Be A Good Girl and Eat Your Flowers

I love all things flowers -- and I don't just mean the scents. And yes, you CAN bring bring flowers (Try it, seriously. You'll have me at "hello"). But really, I mean flavors. That's right, you crazy Americans, you can eat flowers. My two faves are violet and rose, and you can make fun of me all day. You're so weird!, you say. I really don't care. I will eat my flowers and like it.

-- Rose. There was this part in Like Water for Chocolate that made me really think this as more than a Valentine add-on. Yeah, this book could make anything sexy, but the roses actually sounded good tasting.

The key is to use organic, old fashioned roses. Don't think you'll be able to use those hot-pink long-stemmed varieties from the cooler case at your local grocery. One, they are filled with chemicals. Two, they don't have much scent, and therefore, not much flavor.

But if you use the right roses, the results are divine, like the roses surrounding the Virgin of Guadalupe divine. Case in point: the rose milk paleta from Las Paletas in Nashville. Delicate yet rich and blush colored. And that combo rarely happens.

Not so divine. The rose wine that once exploded in my pantry. It was was so bubbly that it escaped it's bottle, and although it promised amazing Firefox deliciousness, I have never had the guts to try it again.

-- Violet. I've been hopeless in this respect for a long time. In fact, when I was 16 or so, I had petty cash for a family vacation to Wilmington, and I distinctly remember going to a specialty gourmet store (this was WAY before the Food Network) for fun and buying balsamic vinegar and violet pastilles. Really? Did I have a hard time getting a date for the prom? What? Why no, why do you ask? But anyway, I digress ...

Violet is like eating perfume, and especially when it is in that European concoction of after-dinner mints or gum. Granted, this delicate purple bloom doesn't counteract a garlic-filled repast, but it makes a worthy effort, and y'all, it's purple.