Putting together a holiday dinner is hard work. Instead of worrying about picking flowers for a centerpiece, why not use leftover ingredients from your turkey dinner? Edible centerpieces are perfect because you can use what you already have in the fridge, and best of all, it can be donated later or reused for dinner tomorrow night.
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe
You can use just about any type of vegetable or fruit for a centerpiece, but seasonal produce is fresher and less expensive. Make sure you have plenty of green leafy vegetables and herbs for the base and filling. For our centerpiece, we use whatever is growing in our fall garden:turnips, kale, Swiss chard, carrots, radishes, and a variety of herbs. Clementines and pears were bought from the supermarket to add color and interest to the centerpiece.
For the container, use a bowl, drawer or plate. This galvanized box is perfect because it comes with a liner to keep out water and a grate to easily put together an arrangement. If you are using a bowl or box, use florist's tape to create a grid to help hold the produce in place.
Debbie Wolfe
Pour water into the container, then cover a base of leafy greens first to support the other vegetables and fruits.
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe
Add in longer/bigger product. In our case, it's carrots. You can go with a symmetrical look (balancing elements evenly on both sides of the centerpiece) or asymmetrical. Add the other large items, making sure not to line up similar colors and sizes next to each other.
Debbie Wolfe
Debbie Wolfe
Use herbs or small leafy vegetables to fill in empty spaces and soften the look of the arrangement.
Debbie Wolfe
If you don't plan on using the product in your holiday fix for a meal, consider donating it to your local food pantry. Food pantries always need fresh produce. For a list of local food pantries that accept fresh produce, visit AmpleHarvest.org.
