Flowers are beautiful, but not only!

Now updated with edible flower names! Living in California we have a bounty of avocados. We eat them all the time! I was so excited when the avocado toast trend took off and so many people came up with inventive new ways to enjoy one of my favorite breakfasts. I eat avocado toast weekly at home and this is my dream creation - avocado toast with soft boiled eggs, smoked paprika and fresh edible flowers alongside a frothy cappuccino.

Busy baker going through the process decorating with edible flowers.

Edible flower teas are such a source of calmness and deliciousness.

Happy Edible Flower Birthday to this friendly little turtle.

I love eating fresh-picked flowers out of my garden, and they add a lot of color and flavor to any salad. Here is my go-to recipe.

Lavender, Chamomile, Calendula, Red Clover, Cornflower, Dandelion, Rose Hip and Honey Bees

A collection of flower that are popular in the Middle East as a pattern

Candied violets are a delicious edible flower. Use them to garnish lemon cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Bread gets fancy with a few spreads and a pretty garnish of edible freesia and golden marigold

Shortbread cookies get a whimsical kiss from nature with candied pansies and a sprinkle of sparkly sugar

Violets are some of my spring favorites, and in a week or two their heads will start to pop up out of the mossy woodland floor on the East Coast, USA. I learned about various uses (all sweet) for edible violets while living in France, especially violet ice cream and bonbons à la violette, violet infused hard candies usually molded in a flower shape and presented in an ornate illustrated tin that looks like it dates back to the turn of the 19th century. At home, I prefer more simple recipes that require three ingredients or less, like candied violets coated with egg whites and powered sugar to sit on cakes, or boiling water, sugar and violets together to make a violet-infused simple syrup. Bon appétit!

Edible flowers challenge recipe. Easy rose petal jam, perfect to stuff your "pączek" (donut).

Birthday picnic with cake and edible flowers

Did you know that you can use the head of a sunflower to scrub pots and pans? Or that it's legal in South Dakota to use fireworks to scare birds away from the valuable sunflower crops? Or that one sunflower in Germany was THIRTY FEET TALL!?

The completely edible sunflower is one of the most amazing and precious resources in our world, and I had an absolute blast learning about it for this piece. What a fabulous challenge! Love, allison s.