Edible Flowers

Many flowers are edible and can be used as garnish, in salads or as the main course. When doing an online search I found the following link …. http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm
which lists about 65 edible flowers and also ones to be avoided. Some edible flowers and fruits can also be seen in my garden at the link … http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/EdibleFlowers72808

Among the edibles are the squash family (zucchini, summer squash, melon and cucumber) with its big yellow flowers. You use the male flowers for cooking and cut off the inside stamens and green bottoms. You then dip them separately in a bowl of egg batter and bread crumbs and then fry them in a pan with olive oil for about ten minutes. Scoop them out with a spatula and drain on paper towels. Serve them in a dish with light seasoning and you have delicious flower chips. Another Italian recipe that my neighbor told me about is to stuff the yellow flowers with mozzarella cheese and anchovy paste. Then fry them as above. Other stuffing can also be used such as ground pork, mushrooms and other cheeses.

You may have already eaten flowers in foods such as cauliflower, broccoli, or capers. Other flowers and their tastes are basil (lemon, mint), arugula (nutty), carnation (peppery), chives (garlic, onion), cornflower (sweet clove), dandelion (mushroom), fennel (sweet licorice), pansy (sweet to tart), or rose (sweet aromatic). Some flowers may be allergens so check first.

Most flowers on a squash plant are the male flowers. There are about ten male flowers to one female. The males have the stamens with the pollen and the female has a swollen bottom like a pickle that becomes the squash after it is fertilized. Bees, birds and wind help spread the pollen from male to female plants. Some varieties of squash have only female plants which develop into seedless fruits and increase the harvest.

Addendum.......................

As an addendum to my blog on Edible Flowers, I decided to add some email suggestions that I got from some friends. See one below ….

“Mark…..Few know how delicious zucchini blossoms can be. In my family we also stuff the blossom end with and Italian hamburg mixture for added delight. Nasturium blossoms are also edible and make a dramatic presentation on a composed salad (slightly peppery in flavor.) Of course marigold blossoms are edible and so are rose petals! …Joe L.” ……

So I fried up some zucchini flowers stuffed with hamburg and dipped in egg and bread crumbs. What a delight and worth the effort. See photos of the flower picking and cooking process at the link…. http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/FriedZucchiniFlowers73008

Comments and suggestions are always welcome. Do you have any flower recipes?

The Harvest

Planting a garden is certainly hard work. You till the soil, make a design, arrange the plantings, water, feed and weed. Then one day the fruits arrive and you gather the harvest. And so life goes. We all have high hopes that the seeds we sow will someday bear fruit. Click on the link below to see pics of the garden ……
http://picasaweb.google.com/markryan312/Garden71208


The garden is coming along pretty well this year. There has been plenty of rain with warm days and cool nights. I planted an assortment of vegetables and expanded the garden with another 10 x 8 feet section. It now measures 20 x 35 ft. I also installed another rain barrel collection area to serve a new garden section. With a 50 square foot roof rain collection system, I can fill a 28 gallon rain barrel with one inch of rain per week. This is just enough water to keep the plants in my garden healthy. With the current rainy weather, the garden has been watered naturally and I haven’t had to use the rain barrel system much. However, I do make sure that the plants are watered at least once per week and more in hot and dry weather.

Although I tilled the soil in the garden and added compost to start, I do fertilize the plants every few weeks with Miracle Grow. One tablespoon of fertilizer added to one gallon of water. I then use a watering can to soak the ground beneath each plant. I can generally fertilize 10 plants with one gallon of fertilizer solution.

This year, I planted tomatoes, zucchini, butternut squash, watermelon, cucumber, potato, eggplant, bush beans, peppers, corn, and a few herbs. I generally planted them about three feet apart and placed wood stakes and wire baskets on the tomatoes. I also put a 3 foot fence around the garden to keep out the animals (rabbits, squirrels chipmunks, ground hog, and birds.

I put in three types of tomatoes (9-big boys, 9-early girls and 9-cherry. All the plants now have green fruit. The big boys and early girls will be ready to pick in a couple of weeks. The cherry tomatoes are already turning red and I have gotten about two dozen fruits in the last week.

The 9-zucchini plants have done well also and have produced about 15 big fruits. I have given several away to neighbors who have used them to make zucchini bread, casseroles and just plain boiled served with butter. My wife has made several casseroles where she slices the zucchini, dips the slices in egg and bread crumbs and layers in a baking dish. She adds layers of cheese and stewed tomatoes and then bakes it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Delicious.

The 9-pepper plants and 9-egg plant have fruit about half size and should be ready in a few weeks. The 2-butternut squash plants and 2-watermelon plants have fruit also about half size. The 2-cucumber plants have been producing several good size cukes during the last few weeks.

I planted 10-potatoe plants that I grew from a potato with eyes and then cut into two inch size cubes. I planted each in a cup and grew them for about two weeks until the plants were 6 inches high and then transplanted to the garden. The plants are now 12 inches tall and should have small potato tubers. I will pick them in a few weeks when they are a little bigger.

The 3-bush bean plants have done pretty well. However, they have produced about 10 beans per bush which are quite hard fresh off the plant. You need to cut them and boil them to make them soft enough. I sprinkle a few on salads for additional garnish. I think you need a lot more plants to get a good harvest.

Only 4-corn plants have survived from the six original. I tried one of the cobs today. I wrapped it in wax paper and cooked it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes. With a little butter and salt it wasn’t bad. I think I need to wait a couple of weeks for bigger cobs and bigger kernels with more of a sweet taste.

I did plant 10-lettuce plants after Memorial Day and they were all nibbled to the ground in a few days. A fond memory of Memorial Day. It must be the bunny rabbits. However, I don’t know how they are getting over or under the fence. They must have their own key. Ha Ha Ha. If you are lucky, I may share my harvest with you. See you around the garden.