The elderflowers are blooming! They are DELICIOUS. Elderflower syrup is one of my favorite summertime treats, mixed with a bit of sparkling water, it is indescribably delicious.  You can also many many other yummy treats from elderflowers, such as:


Elderflower sorbet

Elderflower champagne


Elderflower Fritters and Elderflower Cordial

Why are you still reading this? go gather some elderflowers.....

Sage is blooming like mad. Time to make Fried Sage Blossoms!

Fried Sage

Sage leaves and flowers have a very intense flavor; normally, you would use them sparingly in a dish or recipe. But frying sage truly transforms this herb; the flavor is lighter, quite different, and most delicious!

½ cup butter or olive oil
flou
30 sage leaves OR sage blossoms (on the stem)
Sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper (optional)

Heat butter or oil in a thick skillet, over medium heat.


Lightly dust sage leaves or blossoms with flour.


Place sage in hot butter or oil, and cook until they are lightly crispy. This should take only a minute or two.


Remove fried sage leaves, and let cool on a paper towel. Repeat until all sage leaves are cooked.

Lightly sprinkle the sage leaves with sea salt; you may season with black pepper if you like.

Serve as-is for a delicious, unusual appetizer. You can also crumble the dried sage leaves over main dishes, such as pork, pasta, bean soups, or hearty casseroles.

And *today's* post is inspired by my friend Jill, who asked about rhubarb recipes! I LOVE rhubarb. Alas..I am surrounded by rhubarb-haters. *sigh*  So mostly I see good rhubarb recipes, sigh, and put them away. But now at least I can blog them and hope you all make the rhubarb-ey goodness....

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Carmelized Rhubarb topping pretty much combines my love of fermented foods, food in jars, AND rhubarb. It's PERFECT!!

Look how gorgeous this rhubarb liqueur is! I AM making this. Rhubarb-haters be damned.

And I AM making this gingery rhubarb chutney, too. Because, as she says, it is pretty  much heaven, when placed on top of good dark bread with a sharp cheddar cheese. ('scuse me while I wipe drool of the keyboard..)

Saged Pear Butter! *swoon* I hope our pear trees produce well this year....

 

These olive oil cakes with lemon and thyme look DELICIOUS, don't you think?  I love the Pioneer Woman food blog. 

Also, I NEED to make this, so I can whip up amazing Thai-style stirfries at the drop of a hat. Mmmmm.

And last but not least, this afternoon I plan to make fresh pasta. Lots of fresh pasta. I'm thinking: black pepper pasta, pesto cannelloni with my own frozen pesto sauce and home-canned tomato sauce, and butternut and sage ravioli (sage from my garden and butternut from our local CSA).

Homemade pasta isn't hard to make - even ravioli. I was really surprised to find that out! Homemade ravioli tastes amazing and freezes beautifully. I like to make lots, and have loads of fresh pasta on hand in the freezer.

So I guess these cold, sunny winter days inspire me to cook. What are you guys cooking up, in this cold and dreary winter?

Violets are still gorgeous and lush here - time to make some violet syrup!! Here's my favorite recipe and method , and an awesome variation that my friend Tina from The Essential Herbal makes. That's what I love about making herbie stuff. There's really no one right way, and, you can always experiment with ingredients and methods!

Fall is here!

A customer forwarded us some of her favorite delicious fall recipes, and they sounded so great I'm posting them here for your enjoyment:

Roasted Corn Chowder
Cornmeal Pumpkin Muffins


And my friend Jill forwarded me this GREAT recipe for mini cornbread puddings. Oh, man, do these sound wonderful, or what? I make my own sour cream (it's very, VERY easy to do) using Jersey cream from our neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery, and use amazing organic cornmeal from Paul's Grains. They both make a HUGE difference in any recipe I use them in. Local and organic just *tastes* good, you know?

Mini Cornbread Puddings

We called these cornbread puddings -- not muffins -- because they're far moister and more tender than what you might expect, thanks to sour cream in the batter.

Makes 24

Butter, room temperature, for pan

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 425 degrees, with rack in upper third. Butter 24 mini muffin cups; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, whisk together egg, sour cream, and corn. Mix with flour mixture just until incorporated (do not overmix).

Dividing evenly, spoon batter into prepared muffin pan. Bake until tops have browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes in pan; turn out onto a cooling rack. Serve, or cool completely and store at room temperature in an airtight container, up to 2 days.