Next-Gen Bentos

By this point, still in Sept. '07, I began shooting for shapes. This one was intended to looks like a flower.  (Apples petals, bread center, celery stalk and leaves.)  It was skimpy, but a notable first step.

Used: Wheat bread, Apples, Celery.

If you can't really tell what this one is, that's probably a good sign  To the left there's a rice bear with celery eyes and a celery smile.  The one major downfall of this bento is the overwhelming lack of color.  On the brighter side, the bear looked pretty cute in person and the format itself was new for me.

Used: Rice, Pistachios, Celery, Apples

The bunny brought together a number of my skills and proved that I had been gradually learning my self-taught lessons.  The animal/grass combination seems to work well.  There were clementines (a fruit that contrasts the white of rice) placed atop

pistachios to provide pizzazz.  Additionally, I am quite content with the appearance of the diagonal layout.  (Despite the fact that it was a matter of necessity, not style.)

Used: Rice, Celery, Pistachios, Clementines :]

Tips:  If you don't have sticky rice (or the money for it) use a cookie cutter to hold the shape you want instead!  Just realize that if the cookie cutter is more shallow than the container, and it could spill a bit.