stick out”?   Un-wanted attention!

Anyways…have no fear,  my story doesn’t end sadly but in triumph!  So let’s go on.

After enought teasing I stopped bringing a home-lunch to school. 

I conformed. 

But every once in awhile, like a  “get-out-of-jail-free” card… our class would, like with most schools, go out on a field trip.  And you can probably guess what happened?  That’s right? a class excursion which dictated that EVERYBODY  had to bring a home-lunch!  

So when we sat down on the grass for our meal, we’d all open up our bags and show it’s contents.  And at the moment of my reveal, I would beam!  The other students were in awe and they could only wish that their mom had made them a yummy bento.  A bento just like this one! 

Okay, there wasn’t a strawberry in the bentos of my youth because they were expensive.   I don’t remember having them back then.  

We were  after all… low-income.  :)

The other items are traditional nimono, made with with fish cake, potato and chicken.  A big, fat  musubi with ebi (shrimp) furikake and a couple steamed pea pods complete this very compact bento box.   It’s perfect for your own home-lunch!

Anyhow,  this back-to-school bento box is more than nostalgic, it’s a  hearty meal and very easy to prepare.   And being a tradional type of bento it keeps well at room temperature and is tasty without reheating.  

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