Sophisticated Fruit and Vegetable Centerpiece

By Leah McCall

Hi Friends,

A stroll through the produce department of your local grocery store will yield the colorful materials needed to create this unusual centerpiece — no flowers necessary.

For the freshest possible centerpiece, assemble on the day of your get-together. To save time, the baby green blooms and cornhusk flowers can be created and produce skewered the day before, then refrigerated until ready to assemble.

Materials Needed:

8" diameter trifle dish or container of choice
knife
dry floral foam
hot glue gun and sticks
175 skewers or plant stakes
1 bag corn husks
scissors
dried or fresh cranberries
10 miniature eggplants
15 beets
1 bag baby greens
20 crab apples
75 red pearl onions
1 head red cabbage

Cover Trifle Bowl

Attach red cabbage leaves to dish with hot glue; cover seams and fill gaps with cranberries.

Cut and Secure Floral Foam

Determine necessary amount of floral foam by placing dry blocks in container. Tip: Foam should be 2 inches taller than vessel lip. Using knife, cut foam to correct size, then secure bottom of foam block to container with hot glue.

Create Baby Green Blooms

Apply hot glue to tip of skewer/plant stake. Working in an overlapping, concentric pattern, attach leaves until bloom is approximately 3 inches in diameter. Create 30 baby green blooms.

Assemble Cornhusk Flowers

Using scissors, round edges of four to six cornhusks to resemble flower petals. Working in an overlapping, concentric pattern, hot glue cornhusk petals to skewer/plant stake. For a splash of color, secure baby greens between each petal with hot glue. Assemble 15 cornhusk flowers.

Attach Produce to Skewers/Plant Stakes

Create picks by inserting skewers/plant stakes into 10 eggplants, 15 beets and 20 crab apples. Stake a row of five pearl onions onto 15 skewers/plant stakes. Tip: It may be necessary to sharpen one end of the skewers with a pencil sharpener or knife.

Assemble Centerpiece

Determine desired height, width and overall shape of centerpiece by placing staked beets, pearl onions, eggplants and crab apples into foam. Fill remaining gaps with baby green blooms and cornhusk flowers. Insert skewers/plant stakes in downward angle around vessel edge to ensure complete coverage when centerpiece is at eye level. Cover foam completely with produce.

Tip: Fill any visible gaps by making additional baby green blooms and/or cornhusk flowers.

Check back for more great ideas - Bon Appétit!

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Live well,
Yvonne