{"id":5422,"date":"2014-05-19T21:16:19","date_gmt":"2014-05-20T03:16:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/?p=5422"},"modified":"2015-10-24T18:26:46","modified_gmt":"2015-10-25T00:26:46","slug":"playing-with-violets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/?p=5422","title":{"rendered":"Playing with Violets"},"content":{"rendered":"<a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-facebook nolightbox\" data-provider=\"facebook\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Follow us on Facebook\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DriftlessAppetite\" style=\"font-size: 0px; width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Facebook\" title=\"Follow us on Facebook\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline; width:48px;height:48px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border: none; box-shadow: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/facebook.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-twitter nolightbox\" data-provider=\"twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/drftlssappetite\" style=\"font-size: 0px; width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;margin-right:5px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"twitter\" title=\"Follow us on Twitter\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline; width:48px;height:48px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border: none; box-shadow: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/twitter.png\" \/><\/a><a class=\"synved-social-button synved-social-button-follow synved-social-size-48 synved-social-resolution-single synved-social-provider-rss nolightbox\" data-provider=\"rss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" title=\"Subscribe to our RSS Feed\" href=\"http:\/\/feeds.feedburner.com\/driftlessappetite\/ynOY\" style=\"font-size: 0px; width:48px;height:48px;margin:0;margin-bottom:5px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"rss\" title=\"Subscribe to our RSS Feed\" class=\"synved-share-image synved-social-image synved-social-image-follow\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" style=\"display: inline; width:48px;height:48px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border: none; box-shadow: none;\" src=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/social-media-feather\/synved-social\/image\/social\/regular\/96x96\/rss.png\" \/><\/a><p>Because of the longer, cooler temperatures this spring, the violets have stuck around and have proliferated in lawns all over town.\u00a0 For awhile now, I have been interested in foraging and eating things from the wild.\u00a0 Last season, I was most proud of my plum jelly, made with wild plums I found while hiking on Merry Christmas Mine Hill.\u00a0(Yes, that is really what\u00a0the hiking area is called.)\u00a0 My yearning to learn increased even more right after experiencing &#8220;New Gatherer&#8221; cuisine at\u00a0Iliana Regan&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elizabethtickets.com\/#!about\/cfzh\">Elizabeth<\/a> restaurant in Chicago. (Keith will post about it soon.)\u00a0 I had never considered eating violets before.\u00a0 All I knew was that they made a sound as satisfying as freshly cooked pasta being stirred in a pan when I went over\u00a0them with\u00a0our push mower!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5424\" src=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage.jpg\" alt=\"violetcollage\" width=\"1000\" height=\"638\" srcset=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/violetcollage-400x255.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><!--more-->There are about 500 violet species.\u00a0 The most common one here is the <em>viola odorata<\/em> which can be purple or white.\u00a0 Ancient Greeks (about 500 B.C.)\u00a0cultivated violets for wine,\u00a0various\u00a0remedies, garlands to decorate hair, and more.\u00a0\u00a0Violet-mania in France\u00a0is attributed\u00a0to\u00a0Jos\u00e9phine de Beauharnais,\u00a0who married\u00a0Napoleon I.\u00a0 It was Napoleon&#8217;s favorite flower.\u00a0 Jos\u00e9phine wore violets on her wedding day and also had a bouquet.\u00a0 Napoleon appointed a gardener to focus entirely on cultivating these flowers so that he could give his wife violets every day of the year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5425\" src=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets.jpg\" alt=\"candiedviolets\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/candiedviolets-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>RECIPE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sugared\u00a0Violets<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ingredients<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>1 egg white<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>1\/2 c. castor sugar (or granulated sugar ground in a mortar and pestel until almost powdery fine)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pick the flowers, leaving a bit of the stem in.\u00a0 Wash the flowers.\u00a0 Let it dry.\u00a0 Whisk the egg white in a bowl until frothy.\u00a0 With a paint brush or with one hand, dip one flower in the egg froth.\u00a0 Open up the petals\u00a0 then place it face down in a plate of the fine sugar.\u00a0 With the dry hand, use a small spoon to coat the back side of the flower.\u00a0 Place flower on a rack to dry.\u00a0 You can snip off the stem later. Repeat until you can&#8217;t stand it anymore. \ud83d\ude42\u00a0 I left it sitting on our breakfast table to dry for 3 days.\u00a0 After 3 days, the flowers should feel sturdy and crisp.\u00a0 It can be used right away to decorate cakes or cocktails.\u00a0 Store in a glass jar and freeze to use later.\u00a0 It should be good for at least 2 months.<\/p>\n<p>I also dried some leaves and flowers to use for tea.\u00a0 While they are still around, I might freeze them in ice cube trays for cocktails later.\u00a0 Maybe I&#8217;ll make\u00a0a fresh spring roll with violets or even some jelly.\u00a0 When we were in France last year, I did pick up a bottle of violet essence.\u00a0 I might use it to make marshmallows to celebrate violet season.\u00a0 Happy Spring!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Dried Violets for Tea<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5427\" src=\"http:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets.jpg\" alt=\"driedviolets\" width=\"1000\" height=\"731\" srcset=\"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/driedviolets-400x292.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because of the longer, cooler temperatures this spring, the violets have stuck around and have proliferated in lawns all over town.\u00a0 For awhile now, I have been interested in foraging and eating things from the wild.\u00a0 Last season, I was most proud of my plum jelly, made with wild plums I found while hiking on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,44],"tags":[672,390,673,671,674],"class_list":["post-5422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-cooking","category-made-in-wisconsin","tag-edible-flowers","tag-flowers","tag-sugared-violets","tag-violet","tag-violet-tea","has-featured-image"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5422"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5773,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5422\/revisions\/5773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/driftlessappetite.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}