Japanese food is as much about art as it is about taste

Great for school lunches, casual picnics or work place breaks, Bento boxes are a fun and creative form of Japanese food art.

In Japan, the presentation and artistic nature of a meal is just as important as the taste. This doesn’t just apply to fancy five star restaurants – home chefs, including clever parents and caregivers, pride themselves in creating awe-inspiring food art for their childrens’ school lunch boxes, or bento boxes.

A bento box in Japan is a single portion meal, which is commonly eaten at lunch or for any meal away from home. It usually contains a balanced list of ingredients including rice, meat and vegetables. Not only do homemakers spend time making the food healthy and delicious, they also put considerable effort into making the food presentation spectacular! A common belief is that when food looks and tastes good, it will enhance the mood of the person eating it and improve their performance continue reading…

Radish flowers bouquet taught in Nita’s free video lesson

Making carved radish flowers is a great way to “get your feet wet” with vegetable and fruit carving. Radishes are easy to work with and are usually accessible in your grocery store all year round. Their bright red skin and white interior makes for a beautiful color contrast that is perfect for making vegetable flowers.

My free radish bouquet is easy enough for beginners and pretty enough for professional fruit carving displays. In this article you will see examples of radish bouquets make by students and pros.

Readers of my blog who have signed up for my free lesson always have great photos to share from their first attempts at carving radish flowers. I recently featured some of these photos in a previous post: Radish Flowers Carved by Students of Free Lesson. I also wrote a blog post about how students made their own variations on the radish flowers idea: Delicious Fruit Arrangements.

Since writing those posts, I’ve received more photos and comments from readers who have tried making radish flowers. I’d like to share them with you as it might give you ideas for making your own edible bouquets. continue reading…

Fruit arrangements that can be eaten are fun, fresh, pretty to look at and are always a welcome addition at any special event. You may have even given or received fruit arrangements as a thank you gift. There are several companies selling their own fruit bouquets and  arrangements; but have you ever thought that you can make these yourself at home?

With the fresh fruit and vegetables available in Spring, what better way to celebrate the season than by making your own  fruit arrangements for a potluck, dinner party or just for fun with your kids or grandkids? If you celebrate Easter, homemade flower fruit arrangements with colorful fruits and vegetables will really brighten up your table! continue reading…

Don’t you just love fresh and colorful fruit arrangements? They make wonderful gifts, attractive centerpieces and you don’t have to feel guilty about eating them!

Homemade fruit arrangements are fun and delicious as well as beautiful.

Even parents with little picky eaters at home can “trick” their kids into enjoying a healthier snack with pretty fruit arrangements that can be eaten. I know this was the case with my son. For some reason, things are just more fun to eat when they are served on a stick!

The problem with store bought fruit arrangements is that they can be quite expensive, especially if you want special additions such as chocolate dipped fruit.

The good news is that it’s easy to make your own fruit arrangements at home. Read on to see photos of homemade fruit arrangements and vegetable bouquets and get some tips on how to make your own edible creation. continue reading…