Host Renai Ellison combines flowers and common household items to create uncommonly beautiful frozen florals.
Frozen Floral Ice Bucket
Materials for the bucket:
2-liter plastic soda bottle
gravel
5 to 6-qt. plastic bucket
distilled water
fresh flowers such as roses, daisies or other flower(s) of choice
Steps:
- Cut off the top of a soda bottle and fill with gravel.
- Place bottle inside plastic bucket.
- Add approximately one quart of distilled water.
- Add flowers to the water inside the bucket.
- Add more water and fill the bucket nearly to the top.
- Push flowers down as far down as they will go.
- As flowers begin to freeze, manipulate them to get a good placement.
- When frozen, put the entire bucket into a large container of hot water (figure A).
- Gently remove the ice mold (figure B).
Materials for fruit bowl:
gravel
small dish
large bowl
water
fruit
greenery
edible flowers
Steps:
- Put gravel in a small dish in the middle of a larger bowl.
- Add water to the large bowl.
- Add fruit to the water.
- As water starts to freeze, manipulate the fruit in the ice.
- Add greenery and fruit, then continue to fill.
- Adding water to the middle bowl will increase the weight.
- Let it freeze for at least 24 hours.
- Remove the center bowl and put the larger bowl in hot water.
- Place on a paper towel to remove the mold.
- Put fruit on the inside to serve.
- To make ice cubes with edible flowers, fill an ice try halfway with water.
- Add edible flowers such as nasturtiums and fill with more water (edible flowers are available at better grocery stores and should be clearly identified as edible). Let it freeze and serve in a glass with water.
Tips
- If you are in a hurry, add ice cubes to replace some of the water in the bucket just before adding soda bottle.
- Use fun children's toys instead of flowers for a child's party. Chill their favorite soda or juice in the scuplture.
- If you have lots of time, freeze in colorful layers by adding water that you've colored with food coloring. Add the squirts of water bit by bit, allowing it to freeze in between.
- For a very elegant party, use all white and cream flowers and large palm fronds.
- Use only Hawaiian flowers for a summer outdoor gathering.
Materials for ice cubes:
ice-cube trays
water
mint leaves, nasturtium blossoms and/or rose petals
Steps:
- Place some mint leaves, nasturtium blossoms or rose petals down in each ice cube tray slot.
- Gently pour water over and freeze solid. This is great to use in iced tea, mint juleps, and fun children's summer drinks.
Materials for large frozen fruit bowl:
large plastic mixing bowl
smaller (at least two-thirds smaller) plastic mixing bowl
gravel
large bowl
grapes, berries, lemon and lime slices
metal tray
Steps:
- Fill large plastic mixing bowl one-thirds to half way full of water. Let stand overnight, covered to remove air bubbles. To avoid this stage, use a large jug of bottled water.
- Fill smaller bowl with gravel and place it in the middle of a water-filled large bowl. Place lots of fruit in water in a large bowl. Place in freezer. Check the bowl every half hour for approximately two to three hours to poke any fruit that rises above the water line back down into the bowl. Freeze overnight until solid.
- To unmold, fill gravel-filled small bowl with hot water and remove. Set larger bowl in hot water and release frozen bowl onto clean dish towel. Place frozen fruit bowl on a metal tray and keep in the freezer until you're ready to use it.
- A great serving idea is to place chilled peel-and-eat shrimp, chilled melon, etc., in the bowl.
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