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Posts with tag flowers

Free seeds from Dagoba Organic Chocolate

Dagoba's Rosemary Mint bar was one of Marisa's standout picks for our Fancy Food Show Favorites, and I've since become slavishly devoted to their Seeds bar. It's 68% cacao, studded throughout with pumpkin, hemp and sunflower seeds, and now I've got even greater impetus to dig it, because the company is giving away free seeds via their website Seed the Day.

"Whether it's a pot on the windowsill, a patch in the backyard or a big community effort, everyone can garden. We'll get you ready for spring and help keep your garden blooming by sending you the very herbs and flowers found in our chocolate bars. Everyone who signs up will get at least one packet of lavender, mint, rosemary, pumpkin or sunflower seeds."

So far as I can tell, there's not a single hitch or string -- just free seeds and an extra excuse to think of chocolate. The site also notes that should your planting group be planning a late night planting romp, they just might send along some delicious provisions. And - if you live in Boston, Chicago or San Francisco, you can come on out and nab a handful for yourself. Dates are listed here.


Seed the Day

Mother's Day cake

Mother's Day CakeEvery mom loves flowers-- except the ones who are allergic. So what's better than getting flowers for mom on Mother's Day? Making her a cake with flowers on it, of course!

I began with two 6-inch round cakes, leveled and stacked with a layer of buttercream between. I then iced the entire thing with white buttercream and let sit for a couple of minutes before smoothing. To get a 'fondant finish' (smooth like fondant but tasty like icing), I used my wooden fondant roller and a Viva paper towel and gently rolled over the surface of the cake.

I found a Wilton tulip and daisy muffin pan and thought it was perfect for baking flowers for the top of a cake. Each flower was leveled so it would sit evenly on top and alternate in a circle. The daisies were iced using tip #220. When I got it, I really thought this tip was going to make a neat drop flower but mostly it just makes pretty fat swirls. I made the centers with small pale yellow fondant circles. For the tulips, I used tip #3 so you could see a basic outline of the petals shape then did a small star tip to fill them in.

It still looked a little plain so I decided to use the flower fondant cutouts and make alternating colors of daisies and tulips for that as well. As an extra touch, I took dark purple fondant and cut out a butterfly shape. I shaped them over a bent piece of cardboard covered in aluminum foil and let them dry overnight. I made four just in case I broke one which was good because I ended up breaking two.

Once I added a little green grass around the edge to finish it off, it was all done. As a mom myself, I think I would much prefer to get these flowers than the kind that come in a vase.

Gallery: Mother's Day cake

Candied spring flowers

cupcake with candied flowersApril showers bring May flower-covered cupcakes. Yes, spring is in full swing, time for the ultimate in stunningly beautiful, impress-all-your-friends-with-little-effort cake decoration: sugared flowers.

Martha Stewart has an instructional video on how to candy flowers, definitely a Good Thing. Start with pesticide-free edible flowers, such as pansies, marigolds, roses, dianthus, violets. Mix egg white or meringue powder in water and brush onto the petals with a clean paint brush, then sprinkle front and back with extra-fine sugar. Dry on a rack for two to four days until completely dry, then use to make adorable cupcakes like the ones in the picture.

Flowers on the cake

Demonstrative image of a new product called CakeVase.Have you ever looked at a cake with flowers on top and thought about possible hygiene issues? Or have you just wondered how they did that? There hasn't been any kind of industry standard, but the new CakeVase would not be a bad start.

Most of the time, decorators just put a plate on top of the cake with a floral arrangement on that. One problem with that is the plate may be too heavy. Also, you have no way water the flowers, so you may have some wilting by the end of the day. And no one recommends sticking flowers directly into a cake.There are ways around these problems without the CakeVase of course, but this gadget really does appear to make the task pretty easy, clean, and hygienic.

The website has more information and examples, as well as links to where it can be purchased. It's not too pricey, either. You get three vases for $13.93. There are two sizes of the regular vase, and one that's a ring so you can have flowers just around the edge. The CakeVase can help easily add a touch of elegance to your next cake.

Flowers bloom on Parisian plates

The closest I ever got to dining at New York City's top-flight French restaurant La Grenouille was pressing my greasy nose against the window to envy the beau monde flitting about the exquisite floral arrangements. At the time I worked around the corner, and knew even less about French food than I do now, which is to say "practically nothing." These days I can at least pronounce the names of the mother sauces.

Nowadays I hear the motherland of haute cuisine has started transplanting flowers from the vase to the plate. French chefs are whipping up creations ranging from carnation and herb salad to veal in daisy gravy. The pretty plate above was created by three-star (Michelin, naturellement) chef Yannick Alléno, who recently declared, "France is now my garden." The dish consists of king crab with rock rose, chickweed and borage flowers.

At the risk of being gauche, this floralization begs the question: Can high-concept tiki bars where patrons with edible leis consort with the chefs be far behind?

Community gardens yield more than the harvest

You don't have to be gregarious or adventurous to start or be part of a community garden. If you're lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with an available spot of ground, say 80'x80', you have the beginnings of a great social experiment. Here in Boulder, this was inclusive to the development plans in my neighborhood so procuring growing space wasn't a problem. I thought getting people to sign up and rent plots (this wasn't my job) would be an issue. Not so. It was what should be grown that got thorny. Most wanted veggies and flowers. Some wanted only flowers and vice versa. In the end it was an even mix. We even had edible flowers: I ate carnation petals right from the plant, and later steeped in sherry. The point is, a typical 9-5 person doesn't have time to tend a large garden. When folks come together and each grow their specialty, we all get to cook the many varieties of squash, cabbages, onions, roots and shoots. I never cared for Zucchini but my neighbor three houses down traded me some zukes for a futures claim on my pumpkins. The zucchini bread was eaten in one sitting; she plans to make pumpkin bread next month. It may sound corney, so to speak, but growing food with people you didn't know really brings food into focus. At least that's been my experience.

Our garden's first year was a success. Nothing was poached and there was a healthy competitive nature to the venture. The only "failure" was the tomatoes. Hard to grow at altitude with minimal care. Other than that, if you have the opportunity, you might start here.

Tip of the Day

Drying fruit is easy, mostly hands-off and yields a sweet and healthy snack.

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