The other day I dug out a cookbook that I’ve had since I was little. It was published in 1985, and is full of funny little illustrations of a little bear who helps teach you how to cook. As I thumbed through it, remembering recipes I had made with my mom, I stumbled across a fun “food art” idea. Transform olives and carrot peelings into fun bumble bees!
You’ll need a handful of olives—1 for each bee—and a carrot.
Peel the carrot like usual. Then slice in half lengthwise. Using your vegetable peeler, peel long thick strips of carrot. Place 1 for every olive into a bowl of cold water. The cold will help them to curl up into the spirals. Reserve 1 or two carrot strips for the wings and tails. Use a paring knife to cut a small slit into the two long sides of the olive. Lay the carrot strip flat and cut into triangles. Place one triangle into each slit, and one into the hole from where the pit was removed to make a tail. Skewer onto a toothpick*. Take one carrot strip and peel into a tight spiral and skewer below each olive bee. Use to garnish a sandwich, add to ants on a log, or even use to top a mini meatloaf (recipe coming soon!).
Have fun! David loved these—olives are one of his favorites and he couldn’t get enough of the bees!
*be careful with toothpicks and little ones!
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