Farm To Table Vegetable Garden Party
Farm To Table Vegetable Garden Party
Time to get out into the garden and enjoy the spring air! What better way to enjoy it than to share it with your friends right in your own backyard. If you don’t have a vegetable garden, head to your local you-pick or farmer’s market to gather all your fresh ingredients. Or if you want a really fun project, build your own garden! I have rebuilt mine FOUR times, each time bigger to accommodate all the things I want to grow. I love spending time there but if I ever get tired or too busy to maintain it, I installed a drip system so it can take care of itself. Don’t be afraid to get started. You can make it as big, small, and as easy to maintain as you like!
Building the garden fence picket by picket and arbor was a labor of love. I wanted to invite my friends to enjoy it at its best when things were blooming. I set up my easy fold-out table and chairs right in front of it. You can find these tables here! And the chairs are only $15 each on Ikea here!
For the tablescape, I started with an abundant mix of vegetables that reminded me of floral shapes. The large heads of lettuce ground the centerpiece and fill in large spaces. Bunched together radishes in a variety of colors, asparagus, onions, and rainbow carrots fill in the gaps and create a collection of interesting colors. Wood chargers, white plates, and a really fun DIY menu-printed napkin complete each place setting. Create your own menus in any design software like photoshop or simply use a word document. Print your creation mirrored on transfer paper. And iron on to a napkin of your choice. I found these flour sack towels by the dozen on Amazon. A really inexpensive find for larger gatherings! You can find my DIY for these in this post.
The Food.
The star of the show, however, is not the pretty decor. It will undoubtedly be the beautiful fresh food you will be serving! This fresh spring greens salad is as simple and easy as it gets. Dress it up with edible flowers for an artistic display and serve with your favorite dressing. I found these terrarium garden tools at Target and thought they would be adorable as salad serving utensils!
This winter, I grew a ton of carrots! How gorgeous are these Roasted Rainbow Carrots in olive oil with a sprinkle of brown sugar!? Displayed on a slate board, they make a statement lined up by color and topped with coordinating edible flowers.
Most of my friends like a particular salad dressing. I suggest putting at least 3 options on the table so they can choose their favorites.
Another easy salad option is my absolute favorite, The Caprese. I grow a lot of tomatoes and basil so this is an almost daily lunch and dinner item in my house!
An Adorable Dessert!
For dessert, I served these absolutely adorable custom made cookies by my friend and amazing cookie artist Pink Apron Confections. I am currently going through a love affair with aged terracotta pots. I thought it would be such a cute serving dish for a garden party dessert! To get this powdered white age effect, simply add garden lime to the exterior of your pots and let it age naturally over time.
Aren’t they all so cute!?
Asparagus is another easy roastable veggie to grow and serve as a side dish. I took it one step further and baked it on pastry dough with creamy Gruyere cheese.
Finally, keep your glasses full of wine and happy gardening! Cheers to Spring!
