Wake up, and eat the roses

As a kid, I was a notoriously picky eater. I had to have kraft macaroni and cheese at every meal, and would refuse to try many things my parents put before me. Ironic I ended up as a culinary major, right? Oddly enough, while I wouldn't try the food on my plate, I WOULD try the food in my backyard. I literally would try to eat almost any form of leaf, flower, berry, acorn or grass. (Much to my parents' dismay). I must have had some intuitive foraging skills at a young age, because I never wound up sick or hospitalized. I did, however, in my freshmen year of college, attempt to eat a daffodil. DON'T DO IT. At the time, I thought it could have flavor potential, as the stalk tasted a bit like bitter celery- but a quick google-search later on informed me that daffodils are definitely not on the edible flower list.This explorative form of eating has followed me throughout my collegiate years. [But now I do my research a little better]. When I was a sophomore working at a kitchen in a nursing home, I learned that dandelions are really healthy for you. So, what did I do? I went outside on break and plucked one right there off of the undoubtedly freshly fertilized and overly-chemically treated lawn. (I did actually have some reservations and washed the dandelion and steamed it whole due to where I actually found it.) It was actually really good. Most people stick to eating the dandelion greens (which are REALLY good for you), but me being me, I ate the whole dang thing. (Not that I am recommending it to y'all).  There's actually a multitude of edible flowers you can eat, and the flavor profiles range quite a bit. I'm including a small video of some edible flowers. Word to the wise: be VERY careful when you go foraging. Don't go picking any ol' flower you think looks like an edible plant. Some parts of plants are actually poisonous,  while other parts are completely edible. Additionally, some parts need to be cooked in order to be edible- so do your research.

I've provided some links below to edible-flower friendly sites. There are some recipes out there that are truly phenomenal. So, do a little digging around on the web, and then do a little digging in your garden :) (or local forest). Wake up, and eat the roses!

How to Choose Edible Flowers
About Edible Flowers
NSCU Edible Flower Info
PA Edible Flower Recipes