Monday, April 7, 2014

It's Day 1 -The Authors in Bloom Blog Hop!

It's time for the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop! 
Join 79 authors in our themed celebration of spring. The Grand Prize is a Kindle or Nook plus a $25 gift certificate. And... each participating author is offering up something as well. (see mine below) It's a win win win! The winners will be chosen from comments so be sure to leave your email address when you comment. Just so you know, only those visitors who visit EACH and EVERY stop are eligible for the grand prize. The other participants.
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Many years ago, my husband and I led off-campus wild food programs for the Chicago Field Museum. Not only was the outing a biology and natural history lesson, it was a you pick/I cook day. Foragers and Foodies should be aware of what they're doing if they plan to eat from the wild. Read first. To be sure you have an edible species, use a guidebook or website and compare what you have, to what they show. You don't want to innocently pick yourself a pile of poison ivy!

Before I continue ~

Important to know about wild foods:
Whether you're new to wild harvests or an old pro at munching your way through the weeds in your backyard, I think it's
worth repeating a few things. Some populations of plants are barely surviving due to competition by aggressive invaders and  mindless harvesting. Just because you can eat that native species, doesn't mean you should. It's best to just eat the weeds and leave the rest, especially mushrooms which play an important role in the ecosystem. Another important note about mushrooms ~ it's easy to get it wrong. Depending on the stages of growth, some poisonous varieties look exactly like edibles. As far as exotic weeds go, munch away. They don't belong here anyway and they taste great. Be safe! Before you start picking, be sure  no pesticides or herbicides have been used there. Only pick where you know for sure.

To start off the hop, I’d like to talk about that happy little spring flower -- the violet. We have a spot in our yard that fills with violets mid-May. When my children were little, mom always had a small bouquet sitting on the table. Both kids loved to make and eat candied violets. Today I'm offering a few violet recipes.


Violet Pancakes
1 level cup all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

1 large egg

2 T melted unsalted butter or vegetable oil
2 cups fresh-picked violets -- petals only, remove green parts.
Cooking spray or lightly oil the pan between batches

Harvest flowers and remove green parts. Whisk together wet ingredients (milk, butter or oil, and egg). Add violets and dry ingredients to wet. Fold in until just moistened. Lumps are okay. Spray hot pan with cooking spray. Drop spoonfuls of batter. and flip when edges show dry bubbles and are lightly golden brown. Cook the same amount of time on the flip side. Do not flatten pancakes while they cook.



Violet Syrup
1 cup water
2 cups sugar 
1 1/2 cups fresh violets -- green parts removed
Dissolve sugar in water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a simmer. Place flowers in a glass, enamel, or stainless steel bowl. Pour hot syrup over top and let stand for at least 30 minutes. Strain or not.

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Here's your prize at this stop ~ 20 lovely 5.5 x 4"
rose-themed note cards with envelopes.
Wouldn't they look cute in an Easter basket?
After you've visited all the wonderful Authors in Bloom blogs,
check out my mainblog:
http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/

where
I'm participating in the month-long
A to Z Challenge with an interesting topic a day through the alphabet. Scroll back to start at A!


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Sample all of my scorching love stories for free!
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333971


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You'll LOVE Reading Rose!

Main Blog:
Subscribe on the Main blog for interesting posts, updates & more.
http://calliopeswritingtablet.com/
Satellite Blogs:
http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/
http://calliopesotherwritingtablet.blogspot.com/
http://theancillarymuse.blogspot.com/

Exquisite Quills:

My group blog. Several authors & their romances
.
From sweet to scorching.
 


Discover EQ author promo opportunities

http://exquisitequills.blogspot.com/

Exquisite Quills Yahoo Group
: Open to readers and writers
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ExquisiteQuills/


Romance Books '4' Us: I'm a featured blogger the 4th of every month
Many great topics there all month long.
http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/
Amazon
: http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Anderson/e/B004XDGWL6
I'll happily sign all ebooks with Authorgraph.

Social Media:
I'm everywhere. Come say hi. I'm busy, but I'll eventually follow back.

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/FollowTheMuse/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/roseanderson_
Tumblr: http://author-roseanderson.tumblr.com/
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com//MusesWritingTablet
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/117411462633912228541/posts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rose.anderson.7524
About.me: http://about.me/rose_anderson_author


Author Pages etc:
I have many author's pages and static pages around the web. Too many to list here! If you see me, do say hello.

30 comments:

  1. Wow! Thanks for the fun recipes and for the chance! :)
    tobihelton at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I can't wait to try your recipes!
    eallen99@juno.com

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  3. Well that's why you knew which weeds to eat - from your comment on my blog :-) Fascinating post. I'm going to have to get brave and try Violet pancakes.

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    Replies
    1. They have a faint perfumy flavor. I think you'll like them. :)

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  4. I think i will have to try these recipes they sound very good thank you for the information. josephhawkshaw@yahoo.com

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  5. That is so interesting! I never new you could eat violets.

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  6. The wild violets that have taken over my front yard are white with a blush of purple at the throat. Are they a safe-to-eat variety?
    --Kimberly K. Comeau

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    Replies
    1. Violets are safe to eat. The color variation doesn't make a difference. You'll find they have a faint perfumy taste. Very nice.

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    2. Thank you for answering my question. I'm going to try one of your recipes!

      Delete
  7. Thx for chance to win! Also, for the recipe. I would've never thought violets were edible! :)
    sleepnbeauty76@yahoo.com

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  8. I've always head some flowers are edible....do I dare even try thins ;) angelarosebooks@yahoo.com

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  9. I love violets but have never eaten them. Can't wait to try the pancakes!

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  10. What an amazing sounding recipe. Never heard of using violets in food before. But I have heard of edible flowers, never been 'brave' enough to try them though....maybe that should be an entry on my bucket list.

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  11. Dang me...forgot my email address in my post: kareninnc at gmail dot com

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  12. I never knew violets were edible! I want to try and make the syrup it sounds super yummy!

    savannahm1987@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  13. A new Kindle and a gift card to fill it up?!?! What a great spring giveaway! Thanks for the chance!! gina_hester@hotmail.com

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  14. The pairing of violets and pancakes is one I hadn't thought of!

    Trix, vitajex(At)aol(Dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  15. I used to eat sweet clover. I loved the little yellow flowers but never got into digging up the mushrooms. I didn't trust them!

    daringzoey at yahoo.com

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  16. One of my favorite flowers has always been Violets!!! I sure did not know you could eat them. Thanks for your recipes.

    Those notecards are really nice and yes they would look real nice in an easter basket.

    Judy
    magnolias_1 (at) msn (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  17. I've never thought of using flower petals in recipes. What an interesting meal that can make!
    samiamlane (at) me.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for the chance to win!
    Froggy
    froggarita@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for the chance air0kmb@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Very interesting blog post,.. never heard of using voilets in pancakes before. =) Thanks for sharing with us! And thank you for this giveaway! =)

    I hope you have a great day! =)

    Brandi
    BLeigh1130 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  21. My tip would be... if you do not have gardening gloves or just do not use them... lightly run your fingernails over a bar of soap... that way you do not get dirt under your fingernails... and just wash up when done. esseboo@yahoo.com

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  22. I'll be looking for Loving Leonardo. Looks like a good read. The violet pancakes sound fun. I'll have to try it when my violets start to bloom. npi-sunyer@comcast.net.

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  23. I love participating in these blog hops~ I always come away with a longer TBR as well as new bloggers added to my Bloglovin' feed :)

    ilookfamous at yahoo dot com

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  24. I'd love to try this recipe but I rent and have nowhere to grow violets at all. Bummer! Neat idea, though!
    I am not to sure where to put my comment for the Giveaway Hop, so I thought I would add it here on Day 1. I don't see a Rafflecopter form, either?? Oh well.
    Thank you for such a beautiful giveaway prize!
    Good luck with ALL your books!
    Laurie Carlson
    laurieisreading at gmail dot com
    aufie

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've never tried candied violets before.

    spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi! I love violets! There so pretty! Ive never tried them in a recipe before tho. Sounds interesting. Im intrigued. Thank you for sharing! :)
    ​And ​​thank you for being apart of this awesome hop!
    shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete

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