Can you believe Cute Yummy Time is in stores today?!?! I am this week’s guest blogger on the Penguin blog; I’ll also post the articles here. The first one’s an intro…

Hello from La Carmina! My life revolves around Japanese pop culture; I’m the author of three books and blog about Harajuku fashion and all things kitschy-cute. I’m very excited to share my new cookbook with you — Cute Yummy Time.

Cute Yummy Time is inspired by the art of the cute bento. Japan’s latest food trend: dolling up school lunches to look like adorable creatures (Hello Kitty, Pokemon). The creations are a feast for the eyes, but not all the ingredients may be familiar to Western palates. So Cute Yummy Time thinks outside the bento box, sharing more than 70 recipes for making food “so cute, you could just eat it!”

In addition to creating the recipes, I took all the photos and drew cute Japanese-style illustrations on every page. There’s even a whimsical story about La Carmina and her cat Basil Farrow, who must journey through Kawaii-Land (the realm of all things cute).

Farm animal oatmeal… egg salad wraps… plus desserts and dishes for all occasions. The ingredients are familiar to Western palates and are sure to please picky eaters.

And all the meals use healthy, natural ingredients (such as the salmon and citrus bunnies above).

I hope you have as much fun reading Cute Yummy Time as I had writing it! You can see more adorable bentos on my cute food blog.

PS: INSANE Tokyo photos and behind the scenes at the Andrew Zimmern TV shoot coming up…