In celebration of Earth Day, Whole Foods Foggy Bottom will be hosting a class on Tuesday, April 22, at 5pm, on how to make edible bouquets and arrangements for weddings, dinner parties, and other special occasions. Lauren Mulcahy, the store’s healthy food specialist, tells us how she used an edible bouquet for her wedding – and turned it into a delicious meal the next day!
“When I got married last year, I knew I wanted an eco- and vegan-friendly wedding that incorporated what was important to my husband and me. I thought about how I wanted my bouquet to reflect that and I worked with Fatima, our floral specialist, on transforming my idea into reality. Fatima was able to create for me an edible bouquet that was beautiful for the wedding and made for a delicious meal the next day!
While my bouquet had many root vegetables (since I was married in the fall), bouquets with different combinations of vegetables and herbs can be prepared following these same steps:
- Disassemble your bouquet. Be sure to remove any wooden skewers, floral wires, or other supplies that may have been used to keep it together.
- Separate out each type of vegetable and herb and wash well.
- Cut your vegetables so that they’ll cook evenly and be easier to eat. For my bouquet, I started by slicing the sweet peppers into rounds and slicing the broccolini stems, leaving their florets fairly large. I sliced the radishes in half, but I left the potatoes whole. (In hindsight, I would have cut them into smaller pieces so that they would have cooked more quickly.)
- Sauté your non-root vegetables in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until they begin to soften. If your vegetables look like they might stick, add a splash of water, vegetable broth, or wine to the mix.
- Add in your root vegetables, herbs, and about half a cup of water, vegetable broth, or wine.
- Put a lid on the Dutch oven and transfer it to your oven, where it should bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (or until the vegetables are tender).
- Remove the Dutch oven from your oven, stir in any leafy greens from your bouquet, and serve!
If you want to create a more filling meal with your edible bouquet, you can always serve it on top of rice and beans – or with any other grain or legume of your choice. Any edible part of the bouquet that you do not consume can be easily composted, so it creates virtually no waste.”
To learn how to make your own edible bouquet or arrangement and RSVP for the class, please email the store.
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