Tag Archives: food

Some weeks ago I ordered a mixed bouquet of flowers from Cosmea Gardens for my wife for our anniversary. When they arrived they were beautiful as ever but I noticed a special touch they done in pushing little clear gemstones on pins into the centre of some of the red roses. It made them look extra special, the deep red of the flowers and the sparkle of the stones.

The flowers lasted well over a week, surprising in the early summer warmth we’ve had but, inevitably, they began to wilt and die. However the flowers that lasted the longest were the red roses with the crystals in them. These lasted a good five days longer than the rest of the roses and one is still going now, three weeks on. Intrigued, I spoke to one of the ladies I’ve got to know quite well at the shop and she explained that it’s air bubbles that get trapped in the flower stems that prevent moisture and food getting to the flowers making them die. By pushing the pins into the heads and the stalk, as well as making them look pretty, it lets the air escape and the flowers last longer.

You can now picture me pushing pins into the flower heads of gypsophila, antirrhinum, etc! The flowers I’ve found it works best with are the roses and gerberas although it looks prettiest in the roses. You can buy the pins from many garden centres or florists including Cosmea Gardens – give it a go and see how much longer you can enjoy your flowers for.

Apart from the obvious ones like cauliflower and broccoli, there are many other flowers that make interesting food. Here’s a few ideas…

Elderflower Cordial

Ingredients
20 heads of elderflower
1.8kg granulated sugar, or caster sugar
1.2 litres water
2 unwaxed lemons
75g citric acid

Shake the elderflower heads to remove any insects, don’t wash them or you’ll lose the all important pollen!

Meanwhile bring the water to the boil, dissolve the sugar and add thinly pared rind of the two lemons. Finally pour over the elderflower heads and slice the lemons before adding them to the mix. Leave for 24 hours then strain through a muslin cloth and bottle. When using, dilute approximately four parts fizzy water with one part cordial.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtium flowers make a colourful and tasty addition to salads. they have a slightly peppery taste and are available in red, orange, yellow or dark purple. Pick the flowers just before you want to use them, check them over for insects, they are a favourite with aphids and toss into a salad.

Courgette (Zucchini) Flowers

These are unusual and gorgeously tasty deep fried in a light tempura batter. make the batter from 60g of cornflour, 60g plain flour, a teaspoon of ground ginger and 190 ml of ice cold soda water whisked together. Dip the flowers in the batter before lightly frying in hot sunflower oil. Serve with home made lemon mayonnaise.

All of these recipes are wonderfully light and refreshing in hot weather so why not give the a try!

I regularly scan the Cypriot newspapers online and my favourite is the ‘Living’ supplement of the Sunday Mail. They’ve been running a slightly gruesome series on the world’s most poisonous plants but I try to avoid reading the symptoms that the offending plant will cause and hurry quickly to the restaurant reviews, keen to discover new gems for my next visit to Cyprus.

One such gem I came across was a wonderful traditional taverna in Letymbou.

After a tortuous journey across Paphos we finally arrived and once settled at our table the waiter brought the menus and, with mouths watering, we chose our food. I usually get bored waiting for food top arrive and start rearranging the table or do origami with the napkins but this time my eyes drifted to the arrangement that decorated our table. Not your usual plastic flower or single carnation in a stem vase but a bouquet of mixed greenery. Curiosity getting the better of me, I reached out to check if it was real and was rewarded with a heady aroma of herbal scents. Much heated discussion followed as we tried to identify the mix and finally agreed that in the bouquet were thyme, rosemary, basil, tarragon and coriander. What we all agreed on was what a wonderful idea it was for an arrangement for a dining table.

Now back home, we’ve eaten at each other’s homes two or three times and on each occasion the hosts have tried to outdo each other in the range and combination of herbs that have decorated the table.

It just goes to show that arrangements don’t have to be flowers and that those which complement the occasion can be a big talking point. And unlike most flowers they’ll also be recyclable afterwards in the next meal! Next time you’re in Larnaca looking for flowers for the table pass by Cosmea Gardens, consider aromatic herbs instead and wait for the comments from your guests!