The Moomins Bento

23 comments


Yesterday, Sissi from With a Glass wrote this comment: "...If you look for a new bento character, I have my favourite one: Moomin. It's not famous all around the world, but I loved the books and still love, and also the cartoon was wonderful. I suppose it would be difficult to make, since he is light blue ;-)..."

I am always eager to know new characters from comic strips, animations, manga, etc from around the world because there are just so many out there that receive so little attention. The mainstream one are of course characters from Disney. I love Disney, but I think it's such a pity that so many good children stories and tales are left unnoticed and untold. And it's so sad to see how children nowadays grow up too early. But I guess it's no big wonder when they are confronted daily by so many useless, non-educational rubbish on TV and magazines...It must be very hard to be parents in today's society...!

Anyway, of course I had to google The Moomins after I read that comment from Sissi. The Moomins is written by Tove Jansson, a Swedish-Finn writer and illustrator.

The Moomins are a family of trolls who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses. The carefree and adventurous family live in their house in Moonminvalley, in the forests of Finland, though in the past their temporary residences have included a lighthouse and a theatre. They have many adventures along with their various friends. (Source: Wikipedia)

I think the Moomins have got different colours in the animated version (please correct me if I am wrong, I've also just found out about The Moomins yesterday): Moominpappa is blue, he always wears a hat, Moominmamma is creamy light brown, Moomintroll (the main character) is blue and his admirer and lady friend the Snork Maiden, which also looks like a Moomin, is light yellow.

I made the Moomins from tinted quail eggs - blue (red cabbage water + baking soda), yellow (turmeric powder mixed with water) and light brown (soy sauce). While the quail eggs are still warm, they're quite pliable and you can shape them as you wish, but please lightly...! I tried to make a hippo-face shape to each one of them, not completely successful, but I think close enough.

The Moonmins family and the Snork Maiden are sitting on top of multigrain fried rice (leftover from a few days ago), rucola, baby corn flowers and cheese flowers. Behind the rice there are two pieces of taro mochi, a piece of ham flower and a few pieces of strawberries, grapes and blackberries.



The Moonmins don't really look like the original Moomins, but I hope you like them, Sissi :). Thank you for introducing me to a group of interesting new characters...!

And to everyone who reads my blog, if you know any other not very well-known characters which you like, please let me know....:)! As I have written above, I love learning about new characters :D)! Maybe I can even transform them into a bento meal ;). But I cannot guarantee this, because I am absolutely no expert in bento making...!

Last, but not least, I'd like to thank Satsuki from Kirschkuchen for awarding me with the 'Kreativ Blogger' badge below :)! Satsuki writes a German-language blog about bento, Japan, some reviews about foods, book, shops, etc and her daily blabbings ;). And check out her first bento box, isn't it cool? And it's her FIRST bento! Nochmal, ganz herzlichen Dank, Satsuki :). Ich schätze diesen Award sehr...:D)!

Now, 10 random things about me you maybe don't know:
  1. I have one older sister.
  2. I have one little niece.
  3. I can speak Indonesian, English and German
  4. I used to learn Japanese for 2 years in high school and I was quite good at it.
  5. Unfortunately now I only remember words like 'Konnichiwa', 'Watashiwa...desu', 'Moshi moshi', 'Ikura desuka' and other happy words such as 'Oishii desu ne...!!' and 'Kawaii ne....! ;)
  6. I used to learn Chinese too but I was totally horrible at it and quitted after 1 year ;)!
  7. I adore bubble tea! Favourite flavours are milk tea, green milk tea and taro milk tea.
  8. I cannot bear people who've got no manners (well, who can? Probably people with no manners themselves ;))
  9. Imagine by John Lennon is one of my favourite songs.
  10. I used to be crazy about Rondo Alla Turca by Mozart when I was younger ;).
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23 comments:

  1. Oh wow mal wieder so ein tolles Bento! *____* Ich werde hier noch zum richtigen Stalker. ;) Die Moomins kenne ich übrigens auch noch bzw ich erinner mich dunkel. *lach* Ich finde es ist dir eigentlich recht gut gelungen, auf die Idee Eier zu formen muss man erstmal kommen. :D

    Für neue Charaktere hm... Ich würde mich ja vielleicht an so Kult-Spiele wagen. ^^ Ich finde Final Fantasy oder auch Ragnarok Online bieten eine Menge toller Charaktere und vor allem Monsterchen. ;)

    Und freut mich, wenn dir der Award gefällt! :D Du hast ihn echt verdient. ^^

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  2. CG, I have tears in my eyes... The Moomin family is so beautiful! They look exactly like Moomins! The colours are perfect! The shapes are perfect! Even the eyes are "Moomin eyes" :-)
    When I mentioned Moomin character, I haven't thought for a second you might actually do this... And even less that you might do this so quickly! I would have never guessed quail eggs can be shaped when still warm. I don't know what to say apart from the fact that I am touched and that this is my favourite of all your bentos!!!!
    I will bookmark the link to this bento so that I can quickly have a look whenever I feel like saying hello to the Moomin family :-)
    And you are right, the colours are different in the film and the book (actually the book was first black and white if I remember, it's not a comic book). The film was made by the Japanese I think, so Moomins have all the rights to be in a bento box :-)
    Thank you so much for making me such a big pleasure!

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  3. Your bentos are amazing. I have no idea how you find the time as well as the patience to do such beautyful food. (Just to eat it later i suppose)I like the daisylike flowers the most they are so pretty ^^

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  4. you are a very adventurous person, i can really see the effort you put in finding out abt the cartoon characters and making them!

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  5. This look adorable, and.. I love Imagine of John Lenon is one of my favorites songs LOL gloria

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  6. Hi CG! I'm really so proud of you! You really can turn everything into a beautiful bento! :D
    Congrats on your award! You definitely deserve that! :D

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  7. They're so cute... and nice to know more about you :)

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  8. Well done! Great little Moomins! Neat trick with the still warm quail eggs too :)

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  9. Hi, they are adorable,and with the flowers,so beautiful.

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  10. What a lovely presentation

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  11. Wah ah cuuuuuute!
    My favourite Bento ever!

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  12. Glad to know 10 new things about you. As always your bentos are beautiful and unique from one another.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  13. you are so talented...taking more ideas...we LOVE Mickey in this house.

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  14. Congrats on the award! Your creativity is definitely a worthy recipient!

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  15. Congrats on the award! I really think that you have magical fingers. Your bento creation is always so captivating. :)

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  16. Felicidades por tú premio, la creatividad que tienes es inmensa.

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  17. @ Satsuki - Ja, stalk bitte meinen Blog ;)!...Final Fantasy und Ragnarok...hmmm...das wird aber sehr kompliziert zu machen....;). Ich bin noch nicht so fortgeschritten,dass ich richtige Gesichten machen kann. Vielleicht eines Tages, aber danke für die Ideen :D)!

    @ Sissi - Hi Sissi, I am glad that you like the Moomins family I created :D). If I should make them again one day,I'd make the eyes slightly bigger and longer, but for the moment, I think they're ok, since they're my first Moomins ;). I've noticed that there are some Japanese writings in the Moomins pictures I saw in the net, so that's the reason why...Thank you for telling me this :). And it's of course such an honour that you even bookmarked this Moonmin bento, this has made my efforts worthwhile :D)!

    @ Cele- Thank you, Cele :). At the moment making bento is my hobby and when I am passionate about something, I tend to be a bit 'crazy', and thus the daily bento in my blog ;). Btw, the sunflower cheese is actually very simple to make, you only need two different size sunflower cutters to make it plus a small round cookie cutter.

    @ Lena - To be true I am not an adventurous person at all, but in the kitchen I can be, yes, you'Re right ;).

    @ Gloria - High 5, Gloria :). That's my current favourite song because it's so peaceful...!

    @ Lyn Trinix - Thank you for always leaving sweet comments in my blog, Lyn, you don't know how much I appreciate that :)!!

    @ Lani - Thanks, Lani :)

    @ Parsley Sage - Thanks, Parsley Sage, I hope this trick can be useful for you too one day :)

    @ Yummylittlecooks - Thank you :)

    @ Aarthi - Thanks, Aarthi :)

    @ Kyo - I am glad you like this one, Kyo :)!

    @ Deepa - Thanks, Deepa :)

    @ Jennifurla - Thanks for the idea, Jennifurla :). I think Mickey is something that I might be able to make. I'll try to make it one day :)!

    @ Yummychunklet - Thanks :)

    @ Corine - Thanks Corine, my fingers are not magic, it's really just a matter of practice, really ;).

    @ Jose Manuel - muchas gracias :)!

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  18. Hi CG! Moomins is made by Japanese? Really? I grew up with this cartoon but I didn't know... I thought everyone knows Moomins... What a shocking fact. You did such a great job (making Sissi happy!). It makes me very nostalgic about my childhood.... :-) Your Japanese is pretty good! We can practice one day. Haha. I enjoyed reading 10 new things about you!

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  19. Oh, I haven't seen this one before! The Moomins are so adorable! I remember them from my childhood, and loved them back then. I can't believe you made them from eggs! :O

    Oh, and haha, now I see you speak Indonesian! :D I've also learned Japanese a few years ago (only for one year), and I'm currently learning it again. :)

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  20. This must be my favourite! I often hear people say Moomins are from Japan when they actually are from Finland! I grew up reading the books and I still have a huge collection of Moomin decor at home :-) I LOVE this bento, it brings back so many happy memories!

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  21. lucunyaaaaaa i really like this... tapi banyak karakter yg jadi dipake ama sanrio sih emang, seperti miffy juga sebenernya dari belanda hahaha... Ms Baggins

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  22. Lovely stuff! I really appreciate your outlook and concur with you absolutely and children's stories. That is why I have written a spiritual fantasy (with Moomin-like characters!) that feed the spirit and imagination of children (especailly 'children' hiding in adults). Readers say it is like "Moomins meets the Hobbit" in style. I think you will love it. It is called "Ifflepinn Island". And is due to be published very soon this month. Look out for it--or check my Timeline on Facebook for its announcement. Warmly, Muz Murray (Author/illustrator)

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