If I am going to spend $10 on a bouquet, I feel ’so clever’ when I spend only $5 and the bouquet doubles as a dessert. I bought a tray of red pears from Costco and made 3 notable slices of art (see photos). At only $5, my centerpieces not only would last for 1-2 weeks but provide first artistic interest, then fruit snacks for lunch, sweetness for salads and/or a base for my next best chutney. No matter how you slice it, this was a good idea!Creating ambiance on the fly can be as simple as lighting candles, throwing on some jazz music and placing some simple, elegant fruits and vegetables on buffets, tables and counters. Fruit is as artful as the next flower, depicted in galleries all around.

Toss together a bowl of green fruits—granny apples, green figs, avocados, heirlooms and limes—or playful harvest colors with eggplants, plums, squash and red onions. In summer I pile bell peppers of every color with peaches and ginger and tomatoes. I do love flowers, but in a pinch vegetables have an equally formidable presence.

Tags: centerpieces, COTM

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 20th, 2006 at 3:45 am and is filed under COTM, Tomatoease. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.