Friday, July 2, 2010

Volunteers Are Best! At Least This Year!

We plant sunflower seeds every year, but the volunteers we grow from bird seed and birds in general are the best!  The petals can be eaten in salads and the young buds boiled a couple of times.  They taste similar to an artichoke.  Here is a recipe from Cathy Barash's book, Edible Flowers From Garden to Palate.

Sunbuds-Serves 4

8 sunflower buds
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
juice of 2 medium lemons

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add sunflower buds.  Boil for 2 minutes.  While water is boiling, bring a second pot of water to a boil.  After the sunflower buds have cooked for 3 minutes, transfer them to the second pot of water.  Discard the first pot of water.  This gets rid of any bitterness.  Continue to cook buds until fork tender.  Drain and set aside.

In a skillet, melt the butter.  Add bread crumbs and stir, sauteing lightly.  When bread crumbs turn golden, toss in sunflower buds.  Pour on lemon juice to taste, toss to coat.  Serve immediately.  Garnish, if desired, with sunflower petals.

It has been a beautiful day in the 'Burgh!  Went to the doctor to get a stronger cream for my dermatitis.  I'm sure it will help.  Hope you all have a great and safe July 4th weekend!

4 comments:

My Farmhouse Kitchen said...

hi...so good to see you at farmhouse..and YES! isn't teddy adorable..we just LOVE him so much !!!!

i wish you were here for lemon bars and tea...and YES! i have cherries too :-)

happy 4th of july, my friend

kary and teddy

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Happy 4th to you dear, Kary and Teddy!

taylorsoutback said...

Hoping that skin reaction soon gets under control. I had a run in with stinging nettles a few years ago - some of our plants and weeds can sure make us sit up and pay attention!

But don't you just love this time of the year - going out to the garden for fresh herbs makes winter seem so far away.

Have a good 4th.

Lemon Verbena Lady said...

Never a dull moment. I spent the late afternoon picking raspberries! It is a great time of year. Happy 4th to you as well!