Flowers
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Serve
it with Flowers By: Lydia Jensen
Many ordinary dishes can be served
with a bit of color and style by adding edible flowers. Yes, that’s correct
- edible flowers. Not only are some of these flowers beautiful, they also
have a wonderful smell. Don’t start picking flowers from your garden on
your next nature walk. Edible flowers can be found in flower beds, however,
a word of caution is in order. Be sure that the edible flowers have not
been sprayed or otherwise treated with a harmful pesticide. If you are
unsure about the treatment of the flowers, ask. We do not advise you to
go to the florist and ask for a bouquet of edible flowers! You may, however,
find edible flowers in a gourmet grocery store or at a farmer’s market.
It is also important to know which flowers are safe and which may create
havoc with your system.
We have included a short list of
edible flowers and a description of their flavors to help you decide what
foods may be complimented with edible flowers.
Bean Blossoms: a sweet, bean flavor
Borage: cool cucumber taste
Butterblossom Summer Squash: mild
flavor
Chrysanthemums: aromatic, pungent
flavor
Dandelions: slightly bitter, hint
of mushroom
Johnny-Jump-Ups: mild wintergreen
flavor
Marigolds : citrus flavor, pleasantly
bitter
Nasturtiums: peppery flavor
Violets: subtle, delicate flavor
Roses: take on the taste of whatever
they're mixed with
The flowers and buds on common herbs
such as basil, chive, sage, rosemary, and thyme are also edible.
How do you use edible flowers?
Edible flowers can be used in many
different eye-catching and delicious ways. It's usually the petals of flowers
that are edible (and the most tasty). Most can be eaten in salads and make
beautiful garnishes for just about any dish. Try substituting small amounts
of one of the flowers above for herbs in dishes you normally make.
Nasturtiums are a wonderful addition
to a salad (add them last for an exquisite splash of color). The red, yellow,
and orange flowers make a beautiful garnish for cheese trays, soups, poultry,
cakes, and even drinks. Try pickling nasturtium buds in tarragon vinegar
to use instead of capers.
Violets can be used fresh, dried,
or candied. They are particularly well-suited to desserts. To make violet
tea, steep one teaspoon of leaves or flowers in a cup of boiling water
for ten minutes.
To reduce bitterness, dandelion flowers
should be boiled for a couple of minutes before being eaten. The French
make dandelion salad with bacon, vinegar, and garlic croutons. Dandelion
leaves can be eaten raw in salad. Beware of roadside dandelions, as they
may contain toxic levels of lead.
Borage can be eaten raw or cooked:
the leaves of this blue flower are often added to salads. The flowers can
be candied or soaked in wine or iced tea for extra flavor.
Try garnishing a main dish with rose
petals or using butterblossoms as a mild flavoring in soups and salads.
Rose petals also greatly enhance any dessert. A store-bought cake garnished
with rose petals becomes a work of art. If you're a little more adventurous,
try marinating rose petals in milk for a delicious custard or pudding treat.
Packaged or wrapped tightly in plastic,
edible flowers can last up to one week in the refrigerator.
Be careful when choosing edible flowers,
and discourage children from eating any kind of flower without first checking
with an adult. When in doubt, don't eat it. If you stick to the flowers
sold as "edible flowers," you have nothing to worry about. Or, grow your
own in a sunny windowsill, pesticide-free. If you grow your own, pick them
in the early morning when the blossoms are fresh and moist.
Article by: http://www.eclecticcooking.com/.
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Funky,
Fun Garden Plants
I have a love for funky, fun and
unique
garden plants. Here's
one to try.
It's called Sea Holly, and it's
actually in the
thistle family.
Sea Holly is a perennial garden plant,
which means you plant
it once and it comes up year after
year, somewhat depending
on your climate.
This plant never did fail to bring
attention and
comments from people seeing my garden.
It grows about
3-4 feet high, very branchy and
the branches are a
brilliant electric blue color.
It's stunning!
The only drawback to this lovely
plant, in the fall
you must cut it to the ground and
burn or compost the
plant. Do not let it go longer
than that, casting it
seeds or you'll soon discover it's
family trait of
being in the thistle family, if
you know what I mean.
The following spring, it'll come
back again to it's
beauty.
It is an easy plant to grow and does
best with full
sun, or as much sun as is available
to you. I live in
the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. so
we get a lot of rain and
fairly mild summers and yet it seems
to be enough for
this plant.
You can search for Sea Holly seeds
in seed catalogs or
sometimes you can find it in some
nurserys. An
internet search would surely find
you a source for
this lovely plant.
I thought I'd let you know about
one of the coolest,
funky plants for outdoors I've ever
run across. It's called
Evening Scented Stock, it is NOT
the common stock, however.
This is an annual plant, that needs
to be sown early spring, directly
into the soil where it is to bloom
and grow. I recommend planting it
nearby windows and doors, porches,
etc. This plant really doesn't look
like much in and of itself, it's
not a pretty plant per se..but when
about 5:00 PM rolls around watch
it do its stuff! This plant has a VERY
powerful fragrance similar to hyacynths
or lilacs. At the gentlest
breeze it sends a waft of fragrance
to die for. This is why it's so
excellent to plant near a window,
door or pathway. When you open up
your screen in the evening, this
will scent your entire house.
One place that I have found the seeds
for this rare plant is at
Fragrant Path, PO Box 328, Fort
Calhoun, NE 68023
They were about $1. a packet but
the price may have gone up.
Please write and ask them. Enjoy!
Here's another one to try. This one
is called Autumn Crocus.
In this case you can tell a lot by
it's name. You generally purchase
it as a bulb, which are usually
quite large. It does return year after
year without needing to re-plant
it.
In the spring it shoots up a lot
of foliage, this is preparing the
plant for it's autumn blooms, be
sure to just leave this alone. Come about
mid June or so, this foliage starts
looking like it's dying, again just
leave it be.
In late August/early September, when
most of the flowers are past their
prime and the garden is starting
to look sparse, out comes the Autumn
Crocus, with their beautiful lilac
colored blooms. They bloom for
quite a long time when few things
are blooming. A fun plant, give it a try!
This one is an annual (only lives
1 growing season) plant called
Love Lies Bleeding. It's as
strange as it's name.
It is very easy to grow. You
just simply direct seed it
in the soil (full sun preferably)
where it is to grow in
the spring. It's height seems
to vary greatly. I've seen
it be as small as about 2 feet high,
and reach up to 6 or
7 feet high. It's "flowers"
are long, burgandy colored
ropes that hang. It is simply
stunning. Always gets
attention! It will usually
re-seed itself so you'll get
new plants the following year without
doing anything.
It's best to try to find this seed
in an unusual type
seed catalog. It is in the
amaranth family.
Here's the last one. Ever tried
the hellebore family?
There are many varieties.
They are perennial which
means they come back year after
year.
These are best planted in shady
areas, but where they
will get sun in the winter, like
under leafed trees or
something of that nature.
What is so unusual about hellebores
is that they bloom
somewhere between Dec. and March.
There are very few
plants that do that! One variety
is called a Christmas
Rose. It's quite striking
to see flowers in the midst
sometimes of snow.
These plants usually must be puchased
at a nursery.
Check out your local nursery for
this wonderful family
of plants.
By Valerie Garner-Visit Home Tips
& More at
http://www.angelfire.com/wa/hometips
What's a perennial
garden plant that blooms in the winter?
A hellebore!
It is an outdoor plant that is shocking to see
blooming sometimes
in the snow. There are many varieties. They are
perennial which
means they come back year after year.
These are best
planted in shady areas, but where they
will get sun
in the winter, for instance under leafed trees or
something of
that nature.
What is so unusual
about hellebores is that they bloom
somewhere between
Dec. and March. There are very few
plants that do
that! One variety is called a Christmas
Rose.
These plants
usually must be puchased at a nursery.
Check out your
local nursery for this wonderful family
of plants.
Another plant
you'll surely want to try is called Sweet
Annie. This is
actually an annual herb, in the worm wood
family.
The seed is very
fine and you sow it in direct
sunlight in the
spring after all danger of frost is
gone. Sweet Annie
can get up to 6 feet tall. It's
fragrance is
wonderful!!!
My favorite use
for Sweet Annie is in the fall to cut
it to the ground
and dry it. It can be used as
wonderful, fragrant
filler for dried flower
arrangements,
and it can also be bound with fine wire
to form a wreath
base of its own. Simply tuck in
other dried flowers
here and there around it and
you've got a
beautiful dried floral wreath with a
fragrance to
die for!
Another unusual
one is called Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate.
Yes, this really
is the name of a plant! It's official name is Polygonum
orientale.
It's an old-fashioned annual knotweed used for bold effect.
It has large
heart shaped leaves and pendulous clusters of small pink
flowers.
In rich, moist
soil and full sun it can go to six feet tall. Best to sow
the seed in fall
or early spring where it is to grow.
Lastly another
unusual plant to try is the Balloon Flower.
These are perennial,
meaning they will return
year after year.
The latin name for these are:
platycodon grandiflorus.They
are very hardy,
durable plants
and very beautiful.
Balloon flowers
are about the size of a
ping pong ball
and look like little "balloons".
Once they fully
open up they split and you can
see the center
portion and the bloom then
resembles a star.
They usually
come in shades of purple, pink and
white.
Very cute, the
plants only get about 2 feet tall.
Try one!
By Valerie Garner-Visit
Home Tips & More at
