After a long winter is finally over and flowers are bursting forth everywhere, it’s time to start thinking about edible spring flowers. Edible spring flowers (and some edible summer flowers) grow throughout the garden—and even in the lawn. These flowers do double duty, because they are as attractive outdoors in the yard and the meadow as they are on the plate. And they taste really good. Let’s look at three spring-blooming edible flowers —dandelions, sweet violets and tulips. While some folks bemoan dandelions and violets in their lawns, I rejoice at the ever-increasing number of lawns that are not pristine green, because the presence of these lively yellow and purple flowers mean that the lawn has not been treated with chemicals. (See The 10 Commandments of Edible Flowers posted here on HG&H.com.) Meanwhile, tulips rarely have any pests or diseases, so there’s no need for any chemical intervention. Edible Flowers: Dandelion Native Americans and the American … [Read more...] about Edible Spring Flowers: Dandelions, Tulips and Violets
recipes
Got Crabapples? Bake this Crabapple Whiskey Cake!
If you had a banner crabapple year, this Crabapple Whiskey Cake recipe is for you. This cake is a great combination of sweet, tart, and boozy, and fills a 9-inch tube or Bundt pan or several smaller pans. The Crabapple Whiskey Cake freezes like a dream, so I often make three or four small cakes. Then I freeze a couple of the cakes for when I’m feeling sad and lonely. And hungry. In my story about winter foraging published here on HomeGardenandHomestead.com, I went into detail about Foraging for Crabapples. So please read that story for more information. For this story about Crabapple Whiskey Cake, we’re jumping right into the recipe. To make the crabapple sauce, you can either use your favorite applesauce recipe and substitute crabapples or do what I do. Just toss all your crabapples into a slow cooker with a little water and some sugar. Then after four to eight hours, when the crabapples are nice and soft, run them through a food mill. CRABAPPLE WHISKEY … [Read more...] about Got Crabapples? Bake this Crabapple Whiskey Cake!
