Mashed Potatoes and Baked Tofu Bento

Spring is coming! Bulbs are starting to pop up and bloom around the area, and also in this bento. I was inspired to make flowers using asparagus for the stems and leaves by Kristie and her site beneficial-bentos. Her bentos are so beautiful and colorful! I love them because the are full of vegetables cut in all kinds of appealing and fun shapes. Make sure and check 'em out!

Top tier of bento: Mashed potatoes with green onions and thinly sliced asparagus, caramelized onions (the dirt), flowers made of boiled carrots and radish with asparagus, pickled chard stem and celery, boiled and seasoned carrot flowers.

Bottom tier of bento: Savory baked tofu, red onion salad, spinach with cilantro pesto. Garnish: radish flowers with asparagus centers, radish slices, cilantro leaves.

Uh-oh. Daffodils aren't the only bulbs sprouting around here! My onions are showcasing green tendrils too! So, it's time to use up a lot of onion. Fast. Caramelizing onions is a great way to cook down 2-3 onions in one go. It takes time, but not a lot of effort. By using olive oil to blend caramelized onions I also make a wonderful "sauce" that I freeze in ice-cube trays for later use. A little of this adds a sweet-savory complexity to other dishes and sauces right quick.

Both caramelized onion, and the blended sauce made from them, go wonderfully over starches like potatoes and yams or as a topping/spread on GF pizzas and sand-whiches.

Also: another leftover mashed potato creation!
After packing some mashed taters into my bento I shaped the remaining into patties and topped them with grated parmesan. For dinner I baked them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. I served them nice and hot with a side of caramelized onion sauce: mmmmm!

(Note: the slight purple you see is colored from from purple cabbage.)