Bouquet of (Fruit) Flowers

Need an idea for a potluck or a baby shower?  How about a gift for a friend's birthday?

 

Doesn't this look yummy?  You can buy fruit bouquets like this for $65 or more, or you can make them yourself.  Here's how I did it for under $15!

You need the following:

1 Cantaloupe
1 pineapple
grapes
strawberries
blueberries
kabob sticks (I used colorful drink stirrers because they were on clearance.)
wide vase

• The variety of fruit can be whatever you imagine.  This is just what I used.  You can also use apples.  If you slice them from side to side instead of top to bottom, the core makes a pretty star.
• Keep a plastic bag (or a big bowl with a lid) nearby with 1/4 lemon juice and 1/4 cup water.  As you cut the fruit, shake it in the bag for a second.  This will keep it fresh.

1.  Cut part of the pineapple and cantaloupe into thin strips.  Use different size cookie cutters to cut them into pretty circles or shapes.  Save one firm circle of pineapple to place at the top of your vase.  This will make a good foundation to hold up your "flowers."

2.  Assemble your flowers.  I put a small fruit on top, then a "flower", then a couple grapes.  Grapes are firm enough that they hold everything up at the end of the stick.

3.  Make the leftover fruit into a pretty fruit salad.  Fill the vase almost full with the fruit mixture.  Fit the pineapple circle on top of the fruit but still below the rim of the vase.

4.  Stick your "flowers" into the pineapple as far as they will go.  You can put in as many "flowers" as you want.  You can even layer them, sticking new "flowers" into the firm parts of the lower "flowers."

5.  Fill out any empty spots with a single small fruit on a stick.  Be sure to use a grape underneath so it doesn't slide down the stick.

6.  Tie a pretty ribbon around the vase.  You'll want to keep it refrigerated until you eat it (or give it away).  The lemon juice will ensure that it doesn't turn brown or wilt.

7.  Enjoy the leftovers!  I had about a gallon left that wouldn't fit in the vase.  Yum!

Hannah Mix