(The drawing has ended and the winners notified. Thank you for entering!)

I know, it's been a while. But I am here to cheer you up hopefully in these rather dire times!

Real Bento: Fresh and Easy Bentos from a Japanese Working Mom is a cookbook by a popular bento blogger in Japan called Kanae Inoue. She takes a very pragmatic, streamlined approach to making bentos, based on her years of making them for her three children for many years - a boy (who is now in college and living away from home) and two girls.

My friend Junko lives and works in Tokyo. She has a full time busy job, and although her son is off at school, she also have a very busy life outside of work too, with lots of interesting hobbies and a really busy social life. (I don't know anyone else who has as many friends as she does!)

She also makes bentos to take to work, and posts them regularly on her social media. I love her bento pics because they aren't style for the camera at all - she just snaps them with her phone - but they look so appetizing and have lots of good ideas. Above all, they are real bentos made and eaten by a busy lady. I managed to convince her to let me post some of her bento pics here. The explanations are my own, based on what she wrote about them.

Yes, it's back with a brand new look!