Veggie Tails and Flowers for Fancy Veggie Basket

My Mother began making fancy cut veggie baskets for special occasions after I left home, so I didn't have the chance to watch or help her much. Now that she's passed to the other side of the veil I had to recall, search for photos of her vegetable basket and online to "see" how to make various veggie tails and flowers.  In addition I asked myself questions.  I began to get some inspiration of my own--possibly from her whispering suggestions in my ear.  I felt her nearby as I thought of her, which made for a priceless time.   

What follows is how I make radish roses, green onion tails and stems, carrot crinkles and flowers, jagged cucumber circles, celery tails and turnip flowers. 

Time Needed: I have been asked, "How much time does it really takes to make this?" and "Can I really make it look that pretty?"  Yes, you can!  If I can make this, so can you!  Part of it is the cutting, but also important is picking vividly colored vegetables and arranging them with high contrast.

You'll need the time to purchase your vegetables, then the time to cut 5-6 types of colorful vegetables and 6 flowers the night before, and time the next day to assemble them. 

Whether you cut all of these or just add a single radish rose as a garnish, it will dress up your typical platter.
Prepare the veggies the night before so the cuts have time to curl and you only have to assemble them the next day before you serve them.  And remember to involve your teens, even tweens, who will be thrilled to wield a knife for you! 

To cut these radishes, celery, carrots, cucumbers, onions etc. into veggie tails or flowers you will need:

Ingredients  *cut these the night before

Ice
Lettuce, 1 head red or green leaf to cover basket

Cabbage, 1 purple head as the base to stick flowers in

*Radishes, 2 bunches

*Celery, 1 bunch--darker green is more pleasing to the eye
*Cucumber, 1 large English
*Carrots, 8-10 large, loose or just buy 1-2 packages of waffle cut carrots
*Carrots flowers, 3-5 medium sized 
Olives, 3-4 small or medium sized for carrot flower center 
*Green onions, 2-3 bunches 

*Turnip, 1 for flowers

*Parsnip, 1 for flowers

Beet, 1 for flower optional and if you cut these
*Bell pepper, 1 large, wide pepper to hold the dip

Note:  Other vegetables you can use to round out having 6-8 veggies in your basket:

Bell peppers, 2 that contrast color cut into strips or rings

Tomatoes, 1 pint grape or cherry--no cutting required, yet adds great color

Broccoli, cauliflower or broccoflower--1 head cut into tree top pieces

Zucchini, 2-3 small, green or yellow scored and cut at a slant or into sticks

Peapods, 1 package 

Whatever else is available or in season

Dip, Favorite Ranch or Green Goddess Anything Dressing
Parlsey, chives or dill, chopped fresh or dried to sprinkle on top

If you make your own dip, make it the day before or at least a few hours before.  This allows time for the seasonings to blend. I serve my dip in a  pepper cut in triangle slits near the top.  Choose a wide sturdy bell pepper.  Choose yellow for Thanksgiving or red for Christmas or to contrast well with your other vegetables and flower base. 

Materials:

Rounded basket with a handle and no sides, but any tray will do

Assorted vegetable paring knives; small, medium and large 
Carrot curler
Carrot peeler
Fork
Cheese slicer, optional
Crinkle or waffle cutter

6-8 Wooden, thin shish-ka-bob sticks

6-8 Toothpicks

Scissors or tool to clip or snip sticks to size
4-5 Bowls to put the veggies in ice water to curl 
Paper or dish towels to dry veggies 
Disposable gloves, if you use beets

Descriptions and Instructions: 
Remember since veggies are water based, they need to be placed in ice water as you make each to curl them and remain in the water until you assemble them to keep them hydrated.  

Wait to assemble your basket until you are ready to serve it.  This is especially necessary for the stems and leaves of the flowers. As soon as you take them out of the water, they begin to dry out, so time your assembly and serving well.  Also, once you have served them, if you go right into your meal, just quickly drape a clean, damp dish towel over them, until you can put the leftovers away after the meal.

Radish roses:  Wash both bunches and separate each. Trim the long stringy single root off; but realize you can keep or partially keep the stem.  I use the full stem version when I need just a single garnish.  Mostly I like to leave a bit of the stem on to make it easier to pick up off the basket and dip it without getting your hands dipped too!  Cutting radishes into roses makes it easier to get more dip into the crevices and reduces double dipping!  Mostly though, they just look more appetizing and fun.  The cuts are really simple to make.  If you only make one fancy veggie, make this one.  It's just 4 cuts!

In this radish rose, you simply make 4 cuts almost all of the way through and leave it whole for the rest.  These are cuts the length of the radish. Hold it by the stem and cut it towards you.  Also cut it in a rounded rather than straight way, if you can.   

Now remove most or all of the stem and place them in a bowl of ice water to make the cuts more pronounced.  Leave them overnight or for about 5-6 hours until you are ready to add them all to the basket at the same time.   

This cut looks like a pineapple to me.  Hold it by its stem.  Choke up on your paring knire so you are mostly using just the tip.  Cut 4 small slices into the top by the stem near the top vs. all the way from the tip.  Put your thumb on one side and index finger on the other.  I cut them towards me, so move your thumb towards you.  Now make a row below it.  Cut in between the upper cuts to get the staggered look.  If your radish is long enough, you can even make a 3rd row of cuts, again alternating between the previous row.  Now trim part or all of the stem off.  I prefer to leave a bit of the stem on to make it easier to dip.

I am able to get one piece from the top end and three from the rest of each normal sized celery stalks.  Where it is thicker at the bottom, you can also cut them in two before you cut their tails.  Veggie tails make for better gripping and dipping. 

Onion tails:  I use all of the onion--1/3 for the tails and 2/3 for the stems and leaves on the flowers.  

First I make the firm, lighter, root end into onion tails.  Wash and separate your bunches.  One at a time, first trim off the hairy root part.  Next place 3 longer fingers width along them and cut them off behind that point.  Set the other end aside to use next.  Now use the tip of your paring knife, to cut 4-6 slits into a little bit more than half of each.  To do this, I lay each down and make my first slim cut or two, then I rotate it slightly after it subsequent slice.  They separate as you cut them, but will curl right up when you place them in a bowl of ice water. These curled green onion tails are ready for dipping.  Just pick up either end.  When you dip the tail end in however; you pick up more dip in the slits.
 
Onion stems/leaves:  
Now we'll use the other end of the onion, the greener end of the green onion, to make the stem and leaves for the flowers. 

I don't remember how my Mother made her stems, or if she just sprinkled some turnip flower heads amongst them, so I just got busy thinking and asking myself how I would make a stem, leaves and how I would secure them and came up with this way.  I first came up with the carrot flower heads you'll see below when I couldn't find her cookie cutter she makes turnip flower heads with like you'll also see below.  I know she was inspiring me from the other side.  That and I saw the fun Carrot Curler my husband had found. 

Carrot Crinkles:  If you can, just buy waffle cut or crinkle cut carrots from your grocer when they are available.  I do whenever I can!  To make your own, you need a salad shooter or other hand cranked waffle cutter to make them.  This is ours. You want the largest carrots you can find.  After you wash, peel and cut each end off, just hold it tightly with pressure and it moves around.  If you hold it straight up and down you'll get round slices.  If you move it to a slant you'll get bigger slanted slices.  

Cucumber Slices:
Wash an English cucumber.  You can use a regular one, but I prefer the taste and peel of the English version.  Also, it's longer and you get more and they aren't as big around.  They now sell mini cucumbers.  That's what this one is. 

Simply stand it on end.  Hold the cucumber with your left hand and with your right or dominant  hand, run the fork tines down the length of the cucumber. Turn it slightly and repeat this 3-4 times until all of the cucumber has lines going down all the way around the circumference.  My Mother usually scored her  cucumbers vs. peeling them. 

Next you want to slice them.  You can send them through the waffler above or you can use a cheese slicer to cut off the pieces. This is fast and easy.

Or you simply lay it down and slice it with a knife at an angle.  Pick a firm cucumber so it's easier to dip and crisp to bite. Of course you can use lengthwise even slices instead of disc slices.  

Celery Tails:
Wash a bunch of celery.  Trim the tips from both ends.  Make your first cut right at the seam at the top and remove the two smaller side pieces.  Then cut the rest of the stalk into 3 pieces.  For the very bottom piece, cut it in two length wise as well.  I am able to get 4-5 slices out of a normal sized stalk of celery. 

Now using the celery strands that run through the celery stalk as your guide, cut between the celery strands.  You can cut between each or every other one.

 You decide if you want to cut both ends or just one end too.  Then throw each in ice water and they will curl more overnight. 

Here you have 5 cut veggies and the yellow pepper is ready to cut to hold the dip.  Notice the celery in this basket.  The ends are sliced.  The longer they are in ice water the more they curl.  A celery tail makes for better gripping and dipping!  

You can also see the carrots, onions, radishes and cucumbers here as well. Another thing to notice is that I already put the holes in the purple cabbage by pressing the sharp end of the shish-ka-bob stick in so the flowers will be easily added next.

Carrot flowers: 
Now I make the curls for my carrot flower head with a large pencil sharpener, well a big version of one made just for vegetables.  It's large, orange and a carrot or parsnip fits easily in it. I use this Easy Carrot Curler.  You can buy it at your local restaurant supply store or just order it online at http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-5129-Easy-Carrot-Curler/dp/B000RWMURC.   

From experience I found that medium sized carrots work the best for these flowers.  Apply good pressure in both directions as you sharpen or twist the carrot.  The outside of the carrot curls or the shavings come off.  You just have the carrot's core left.  Did you know that carrots have a core?   

Depending on the length of your carrot you should get two carrots flowers out of it.  I place each curl in cold water to increase and hold the curl.   You can easily crank out carrot or parsnip shavings to make carrot flower heads with this Carrot Curler available at Amazon or your local restaurant supply store.

After I peel the carrot and chop off the tip and the end to discard, I cut a few small round circles out of the first inch of the small end of the carrot.  I use them for the center of the other flowers.

To make a carrot flower head, let the piece of carrot curl curl naturally around itself, yet help it a bit with your fingers.  Put one hand under and the other inside and turn them in opposite directions.  Tighten it more at the bottom and spread it more at the top.  Use enough of the carrot to make fun peaks.  If you use too large of a carrot, it will be a huge head with fewer peaks.

Now place an olive, either medium or small sized, inside as close to the bottom as possible, but so the center it makes shows up well.  Secure it with a toothpick by gently pressing the toothpick through the spot where the curls come together and then through the olive until it barely meets the other side of the carrot curl.   

Below you see the toothpicks holding the carrot heads in place.  Use an old pair of scissors to snip off the toothpick as close to the carrot as possible.

Also, this is a good picture of the green onions stems/leaves.  They were in the ice water overnight and made great curls. You also see the stems and leaf curls below them.  This time I just pushed them in a green zucchini base.  Another time I used a yellow crook neck squash.  Now I've found that a purple cabbage is the most consistently available and most vividly contrasting color to use as a base to hold the flowers.   

I make a total of 6 flowers for the base.  They can be all carrot or you may also make beet, turnip and parsnip flowers with a cookie cutter or paring knife.  I'll describe them next.

For fun use the carrot curler to make a whitish yellowish flower head from a parsnip.  It's the root that starts smaller around and gets bigger, even more than a carrot. With this one, I used a jumbo black olive and a pimento olive inside of it. Oh, maybe I can use part parsnip and part carrot one time!  And another time I'm going to try brushing beet juice or any food coloring along the outside before I shave it for a fun color.


Parsnip, Turnip or Beet Flowers:
If you can find a cookie cutter like this 8 point shape, use it to cut your parsnip, turnip and beet flowers.  Raw root vegetables are tough to push through, so lay the edge of a wide large knife on top of and across the cutter, then push down on the wide blade until it pushes all the way through.  Now just remove the edges and push the flower out. 

If you don't have a cutter, use a round biscuit cutter and then cut a few small triangles and round each by hand like I did here.  Remember you are just making 3 or 4 of them flower heads! 






Keep them in the cold water until you are ready to assemble them so they stay hydrated.  

When it's time to assemble them, take a thin shish-ka-bob stick and put a 2 inch single green onion tube at the top.  This will keep the stick from showing below the flower head. 

When it comes time to thread the thin shish-ka-bob stick in, I pick the straightest tube to guide it up through. Sometimes I cut the less green end at an angle so none of the stick shows when I add it to its purple cabbage base.  

 
You can cut a parsnip flower head. Notice the fun center the parsnip has as well as its yellowish color.  

This one wasn't quite big enough around, so the tips are not pointed, but it still worked.  

If you make a beet flower, be sure to use disposal gloves to cut and handle it. They are such a vivid, deep red and it will get on you and your counter. The look of the flower is worth it though.  I have yet to dare make one the day before though and leave it in water. So I just make the beet on the next day just before I assemble the others.    

This is what the beets look like at my local grocery store.  If yours has nice leaves like this, you could use the leaves off of this bunch to line the basket.

So just like you have a few flower head options, you have a few leaf types to cover your basket as well. 

Steps to arrange your basket:
Cover the basket with lettuce leaves.
Place the base for the flowers in the center.
Place the dip at one end.
Depending upon that pepper's color, choose which vegetable will look best next to it.  Arrange the radishes and carrots opposite each other, since they are the most vivid in color.  
Assemble your flowers and put them in the base. 
Now you are ready to carry your veggie basket around as you greet your guests, or simply leave it on the table as an appetizer or make it part of your meal.   

So here is Maija (my-a)   fancy veggie basket--just in time for Thanksgiving. 

Now it's your turn.  Pick one or two cuts or flowers to add to your holiday table.  Enjoy!