Edible flowers and more....

Friday is the best in the blog world... I have so many women who run classy blog hops... girl creative and Fridays follow- Holly at Tickled pink always have some very different things to see ... I love to visit Smart and Trendy mom's because they are fun and smart and in a few weeks they are having a big Social Carnival.

  Today I am tickled pink and want to share with you edible flowers.... what they look like ... This is a zucchini, onion, cucumber and tomato salad.. with Pansies.. all edible...

****Avoid gathering flowers from this list in the WILD- some plants are endangered .. and many plants are toxic just to touch.. If you want to eat some of the following.. please purchase at a farm stand, whole foods, trader Joe's... or grow your own.

  Lavender is another edible flower and plant... I have posted lavender ice cream before.. and Woody's in Cornwall sells Jane's ice cream and they sell Lavender.... it is very refreshing...

The other thing I do with Lavender is make them into wants... You weave the ribbon around the lavender... creating a design and trapping the smell inside... these can be put in dresser drawers.. I am planning a tutorial about how to do this in  a few days.

Johnny Jump ups look a lot like Pansies.. but they have a different shape and face.. this is also edible.

  Do you have Calendula in your garden? I wish I did they are beautiful... I have been to a wedding where these were on the plates... Very colorful and you may eat them...

  Miniature roses are also edible.. I have seen these on cakes, some people sugar coat them.

  This is a flowering Thyme plant.. Most people use Thyme in their cooking. The flowers are also edible.

  I have never eaten Calamint... but the flowers look like this .. be sure because you don't want to eat baby's breath.. or the wrong plant.

  This one is a garlic chive blossom.. I usually use this to garnish the top of my pasta chicken salad.

This squash blossom frittata uses zucchini squash or yellow squash - and the flower blossoms from the vegetables. You can buy the blossoms at most farmers markets and even at some grocery stores. With the chives, parsley, green onion and eggs in this recipe, it’s a dish that can be made almost entirely with ingredients from a backyard garden or farmers market.

 

Ingredients

 

• 3-4 blossoms, rinsed and dried
• 1-2 small zucchini or yellow squash, sliced thinly
• 4 eggs
• dash of milk
• 2 green onions, chopped
• Asiago cheese
• Chopped parsley and snipped chives (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

Directions

1. Beat eggs and milk in a bowl. Add parsley and chives if you are using them. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
2. Pick 3 to 4 blossoms per person and 1 or 2 baby yellow or green summer squash. Rinse blossoms well and drain on paper towels.
3. Melt a small amount of butter (or use olive oil) and saute the green onions and zucchini or squash until soft. Add blossoms and saute for about 30 minutes. Remove blossoms from pan.
4. Pour egg mix into the same pan, and add green onions, squash and blossoms to the pan – arranging evenly.
5. Cook over medium-low heat until almost set. Sprinkle with cheese.
6. Cook under broiler until lightly puffed and slightly browned. 

  This is a family recipe... I sometimes use Parmesan cheese and I use Bisquick sometimes.... but it is something my dad's mom would make for us... and we would love it....and ask her every Summer to make it.

   The flowers that are usually yellow or orange from Nasturtium.. are delicious in a spinach salad.

Anise Hyssop bubble bees and honey bees love...You can make Anise Hyssop Jelly.. Although, I have not done it yet.. but I am making my blueberry Jam today.... 

     Tuberous Begonia has been seen on plates with cake...

So there you have the edible flower list.... 

I want to share with you a way I make chicken.. ON A HOT HOT night.. SO many of us like to cook sometimes, but when it's this hot... we would rather NOT- but most men are not going to eat a sandwich for dinner or cold soup or a salad... SO what to do.. I decided that on HOT HOT nights... I would get a Rotisserie chicken.... and add it to tube pasta and a delicious cucumber dip....

Here is the recipe:

8 oz tubetti or other small tube shaped pasta

1 1/4 cups 2% Greek Yogurt plain

1/2 cup of mayonnaise...I used a gluten free kind but any kind will do

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/3 cup chopped fresh dill or dill weed 4 shakes

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 Rotisserie chicken... not hot kitchen for you...

2 stalks of celery, chopped very small

1 Kirby cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped very small

Freshly ground pepper

Mescalin greens

1. Boil your pasta for the time on the box

2. Meanwhile, whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, 1/4 cup water, the vinegar, mustard, dill, chives and 2 teaspoons salt in a medium bowl. Take the skin off the chicken... and shred meat... add the chicken celery, cucumber and gently stir to combine.

3. Add a bed of lettuce on a plate or bowl and then top with your chicken salad... Some times I add parm. cheese to the top...

Random Dozen

 So a friend of mine who has a blog was tagged in a few questions about her and then she tagged me. So I will be answering both the random dozen tag from http://2nd-cup-of-coffee.blogspot.com and Ella's questions from her blog ( ellasedge.blogspot.com)
procrastinated about?
1. The last thing I procrastinated about and why?
I am not a procrastinater by nature but doing a pile of dishes and ironing can get me and our water heater broke and I am waiting for a plumber, so I have not done the dishes yet, and I will procrastinate about it when I can use the water again.

2. How fast do you fall asleep? and do you sleep all night?

Almost every night I can fall asleep in a blink of an eye, and I stay asleep usually except for a 4am bathroom break.

3. What decade would you choose to exemplify your favorite fashion styles? 

I love the huge push up dresses from the 4o's and the heels and parasal (umbrellas) and the HATS I love hats so much, I wanted to design hats or model hats, but that dream never happened....

4. My personal best dish for feeding a crowd????

I make a spinach and strawberry salad in the summer that everyone likes and I make a pulled pork sandwich that can feed crowds.

5. Are you an impulse shopper?What was the last thing you bought on impulse?

I can be a bit of an impulse shopper at times, My last impulse shop was a 4 pack of wasabi and sushi erasers.

6.  1 wish you have for your own funeral?

This is a loaded question, I do not want it closed and I am sure some of you are gawking now, close your mouth, but I was at quite a few funerals at a young age, and if it was closed, I had no closure I felt they were not dead, When my dad died unexpectedly I was shocked and if he had a closed casket , I would not have done well, but back to the question what would I want.... a lot of speakers, who really new me, to talk about my love for my son, and my love for all the pre-k's I taught, and to talk about how I take crafts, recipes, blogging and I have such a passion for it. and I must have AVA MARIA play at my funeral.

7. Is it true that joy is formed in simple things? what joy did you have today?      

LONG ANSWER COMING UP BEWARE.... I am a bit of a negative nelly alot of the time. I left my job suddenly and I am not the stay at mom kind, I like to be busy all day and I don't like to sit still ( I have adult a.d.d.) so staying at home, and cleaning, and playing a lot of the day with my one son and homeschooling him is not really the thing I thought I wanted to ever do. He is very demanding and goes from one activity to another so it does keep me busy but he only stays at things about 7 minutes all day. So today I slowed down and we made the Mojito cake together, YES, he helped pour in the rum, we made Chicken and cheese Quesadilla's for lunch and sat on the back porch eating our lunch and even though I feel guilty being a stay at home mom till September with only ONE. IT felt good, it felt RIGHT.

8.What is your favorite type of bread?

I love all bread, and so do my THIGHS- I try to stay away from Panera bread, they have the best around me, yes, I love local bakeries too, but Panera I love.

9. What trait do you fear you could develop? (greed, lazy)

Is slothness a word?? sloppy? I can get sloppy with putting away clothes.

10. What trait would you like to develop?

My memory is horrible I also have LUPUS so it comes with the territory, so a better memory

 11. What room in your house best reflects your personality?

I would have to say my bedroom, lots of books all around, lots of windows, looking at the garden. Blue paint on the wall and blue shades in the room. Dark wood. BIT messy.

12. How do you balance your life, work, family, obligations,church and blogging? 

I have been good at balancing this, maybe it is the A.d.d. working in my favor for once, but I am able to do  it, and I have learned after the age of 30 to tell people NO, If i cant' do something. I also learned after the age of 40 ( I will be 42 in 17 days) that I do not help friends move anymore or move myself, I will call a moving van HA HA seriously, I am a hard worker but moving I draw the line.

So here is the game my friend posted

The  Fun Game is where you get to answer 5 questions 5 times-( I have never done this)
Question 1 - Where were you five years ago?

1.I was just moving in to my husbands home after being engaged

2. I was embarking on a new journey as he had a son who was 11 at the time

3. I left my job as a medical receptionist at Vassar College, to go back to my original field early childhood.

4. I was picking out wedding ideas... from stacks of magazines

5. I was missing my dad he had been gone only 1 year by then.

Question 2 - Where would you like to be five years from now?

1.  In an entirely new line of work

2.  I would love to have more traffic to my blog

3. I would love to have an article in the paper written up about my 2nd blog, about the hudson valley.

4. I would love to have finished my online classes
5. I would love to be starting my masters

Question 3 - What is (was) on your to do list today?

1. GO to the grocery store to pick up 6 items

2. Work on teaching my son how to count to 100 he gets to 34 and then it's a mess

3. Make the Mojito cake I posted about this am

4. Vacuum all the rooms and dust

5. Comment on blogs and post this post

Question 4 - What 5 snacks do you enjoy?

1. *this question is unfair UGH

I have to read and think of the horrible snacks I like, I love cupcakes
2. I love chocolate in any form, even those weight watcher candies
3. potato chips or blue chips and salsa I must have almost twice a week, I eat lots of fruit and vegetables but chips call to me.
4. milk ( I love it)
5. Lately ice cream, or frozen yogurt I just made lavender ice cream recently you should try it...( it is not colored lavender it is flavored with honey and lavender)
Question 5 - What would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. GO to Hawaii, I have wanted to for a number of years
2. Give a lot of money to NF research ctf.org my son has NF1and a few friends I met on line there children do and it breaks my heart to watch them loose a little childhood and to also have to have chemo in some cases at such a young age.
3. Help my family out- relatives
4. BUY a new car, I have a 1995 and it is old LOL but I know I am lucky to have a car.
5. Make sure money is put away for my death so my son does not have to worry if my husband is gone first.
I tag this last game to the following:
*504 main come on holly you know I would pick you
*Gerber days sorry Heather I had to
*beth at her new blog    
* Teaching heart mom
* blammin grammy because I love her answers to anything she is away in Texas right now but when she returns I will ask her to join the questions