Backyard Edibles - Lilac

I only found out last year that one of my favorite flowers, the Lilac, is also edible. I absolutely adore the smell and the look of lilac. So when I found out that they can be eaten as well, I knew I wanted to try them.

I know some people throw them in salads raw, I personally do not like them that way. They have a bitter, slightly floral flavor. However the other recipes I am going to share, I can tell you that everyone in my family has enjoyed.

The first thing we made was lilac jelly. We go through a lot of jelly in my house, and since we do not like buying anything with high fructose, being able to make a lot of jelly here at home has been great.
The jelly has a sweet, slightly floral flavor. We all really enjoy it.



We also made Lilac butter cookies. These were fantastic with a cup of coffee! Imagine a shortbread cookie with a slight floral lemony flavor. This is a recipe we will be trying again for sure!



The last thing we made with them was lilac infused honey. It is heavenly, all the wonderful sweetness of honey, with an added floral punch. I love using it when baking or just for eating. It is wonderful to use on a bagel in the morning.



We did not try all the fun recipes I wanted to this year, but I am saving more to try and share next year! I am thoroughly enjoying learning and sharing about all the wonderful things you can eat, that many people have growing freely right in their yards!

Backyard Edibles - Dandelions ( part 3 )

We have been really enjoying all the delicious things we have been making dandelions this spring. They are such a versatile plant and so readily available to those that want to use them. We are coming to the end of the current dandelion season here in Iowa, and we never did get to try all the yummy things we wanted to make, so next year will be bring more posts about the wonderful dandelion.

Over the years we have tried -
Dandelion Jelly
Dandelion Fritters
Dandelion Bread
Dandelion Honey Butter
Dandelion Lemonade
Dandelion Syrup
Dandelion Shortbread Cookies
Fried Dandelion Greens

My kids like the baked stuff and jelly, they were not a fan of the greens. I liked everything. I still have many more things I plan on making with dandelions, but time does not always allow me to make a lot of new things.

The last thing we tried this year was dandelion shortbread cookies. They are amazing in the morning with a little but of the honey butter spread on top. I enjoy them with my morning coffee.
I love shortbread anyway, and these have a lemony, honey taste. Super delicious, and highly recommended.

To see my other posts about dandelion, please click the links below -
Part 1
Part 2

Backyard Edibles - Dandelions ( part 2 )

Branching off last spring's post, I would like to talk a little bit more about dandelions. With all the shut downs going on right now, learning how to forage, and get use out of the plants growing freely right in your back yard is very beneficial!

Dandelions are such an easy thing for the beginning forager to work with, every part of the dandelion is edible, and they are truly a powerhouse plant when it comes to nutrition. Seriously, it is hard to willingly grow a plant that is better for you than the dandelion.

The flower is an excellent source of vitamin A, C, and K. They can be cooked or eaten raw. The greens have a substation amount of minerals, including iron, and potassium. The root is a great source of fiber, among other things. You can learn more about the nutrition of dandelions here.

Our favorite way to use dandelions is in jelly. It tastes so much like a lemony honey. We love using it on toast, muffins, and cornbread.

One new recipe we tried this year was dandelion honey butter. I love this stuff. At first my kids were a little reluctant to try it because the flower petals are visible in the butter, but once they tasted it, every single one of the kids liked it. This is one we will keep making each year!

We also made dandelion lemonade. My kids really enjoyed this recipe, and it was very simple to make. I bought a large mason jar at walmart for making it in, which looks awesome, and stores really well in the fridge.

The recipe calls for honey, we did a mix of honey and sugar because I was a little low on honey at the time we made it. We also added a little extra sweetener and lemon to the recipe, to get it to the flavor we all liked. We added violet blooms to it as well.




We will be making a few more things with dandelions this year, so be watching for part three!