Delight Your Palate with Edible Flowers

In culinary arts, a few things add a touch of elegance and novelty to dishes, such as edible flowers. From a sprinkle of vibrant petals in a fresh salad to a decorative flourish on a birthday cake, edible flowers bring a unique blend of color, flavor, and gourmet flair to your table. And what could be more satisfying than harvesting these delightful blooms from your garden?

The Basics of Edible Flowers

Edible flowers, most often enjoyed raw, are at their peak in taste and appearance just after they've blossomed. A simple rinse is all needed before you can adorn your dishes with these natural beauties. However, it's crucial to remember two key points: not all flowers are safe to eat, and you should avoid any that may have been exposed to chemicals.

Nature's Feast:

Where Beauty meets Nutrition!

A Garden of Edible Delights

To ensure both safety and taste, consider cultivating some of the following flowers in your garden:

Alliums

Allium flowers, from chives to garlic, flavor salads and dips. Disassemble the flower clusters and sprinkle the florets into your dishes.

Nasturtiums

Known for their peppery taste, nasturtium blooms are a colorful addition to salads and make excellent garnishes. Their leaves are also edible and add a spicy touch to your meals.

Marigolds

Opt for the diminutive blooms of signet marigolds like 'Lemon Gem' and 'Tangerine Gem' for a citrusy twist in your dishes.

Pansies and Johnny Jump-Ups

These flowers, with their wintergreen flavor, are perfect for decorating desserts. A glaze of warmed jelly can give them a sparkling finish.

Calendula

Calendula petals are easy to grow and offer a spectrum of colors from yellow to orange and red, making them a vibrant salad ingredient. Regularly deadheading the plants ensures a continuous bloom from early summer to late fall.

Anise Hyssop

Lovers of anise will enjoy the florets of anise hyssop in sweet and savory dishes, while the full flowers can elegantly garnish a cheese platter.

Borage

With its cucumber-flavored, sky-blue flowers, borage adds a refreshing touch to fruit and green salads or can be frozen in ice cubes for a cool beverage.

Additional Edible Blooms

Consider incorporating bee balm, chamomile, daylilies, mint, squash blossoms, and honeysuckle into your culinary creations for various flavors and colors.

Growing and Harvesting Tips

Edible flowers thrive with basic gardening care, needing sunlight, water, and a little love. When harvesting, choose flowers at their freshest and avoid any signs of pests or disease. Rinse gently under cold water to remove any dirt or insects.

Culinary Uses

• Pickled Chive Blossoms: A zesty addition to cocktails and bagels with lox.
• Flower Ice Cubes: Freeze pansies or borage flowers in ice cubes to beautify your drinks.
• Stuffed Squash Blossoms: Fill these with cheese and herbs for a delicious appetizer.
• Flower Petal Salads: Mix various petals for a visually stunning and tasty salad.
• Dessert Decorations: Adorn cakes and sweets with crystallized or fresh flowers for an elegant touch.

Edible flowers offer a world of possibilities for the gardener and the gourmet. By incorporating these blooms into your garden and kitchen, you can enjoy the dual delights of horticulture and haute cuisine at home. So why not start planning your edible flower garden today and prepare to dazzle your palate with every petal?

National Baked Scallops Day - Nutrition Profile

References
EatWell, Healthy Scallop Recipes

United Nations World Water Day

Many UN entities work on water issues - distributing drinking water during disasters, protecting ecosystems, making sure that water is of sufficient quality, ensuring that our cities have enough water infrastructure, measuring the progress of access to sanitation, and looking at how we will have enough water to make food. The list is long. Many organizations around the world also work on these issues. To be as strong, as effective, and to have as big of an impact as possible, these organizations come together to work through UN-Water.

UN-Water coordinates the UN's work on water and sanitation for a better world. Through UN-Water, UN entities and international partners work together to place water and sanitation as top issues and 21st Century essential knowledge. World Water Day is one of UN-Water's campaigns that aim to inform, engage and inspire action.

International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March. The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of water.

Do you value the water in your food chain?

People are left behind without safe water for many different reasons. The following are some of the ‘grounds for discrimination' that cause certain people to be particularly disadvantaged when it comes to accessing water:

Sex and gender, race, ethnicity, religion, birth, caste, language, and nationality; Disability, age, and health status
Property, tenure, residence, economic and social status.

Other factors, such as environmental degradation, climate change, population growth, conflict, forced displacement, and migration flows can also disproportionately affect marginalized groups through impacts on water.

Environmental damage, together with climate change, is driving the water-related crises we see around the world. Floods, drought, and water pollution are all made worse by degraded vegetation, soil, rivers, and lakes.

When we neglect our ecosystems, we make it harder to provide everyone with the water we need to survive and thrive.

Nature-based solutions have the potential to solve many of our water challenges. We need to do so much more with ‘green’ infrastructure and harmonize it with ‘grey’ infrastructure wherever possible. Planting new forests, reconnecting rivers to floodplains, and restoring wetlands will rebalance the water cycle and improve human health and livelihoods.

Water, Energy, Food

"A THIRSTY WORLD"

Resource
World Water Day

Let’s Get Our Breakfast Plate in Shape National Nutrition Month

March 12, Girl Scouts of USA Founded Key Skills

On March 12, 1912, the Girl Scouts of the USA was founded. "The Girl Scouts of the USA maintains a strong influence on girls in an accepting and nurturing environment; girls build character and skills for success in the real world. In partnership with committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth."

In the 1960s, my mother was our girl scout leader. While cleaning up some old files, I found a home video of my mother and other girl scout leaders who took a group of us on a field trip to an Animal Farm and Botanical Gardens (Nassau County, Long Island, New York).

It was a wonderful experience and extra special since mom was our leader. I learned about charity, commitment, friendship, family, and much more. However, we did not learn about nutrition in the early 1960s.

To complement the video is a sample of the song called "Julliette" (Girls Scout Founder) by Melinda Carroll. 

Meet the Cookies
(Nutrition Information Available)
    

In 1960, licensed bakers first began wrapping Girl Scout Cookie boxes in printed aluminum foil or cellophane to protect the cookies and preserve their freshness. In 1961, 14 licensed bakers were mixing batter for thousands of Girl Scout Cookies annually. By 1966, several varieties were available. Among the best sellers were Chocolate Mint, Shortbread, and Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. Nutrition information was not required on the labels during this time.

In the early 1990s, eight varieties were available, including low-fat and sugar-free selections. By 2007, Girl Scouts of the USA announced that all their cookies now had zero trans fat per serving; many required reformulation to accomplish this.

Girl Scout cookies are listed as having "0 trans fat per serving" and will have packaging saying Trans Fat-Free. The cookies are not truly trans fat-free, as various partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs, i.e., trans fats) are still listed in the ingredients. Nonetheless, they now have a sufficiently small amount per serving to comply with the government's official standards for the Trans Fat-Free label. (The official rules allow the label to appear where there are fewer than 0.5 grams per serving.)

In addition, the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) released a research review entitled Weighing In: Helping Girls Be Healthy Today, Healthy Tomorrow. Weighing In addresses various underlying causes leading to the epidemic of obesity and being overweight among children and adolescents and the lifestyles, cultures, and behavior that have contributed to this condition. Read more about this research review.

One Girl

Girl Scout Promise:
On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

The Promise is often recited at Girl Scout troop meetings while holding up the three middle fingers of the right hand, which forms the Girl Scout sign. Girl Scout policy states that the word "God" may be interpreted depending on individual spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, "God" may be substituted with the word dictated by those beliefs.

Girl Scout Law:
I will do my best to be honest and fair,
Friendly and helpful, Considerate and caring,
Courageous and strong, and
Responsible for what I say and do,
And to respect myself and others,
respect authority, use resources wisely,
make the world a better place, and
be a sister to every Girl Scout.

Girl Scout Motto:
"Be Prepared."

Slogan:
"Do a Good Turn Daily"

National Oatmeal-Nut Waffle Day

Wecan, NIH, Oatmeal Pecan Waffles

Ingredients
Waffles
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup quick-cooking oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup unsalted pecans, chopped
2 large eggs, separated
1½ cup fat-free (skim) milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Fruit Topping
2 cups fresh strawberries, halved
1 cup fresh blackberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon powdered sugar

All berries may be substituted with frozen, thawed

Directions

1. Preheat waffle iron.
2. Combine flour, oats, baking powder, sugar, and pecans in a large bowl.
3. Combine egg yolks, milk, and vegetable oil in a separate bowl, and mix well.
4. Add liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir together. Do not overmix; the mixture should be a bit lumpy.
5. Whip egg whites to medium peaks. Gently fold egg whites into batter.
6. Pour batter into preheated waffle iron, and cook until the waffle iron light signals it’s done or steam stops coming out of the iron. A waffle is perfect when it is crisp and well-browned on the outside with a moist, light, airy and fluffy inside. (Or make pancakes.)
7. Add fresh fruit and a light dusting of powdered sugar to each waffle, and serve.

Tip: For pancakes, do not separate eggs. Mix whole eggs with milk and oil, and eliminate steps 4 and 5.

Yield: 4 servings
Serving Size:
3 small (2-inch) or 1 large (6-inch) waffle (depending on waffle iron size)
Calories 340
Total Fat 11 g
Saturated Fat 2 g
Cholesterol 107 mg
Sodium 331 mg
Total Fiber 9 g
Protein 14 g
Carbohydrates 50 g
Potassium 369 mg

February 18, Crab Stuffed Flounder Day

Serves 6

Ingredients
6, 4 oz fresh flounder fillets
1/2 cup(s) celery, chopped
1/2 cup(s) chopped green onions
1 clove(s) minced garlic
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup fresh crab meat
2 tablespoon(s) chopped parsley
1 egg, slightly beaten
Salt, black and red pepper to taste

Directions
1. Sauté celery, onions, and garlic in 2 Tbsp of melted butter.
2. Add breadcrumbs, crabmeat chopped parsley, and egg to sautéed vegetables. Mix well.
3. Season to taste with salt, black and red pepper.
4. Brush the flounder fillets well with additional melted butter, salt, and pepper the fillets.
5. Laying the fillets flat, place an equal amount of prepared stuffing on each fillet.
6. Roll the fillets ensuring that the stuffing mixture remains in the center.
7. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp of butter in shallow baking dish.
8. Place stuffed fish in a pan.
9. Cover and bake at 375 F for approximately 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.
10. Remove cover and bake an additional 5 minutes to brown.

Nutrient Analysis

Nutrient Analysis Services

Purchasing nutrient analysis software and learning how to use the program is only useful if you have the knowledge to convert “as purchased” ingredients to the “edible portion.” Ensure accurate nutrient analysis for your recipes utilizing an extensive research database and over 25 years of experience. A valuable service for the Recipe Blogger, Media, Cookbook Publishers, Writers, Chefs, and Recipe Websites. Your readers will benefit from the Nutrient information and a Registered Dietitian. Contact: Dietitians-Online.com; Sandra Frank, Ed.D, RDN, FAND at recipenews@gmail.com  954.294.6300