Highlight Your Food Choices by Using Colorful and Unique Vegetables

Photos courtesy of thebarefootshaman

As an Etsy addict I came across an Etsy store, Thebearfootshaman, where they have heirloom seeds for sale for absolutely gorgeous vegetables!  Take the time to browse the store for vegetables to brighten your wedding day food selections.  Even if you aren't serving the food cooked, some of these would make a great part of a crudite or chesse display. 

My favorite is the Five Colors Swiss Chard.  These colorful plants are almost impossible not to grow! They will grow in places where there isn't enough sun or too much sun as well as where the soil grade is poor.  You can cook them like spinach for a colorful side, after all, why serve ho-hum green beans with almond when you can highlight your plates with this gorgeous vegetable?

Purple Cauliflower from Sicily (photo from thebearfootshaman)

This gorgeous purple cauliflower is a great accent vegetable or perfect for hors d'oeuvres.  Use it as a dip bowl by hollowing it out.  Surround it with cheeses.  The options are endless.  And not to be a killjoy but it's also good for you! 

The Bearfootshaman offers additional seeds from other heirloom varieties, so head on over.  Even if you aren't planning a wedding the seed choices will jazz up dinner any night of the week. Visit TheBearFootShaman for lots of other choices like pear shaped tomatoes, chocolate color peppers and more!

7-Layer Italian Cookies--Perfect for Showers and Wedding Sweet Tables

Photo courtesy of: http://myitaliangrandmother.blogspot.com/

What Italian wedding or shower would be complete without these beautiful cookies? Although they take some time to make, the patience is well worth it in the end. This recipe is from a fellow blogger, Michele at her great blog, My Italian Grandmother, where she shares great recipes with you. Take the time to browse her blog for other great food ideas.

Rosemarie's 7-Layer Cookies

1 ¼ cup flour
3 eggs (large)
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons almond extract
2 sticks (melted butter)
1 jar apricot butter or preserves or seedless raspberry preserves
6 oz. bag of semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 tablespoon of oil
Red and green food coloring

3 pans 11x7x1 ½ or approximate size

Mix in bowl with electric mixer (if desired), flour, sugar, almond extract,

eggs, melted butter. Separate into 3 bowls evenly. After which you leave one bowl plain, in 2nd bowl add 8 drops of red and the last bowl add 8 drops of green coloring. Then in greased pans (or parchment lined pans) pour mixture so it covers all of the pan evenly. Bake for 10 minutes at 350. Remove from oven, on wax paper on foil, first turn over green layer, coat lightly with apricot, then white layer over that and coat with preserve. Last red layer melt chocolate in pot with 1 tablespoon of oil. Coat one layer with chocolate, refrigerate until hard then turn over wax paper or foil. Coat second layer, let it get hard then cut and slice.

Enjoy! Share with your friends and family!

Savory Favors For Your Guests -- Cavallucci (o morsetti) di Siena

Photo courtesy of: http://www.academiabarilla.com/

 
As your wedding winds down you'll want to send your guests home with a traditional Italian wedding favor.  If your wedding is Tuscan-inspired biscotti are a good choice.  Make or purchase favor bags with a grape vine pattern or stencil the pattern on bags yourself, and fill them with coffee flavored biscotti or cavallucci, a honey flavored rustic biscotti.  
 
Cavallucci are not beautiful cookies so package them in an eyecatching box or bag.  But ah! the taste with some strong coffee will make your guests feel like they've taken a weekend trip to Tuscany. 

I wasn't familiar with cavallucci, but these delicious cookies are easy to make using acacia honey and melted sugar mixed with flour, chopped, toasted almonds, minced candied citron and orange, anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander powder and a pinch of baking soda. The trickiest part was finding the right kind of honey, although you might be able to sub regular honey for acacia honey. 

For a recipe to make your own cavalucci go to  http://italianfood.about.com/.  I tested out this recipe, and believe me, if I can manage it, it's perfect for a bride who isn't looking for a complex DIY favor for her wedding.

Decorate your favor table with a grape and vine motif and your guests will love taking these cookies home for a late night snack.  You could consider pairing them with a favor-size packet of espresso for your guests to take home with them or some chocolate nut truffles or jordan almonds.