GarnishFoodBlog - Fruit Carving Arrangements and Food Garnishes: October 2011

Halloween Disney Garnish From Carrot

>> 10/27/2011

Look at what I bought in Tokyo Disney Land. This is a Mickey Lantern keychain.

Halloween Disney lantern

I made a Mickey copy in carrot. It is absolutely edible.
Carved with a thai knife.

Mickey carrot garnish for Halloween food

Chicken, salad and carrot Mickey garnish

There are a chicken fry with soft dough (my chicken tempura:)) and pumpkin salad on the picture above. For the salad I used the pumpkin I practiced the thai design in. I never throw away carving waste and my carved fruit and vegetables. I bake and fry them or store in a fridge for the future cooking.

Pumpkin salad ingredients:
radish,
cucumber,
raw pumpkin,
vegetable oil
salt

Check up more salad recipes with garnishes

Linked to:
eRecipeCards.com
Sweetology
Tea Rose Home

Ancient Medallion. Soap Carving

>> 10/23/2011

I've got an idea to carve the Pumpkin Moon design in a soap. That soap looks like a medallion. It also reminds me a pattern from a ancient shield. I sticked a soap rose to the center and got a magical ancient medallion.

Ancient medallion carved in a soap

I have the other soap with an ancient design. In my eyes that soap looks like a seal of the Middle Ages. The photo has ~~vkusnoeda.com~~ watermark which is the other website of mine. I made the website at the times when I started to learn fruit and vegetable carving art. I hope you will find many ideas for your first steps in carving on there.

Apple Carving For Today

>> 10/22/2011

I carved wavy design in apples this morning practicing my Triangle knife skills.

Apple carving

Curd with cranberries for breakfast and apple carving for knife skills practice

Cranberry

Dessert:

Curd,
Sugar 2 teaspoons
Sour cream 2 tablespoons
Cranberry as much as you like

read more about:
cranberry for drinks
cranberry for plate garnish

Wavy design in apple

carved with my Triangle thai knife

Glamour Pumpkin Project and Sweet Pumpkin Dessert After

>> 10/18/2011

I enjoy carving pumpkin lights. I am not a fan of scary Halloween lanterns. Would love to add a beautiful aspect to my autumn pumpkin crafts.

It is getting cold and raining here in October. When I put a light to my pumpkin I feel warm and cozy.

This time I made a glamour pumpkin with a moon in it. I call this design Gothic Moon.

Continue reading the instruction to find a recipe of a sweet pumpkin dessert.

Gothic Moon

Glamour Pumpkin Carving Project

Step 1. Pick up a nice pumpkin for this design. My pumpkin was flat so I adjusted it on its side.

You need to cut a leed off and clear the pumpkin inside. I used my Triangle thai knife for carving my pumpkin.

Step 2. Important step. When you clear your pumpkin keep the pumpkin flesh for the dessert we will cook a little bit later. I used a melon baller to scrape the pumpkin inside.

Step 3. Drawing the design. This design consists of the series of the circles of the different sizes. Fill each circle with curly details.

Step 4. Carve your pumpkin following the scratched design.

Step 5. Be sure to connect the curls into a nice pattern.

Step 6. I attached this photo to show the work in progress.

Step 7. Step by step you are finally done with the carving part!

Set a fire inside the pumpkin and enjoy the glamour look of your craft.
Now you have time for some cooking.

Sweet Pumpkin Dessert

Check up more dessert recipes

For the dessert you need:
pumpkin (removed flesh)
1 apple
1 orange (optional, add it for a rich taste)
1 pear (optional, add it for a rich taste)
2 tablespoons of raisin
1 or 2 tablespoons of honey

Cut the fruits and pumpkin, mix it together with raisin and honey. Cook it in the oven or microwave 20 min, t 200* C. I used a silicone container for baking the pumpkin dessert.

Serve a cool dessert.

Linked to
Sweetology

Soap Carving Class in Tokyo

>> 10/16/2011

I have written before about my melon carving class in Tokyo. This time I'd like to share my soap carving experience.

I am so thankful to my carving teacher in Japan, Mrs.Miho Morita, for accepting me for a soap carving class. Miho-sensei (sensei is a japanese word for a teacher) is a famous carving artist in Japan. Last year her student won a gold medals in the soap carving contest. I think I am so lucky to become one of her students.

Mrs.Miho Morita has a blog in English.

Miho-sensei has an unigue carving manner. Her soap works are incredibly fine. At the class I've choosen a diffiicult butterfly design with tiny details. We spent two hours carving it. That was challenging!

Original butterfly soap by Miho Morita sensei

My work

Inspite of the fact that my soap carving was far from being perfect I have got a valuable experience and learned some things:

I've got an idea on how to build a complicated design
I've learned a tricky knife motion (should be more practised)
I feel more confident now in making difficult thing.

At home I tried to use new skills in making a bird soap:

The work of mine. A bird carved in a soap bar.
Japanese soap is soft and has a pleasant perfume smell

I have other soaps in progress. Will show them up as far as they are completed.

Read more stories about my fruit carving adventures on Japan:
Thai Carving Competition in Tokyo, October 2011
Thai Carving Skills in Practice

Few pictures of Miho Morita soap carving

I'd like to show some beautiful works of Miho Morita.

Butterfly soap carving with the tiny tricky details, carved by Miho-sensei

Soap carving arrangement, made by Miho-sensei

After the class I met my Sakhalin friend at the appointed place and we went for a walk to Sensoji Temple located at Asakusa district. Sensoji is a must for Tokyo sightseeing. That is a Buddhist complex with a temple, pagoda and a garden.

There are O-mikuji boxes at the temple area. O-mikuji is a fortune prediction based on a random choice. Last year I drew out my mikuji and it promised me a poor fortune about my plans. As I understood later that was a true prediction. This year I have new plans and a better fortune for them :)

Gate to Sensoji Temple

At the temple area you will find many gift stores. It is called Nakamise street. They sell sweets, gifts, kimono, food and other nice things. Sensoji is not just a famous tourist spot, this is a beloved place by japanese people too. Step aside of Nakamise street and you get Geisha City. As we were explaned Geisha City was a name for a restaurant and eating house zone in Edo age. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

Nakamise street, inside a gift shop

Night veiw of Pagoda

Night view of the gate to Sensoji Temple

Thai Carving Skills Practice

>> 10/15/2011

In Tokyo I went to a carving demonstration given by Thai chef Mr.Chat Kunsri. He showed how to carve a carnation in a watermelon. When I came back home to Sakhalin I tryed the new skills out. I carved a carnation in a pumpkin. I am posting here the pictures from the demo and my pumpkin.

Carnation in a watermelon. Demo by thai chef

Thai chef is carving carnation in watermelon

Japanese carving artists and me watching the demo, Tokyo 2011

Thai styled watermelon. Demonstration by Mr.Chat Kunsri.
Wavy leaves are a difficult part of the design.

My try in thai style carving. Carnation carved in a pumpkin from my mom's garden.
My mom grows pumpkins specially for carving purpose :)

White baby pumpkin with standing petals.

Read all my stories from Japan

Create n Carve - Fruit and Vegetable Round-Up, September 2011. Part II

While my trip to Japan I have got several e-mails with entries to Create n Carve - Fruit and Vegetable Event. I could not announce them earlier because I was busy with my carving work and did not have much time for blogging. Thanks for your patience and understanding :)

I've desided to make an additional post for them. I also added the entries to the September 2011 Roun-Up page. Please meet and give them a visit:

Rita Loccisano

Un'idea creativa per far mangiare le mele ai vostri bimbi?

A cute apple worm says Hello to you

How-to video is inside

Kazi Taslima Sayera,

a cooking trainer from Bangladesh

Vegetable Vessel

Carving is his hobby. He has no website yet.

Martina Jackson

Fruit Bouquet

Martina is a Facebook and blogger friend of mine.

This bouquet was a first attempt for Martina to make an edible bouquet.

http://www.whatocook.com/recipes-blog.html

Thai Carving Event in Tokyo, October 2011

>> 10/10/2011

I am back from Tokyo where I visited the 3rd Thai Carving Contest. I am full with impressions about the Event and the whole trip to Japan. Tokyo was safe and friendly to me. Good wheather and nice people have made my trip.

I went to Tokyo with my Sakhalin friend. We had some adventures in metro and Disney Sea. Tokyo subway is complicated. There are local, rapid and express trains stopping at one station. They take you to the different destinations and you are not sure about the right train. Finally we managed with it.

At the last day of my staying in Tokyo, it was raining. My foot slipped on the floor and I fell down. As a result I've got my umbrella broken, my knees bruised and my foot hurt. That wasn't a serious injury, but I am feeling uncomfortable now. I think that was a kind of compensation for all the credits and gifts from my teachers and the TCA representatives.

The Thai Carving Contest was held in a trading center located at Daimon station. Daimon means a Large Gate. A famous Tokyo Tower is the right behind the gate. Tokyo Tower is one of the best veiwing spots for the city scenery.

Daimon district

Tokyo Tower, 333 meters height.

City veiw from the tower

The Thai Carving Event is an yearly event organised by Thai Carving Association (TCA) in Japan. This year it was a two-days event (1-2 October, 2011). The first day for the contest and the second day for melon and soap carving classes. They had a guest judge from Thailand Mr.Chat Kunsri, a chef in Shangri La Hotel. He was my teacher for thai style melon carving.

My thai styled melon

To my surprise I was the first and the only eropean at the event. I saw many beautiful works at the contest place. Japanese artists combine thai and japanese styles to get amazing designs. You can check the winner works at TCA page below (please note that the first three photos are gold, silver and bronze medals, all other photos are special prizes):
Soap carving
Melon carving