Today’s post wraps up a mini-series on simple summer entertaining. If you want to keep your entertaining simple add fresh fruits and vegetables.
Perhaps since I have done 100 posts on crudités platters, you don’t need to see me put together another one.
But I will tell you serving freshly cut veggies with a light sour cream dip is always a hit. And it leaves me feeling good that a healthy option is offered.
Yes, it’s more working prepping fruits and veggies that pouring a few nuts into a bowl.
In fact, it’s a big mess. So we make it worth our while and prep up extra servings for our eating pleasure before and after an event.
Fruit Prepping & Storing
We recently made a decent-size purchase of in-season fruit including cantaloupe, watermelon, blueberries and strawberries. For the record, those fruits are maybe not in season where you live, but wherever they are sourced from must be in season. Because the prices and the produce were good.
Purchasing prepared fruit at the store is expensive and the results are pretty dismal. There is always the green melon pieces that nobody eats and everything tastes exactly like nothing.
It’s really worth the bother of preparing fruits and vegetables at home.
After everything is cleaned and cut, I like to store in separate containers. Unless you’re making a fruit salad that will be eaten within a couple hours, the results of mixed fruit isn’t great.
My favorite Rubbermaid containers work so great. Storing even the strongest-smelling food is no problem because I clean them on the top shelf of the dishwasher and they come out looking and smelling brand new.
Although the Anthropologie storage bowls are no longer available, using them makes me so happy. Their cheerful little designs and airtight bamboo lids are so adorable.
Fruit Serving
Using cute parfait or wine glasses for individual servings works well and ensures a large fruit bowl doesn’t get passed over.
In-season fruit holds its own perfectly, but for a dessert vibe, a little whipped cream is nice. For brunch or breakfast, consider serving with yogurt or a yogurt fruit dressing.
Veggie Prepping and Storage
This post has in-depth details on all our secrets for what we call World Famous Veggie Plates.
But what I want to point out on this post is that veggie prep day is kind of a big deal. Purchasing, cleaning, cutting and storing vegetables when they are fresh reduce waste. And it means you’re not constantly in the fridge rooting around for a carrot or something.
Wrap Up
Hub always pitches in with veggie prep, or sometimes he just does it all on his own. For me, it is a big job, so I like to tackle it first thing in the morning when the coffee is still fresh. And I have the energy to prep everything and then clean the kitchen.
Now that it is May (!) I hope you’re starting to make some entertaining plans of your own or are gathering with friends, family or neighbors. I hope I’ve given you a few ideas to keep entertaining simple and enjoyable.
Happy Summer!