She's testing me

Melissa picked out some hard flowers for me to talk about the culinary uses of.

Butterfly bushes
Salvia
Cosmos
Zinnias
Marigolds
Lamb's Ears
Peony
Sedum

Starting with the butterfly bush, no clue, I have nothing about them on the edible side of things.

Salvia, is the common sage.

Cosmos, The only thing I know to do with these is to candy them.

Gently rinse off blossoms, allow to dry thoroughly. Beat egg whites lightly. Using a small paint brush, coat petals with egg whites. Sprinkle with sugar or gently dip flower to coat. Set on a plate to dry completely. When dry, store in a tightly sealed container. Use to decorate pastries, or as a sweet snack.

(other flowers to candy: Rose petals, lavender and lilac, nasturtiums, pansies, chive blossoms, fushia, carnations, pinks and most herbs, such as mint leaves, borage, bee balm, etc.)

Zinnias, they are in the marigold family and edible.

Marigolds, (eat petals only!)

Beltane Custard

2 cups milk
1 cup unsprayed marigold petals
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp salt
1-2 inch vanilla bean
3 egg yolks
1/8 tsp all spice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp rose water
Whipped cream

pound the marigold petals. Mix together salt, sugar, and spices. Scald the milk with the marigolds and the vanilla bean in it. Remove the vanilla bean, add egg yolks and cook on low heat. When the mixture thickly coats a spoon add the rose water and allow to cool.Serve with whipped cream and garnish with fresh marigold petals.

Marigold Pie

4 tablespoons of marigold or borage petals
3 organic, free range eggs
3 heaped tablespoons organic cottage cheese (plain)
1 tablespoon icing sugar
small pinch of salt
small pinch of nutmeg
1 baked pie shell

preheat oven to 350 F. Bring petals to the boil in about half a pint of water. Drain immediately. Separate eggs . Mix the yolks with the petals. Sieve cottage cheese, add sugar, salt and nutmeg. Mix together petal mixture to the cottage cheese mix. Whisk the egg whites until a soft peak forms and fold into the mixture. Pour into baked pie shell and bake for about 25 minutes or until the pie feels firm to the touch.

Orange Marigold Iced tea
1 quart water
1/3 cup sugar (optional)
3/4 cup organic, edible marigold petals
3 tablespoons whole-leaf assam tea
2 medium oranges, well scrubbed
Ice

Place the water in a medium saucepan over high heat, add the sugar, if using. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and add the marigold petals. Simmer 2 minutes, add the tea leaves and remove from the heat. Allow to steep for 3 minutes, strain into a pitcher, discarding the solids. Refrigerate until cold.

Cut the oranges crosswise into thin slices. To serve, line the sides of tall glasses with 5 to 7 orange slices each. add ice and tea.

Lamb's Ears, They are of the mint family and edible, but I have no recipes other than a cough syrup. They are a natural band aid.

Mullein Tea for congestion and cough

4-6 Young Mullein Leaves(Lamb’s Ears)
Milk
Teaspoon of sugar or honey per cup of tea made


Boil the Mullein leaves in just enough water to cover. Strain through a cheese cloth. Add some milk and a teaspoon of sugar or honey to personal taste per cup of tea.

Peony, is another to be candied.

Sedum leaves can be added to salads, they have a slight peppery taste. You can also fry them with other veggies or add them to your soups. The yellow flowers do have some toxicity, but frying them removes that problem. The red ones are fine to eat.

Relish for hot dogs or hamburgers

fry sedum leaves with a couple of slivers of sweet bell peppers and onions over a high heat in olive oil until the onions are browned and bell peppers nearly translucent, add pepper to taste.

Do I pass?