An Edible Veggie Floral Bouquet

(Excuse the mess in the background, as I had to assemble and run and then clean up after I returned home. I also didn't cover all skewers with the green onions as I should have and therefore 'painted' them green with my photo editor this time.)(Note: Breadsticks had not yet been inserted.)

This is a smash hit every time I've made one, which has only been twice because it is time consuming and a little challenging when trying to assemble and care for small children at the same time, but it can be done! (Maybe you can, like me, elicit the help of your spouse by putting him in charge of using some wire cutters to snip down the skewers to varying lengths!)

What you will need:

* Basket/container (at least 2" deep)
* Bamboo skewers

* 1 head of cabbage
* 1 bunch of radishes
* 1 yellow bell pepper
* 1 orange bell pepper
* 5 medium carrots
* 3 bunches of green onions
* 2 cups broccoli florets
* 2 cups cauliflower florets
* 1 cucumber, sliced into rounds AFTER you have run fork tines lengthwise to break the skin.
* 1 pint cherry tomatoes
* 1 bunch asparagus spears, blanched, thick enough to withstand insertion of skewers
* 1 box think Italian breadsticks

Optional Extras: 5 stalks celery with tops, 1 small head endive, and 1 bunch chicory.

ADVANCED PREPARATION THAT CAN BE DONE THE NIGHT PRIOR:

Radishes into Roses: Cut off both ends of each radish. Try to do so to where a small circle appears on at least one end. Take the radish and using a paring knife cut from the good circle-side up toward the bottom without going all the way through around the edges. Pace into a bowl of water and store in the fridge overnight. The sides will expand outward giving you a more petal-like appearance.

Leaf-shaped bell peppers: Core the peppers and cut them into vertical leaf-shaped slices, triangular shapes work well. Again place in a bowl of water overnight in the fridge.

Carrots into tulips: Insert knife every approximately every 1/4" on an angle with the bottom of the knife, aka the cutting edge, angled toward the small end of the carrot. Place this slanted cut about halfway through the carrot and stop. Rotate the carrot about 1/3 and place another cut the same way, and then repeat once more for a total of 3 cuts. You can now pull the tulip shape off or use the tip of your knife inserted into your cuts to break it free. (You may need two or three tries to get it just so). Again, place into a bowl of cold water overnight.

Prepping the green onions: Cut off the roots of the green onions just above root, sparing most of the bulb/white portion of the onion. Cut the bulb/white portion off approximately 1 to 1-1/2 inches into the green portion of the onion. Using your knife tip, cut vertical slits from the white portion of the onion outward through the end of the green portion. Place in a bowl of cold water in the fridge overnight. The cold water will curl the fringe. The hollow green onion stalks will be used to cover skewers during assembly, so you will need to place one slit in the center of single end of this green potion and also place into ice water overnight.

Broccoli and cauliflower preparation: Prep the broccoli and cauliflower into floret-sized pieces about an inch in diameter, but varying sizes make for a nicer look. Again, place in a bowl of ice water overnight.

FINAL PREPARATION:

* Prepare the cherry tomatoes by washing prior.

* Prepare the asparagus by cutting off the unusable ends. Place them into a pan of boiling water for approximately 7-10 minutes until a cooked yet still-crisp texture is achieved. Immediately place into ice water (really, water with ice cubes this time).

* Prepare the cucumber by raking fork tines across the length of the cucumber deep enough to get through the skin and then slice the cucumber into rounds.

ASSEMBLY:

Cut your head of cabbage in half. Place into the bottom of your chosen container with the flat side facing upward to accommodate the skewers. Strategically cut the other half into shapes to fill in any voids in the basket.

You can trim the skewers using wire cutters in advance or as needed to achieve a pleasing arrangement. Shorter on the outside edges and longer in the middle.

Cover the skewers with the green onion sheaths and skewer the florets, peppers, cucumber slices, radishes, carrots, tomatoes, and prepped green onions. Insert unsheathed skewers into asparagus spears and breadsticks (although the breadsticks can also just be placed into the arrangement and stand well on their own until the arrangement is thinned by guests).

Arrange your bouquet balancing colors and shapes as necessary. You can serve only veggies in the arrangement or also place extra servings on a serving tray/platter around your basket.