here's a pretty little nasturtium:
they come in all different colours - red, orange, yellow and beige.
lots of people pick them fresh and add them to various food. but when you have a ton of them and you want that spicey, peppery taste to add to your food over the winter - you pick them and dry them! after you pick them, rinse them thoroughly. then give them a quick pat dry with a towel. then lay them on a screen, if you have one laying around (we have 20 million because jambaloney is a really good garbage picker!)
you could use a dehydrator or an oven...but heck, we have the good fortune to have a porch wrapped in plastic! it gets so hot out there on sunny days that it takes no time to dry the flowers!
make sure that the flowers are completely dry...and brittle....like this:
once you have gathered enough, stick them in a blender or anything that will chop them really fine to make a powder.
and there's your nasturtium spice!
you can add it to soups, stews, salads, dressings - whatever! it has a very delicious, lightly-spicey taste when it has been turned into powder. we love the stuff!!!
I never heard of it, and I certainly didn't know that's how spices get made. I wonder how you learned all this stuff?
ReplyDeletehey Harry - i am always so pleased when you stop by this blog! i learned all of this stuff by reading books, magazines and other people's blogs....just like you have learned all that you have learned. i love learning from other people and the people in our main blog's blogroll are honest people who tell it like it is - whether it's a failure or a success. like your blog.
ReplyDeleteanyway - there are lots of different things that you can dry, crush and turn into spices. i have a whole pile of other nifty things that you can grow and make spices out of and i will do a whole pile of more posts about that - as long as you promise to keep coming back. deal buddy?
ever heard of pine needle tea? full of vitamins and it's what the few remaining Donner Party lived off of.
your friend,
kymber
I have never done this but have eaten the flowers. I might just try this this year, it will be a fun thing to do I think.
ReplyDeleteBarb.