Tucked away in my recipe box are a few yellowed, typewritten pages from my mother-in-law’s home economics class circa 1960. Knowing that I love food, she thought I might like these notes from a unit on garnishes. As Gen-Xers, my husband and I both had a good laugh at this relic from another time — when women were encouraged to host cocktail parties and serve hors d’oeuvres among displays of pickle fans, fluted mushrooms and beet asters.
While turning fruits and veggies into exquisite works of art might appeal to a caterer, I don’t wish to add such laborious details to my life. But I saved it as an interesting oddity. (And for the record, my mother-in-law hates to cook and never hosts cocktail parties. When we visit her, we usually go to Olive Garden.)
So it was with some surprise that I found myself attracted to the beauty of the bento box. While the word bento comes from China and means “useful thing” and “convenient,” the bento box is a Japanese package that originated 1,000 years ago for farmers, fishermen and soldiers to carry rice.
Over the years, the upper classes developed the bento into elaborately decorated, lacquered boxes for traveling, serving tea or visiting the theater. Today, takeout bento boxes are very popular in Japan, often sold in supermarkets, department stores, restaurants and train stations.
However, a quick online search shows that modern bento boxes have also reached insanely creative heights, with parents (mainly mothers) performing Instagram-worthy feats of gastronomy for their children’s school lunches.
In Japan, making a bento box is seen as an act of love, but its appearance is also a status symbol among families in affluent communities. Many mothers compete to make the most beautiful and nutritious boxes, often spending up to 45 minutes making their child’s lunch — plus hours looking through specialized magazines and shopping for the necessary tools.
Bento boxes typically include rice, meat or fish and pickled vegetables. But picture these dishes formed to look like cute pandas munching on bamboo; baby farm animals nestled in a flowering pasture; or characters like Hello Kitty, Pikachu and Olaf the Snowman. If the idea of making citrus baskets and leek flowers showed me that I would probably fail a 1960 home ec class, then I can’t imagine arranging nori to look like a Sony PlayStation.
But it got me thinking. Today’s bento boxes can be suitable for all ages, and they don’t need to be elaborate or time-consuming. They are actually perfect for encouraging a balanced, nutritious meal and making leftovers a little more appealing. If you’re looking to wash fewer lunch containers, maintain a healthy diet, entice a picky eater or add a smidge of artistry to your day, then a bento box might be for you.
The first step is to find a box. Bento boxes come in many shapes and materials, such as bamboo, stainless steel, wood and plastic. You can often find suitable containers at stores such as T.J. Maxx in Torrington, Conn., and Marshalls in Great Barrington, Mass. The holy grail of bento materials (including ingredients) is Mitsuwa Markeplace in Fort Lee, N.J., just across the George Washington Bridge from Manhattan. The shopping plaza there has not only Mitsuwa but also a Daiso and Little Japan USA; all three have everything from containers to special forms for shaping rice balls.
But any food container will work and it doesn’t even need to have dividers to allow you to separate the different decorative foods.
When you gather the ingredients, make sure to hit all the food groups. Then, start building your box with an eye for color, shape, texture and portion size.
Some Bento tips
• Prep veggies on the weekend so that you can sprinkle a rainbow of bright, vibrant colors here and there.
• Make extra food for dinner so that you can easily pull out leftovers.
• Cut sandwiches with cookie cutters, or make pinwheels with soft tortillas.
• Rather than chopping veggies for a salad, serve meat, grains or legumes on a lettuce leaf wrap.
• Find ways to separate the food so that it doesn’t all mush together. If your box doesn’t have dividers, try using cucumber slices and orange segments to make a natural border. Or, use silicone baking cups to contain yogurt, applesauce, hummus or guacamole.
• Overall, don’t fuss. Simply remember that the original meaning of bento is “useful thing” and “convenient” — both for the container and its contents.
In anticipation of the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the start of the American Revolution in 2026, new historic markers are appearing at each of the local cemeteries where Revolutionary War veterans are buried. Unveiling the new marker at Amenia Union Cemetery on Saturday, June 21, were left to right, Town Historian Betsy Strauss, Jim Middlebrook representing the regional chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, and Gail Seymour, President of the Union Cemetery Association.
AMENIA — One by one, new historic markers are appearing at local cemeteries where Revolutionary War dead are buried. On Saturday, June 21, community members gathered to see a new marker unveiled at Amenia Union Cemetery on Leedsville Road.
A tent provided welcome shade for the attendees and refreshments as about 30 residents gathered for the unveiling and to share stories of local history with one another.
As with the first historic market installation at the Old Amenia Burying Ground, held in April, Amenia Union Cemetery graves of Revolutionary War veterans had been marked with American flags in advance.
Jim Middlebrook, representing the Columbia Mid-Hudson chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, attended along with other members of his chapter. Speaking before the unveiling, Middlebrook said that the historic marker project had begun in August 2024, and included a detailed process to certify the names on the graves.
Middlebrook described the work of the William C. Pomeroy Foundation of Syracuse whose mission is to promote “pride of place” by providing grants in support of installing historic markers and plaques nationwide to honor patriots for their service. Active now in seven or eight states, Middlebrook said, the foundation will soon add Connecticut and Massachusetts to the list.
The new Amenia Union marker honors “at least five veterans of the American Revolution interred between 1787 and 1810,” although Town Historian Betsy Strauss lists six veterans buried in the cemetery. The sixth, Gerhard Winegar, whose burial had been in 1781 could not fully satisfy the certification standards.
Strauss provided the following listing of six names:
Col. Colbe Chamberlain, 1739-1796
Capt. William Chamberlain, 1745-1810
Lieut. Samuel Snyder, 1712-1808
Gerhard Winegar, 1750-1781
Ensign Henry Winegar, 1723-1787
Capt. William Young, 1747-1806
The Nine Partners Road Quaker Meetinghouse, built in 1780, will be the site of two summer lectures sponsored by the Millbrook Historical Society.
MILLBROOK — Long in the planning, the Millbrook Historical Society has announced that it is sponsoring two lectures in observance of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Both lectures relating to Quaker history are to be held in the historic Quaker Meeting House on Nine Partners Road.
For the first talk, scheduled for Sunday, June 29, at 2 p.m., the historical society has invited Sarah Gronningsater, Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania, to talk on “Quakers, Anti-slavery, and the American Revolution.” The topic will explore the role that New York’s Quakers, especially in the Hudson Valley, played in the rise of the anti-slavery movement that followed the American Revolution.
The second talk, scheduled for Sunday, July 27, at 2 p.m., invites Carl Lounsbury of the College of William and Mary and Colonial Williamsburg to speak on the architecture of the Nine Partners Meetinghouse. His talk is titled, “Nine Partners Meetinghouse Plan: A New Form in the Hudson Valley.” Expert in early American architecture, Lounsbury’s talk will compare Nine Partners with other later houses of worship in New York and New England.
Both lecture events will be held at the 1780 brick Nine Partners Quaker Meetinghouse in Millbrook. An earlier meetinghouse on the site had burned. The building has remained largely unchanged since the 18th century.
Given the age of the structure, handicapped access is limited and there are no rest room facilities.
Visitors should enter through the cemetery gate entrance.
The lectures are free and open to all, supported by a grant from the county and offered as part of Dutchess County’s participation in the nation’s 250th anniversary commemoration.
Downtown Millerton
MILLERTON — Voter turnout in the Village of Millerton dropped sharply in 2025, with just 58 ballots cast in this year’s village election — less than a third of the record turnout seen just two years earlier.
The election on June 17 marked a stark contrast to 2023, when signs littered the intersection of Route 22 and Route 44 and 208 voters headed to the polls to decide a competitive mayoral race between incumbent Jenn Najdek and challenger Kelly Kilmer. That year also featured two contested trustee positions and generated the highest turnout in at least five years.
This year’s ballot looked much different. All three candidates — Mayor Jenn Najdek, Trustee David Sherman, and newcomer Katie Cariello — ran unopposed. With no contested races, just 57 voters turned out, plus one absentee ballot and one spoiled ballot.
Participation in village elections has fluctuated significantly over the past five years, often correlating with whether races were contested.
An uncontested trustee race during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 saw unusually low turnout with just 17 ballots cast. The 2022 election, which also featured two unopposed trustee candidates, saw a more typical 135 ballots.
Years with competitive mayoral or trustee races saw spikes in participation. In 2021, 147 voters turned out, followed by a special runoff one week later that drew 157 ballots after a tied trustee race. During that race, three trustees ran for two seats, with David Sherman and Laurie Kerr ultimately elected.
The most recent contested election in 2024 drew 122 voters. Matthew Hartzog, Matthew Soleau and Kelly Kilmer ran, with Hartzog and Soleau elected. While that marked a dip from the previous year, it was still more than double the number who turned out this year.
While elections in small villages like Millerton often see modest turnout, the wide swings from year to year suggest that competitive races — and clearer distinctions between candidates — play a major role in mobilizing voters.
Despite the lack of competition, this year’s election produced a few notable results. Trustee David Sherman led all candidates with 52 votes, including 13 on the Republican line and 39 on the Democratic. Mayor Najdek was re-elected with 47 votes — 41 on the Democratic line and six on the Republican. Newcomer Katie Cariello received 39 votes — 34 Democratic and five Republican. There were also four write-ins for mayor and three for trustee.
The Amenia Free Library on Route 343 in Amenia.
AMENIA — Fans of reading will want to attend an upcoming book talk at the Amenia Library on Saturday, June 28, 11:30 a.m., when local author Jorge Sanchez will discuss his short stories based on his own life, finding enough about his life that was amusing and engaging to want to share it with others.
Sanchez will discuss his stories published as Sanchez 5 Inbound: Collection 1 and 2. He also plans to answer questions, discuss the process, and sign copies.
Recognized for his self-deprecating sense of humor, the stories flow with plot lines that find the humorous side of muddling through chaos, promising a talk that will captivate and entertain.
A lifelong interest in writing suggested that the best path would be a series of short stories. Sanchez chose the format as preferable to a full-length novel, choosing to write the stories that grew out of his own life’s experiences.
Sanchez was raised in Spanish Harlem, going on to attend college in Buffalo, NY. After pursuing a musical career, gigging in New York City with a variety of bands, he returned to school to study web design and development, his career for the past 24 years. Within the past year, he has reconnected with his passion for writing.
