Sweet Finds

Yesterday, my DB and I decided to take a break and venture off to the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero. I've heard many good things about the Market over there.

It truly is a delightful place. One of the first things I came upon is
» Miette, an organic patisserie. Besides, obviously, their lovely cakes and desserts, they have a wonderful collection of cute, Frenchy cakeplates, homemade rose petal jam and candies imported from France.



I bought this box of mints there that contain violet essence. Imported from Provence. (The rose-flavored Turkish Delight is actually from the Berkeley Bowl market, but I threw it in there cuz the mints looked lonely.)



You'll find other foodie items like this lavender salt. I had it over at Nadaly's when she and her hub were grilling up some lamb chops - yum, so good!



Hediard French preserves, orange blossom and jasmine:



Finally, some very pricey imported pastels (rose and violet flavored included in the assortment):

Parisian Flower Food Update: Violet Jam

Some of the food I brought home from Paris I did not try, having faith (hope) they would taste as good as they looked.

Here's my experience so far...



The violet jam is very good, though not strong in violet flavor. We had it for brunch this morning on homemade french (ha!) toast.

Oatmeal French Toast with Violet Jam and Raspberries

2 large eggs
1/2 c. (soy) milk
1 T. - 1/4 c. 1 minute quick oats
cinnamon to taste
a sprinkle of ground cloves
pinch of sea salt

4 slices whole grain bread
butter/vegetable oil

violet jam
fresh raspberries

Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Add butter or oil to a frying pan and heat on medium. Dip bread, one slice at a time into batter. When butter is melted, add battered bread to pan (depending on your stove, this may be a good time to lower the heat, if it's too hot). Cook until golden, and turn.

Serve with violet jam and raspberries. So easy and so, SO good.

Serves 2-4

{This recipe is still a work in progress, but very good as is; adjust to taste.}

French Flowery Treats

I'm still recovering from jet-lag but as promised, I've brought back many floral-infused treats from my trip to Paris, and I'm here to tell you about about them! I've found so many wonderful things, and it's odd to think flower-flavored foods are so popular overseas but not so much in the U.S. Perhaps this will change!

I didn't, unfortunately, find much in the way of flower liqueurs. Not such a big deal since I don't drink very often. In the Montmartre I did find a little set of rose, violet and orange blossom liqueurs for over 18 euros - I decided against it, as each bottle provided maybe one or two sips! It was the same brand as the rose and orange blossom liqueurs I got there before but the laughably small quantity was quite the turn off.

{Please note: As I am incredibly lazy - and tired today - you will not find the appropriate accent marks on all the French names here.}

At my beloved supermarket, Monoprix, I found most of the products shown.

These flower jams from Albert Menes...

Rose:



and Violet:



You'll find jars of flower confits all over France from various makers such as Fauchon; I choose this brand for its quaint homemade look and affordable price.

Also from Albert Menes...

Mustard with Herbs de Provence:



Ok, what does mustard have to so with flowers? Herbs de Provence is an herbal blend, traditionally made with lavender.

I've blogged about this one before, New Tree's Tranquility Bar with Lavender and Lime Blossom extract:



This bar is still one of my favorites.

Mamie Nova's Violet yogurt:



This is a new flavor and was hard to find. It's very creamy and mild, not very yogurty at all. (French yogurt tends to be less sour than American yogurt anyway, but this was especially mild and rich.) She also makes a Rhubarb Rose flavor, which I did not try.

Recettes & Sensations' Raspberry Violet yogurt:



The sweet violet flavor went quite well with the raspberries in this mildly tangy yogurt.

They make a Litchi Rose flavor, also good:



Lorina's Violet-flavored Mineral Water (with gas):

You may recognize the label - their French lemonades can be found at World Market and other gourmet shops in the U.S.

At La Grande Epicerie (part of Le Bon Marche on Rue de Sevres), I found:

Violet marshmallows from » Arnaud Soubeyran. {Sorry, no pic, I ate it before I had the chance to photograph it! Yum.}

Leone's Violet Pastilles (another item I've blogged about before) in its pretty vintage wrapping:

Dessert Innovations: little cookies, similar to macaroons (no filling) in rose and violet.

This market (as well as many tourist shops and grocery stores) also had a large assortment of flowery hard candies like violet and red poppy. I'm not a big fan of hard candies so I didn't get any this time.

I was shocked to discover Flavigny has recently changed their packaging. The new illustrations I don't even see on their website, » www.anisdeflavigny.com, which is just as well as I do not care for these new tins. Some things should never change, you know?

I came across many varieties of flower-flavored syrups like rose, jasmine, violet and red poppy in grocery stores, tourist shops and even Durance (soaps and perfumes from Provence), over near the Place de la Madeleine. But with all the new liquid restrictions, I thought it best I limit my goods. Besides, I can just order some Monin syrup at home. (See links, right.)

Les Ruchers du Roy make an abundance of different honeys from a myriad of flowers including this one of lavender:



» Fouquet, an old candy shop since 1852, makes confits and candied petals. This little jar of candied lilacs is terribly exciting!:



Miss Judy introduced me to » Laduree,when we were in Paris a couple of years ago. This window display is from their Bonaparte (Rive Gauche) location:

The Saint-Honore Cake in Raspberry-Rose. This delicious cake is pastry, rose cream, raspberry and pink chantilly (whipped cream):

Don't they have the loviest packaging?



The macaroons are so good too. Here's Cassis (Currant)-Violet with a fruit filling, Orange Blossom with a gel filling and (my favorite) Rose with a cream filling:



There are two other cakes, » "religieuse," one rose and one cassis-violet. Perhaps they are named that because they look like little churches? I didn't try these. Next time.

Trivia: As I recall, Laduree was featured as a charming backdrop in the final episodes of Sex and the City.

And finally, there's » Au Nom de la Rose. I stumbled upon this shop in the Latin Quarter. Rather, my nose did the stumbling, for the rose fragrance led me to its doors. Rose bouquets and gourmet sweets like white chocolate with candied rose petals.



The lady recommended the drops. Upon initial inspection, I thought they are gummy but alas, hard candy. Still good, very intense rose flavor. I think I will use them to make a version of rose candy ice cream - similar to one of my favorites, peppermint stick ice cream, but with rose candy instead.



Ok, perhaps some violet jam, butter, bread and a spot of tea for breakfast. Bon appetit!

Strawberries: Favorite Recipes

This lovely book, Strawberries: Favorite Recipes, by Oda Tietz, was recommended by our own Miss Judy. (Please see her informative post below!) I ordered it online and eagerly awaited it's arrival. Oh Judy, you were right, I love it!

There are many recipes in here with flowers, like "Fruit Cream with Candied Magnolia Blossoms" and "Meringue Torte with Strawberries and Candied Elderberry Flower Clusters."

Judy, I think we'll have to try out these recipes and do a little article on them together!

Visit » Powell's online bookstore to get your own copy.

Fuchsia Epicerie Fleur | Montreal, Quebec

During my first-thing-in-the-morning web-surfing (I'm a geek, I know!), I discovered this flower-themed restaurant in Montreal, Quebec (Canada) called Fuchsia Epicerie Fleur. I've aways wanted to visit Montreal. My grandparents lived there many years ago, and would regularly return on vacation.

Go here to read this little article featuring Fuchsia Epicerie Fleur in the » Montreal Gazette.

The article is recent, so the restaurant should be there. Here's the info:

54 Duluth East, Montreal, Quebec (H2W 1G8)
{at St. Dominique, Plateau}
phone: 514.487.3155

Another great cookbook

I accidentally came across another wonderful cookbook filled with great flower recipes. It's not actually a flower cookbook, but rather a very cute and charming strawberry cookbook entitled Strawberries: Favorite Recipes. It has adorable drawings throughout (many of which are reminiscent of toile.) I was pleasantly surprised to find recipes such as "Meringues with Strawberries and Rose Fragrance," "Strawberry Punch with Rose Petals," "Strawberries with Cream and Lavender Honey," "Cold Strawberry Apricot Soup" which is garnished with apricot-colored tulips, "Cream Cheese and Almond Sauce and Begonia Flowers" and many other flower recipes. It's a really cute book with lots of great recipes, both sweet and savory.

Tigers & Strawberries

I just stumbled upon this wonderful post in Tigers & Strawberries, a food blog by a lady named Barbara Fisher. This post provides some useful information about edible flowers, as well as some links to her yummy sounding original recipes!

Visit » tigersandstrawberries.com to see for yourself!

Flowers to Come

Sorry, still lagging in my Flower Food posts. Moving and work has been crazy lately.

And maybe because it's been so hectic, the BF and I have made spontaneous plans to visit Paris! He's never been, so I can't wait to show him around and also discover new things for myself. And of course, you know what this means...

Flowery-flavory treats! Floral liqueurs, here I come. I'll keep you posted. :)

Floral Bridal Shower

She's alive!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. Only moved 1800 miles back to California! But I wanted to post something because it's been so long.

Here's a pic taken by my friend Ral at my friend N.du's bridal shower last year. Both N.du and I are francophiles at heart and I wanted to create a flowery theme to match her formal garden-style wedding.

I hauled back from France mass quantities of violet preserves especially for this occasion. I also provided flower-flavored candy and made two bundt cakes: one rose with chocolate icing, and one chocolate with rose icing. I used gorgeous roses from Mom's garden as finishing touches. The cakes were a big hit and people were surprised they were eating rose-flavored desserts.

Rose Recipe Book

I just bought a great book entitled Rose Recipes from Olden Times. It has culinary, perfume, potpourri and other recipes dating back from the 1500s. Many recipes use old spellings (flowre instead of flour and oyle instead of oil.) Recipes include "A bag to smell unto or to cause one to sleep," "Odoriferous candles against venome and the plague" and "Rose wine" (which is fermented for 30 days with a piece of toast covered with yeast.)Unfortunately, because measurements include "4 pecks of Damask Rose leaves" or "a sixpennyworth of storax," they're somewhat impractical today. Even still, it's still a great book. It is a 1973 reproduction of a 1939 book. All of the pages are adorned with quaint drawing of flowers and people.

My Floral Recommendations

I'm writing this post in regards to the links I have on this blog. I want to let you know that I don't add links wily-nily and although I have not personally tried all the products listed, I have tried a lot of them and/or plan to. The following are comments on products that I have tried:



Leone makes a variety of flower-flavored lozenges, violet being one of them. I found the adorably old-fashioned tin of mints at a corner gourmet shop in NYC. (sorry, don't recollect the neighborhood) The candy's shape reminds me of jujubees while the texture is sort of like Necco wafers - how's that for some old-timey candy references?

Monin's Violet Syrup is pretty good, especially on vanilla ice cream (how 'bout sweet cream?), mixed into whipped cream or in an Italian soda.

Violet products at Regals: Now that's what I call a violet-lover's shop. Not only do they have violet candy, liqueur, perfume and locally made treats, they even have violet-themed china and other collectables. They don't speak much English but they were very sweet and helpful. The only problem (for me) is that they are all the way in Toulouse!!! But they have a website - yay!

Benoit Serres' Violette Liqueur is wonderfully sweet - so good over ice and cream. This was one of the items I got at Regals.

C.Howard's candies are a little, um, astringent for my taste but I can't help but be swayed by their classic candy packaging. And you can get it easily around the U.S. (try World Market, for example)

Chambers candy is good and the pretty victorian tins look nice in your bag.

Newtree's Tranquility bar is just devine. I've heard word to the contrary but I don't care, I love it! Milk chocolate and lavender make such a fine pair. I almost cried when Whole Foods stopped carrying the large bar. (ok, not almost cried but I got a tad moody)

Dagoba makes a lavender chocolate bar but I find the lavender flavor gets lost. Just my opinion though.

And of course you probably already know I eat Flavigny's violet and rose pastilles on a regular basis. :)

Ok, that's it for now. I'm trying to whip up some original recipes to share. More to come!

Lit de violettes sur gâteau léger au cacao épicé

I received a wonderful link through the Violet Society forum for (what I think translates as) A bed of Violets on a Light Spiced Chocolate Cake. This recipe is featured on a French blog:

» Absolutely Green

There's an English translation as well.

Thanks for the tip, Denis!

Rose Pans from Nordicware

No, you can't eat these flowers but they can certainly help make up some irresistably cute flower-flavored cakes.

The large rose bundt pan is from my friend Ral. The 6-rosebud pan is from Mom.



Yesterday at Linen 'n Things I saw they make a smaller rosebud pan to make 12 little muffin-sized cakes! Oh, so cute! It was $30 though and I don't really need another rose cake pan.

Not right now anyway.

» http://www.nordicware.com

Flavigny Pastilles

I've mentioned these mints in a previous post. Yesterday I needed a break from staring at the computer so I ran some errands. First stop: World Market to get some stainless steel bowls for Spoo Kee. (don't ask)

Since I was there, I picked up a couple of tins, 1 rose and 1 violet. :)

Yay! We Do the Happy Dance Now!

Ok, I think everything is normal and good now.

All I can say is back-up back-up back-up!

Site Issues Almost Resolved?

You may notice the site looks a little different. I've had to replace the template a few times to get it back to normal. Not to fret - I was smart this time and saved my old template so I can put in all those lovely links I had before and old customizations. Blogger is still having issues but maybe they'll figure things out soon enough.

For the love of all things cute, I hope after this things will be normal!!!

More tasty treats

Whole Foods is a happy place. I just found some white chocolate lavender hot cocoa there.

If anyone is in the Boston area, there is a day spa here called Violet. They offer violet and rose facials and massages along with violet and rose skin care products.

Rose Tea and the Cure for Breast Cancer

Whole Foods is a happy place and today it brought a smile to my face when I traipsed through their tea aisle.

One whole section was pink, which immediately caught my eye. Upon closer inspection, I found the tea for me: The Republic of Tea. Their line of products, "Sip for the Cure," donates 75 cents for each tin o' tea purchased to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

The one I picked up (pictured) -- you know, the reason for the inclusion in this blog-- is Pink Rose: green tea, pink peony petals and rose flavoring!!! And it was on sale, no less.

Whole Foods has some other pretty floral teas but some were quite costly. Pick one up for $7.99 and help fund the cure for breast cancer too.

{http://www.republicoftea.com/templates/detail.asp?navID=1020&catid=26}

International flower finds

I got some wonderful rose tea at the Asian supermarket near me. It's really good and a lot less expensive than the fancy rose tea that I've gotten at the gourmet stores (about $1.99 compared to $10.00-$15.00.)

You can get rose, violet, lavender, and jasmine ice cream in Paris. They're delicious and sold in ice cream stands thoughout the city. There is also a fancy bakery with several locations around Paris called Laduree. They have several flower items including rose and violet cookies, a pastry filled with rose custard and topped with rose whipped cream and candied rose petals, and a similar violet pastry.

The Whole Foods near me just started selling premade rose ice tea in individual bottles. It has a nice unsweetened rose flavor; very refreshing on a hot day!

Provencal Charm AND Candy...Re-visiting Flavigny

On my last trip to France (the source for flower-flavored goodies), Judy and I took a little trip to Flavigny, in Burgundy. For anyone who hasn't been to this village, you may know of it as the location for the film Chocolat. But it may be most famous for it's production of little anise-centered pastilles. The above is L'abbaye de Flavigny, where the candies are made. You can check out their site at http://www.anisdeflavigny.com/index.php. Unfortunately for us, the abbey was closed by the time we got there. :(

Here's a sleepy village petit chat I caught with my camera mid-yawn:



Not to worry if you have no immediate plans to visit France. These treats are pretty popular here in the U.S. You can even find them at World Market for around $2 or so. They come in a variety of flavors including rose, violet, jasmine and orange blossom (the last two are a bit harder to find - try the web). Not to mention, the sweet little old-fashion tins that they come in. I've kept a couple to store safety pins and such.

And speaking of my last trip to France, there's an ice cream (gelato) shop you must visit the next time you're in Nice. I believe the name of the shop is Finocchio, in Vieux Nice. The first time I went there I was with my friend Natalie and her family and we were treated to a wonderful floral sundae: rose, lavender, violet and jasmine gelato topped with chantilly (whipped cream) and candies violets!!

Last time, because it was so insanely hot - and I just can't pass up good gelato - I treated myself to a huge cone of lavender, violet and jasmine.



AND speaking of flower-flavored gelatos, the good people at Whole Foods have taken to my little anonymous notes requesting flower ice creams. (and probably with the help of other floral-philes) Just recently I had the pleasure to taste the lavender chocolate gelato and rosewater jasmine sorbeto. Yum.

Flower Cookbooks

I have several great flower cookbooks. They all have a wide variety of both sweet and savory recipes; including drinks, main courses, appetizers, and desserts. You could make a flower feast!

The Forgotten Art of Flower Cookery by Leona Woodring Smith
Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate by Cathy Wilkinson Barash
Edible Flowers: A Kitchen Companion by Kitty Morse
The Lavender Cookbook by Sharon Shipley (a friend of my mom's)

Cherry Blossom Kit Kat

My friend Ral found this amazing limited edition treat on a recent excursion to the Asian market.



Apparently, cherry blossoms are considered lucky in Japanese culture and this Kit Kat bar came out during school entance exams.

To learn more visit: http://www.wordpress.tokyotimes.org/?p=748.

Ral sent me a bar, wishing me good luck with my impending move - thx, Ral :)

Btw, the candy is quite good - reminds me of pink birthday cupcakes from childhood.

Floral-flavored Recipes from MS's Living

Welcome to Flower Foods where we'll be posting recipes, resources and more about edible flowers.

Just this month I received my May 2006 issue of Living. Inside, there are at least three beautiful and faery-like dessert recipes featuring violets, rose and orange blossoms.

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel3580088

Have a look!