Cute Veggie Platter for Easter - Adorable Cauliflower Lamb

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We did our annual playgroup Easter egg hunt and brunch, yesterday, and I always try to make a cute veggie platter. The last two years, I made Easter bunny veggie platters and I also did a veggie chick for our family party last year. This year, I took on the challenge of creating a cauliflower lamb!

I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how it was going to turn out. I even got some extra bright yellow cauliflower to make a chick or a duck as backup, but I think it turned out cute! 

The veggie lamb was really not that difficult to make. I'd say the hardest part of the veggie sculpture was just getting the cauliflower florets in place for the face, but other than that, it was just a whole lot of prep work.

What You Need:

(you can sub many of these veggies - I got mine at Albertsons where they seem to have a good selection of pretty cauliflower etc.)

3 small heads of cauliflower

1 bright green cauliflower cut into florets

1 bright yellow cauliflower cut into florets

1 bunch broccoli cut into florets

1 bunch carrots cut into sticks

2 cucumbers cut into sticks

1 bunch celery cut into sticks (save leafy stems for garnish)

2 bell peppers (yellow and orange) with tops cut off and de-seeded to hold dip

3 bell peppers (yellow, orange, green) sliced into sticks

1 bunch chives for garnish

1 bunch sage for garnish

1 bunch purple curly kale

1 bunch green curly kale

1 box heirloom cherry tomatoes

1 plastic veggie tray

1 piece styrofoam

hot glue gun/glue

Round toothpicks

What You Do:

First, you want to hot glue a small piece of styrofoam into the center of your plastic veggie tray. This will anchor your lamb. It is possible to build this without the plastic tray or styrofoam, but it may not travel as well. I'm always traveling with these, so I like them locked down really well. You can buy these trays on Amazon - Plastic Divided Trays.

Then you use toothpicks poked into the bottom of your largest cauliflower and spiked into your styrofoam. Sometimes I use a plier if it is a little tough.

Next, I removed some of the florets around the base of a small cauliflower and spiked that onto the first one with toothpicks. 

I carved the stem into a rounded cylinder for the snout, but later on, I decided to make the mouth open by cutting it in half so it would look more like a lamb and less like a poodle.

Then I spiked a couple florets into the "face". Lambs have a sort of narrow face, and my face is a little on the rounder side, so I tried to get these florets really tightly into the face with toothpicks. I spiked a couple of florets in as ears, and attached the mouth.

I used some seaweed nori cut into circles for the eyes and a nose shape. I attached these with my veggie dip.

To finish the lamb, I cut an heirloom cherry tomato in half for a little tongue.

To complete my veggie tray, I always lay down a nice bed of kale. The kale should completely cover the plastic tray, so you can't see it. I used another cauliflower stem that I shaved down and cut in half for two feet popping out in front of the lamb.

Then, I like to add bunches of leafy celery, sage, and chives, each bound together with rubber bands to keep the bunches together. They add a little height and texture to the veggie tray.

I find the space I want to put my peppers holding dip, and place those next.

Then, by the handful, I literally shove bunches of carrots, celery, cucumber, and peppers into my kale "bed". Once these are in place, I fill in with all the broccoli and cauliflower florets and finish off with my cherry tomatoes placed everywhere they fit, like little Easter eggs. I really like to overload my veggie tray with fresh veggies because I think it looks really cool, but you can choose however you want to do this and enjoy!