No Place Like Home

Karen Wight

It’s time to say goodbye to the pumpkins, gourds and corn and make

room for a new wave of festive fruits, vegetables, nuts and herbs.

You can begin the magical holiday transformation by adding a few

things to the grocery cart. Urns, bowls, and trays mounded with red and

green apples make a beautiful and easy addition to the table, mantle or

at the base of your potted plants.

Citrus adds a bright, fresh look and scent. Don’t be discriminating,

all varieties of citrus have their place during the holidays. Make

pomander balls out of oranges and whole cloves. Push the cloves directly

into the orange rind in a decorative pattern. The cloves act as a natural

preservative and prevent the orange from growing green and fuzzy.

You can use this technique on all kinds of citrus: limes, lemons,

kumquats and grapefruits. These creations smell wonderful and the colors

of the fruit add an extra punch to your traditional holiday decorations.

If the kids are strong enough, this is a great project for them to do.

I like kumquats in all shapes and forms. I think potted dwarf kumquat

trees adorned with little white lights at your front door are one of the

best ways to welcome your guests. Kumquats are great added to a crystal

vase, with or without cut flowers. And kumquats are a great size and

color to spread around your serving tray for appetizers or meat dishes.

And you can actually enjoy eating them too. I love the sweet rind and the

extra-sour flesh inside.

You can use cranberries in the same way. Add a few handfuls as garnish

for your holiday cooking. Add them to the vase of a floral arrangement.

Sprinkle a few fresh cranberries on your holiday table along with whole

nuts: almonds, walnut and hazelnuts. If you really want an aromatic

table, add whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, allspice and cloves.

Less hardy but beautiful nonetheless are lady apples and baby pears.

Use one of your silver candy dishes and mound these fruits into a pyramid

display. You won’t know whether to “oooh” and “aaah” or eat them.

If your potted plants have exposed dirt or Spanish moss, be sure to

add plenty of unusual fillers. Whole nuts, citrus, pomegranates and small

apples are a nice surprise.

Pomegranates are a hardy choice. You can mound a few of these red

beauties along with an assortment of gold glass ornaments and have an

instant presentation. Dig out your can of gold spray paint and try giving

the tops of the pomegranates a light gold dusting. You won’t be able to

eat these if you paint them, so get a few extra for the kids so they can

eat them outside and destroy their clothes.

Pineapples are another easy and elegant decoration. If you have any

empty urns hanging around looking for something to do, place a pineapple

the appropriate size in them. Use newspaper to stuff the bottom of the

urn if the pineapple sinks too low.

Balance the pineapple in the urn and add kumquats or crabapples around

the base. This symbol for hospitality is welcome on any mantle.

Now I’m ready to move on to the multitude of uses for artichokes. This

morning I thought artichokes were vegetables, but this afternoon, my

dictionary has told me that I am wrong. Artichokes are a composite herb.

Well, there you go. I learn something new everyday.

Artichokes have a great outside texture. If you are preparing a large

floral creation for your entry or buffet table, considering adding some

artichokes for interest. If you have bamboo skewers or planting stakes,

all you need to do is carve out a little hole in the artichoke, attach it

to a stick and you have a clever component to your arrangement.

Baby artichokes are great used as place-card holders. If you really

want to impress your guests, get out your pinking or scallop shears and

carefully trim the top of each leaf to give them a decorative edge. This

will keep a teenager quiet for about 15 minutes. Amazing.

If you are at a specialty store and can buy freeze-dried fruits, so

much the better. You can use your bounty year after year. If you are a

purist and use the real thing, be sure to check for aging (unless you

load up on the whole cloves).

Fresh fruits, herbs and vegetables are an easy and creative way to add

panache throughout your home. The next time you go to the grocery store,

add a few extras from the produce aisle to your cart. This small

investment will have big payoffs.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs Sundays.