Edible flower ideas for Houghton

I am demonstrating the use of edible flowers to a gardening group in Houghton on Tuesday evening and have been wondering how best to arrange the evening.

With recipes given to the local enthusiasts, we will have some food already prepared...no two lavender flapjack batches will ever be the same.....different amounts of seeds...pumpkin or sunflower, flavours such as dates and ginger, butter or margarine, sweeteners such as brown or white sugar, honey, size and texture of oats, etc etc will make a difference so will the use of dried or fresh lavender and if its fresh which cultivar will be used; and will it be purple, white or pink. So that will be fun to try out and taste; then there will be lavender scones, and lavender and lemon drizzle cakes. How many different versions of those will be get!

For my part I will show how to create a really tasty chicken dish by using chicken breast rolled in lavender flowers maybe with leaves of tarragon or thyme. Cut into bite size pieces, everyone will be able to try some.


Baked mushrooms with thyme flowers is another idea; scrumptious with some tasty breads and salad; or excellent with roast fish or meat. The fragrance is fantastic! And the best news is that there are lots of thyme flowers in the garden right now so all I have to do is gather them and scatter them on the baked mushrooms at the last minute. Simple and easy!

So with lots of other ideas, involving ice bowls, flowery drinks and soups we should have an exciting evening with a really good exchange of foodie ieas. And the best news is that the group will be sipping violet blinis which taste absolutely divine....it is a mix of violet liqueur with a sparkling wine. Cheers!