DIY fruit and flower centerpiece

I like to decorate simply for holidays, and one way I often do that is to gather bit and pieces from my own yard to create centerpieces for tables, the mantle, etc.

Inspired by this lovely image at StyleMePretty, I decided to also incorporate some fruit for our Thanksgiving tables this year.

Here are some of the components I used...

Top left: twigs with berries off a flowering tree in our front yard, whose species I don't know. Hawthorne, possibly.

Top right: a $4.88 bunch of carnations. Small mums would be lovely, too. In retrospect, I wish I'd picked something more golden to help the color palette lean more toward autumnal colors, but oh well! Not a big deal.

Lower: greenery from my yard -- on the left, a small-leafed variety of trailing euonymus; tendrils of vinca minor on the right. If I were doing this for a Christmas table, I would definitely use some evergreen sprigs, too.

I also purchased some clementines and small Gala apples. I was hoping to get plums, since I loved the darker hues in my inspiration image, but alas, no plums at the store today. I would have liked to include pears as well, but they were too big for this arrangement. 

Now to the steps...

I started with a large pasta bowl, and placed in the center of it a votive candle holder, filled it 3/4 full with water, then arranged three apples and three clementines around it in an asymmetrical pattern. (Top left image.)

Next, I snipped the carnations down till they were just long enough to sit in the votive of water with their heads resting on the fruit, and tucked them into the votive holder until the blossoms filled the space. I used three or four, depending on how full they were. 

Then I pruned the euonymus down to just one or two bunches of leaves, so that they functioned more like a flower. I tucked a few of these in between the carnations, just barely peeking above them.

Then I tucked a few berry sprigs in around the perimeter, as well as a few pieces of vinca, then stepped back to assess (the lower right image in the montage above). Hmm... definitely needs more filling in around the perimeter.

So I kept adding things in. I tucked a couple flowers into the especially bare spots, and gathered some more and longer strands of vinca, and kept adding till I was happy with the fullness. The photo above shows it from directly overhead, so you can see how things are arranged. As you're making an arrangement, be sure to assess it from all angles that it will be seen from. A table centerpiece needs to look good from all sides, while something to go on a mantel, sideboard or buffet has a more limited view.

We have two tables, so two arrangements are needed. And because these arrangements are going on fairly narrow rectangular tables, I made the vinca only extend out on two sides of the bowl. 

Here are the finished pieces. I'm very happy with how they came out!

I also love the price! Here's how it breaks down...

• Bowls, votives, berries and greenery: Free; I already had them.
• Fruit: Total of about $4. The apples were three for $1, so two bucks there, and probably about the same for the clementines. I've tossed the package, but it was a two or three pound bag, and under $7. I only used about a quarter of the bag.
• Flowers: Less than $5.

So my two arrangements came in under $10. -- for both of them! Sweet!

Recipe roundup: Mother's Day menus

Here's a little gift for you: instead of wandering all over the internet for the perfect Mother's Day menu, here are four different options for you, each with its own theme. Almost all of these recipes can be made ahead, so you can enjoy the day without last-minute panic. And all (except the shortbread) are low carb. You get enough guilt from Mom; you don't need any from your food! ;)

Light lunch, light flavors

Want to treat mom to just a little something, perhaps before you head out to tour a local garden -- or mall? Serve this easy, make-ahead orange-cranberry chicken salad on lettuce leaves or in soft pita pockets...

 ...with this elegant, lightly-sweet and super tender almond poppyseed shortbread.

Neither of these dishes will weigh you down, but they will both delight Mom with their flavors!


Classic ladies' lunch, done low carb

What could be more classic than quiche? If Mom is doing South Beach or some other low-carb diet, you'll be happy to know that a crustless spinach quiche can be just as delicious as one with the traditional but high-carb pastry crust. I added a little Canadian bacon to the original recipe.

Serve a fruit salad on the side. Here, I've just drizzled fresh strawberries and blueberries with some sweetened cream. One cup of heavy cream or half-and-half, one packet of Splenda, 1/2 t. of vanilla extract. That will be enough for about six servings, and possibly some leftovers. So simple, but elegant and delish!

Oh, and about the quiche... be sure not to overcook it. You want it only just done, or maybe slightly underdone, in the center when you take it out. It will continue to cook a bit as it cools, and you want a creamy, custardy texture, not one like over-done scrambled eggs. A thin knife inserted in the center should come out looking pretty clean.

Finish things off with a vintage-y lemon icebox pie, updated by serving it in a cute little Mason jar! Just use my no-bake lime cheesecake recipe, use lemon instead of lime, freeze them a day or so ahead, and set them out on the counter 45 minutes before serving time.

Mother's Day with a Mexican twist

For something different, serve up my easy but elegant ancho-crusted salmon with avocado crema...

a make-ahead Tex Mex salad...

and no-bake lime cheesecake mini-desserts. Add a wee bit of triple-sec (if you're not philosophically opposed), and call it margarita pie.

Elegant and -- dare I say? -- impressive

If your mom is the fine china and real silverware type -- or you just want to treat her so -- here's a sure-fire trio. For the main dish, quick pork tenderloin with seasoned rub.

For a side dish, green beans with pine nuts -- which, trust me, is so much more than the sum of its parts, and as delicious as it is simple.

If you're not low-carbing it, some good bread would round things out nicely, then finish with a flourish by serving individual mini tiramisu cups.

And if mama ain't happy after one of these, well then, mama ain't gonna ever be happy at all!

Winter fruit salad with lemon poppyseed dressing

This is one of my favorite salads, and it always gets rave reviews. I don't make it as much now that we're eating low carb, but you could certainly swap out your sweetener of choice for the sugar. And you could reduce the amount of sugar or sweetener needed by substituting orange juice for the lemon juice. The first time I made this recipe, I was almost out of lemon juice so I used half lemon, half OJ, and it was quite tasty.

Of course, you can swap out pecans or sliced almonds for the cashews, but I think the saltiness adds a nice contrast to the sweetness of the other ingredients. I also like to use smoked Swiss -- or smoked Gouda, if I have it -- for the plain Swiss. It's a subtle addition, but I think it adds to the winteriness of the dish.

Make-ahead tip: Mix up the dressing, then chop the apples and pears and toss them with a little dressing. The citric acid in the dressing will keep the apples from turning brown. You can also prep the cheese, craisins and cashews and put them together in a container or baggie. Then when it's time to serve, just dump the dressing, fruit and topping mixture over your greens and toss. If you dump dressing or anything with salt and sugar in it on the lettuce ahead of time, it will begin to wilt immediately, as these chemicals break down the cell walls of plants.