Cooks Corner

Those fresh and charming spring flowers popping up all over are not merely a delight to look at in the garden, many of them are just as delightful on the dinner plate. Most people think of flowers as decoration for the table, but you can - in the case of flowers - literally have your cake and eat it too.

Cake, salad, dessert -- there are flowers in your yard or garden or a friend's house that will spark a spring or Easter or celebration meal just by becoming part of the menu. Among the readily available flowers that are edible are: violets, tulips, pansies, cherry and apple blossoms, lilacs, roses, nasturtiums, carnations; as well as common herb flowers like borage or lavender, rosemary, mint and basil.

The first three listed are traditional spring flowers and perfect for Easter or any spring meal. Use the other flowers throughout the year and into autumn. But be sure you choose flowers that have been grown organically and even so, wash the flowers gently but thoroughly.

Violets and the fruit blossoms have a delicately sweet taste while tulip petals taste more like vegetables - peas or asparagus. Carnations are sweet, broccoli florets taste like you'd expect, while roses and lilacs - well, they taste like they smell.

With such variety, the best bet for the cook is to take a little taste of the petals of different flowers before choosing what to use. And with many larger-petaled flowers, the petal end closest to the flower center is sour or bitter, so cut that off the petal before using. You can do a taste test if you aren't sure about the petal's bitter end.

You are cooking with the petals or the florets, not the whole flower, but you can keep a flower in water until ready to remove the petals. Keep some flowers aside for fresh decoration on your salad or cake or pudding, too.

The best way to use the sweetish petals is to glaze or candy them. Petals like tulip don't lend themselves to a sweet glaze and are best used fresh, as are the tiny florets of lilac and broccoli.

Either way, cut the large petals or use the small ones and scatter in a salad, over a frosted cupcake or layer cake, in a vegetable casserole, into a gelatin or pudding recipe, in or over the top of soups and stews. Surprise your family and guests.

You can also use any flower in a "tea", an infusion of the flower's taste in a brew that can be used for flavoring a salad dressing, a pudding, a soup -- whatever you can think of. Here are some easy recipes to get you started eating your flowers this spring.

QUICK PETAL GLAZE

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
violet, pansy, rose petals, or other sweet flower

Boil the water and add the sugar. Stir and simmer until syrupy. Let cool until warm but not thick. Wash petals and gently dip them into the sugar mixture. Dry on waxed or parchment paper. Glazed petals will keep their bright color and shape for several days if handled carefully.
A second way to make candied flowers is to take a soft artist's brush and use it to lightly, but completely, coat the washed petals with egg white that has been beaten until just frothy. Dip the coated petals in finely granulated sugar, and dry until hardened. Once hardened, the petals can be stored without spoiling for weeks in an airtight jar or tin.

FLOWER INFUSION

1 c water
1 or 2 handfuls of washed petals or florets

Boil water, then place in a shallow bowl. Add petals and stir to bruise them slightly. Let sit for at least one hour. Strain out petals before using the water.
Use flower infused water to flavor cold or hot tea, lemonades, pudding mixes, marinades or salad dressings (use broccoli or basil flowers, for example) to replace some of the liquid in muffin, cookie and cake recipes, to add a fresh taste to homemade pancake and ice cream toppings, or anywhere your imagination guides you.

FLOWER BUTTER

1c. unsalted, whipped butter
flower petals, glazed (for dessert butter) or fresh (for other dishes)

Soften the whipped butter slightly in the microwave or on the stove. Do not let the butter become liquid or the air will evaporate out of it. Place butter in a small mixing bowl. Cut the petals into small, even minced, size. Add to the butter and fold into it. Taste and add more petals as needed.

Serve in a pretty dish and use to top pancakes, french toast, warm pie (dessert butter), or hot muffins, hot vegetables, meat roasts, mashed potatoes (the more savory tasting petals.)

NOTE: Use the same recipe with whipped, softened cream cheese, or ricotta cheese, mixed with a little sour cream and use as an exotic dip or topping for fruit, biscotti, or coffee cake or for crackers, crudites and cheese bites.

SPRING TULIP
AND TUNA APPETIZERS

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced chives
1 tsp. minced fresh dill or mint (optional)
1 tsp. pepper or cayenne
1 can tuna, drained and flaked
25 fresh asparagus spears
25 tulip petals

Cream together the cheese, lemon juice and herbs. Add flaked tuna and mix in. Cut the hard stem ends from the asparagus. Blanch or steam the asparagus spears until crisp and tender, but not limp. Run under cold water to cool and drain on paper towels.
Cut stems only into 25 rounds, 1/4 inch thick and save remaining portion of asparagus for later use.

Wash tulip petals and cut off the bitter bottom ends. Arrange around a plate or shallow dish in a single layer. Fill each tulip petal with a rounded teaspoon of the tuna mix. Top with rounds of asparagus.

Share your favorite recipes with everyone!!

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Cooks Corner
The New Town Press
421 Stone Meeting House Rd.,
Woolwich Twp., NJ 08085

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