Besides the gorgeous weather we enjoy here in Northern California for a good nine months or more each year, we are blessed with store shelves filled with a mind boggling assortment of gorgeous fresh produce, especially in the spring and summer months. We live in an area that has often been referred to as the salad bowl of the country, and for good reason.
Not only is there a large variety of fresh produce to choose from but we have a large assortment of organic fruits and vegetables available to select from as well. You wold be hard pressed to get a salad around here made with just iceberg lettuce, topped with a lonely cherry tomato, drowning in a river of Thousand Island dressing. In these parts you typically have a hard time finding the lettuce underneath all the fresh veggies piled on top or your salad.
I love all the beautiful colors and textures of the fresh fruits and vegetables in this simple wooden dough bowl centerpiece.
When you are looking for a beautiful, elegant and simple centerpiece for your holiday table, this centerpiece is the perfect solution. Fill your shopping cart with the prettiest produce you can find at the supermarket. Arrange the produce on a large pretty platter or wooden dough bowl to create one of the prettiest centerpieces that will ever grace your table.
Start by placing the larger items, such as heads of cabbage, artichokes, lettuce on the platter first. Then fill in with smaller items such as bell peppers, onion, clusters of grapes, radishes, etc.
TIP: Check out local farmer’s markets for the best selection of the freshest, in season, organic fruits and vegetables in your area.
There really isn’t a right or wrong way to arrange fruit and vegetables. To create a more visually appealing centerpiece try not to group all like colored items together. Pop in a cluster or red radishes next to a dark green head of broccoli. Break up all the green with pops of color from red, yellow, or orange bell peppers or red apples or a cluster of red grapes.
To soften the look pop a “bouquet” of cilantro or parsley into a glass jar filled with water and tuck the jar in between clusters of produce to hide the jar. The cilantro or parsley will soften the overall look and fill in any bare spots. The goal is to create a full, abundant look.
If you don’t have parsley or cilantro try tucking sprigs of rosemary or thyme from your herb garden in amongst the larger pieces of produce.
Vegetables to use to create a dough bowl:
- Red and green heads of cabbage
- Artichokes
- Red, green, yellow and orange bell peppers
- Bunches of radishes
- Cucumbers
- Celery stalks
- Carrots with their green tops attached
- Clusters of grapes
- Apples
- Oranges
- Lemons and limes
- Pineapple
- Bunches of cilantro or Italian parsley
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Bunches of green onions
- Portobello mushrooms
Tip: To keep cilantro and parsley from wilting, trim stems and place them in a small jar of water. Tuck the jar in between larger fruits and vegetables.
Hold off until right before guests arrive before putting together this centerpiece so fruits and vegetables are at their freshest and look their best. This centerpiece comes together quite quickly in just a few short minutes and looks absolutely, stunningly beautiful with minimal effort.
I love that after the celebrations are over’s easy to dismantle this centerpiece and use the fruits and vegetables later in the week to make salads and use them in your favorite recipes. Edible decor…it’s a beautiful thing!
Use cilantro and onions to whip up a batch of of my favorite salsa; the World’s Best Salsa recipe. Once you try this salsa you will NEVER buy the store bought stuff made in New York City ever again!!!
A big shout out to Yvonne at Stonegableblog.com for the inspiration behind creating this beautiful centerpiece. If you are looking of home decorating inspiration be sure to check out her website. It’s filled with loads of amazing home decorating tips and ideas. She has inspired me countless times as a home decorator and given me the confidence too try decorating my home on my own. She’s amazingly talented and her blog is one of my favorites! I visit her site all the time.
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And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!
Your dough bowl is amazing and so fresh. I’ve gotten some great tips for my next dough bowl creation. Thanks for the lovely shout-out! xo
You inspire me all the time Yvonne. I’ve learned so much from you and you are one of the reasons I started blogging. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise. You make decorating fun!