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Salmon Nasturtium Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
Pizza dough for 10 to 12-inch pie
1 cup peas, pureed
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frisee or chicory, small leaves
6 slices smoked salmon
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
15 (or more) nasturtium flowers
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Shape pizza dough and bake for 2 to 3 minutes - do not allow it to brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Puree peas with olive oil, parmesan, salt and pepper. Spread on pizza dough and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and arrange salmon, onion, and flowers on top.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Strawberry Mousse in Tulip Cups Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cold water
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
6 cups (three 1-pint baskets) fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup orange juice
8 large pesticide-free red or other color tulips, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons meringue powder
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
In medium-size heatproof bowl combine 1/4 cup sugar and the boiling water until sugar dissolves; set sugar syrup aside to cool.
In cup, combine cold water and gelatin; set aside 5 minutes to soften gelatin. Meanwhile, hull and finely dice enough strawberries to measure 4 cups. Refrigerate remaining strawberries. In 2-quart saucepan, heat diced strawberries and remaining 1/2 cup sugar to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer berries until very soft -- about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.
Prepare orange-berry sauce: In food processor fitted with chopping blade or blender, process or blend cooked berries until smooth puree forms. Pour 1 1/3 cups strawberry puree into 2-cup measuring cup and stir in orange juice; cover and refrigerate until cold.
Pour remaining strawberry puree into same 2-quart saucepan and stir in softened gelatin; heat over low heat just until gelatin dissolves. Refrigerate strawberry gelatin, stirring often, until mixture mounds slightly when dropped from spoon -- about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare tulip cups: Cut off stems and remove the pistils and stamens from the tulips. Place each tulip cup in a custard cup or muffin-pan cup to keep them upright; set aside.
Add meringue powder to syrup in bowl. With electric mixer on high speed, beat until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold cooled strawberry gelatin mixture into meringue until well mixed. In small bowl, with electric mixer on high speed and same (no need to wash) beaters, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Fold whipped cream into strawberry gelatin mixture. Gently spoon strawberry mixture, or mousse, into tulip cups, dividing evenly. Refrigerate until set -- 2 hours or overnight.
Just before serving, sort remaining strawberries and reserve 16 small ones for garnish. Hull and slice remaining berries; divide equally and place in center of each of 8 serving plates. With large spoon, transfer tulip cups onto bed of sliced berries, moving slices around tulip to support cup upright. Pour a thin layer of orange-berry sauce around tulip cup on each plate. Garnish each with 2 berries. Pass remaining sauce. Serve immediately.
Yield: 8 servings
Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms Recipe
Ingredients
18 zucchini squash blossoms (or pumpkin)
Cheese Filling:
3 ounces goat cheese
3 ounces cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Batter:
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste
Salsa for garnish
Instructions
Dip the squash blossoms in cold water and drain them thoroughly on paper towels. Remove the stamens from the male blossoms. In a small bowl, mix all filling ingredients with a whisk or an electric mixer until smooth. Fill each squash blossom with 2 teaspoons of filling.
To make the batter, in a medium bowl, stir together the flour, water, milk, egg and salt. Let sit for one hour.
Fill a heavy saucepan or skillet with oil to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium heat to 375 degrees F. Dip a few squash blossoms into batter, covering entire blossom, and drop into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute, turn over and fry on the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining blossoms, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Add salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Sweet Wine Lavender Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup plus 1-1/2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup lavender sugar (recipe below)
Pinch of salt
4 Tbsp butter
2-1/2 Tbsp sweet white wine
12 leaves of fresh lavender, chopped finely
Instructions
Sift the flour, all but 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the salt into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Mix a well in the center and add the wine and the lavender leaves and stir in gently. Leave the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring now and again, by which time it will have bonded together, then gather together to make a soft dough.
Roll out the dough on a floured board about 1/8 inch thick and use a serated pasta wheel to cut out small strips, about 2 inches by 1 inch. Place on a buttered baking tray, giving one half of each strip a twist, as you do so to make the cookies look just like little bows. Bake at 375 degrees F for about 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are just turning brown. Cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
Lavender Sugar:
Mix 2 tablespoons of spikes of fresh lavender flowers or 1 tablespoon of dried lavender flowers with 1 cup of superfine sugar. Select a glass jar and make alternate layers of sugar and lavender flowers until the jar is full. Cover tightly and leave in a warm, dry room for 1 to 2 weeks. Shake the jar through a sieve before use. This method is similar to the conventional method you use to make vanilla sugar.
Szechwan Hot and Sour Soup Recipe
Ingredients
6 dried cloud ear mushrooms
6 dried Chinese black mushroom
6 dried tiger lily buds
4-1/2 cups double-strength chicken broth
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1/3 pound lean boneless pork or skinned boneless chicken
4 ounces fresh bean curd, cut in thin strips
1/4 cup bamboo shoots, cut in thin strips
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp Chinese red rice vinegar
2 tsp thinly sliced green onion, including some tops
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp freshly ground white pepper, Hot Oil or Chile oil (see instructions)
Sugar to taste, if desired
Instructions
Pour boiling water over cloud ears, black mushrooms and tiger lily buds. Let soak 15 minutes. Drain; cut off woody parts of mushrooms and hard tips of buds, then slice very thinly. Set aside.
Heat broth in a large saucepan. Meanwhile, heat peanut and sesame oils in a wok or large skillet; when oil is hot, sprinkle on soy sauce. Add pork or chicken and stir-fry just a few minutes or until crisp on edges. Add mushrooms and tiger lily buds and stir to brown edges lightly. Then add meat and mushroom mixture to broth and stir well; stir in bean curd and bamboo shoots. When soup comes to a gentle simmer, pour in beaten eggs, stirring soup with a swirling motion. As soon as eggs start to cook, remove soup from heat.
Rinse 4 to 6 individual soup bowls or 1 large serving bowl with hot water. Then mix vinegar, green onion, 2 tsp sesame oil and white pepper, Hot Oil or Chile Oil. Divide mixture equally among individual bowls or place all in a large bowl.
Taste soup and adjust seasonings, adding more soy sauce or perhaps a pinch of sugar if a less sour flavor is desired. Stir to mix the cloudlike shreds of egg evenly, then pour into individual bowls or serving bowl. To eat, bring soup spoon up from the bottom of the bowl to mix hot and sour flavors into each bite.
Yield: 4 servings
SCRAMBLED ROSE OMELET
3 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon rose water
1/8 cup chives, well chopped
1/8 cup feta cheese
4 jungle rose petals
Dash Salt
Sprig Spearmint (as Garnish)
Rinse Jungle Rose petals well, dry & cut into slivers with a sharp scissor; set aside.
Separate egg whites & yolks into separate bowls. Add water, rose water and salt to egg whites and whisk until well blended. Fold in egg yolks*, add chives & whisk again until blended. Pour into hot, buttered* small omelet pan; watch for the edges to firm.
Using a spatula, fold firm edges into center tip the skillet so that the still liquid center runs out to form a new edge; continue folding in the firm edges & this process until no longer runny, but still wet inside.
Sprinkle cheese & 1/2 of the slivered Jungle Rose Petals on top & place in broiler until cheese is lightly melted. Remove pan from Broiler, fold in half, transfer to dish & garnish with remaining Jungle Rose petals, spearmint sprig on top.
Serve with fresh fruit, toast & Rose Preserves.
Lemon Flower Pancakes
Ingredients
8 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup lemon yogurt
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons lemon extract
2 teaspoon lemon zest
3 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 cup fresh flower petals - petals only, pulled apart
With electric mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar 3 to 4 minutes until thick and lemon colored. Set the whites aside. Whisk the yogurt, milk, lemon extract, and lemon zest into the egg yolk mixture. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and reserve. Using clean beaters, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Whisk the dry ingredients into the liquid just until smooth. Fold in the egg whites.
Cook pancakes on preheated greased griddle until top bubbles, flip gently, and cook about 1 more minute. Make 3- to 4-inch pancakes. Do not overcook; they should be lightly browned. Wash flower petals thoroughly. Make sure there are no bugs hiding out in your flowers!! Pull apart flower petals into small pieces. Fold into batter.
Berry sauce: Wash and clean stems from berries. Warm fresh berries in a saucepan on low heat with a little sugar until the berries throw off their liquid. Add a few drops of water if needed. Frozen Maine blueberries may be used -- heat frozen berries and add a little lemon juice if they are too sweet. Thicken with sifted cornstarch if needed.
Serving Ideas:
Berry Sauce or Pansy Butter.
Notes: Fresh flowers petals -- young dandelion, tulip, rose, rose of Sharon, orange blossoms, apple blossoms, lilac, honeysuckle, bee balm, or any sweet tasting edible flower petals that are in season.
To Serve: put lemon slice on plate, place a dollop of freshly whipped cream on top of lemon slice, with scissors cut tiny pieces of edible flower petals used in pancake over the whipped cream. Stick a leaf of lemon verbena or lemon balm in whipped cream for additional garnish.
Serves: 8
Squash Blossom Frittata with Asiago Cheese
A summer treat is an omelet or frittata made from the infertile blossoms of summer squash, along with a few of the baby squash. Our Bed & Breakfast guests love these - and we garnish the plates with more of the big beautiful yellow flowers.
Pick 3 or 4 blossoms per person (6-8 to serve 2), and 1 or 2 baby yellow or green summer squash. Rinse blossoms well and drain on paper towels.
Beat 4 eggs with a little milk. Add, if desired, fresh chopped parsley and snipped chives. Salt and pepper to taste.
In a non stick pan, sauté in a little butter - just till soft:
2 green onions
thinly sliced baby squash
Then, and be quick about it, sauté the blossoms BRIEFLY (about 30 seconds). Remove from pan.
Pour egg mix into pan, sprinkle and arrange the onions, squash and blossoms on top, and cook over low to medium heat till almost set. Sprinkle with Asiago cheese, and put under the broiled till lightly puffed and browned - not long, watch it! Serve immediately. Serves two
To candy flowers, whisk an egg white, then use a brush to paint a fine layer onto clean, dry, pesticide-free flower petals (or whole flowers if they're very small). Next, gently place the petal into some superfine sugar, and sprinkle some more superfine sugar on top. Shake off the excess and lay it out on waxed paper to dry (this takes as long as eight hours).
I could go on and on here with recipes. These will give you a general idea of what you can do with many of the blossoms in your garden.
Our daughter, Glynis, uses fresh flowers to decorate her Gourmet wedding cakes.
And, lastly, edible flowers make a lovely addition to many desserts. For example, you can fry locust flowers (soaked in rum and sugar before frying) or you can decorate fruit salads, flan or cake with violets, rose petals and crystallized poppies. Dip the flowers in corn syrup and Arabic gum, and then sprinkle powdered sugar on top before they have dried. You can't go wrong!
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
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