I picked this week's Great Bento Idea just because it's beautiful and different. It's edible bento art!

This week, we have two Great Bento Ideas from the bento community, both illustrating how bentos can be beautiful yet not have to require hours and hours of time to assemble.

Here's the great bento idea of the week from the bento community - cucumber ribbons from MJ!

Here's a easy and pretty bento decorating idea from around the bento community - decorated muffins by Emily.

I haven't had any time to make a Halloween themed bento this year, since I'm still working on the recipes for my book. But many talented bentoists in the Just Bento flickr pool have been busy making some really scary-cute bentos! It just goes to show that, contrary to some misplaced assumptions, it's not just Japanese moms that can get very creative with bentos. Here are a few that caught my eye.

We are now entering pasta salad season, at least here in the Northern Hemisphere. Easy to assemble and delicious at room temperature, at first glance you might think that pasta salads are perfect in bentos. There are a few things to watch out for though, in order to make sure that your salad is as safe as it is delicious at lunchtime. I also have a super-easy Chickpea and Pasta Salad recipe that is very bento-friendly; it's vegetarian (easily converted to being vegan), to fit in with the theme for this month.