I realize I have not gotten on here to post since before I moved. I thought I would jot down a couple really easy but tasty dishes that are especially good during the cold months and a great way to get fussy kids to eat.

This is a wonderful delicious way to serve corn. It is toasty, chewy and nutty. And goes well with everything from scrambled eggs to roast chicken. It can be added to soups, stews, corn bread, sauces, salsas, etc. Corn is very sweet naturally and this makes a wonderful natural sweet dish. But if you are looking for something even sweeter and almost like candy, just add some sugars to the roasted corn and you have an out of this world side.

Roasted and Caramelized Corn:

20 oz package frozen sweet corn
salt
pepper
canola oil
maple syrup (optional)

Heat oil in pan. Pour in frozen corn. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the corn stirring regularly until corn is nice and toasted. Remove and serve.

To caramelize the corn, add 1-2 TBL maple syrup or brown sugar. Continue to cook the corn and stir constantly to prevent scorching. Remove and serve.

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This is one of my favorite dishes and a wonderfully tasty way to eat cauliflower. It really brings out the nuttiness of the vegetable.

Pan Fried Cauliflower:

1 head cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into medium sized flowerettes
oil or butter
salt
pepper
3/4 flour

Heat 4TBl oil or butter in large frying pan. In a large bowl combine aprox 3/4 c. flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Rinse the cauliflower under cold water getting it nice and wet, and immediately put into the bowl with the flour. Toss the cauliflower in the flour until the cauliflower is covered. Immediately put cauliflower into hot oil and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until cauliflower is browned on all sides. Remove, drain and serve.

Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly,

Lavender's green;

When I am king, dilly, dilly,

You shall be queen.

Call up your men, dilly, dilly,

Set them to work,

Some to the plough, dilly, dilly,

Some to the cart.

Some to make hay, dilly, dilly,

Some to thresh corn,

While you and I, dilly, dilly,

Keep ourselves warm.

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When I was a child I could not stand the scent of Lavender. I think it was because the only Lavender I ever smelled was the heavy, overly perfumed powders and soaps used by elderly women. I still don't like those scents of Lavender. But, the real scent of fresh Lavender is wonderful. It fills the nostrils with the image of a field abloom with purple blossoms swaying in the wind.

When I discovered that I could not only appreciate the scent and beauty of Lavender, but that I could eat it too! Wow! My love of flowers and my love of food combined! That was a great day.

I have since then delved into learning about the edible beauties that not only adorne our tables in vases, but also can adorn our plates. I will continue to explore flowers used in the kitchen, and over time add some recipes to this site.

An important note on cooking with flowers--

Only organic, meaning no pesticides or poisons of any kinds, flowers can be eaten. You cannot just walk up to the floral counter and take some home and eat them. Flowers that were grown for food will be designated as "culinary." Do not even think that you can just go pick some wildly growing ones and eat them. You do not know what may have been sprayed there, or what may be in the soil. Ask before you buy. When in doubt--don't eat it!

Lavender Scones

1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp crushed culinary Lavender buds
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 egg

In a small bowl, blend the sour cream and baking soda, and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a large baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix the flour, Lavender, sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and salt. Cut in the butter. Stir the sour cream mixture and egg into the flour mixture until just moistened. Don't over mix.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly. Roll or pat dough into a 3/4 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges, and place them 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown on the bottom.

What should I make for breakfast?

I have children in my home that have food allergies. I have had kids allergic to dairy, soy, eggs and peanuts. Right now I am working with dairy, soy and peanut allergies, but I still use eggs sparingly--just to be safe. I will try to post a number of recipes on here that are helpful when cooking for those who have food allergies.

The other day the kids were wanting breakfast that consisted of more than just cold cereal and fruit. I needed something that the kids could all eat (without any allergens) but didn't have much to work with. It had been a few days since I went to the store, so I didn't have much fresh in my fridge. I improvised. I had some left over cooked potatoes and some eggs, so I made an alternate version of one of my favorite breakfast dishes.

Italian Eggs and Potatoes

3 precooked potatoes, cubed

2 T olive oil

2 cups marinara sauce

3 eggs

Seasoning Salt

Pepper

In a large non-stick frying pan, brown the potatoes in the oil over medium heat, season to taste with seasoning salt and pepper. When potatoes have taken on a golden brown color, stir in the marinara sauce. Bring it all to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and make a space in the pan by pushing the potatoes aside with a spatula. Break an egg into the space. Repeat with remaining eggs. Cover the pan and cook until the eggs are cooked and the whites are solid. To serve, remove some potatoes to a plate and place an egg on top of the potatoes.

Bathing Beauties

When I was a young girl and I would go visit my "Old Grandma" (as she was called), she always had a bowl of cucumbers and onions in her fridge. All of my family members remember them with fond memories. They were cool, refreshing and delicious. I don't know where she got the recipe or if it was something she herself grew up with. Her family originated from England and Germany and her husband's family originated from Portugal, so maybe one in her family passed it on to her. I will never know. I suspect that somewhere there is a history of this dish and a proper name for it, but I just call them "Bathing Beauties."

Like myself, my children absolutely love them. I can't even make them without children standing behind me stealing them from the bowl. If I let my kids, they will eat an entire bowl at one sitting, which all in all wouldn't be bad, considering they are just cucumbers and onions--but I fear they may end up with a stomach ache. Unfortunately, none of us ever got her recipe before she passed away and so I have had to just guess at her choices.

Bathing Beauties

3 large cucumbers

1 large white onion

aprox. 5-6 cups of cold water

1/2 c. white vinegar

1/4 c. cider vinegar

Peel and slice the cucumbers and onions thinly. Toss them together in a glass or plastic bowl. Pour the vinegar over all. Fill the bowl to cover the vegetables with cold water. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator over night. Serve cold or at room temperature with meals or as a snack.

Introduction

I have had a love of cooking since I was a very young girl. I remember helping my mother in the kitchen when I was a child and the fun that was had during those times. She had a garden on the side of our house and it was a wonderful learning experience to see foods picked fresh from the garden, brought in and transformed into the meals we ate. She made fresh bread and canned preserves and other fresh items to be eaten later in the year. My mother was always a very good cook and she taught me the basic skills I needed to further my own knowledge as I experimented in the kitchen.

As I grew I not only became quite comfortable in the kitchen, but also furthered my love for growing fresh foods. Over the years I have collected old cookbooks and became interested in how things were made before the introduction of items like condensed soup and cake mix. I had an older family friend who used to call me a "scratch girl," (I forgot about that until just now) which meant that I was a girl who knew how to do things from the ground up. She considered that a skill that few women today still possessed.