Category Archive for Cute Yummy Time
TEACHING CHILDREN HEALTHY EATING HABITS, CUTE CHARACTER BENTO-MAKING AT HARLEM ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. NHK TV + SCOTTISH FOLD CUTE OVERLOAD.
I know you’ve been waiting for photos of the Harlem bento-making class… so here’s a slideshow on YouTube! (I’ll post my favorite photos and tell you more about what happened in the next few days — so check back.)
NHK, Japan’s national public broadcaster, shot a 20 minute TV documentary about character bentos that focused on my work and recipe book, Cute Yummy Time. In this segment, I taught Harlem students how to make healthy, cute bentos. It was a success — the children loved it and ate vegetables that they’d never tried before! The New York Wave episode about cute bento boxes will air this February on NHK; Ill be sure to let you know the exact time and put up segments on YouTube (please subscribe so you wont miss out).
Paws up! Baby paws up, gimme your heart gimme gimme your heart, gimme gimme…
Because we can all use some Scottish Fold kawaii to make our day a little sweeter.
When Basil Farrow is in an especially good mood, he rolls onto his back and puts his fat paws in the air…
… and gives you “the look” until you come and rub his tummy. You can see zillions of cute photos of Basil and his flop-eared friends on his Scottish Fold blog. Come see!
He’s also featured as a character in my cute cookbook, inspired by Japanese bento decoration. If you want to get in on the charaben action, please consider my recipe book, Cute Yummy Time. (Now in major bookstores and available online.)
Have a super-cute day!
Song of the Day #293: The Creatures – Believe In Yourself and Mike Mareen – Dancing In The Dark (Galactica Mix). Because feel-good Italo seemed appropriate for my Harlem bento lesson video.
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CUTE CHARACTER BENTOS! KAWAII COOKING FOR NHK JAPAN TV DOCUMENTARY SHOOT, NEW YORK WAVE BENTO BOX SHOW.
NHK Japan documentary shoot, day one… lights, cameras, action!
Dress: Yumi, a flirty London brand inspired by Asian fashion. I couldn’t resist the Yorkie terriers print and the price (on sale for $70).
Leggings: Vivienne Westwood, a gift from my cousin and aunt. This is the first Westwood item I’ve owned!
Cute animal hair ties: from Daiso, the 100 yen (dollar) store.
TV shoots involve a truckload of equipment: lighting, tripods, cameras, you name it. The crew consisted of a cameraman, audio person, director, reporter, makeup artist — and yours truly. (The NHK team spoke to each other in Japanese; luckily, I knew what was going on!)
Before the cameras roll, there are hours and hours of preparations. The previous night was a mad rush to create sample character bentos (animal pancakes, frog pita sandwich, eggs dyed yellow with turmeric and transformed into chicks). I showed the host, Hana, how to draw kawaii animals.
Top: We had a five minute race to make cute faces out of healthy ingredients. Right: Our completed character bento sandwiches (can you recognize my cat, Basil Farrow?). Left: This is Japanese TV — so we had to be extra smiley and energetic and cute. Hana picked up a cashew nut and said, “This looks like a smile.” I held raspberries in front of her eyes and made them dance. V-fingers!
Filming involves take after take after take… Hana had to repeat a line six times: “Kawaii, ne? I’m going to turn this into a sandwich!” We began at 10 am and kept on going until well past 6pm. TV work is tiring, but oh so fun…
The New York Wave episode about cute bento boxes will air this February on NHK; I’ll be sure to let you know the exact time and put up segments on YouTube (please subscribe so you won’t miss out). More goofy photos from the shoot to come.
In recent press
† Popular Philadelphia radio show Chef’s Table interviewed me about my recipe book Cute Yummy Time (you can stream the show on the site).
† CNNGo is doing a four-part series about Cute Yummy Time recipes; the first one gives a tigerish makeover to India’s chicken tikka masala.
† If you’re interested in many more cute-faced recipes, please check out my new cookbook, in stores and available online.
Song of the Day #288: Rocky Horror Picture Show – Dammit, Janet (If you follow my Twitter, you’ll know I’ve been on a Rocky Horror kick…)
LA CARMINA
