First, make sure you have a good tomato, and two sharp knives. I usually have a longer and a shorter one for different uses. You can use one knife the whole time, but if one isnt working the way you want it to, then you want a backup there since you will be covered in tomato juice. ;)
Step 1: Cutting your tomato
Start with cutting the end of the tomato. Now, the first rule you need to remember is to go slow and control your knife, if your tomato skin breaks, then it is ruined!!
So cut the end it one piece, but then work your way around the tomato
You need to move slow and steady and keep your skin pieces as even as possible. The larger (wider) the cut, the less it will go around, but the easier it is to cut, the smaller (thinner) the cut, the more layers the rose will have but the harder it will be to cut. It is all about practice. :)
This tomato was softer then I wanted it to be, but it was my last tomato, and I didn't want to go to the store first. :) Being softer, you can see the skin rippling and it was MUCH harder to get a good cut out of it and so I made it a larger cut.
When you are done, you should have one long piece of tomato skin.
Step 2: Build Rose
curl the end up with the inside of the tomato skin facing each other.
You start with the end that you finished cutting.
hold it tight and keep rolling it up.
When you get to the large top piece, you will fold it over and set the curled up skin on top of the piece. It becomes your base. The weight of the skin helps hold it together.
It should look about like this. You can put basil leaves between the base and the curled skin to look like leaves as well. Different colored tomatoes work and can make a pretty "bouquet" of flowers. :)
So, Give this a try, and let me know how it goes.
Happy Creating! :)
