Dirt Divas

Flowers are nutritious and beautiful. They can make a meal colorful and even a bit interesting for your guests who are sure a bug will soon emerge from the petals and crawl across their plate. While this is unlikely, aroused senses are essential for an invigorating eating experience. Flowers are not fast food.

Day lilies, roses, and violets should be a savored to appreciate their flavor and delicacy.

Please, don’t just wander to the garden and start eating. Find out what flowers will kill you, or at least make you feel yucky if eaten.

Some flowers contain toxins and allergens. Examples of flowers often grown here that are considered poisonous are crocus, daffodil, foxglove, lily of the valley, standard Asiatic lilies and monkshood. It is also good to know if they have been treated with chemicals. Also, try avoiding that route your dog and all his buddies take on their morning walks.

Then there are the delectable edibles.

Nasturtium, calendula, scented geraniums, rose petals, borage, violets, dandelions and day lilies are common examples of flowers that most of us recognize as edible that make any meal enjoyable.

Here’s a list of some yummy and easy to grow flowers. Plan for them now while the summer is still young.

• Borage (Borago officinalis): An easy to grow, star-shaped blue blossom. It has a light cucumber flavor and is great eaten by itself or tossed in a salad. Flowers are traditionally used to combat fever, restore vitality from illness and calm the nerves.

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis): A bright yellow and orange flower that tastes a little spicy and tangy. These are great added to stir fried vegetables at the last moment. Traditionally used for colitis, cramps, ulcers, fever and anti-nausea.

• Dandelion: These lovely creatures should be the king of the table as they are excellent tasting, especially when prepared with tempura. The leaves are wonderful wilted or in salads. They are touted to be powerful blood purifiers as well.

• Lavender (Lavendula species): A perfumed, floral flavor make these a great addition to pastries. Folk medicine prescribes lavender to soothe migraine headaches, flatulence and dizziness. Use sparingly, or you may get a tummy ache.

• Lilac (Syringa): A lemony, floral flavor with pungent overtones make lilacs a great after dinner mouth cleanser and their not bad in a pound cake either.

• Marigold (Tagetes patula): The French Marigold is a delicious blossom with a distinctly tangy flavor. It has graced the table for centuries in Japan and stands proud in French cooking circles as well.

• Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus): Easy to grow, these should be on everyone’s table. Buds and blossoms have a wonderful mix of sweet and peppery flavors. They are excellent in salads, in tempura batter, or mixed with cream cheese in a sandwich.

• Rose (Rosa rugosa): Rose petals have a sweet aromatic flavor. The stronger the fragrance, the stronger the flavor. Rose hips are also edible and high in Vitamin C. Folk remedies from the hips have been used for centuries to treat headache and dizziness. Scientists identify Rose Hips as being very high in many anti-oxidants.

• Violets: Hardly a shrinking ingredient, these little beauties make delectable sugared candy, pungent tea, float beautifully in a bowl of punch and are sweet, subtle, and crunchy if served fresh. They are fabulous in homemade ice cream too.

To give flowers a chance, start with some simple recipes such as the two below. They are fast, easy and rewarding long after complete. Or try making tea out of edible flowers. You may be pleasantly surprised at how versatile these beauties can be.

Violet flower preserves.

Combine three cups sugar and four cups water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add one cup violet petals and one teaspoon lemon juice. Stir continually for 20 minutes on low heat, or until mixture thickens. This will keep in the refrigerator for several weeks, or can be sealed into canning jars for longer preservation.

Rose Petal Seasoning.

This is a magical eastern spice combination used to season rice, curry, eggs, yogurt or whatever your imagination will allow. An especially good snack is fresh roasted pumpkin seeds rolled in this mixture with a bit of fresh sea salt.

Combine one tablespoon each of the following: Whole cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek, fennel seeds and yellow mustard seeds. Add one-half cup dried rose petals to this mixture and crush thoroughly with a mortar and pestle, or in a dry food processor. Once mixed it will keep indefinitely in an airtight container.