Here is something that I had in my archives - a sushi roll bento, made with ingredients that you might not have thought belong in a sushi. Plus, how to make a fat sushi roll without a sushi mat!

Food safety is especially important in the summer. Many charaben (cute bento) oriented Japanese bento bloggers note that they scale back the intricacy of their bento creations at this time of the year. Complicated charaben require a lot of handling of the food, which should be avoided when the weather is warm.

I have already posted a comprehensive list of bento safety tips, but here are some top summer bento safety tips.

This is such a simple thing to do, and there's no better time to do it than in the summer when so many fruits are in season. Cut up any soft ripe fruit, and put them into silicon cupcake liners or wrap in plastic film. Then stash each cup or bundle in a freezer safe plastic container. You can then take out a cup or two and tuck them into your bento box. They act as an edible cooler for your bento. The container here has a cut up nectarine (divided into two silicon liners) and 2 small bananas (divided into 4).