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Begin Your New Years Diet with Flowers


Begin Your New Years Diet with Edible FlowersI know you are reading this thinking, “I thought flowers were only to be looked at and enjoyed visually!” Not true. In fact, you can eat them too. And for the most part edible flowers are low in (or free of) calories, cholesterol and fat.  Edible flowers have been used as food for thousands of years.  And although I have been unable to find much documentation about the nutritional benefits of flowers as food, it seems to me if the animal planet has eaten flowers since the dawn of time, then they must be healthy.  And I imagine being on an Edible Flower Diet you could loose weight fast.   Not to mention that edible flower diet is exotic eating at it’s finest.   

Of course there are some precautions you should take when considering the edible flower diet. First and foremost, not every flower is edible.  About.com has a great chart of poisonous and non-edible flowers you should stay away from. 

You can also check out this List of Edible Flowers at Eden Florist. Many Edible flowers can be found at gourmet grocery stores and local farmer’s markets.

In addition to those on the chart, the greens of dandelions are edible but they don’t taste good.  Many edible flowers  add little or no flavor to recipes, they just look pretty.

You can use edible flowers in infused vinegars, candies, sorbets, syrups, jellies and jams, as marinades, drinks, wines, meats, flower butter, dips and spreads, soups and as garnish to add color to the presentation. They can be added to water and frozen to create pretty ice cubes and add a dash of flavor to drinks. Place a colorful gladiolus floret (after removing the stamen and pistil) in a clear glass bowl and fill with your favorite jam, spread or dip.  

 

 

 

Here are two low-fat recipes to add to your edible flower diet recipe box (also great for entertaining):


Hollyhock or Nasturtium Hors d’oevres   

3 dozen hollyhock, daylily or nasturtium blossoms – washed and drained

1 jar (5 ounces) low fat cream cheese and pineapple spread

¼ cup low fat whipped cream cheese with chives

¼ cup turkey, chicken or tuna salad

With a small spoon carefully stuff each blossom with a small amount of one of the three fillings.

Line platter with nasturtium leaves and arrange filled blossoms. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Serve chilled

Turkey Calendula Wraps

8 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons low fat or fat free mayonnaise

1-tablespoon horseradish

2-3 teaspoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons diced sweet pickle relish

1 tart apple, peeled cored and finely diced

1-cup calendula or marigold petals

4 twelve-inch low-fat tortillas

8 ounces turkey thinly sliced

Garnish with Lettuce and marigold petals

In a bowl blend the cream cheese with mayonnaise, horseradish, lemon juice and pickle relish. Gently stir in apple and flower petals. With a spatula spread the mixture evenly over each tortilla. Cover spread with a single layer of turkey or ham. Roll filled tortilla, jellyroll style.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap- chill for 20 minutes or more. To serve, cut to desired thickness and arrange on a serving platter over a bed of lettuce. Sprinkle with additional flower petal garnish.

Be sure to use flowers sparingly in your recipes.  Some people experience digestion problems when consuming flowers for the first time. The best thing to do is start small and see if you have a reaction before plunging into the edible flower diet.

Happy Dieting!

Worth Reading – Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes


"Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers"When I was reading BIG CHEF Online, one of my favorite blogs for Party Planning and Cooking, I stumbled across this great book Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers by Miche Bacher and thought it would be the perfect book to recommend to our blog readers for the end of 2013.

In it you will find more than 100 recipes that will bring beautiful flower-filled dishes to your kitchen table! This easy-to-use cookbook is brimming with scrumptious botanical treats, from sweet violet cupcakes, pansy petal pancakes, daylily cheesecake, and rosemary flower margaritas to savory sunflower chickpea salad, chive blossom vinaigrette, herb flower pesto, and mango orchid sticky rice.

Alongside every recipe are tips and tricks for finding, cleaning, and preparing edible blossoms. You’ll also learn how to infuse vinegars, vodkas, sugars, frostings, jellies and jams, ice creams, and more with the color and flavor of your favorite flowers. Fresh from the farmers’ market or plucked from your very own garden, a world of delectable flowers awaits!

You can get a copy on Amazon for only $17.32. Cooking with Flowers: Sweet and Savory Recipes with Rose Petals, Lilacs, Lavender, and Other Edible Flowers is sure to be one of my new favorite cookbooks and maybe it will also be yours!

Lavender Beef with Peppercorns


It’s amazing all the herbs and flowers you can cook with.  Here ia a recipe I found for beef tenderloin with lavender and peppercorns. Try it. It is really good.

1 (3- to 4-pound) beef tenderloin roast
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoons whole white peppercorns
2 tablespoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender flowers

Bring roast to room temperature before cooking. Trim the tenderloin of fat and silverskin.  Note: Silverskin is the silvery-white connective tissue. It doesn’t dissolve when the tenderloin is cooked, so it needs to be trimmed away.

Pat the beef dry with paper towels. Lightly oil outside of roast.

In a small spice or coffee grinder, coarsely grind the black peppercorns, white peppercorns, fennel seeds, thyme, and lavender flowers; rub mixture all over the meat. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight (preferably).

Preheat oven to 425°F. Unwrap roast and place onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Place roast onto a rack in a shallow baking pan, tucking the thin end under to make it as thick as the rest of the roast. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and continue to roast until the internal temperature reaches desired temperature on a meat thermometer (see below).
Rare – 120°F
Medium Rare – 125°F
Medium – 130°F

Remove from oven and transfer onto a cutting board; let stand 15 minutes before carving (meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven).

Transfer onto a serving platter and serve immediately with any accumulated juices.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Source: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beef/lavenderbeef.htm

For a complete list of edible flowers, Check out the Edible Flower Chart at Eden Florist.

Dandelion Salad


How to make Dandelion Salad

 

4 slices bacon, cut in small pieces

approximately 2 c. chopped new dandelion leaves

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

¼ c. butter

½ c. cream or milk

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp. Salt

dash of pepper

¼ c. cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

 

Toss together chopped dandelion, chopped onion and fried bacon pieces. Set aside. In skillet warm butter and cream until butter melts. Beat egg and then add salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar and flour. Blend the egg mixture into the slightly warm cream mixture. Increase heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Pour hot dressing over the greens and toss gently. Add eggs before tossing. Serve at once.

 

Gather the dandelion leaves early in the spring before the plants flower or they will be bitter.

 

Thanks to Donna Godfrey for this recipe! 

Dandelion Salad


How to make Dandelion Salad

 

4 slices bacon, cut in small pieces

approximately 2 c. chopped new dandelion leaves

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced or chopped

2 Tbsp. chopped onion

¼ c. butter

½ c. cream or milk

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp. Salt

dash of pepper

¼ c. cider vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. flour

 

Toss together chopped dandelion, chopped onion and fried bacon pieces. Set aside. In skillet warm butter and cream until butter melts. Beat egg and then add salt, pepper, vinegar, sugar and flour. Blend the egg mixture into the slightly warm cream mixture. Increase heat and cook, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Pour hot dressing over the greens and toss gently. Add eggs before tossing. Serve at once.

 

Gather the dandelion leaves early in the spring before the plants flower or they will be bitter.

 

 

 

Thanks to Donna Godfrey for sharing this!

Making Jam from Rose Petals


Rose Petal Jam

 

1 cup fresh rose petals (must never have been sprayed with any chemicals)

¾ cup water

2½ cups sugar

1 package pectin (i.e. Sure Jell)

¾ cup water

 

Puree rose petals, ¾ cup water and lemon juice in blender until smooth. Slowly add

sugar. Blend till all sugar has dissolved (leave in blender). Stir 1 package pectin

(i.e. Sure Jell) into ¾ cup water, bring to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour

mixture into blender with rose petal mixture until well blended. Do this very quickly –

it sets up FAST!! Pour into baby food jars. Let set for 6 hours, till firm. Will keep one

month in refrigerator. Freezes well.