The April to mid-May bracket is always a zoo around here, and of course I dropped the new tank right in the middle of it.
But we are finally finished.
We hope to get caught up on stuff.
The front yard is awash in iris.
The back yard in peonies.
And we’re having another cold snap.
Peony jelly is wonderful!
From the buds?
From the fully bloomed petals. The same recipe can be used with dandelion heads.
4 C packed petals or blooms
2 C boiling water
1/4 C well-strained lemon juice
4 C sugar
3 oz liquid pectin (Certo)
NOTE: Look for fully opened flowers, not partially opened buds, for better
color and more intense flavor. The violets you want are the wild violets that grow in many parts of the world – there are many varieties, hopefully some are accessible to you. Please choose violets that have NOT been sprayed. )
Blue Violet Juice
See how blue-ish this is? I let it steep (covered) overnight in the fridge.
Wash petals well, drain and place in heat-proof glass or nonreactive bowl. Pour boiling water over petals and let steep from 30 minutes to 24
hours. It usually takes about two hours for violets. Strain through a fine sieve, reserving the liquid or infusion. I usually use a potato ricer to get the last drop out of the petals. If not using immediately, refrigerate up to 24 hours.
To make the jelly, stir lemon juice and sugar into reserved infusion in a two-quart nonreactive or stainless steel pan. Bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Add the liquid pectin and continue to boil two minutes, skimming any foam that may rise to the surface.
This recipe made 4 – 8 oz jars and 1 4 oz. jar of jelly for me. Isn’t it beautiful??
Ladle quickly into jars to within about 1/8 inch from the top; clean each rim and threads of the jar as it’s filled, and place flat lid and ring on each before filling the next.Place the jars in a hot-water canning bath and boil for 10 minutes (or the appropriate time for your area). After canning, carefully check to make sure the lids have all sealed.
Sealed jars will last up to one year in a cool, dark place. Put any unsealed jelly in the refrigerator. it should keep about three weeks. Makes four or five half-pint jars.
I took this recipe from here:
http://www.prairielandherbs.com/violetjelly.htm
I altered it due to not finding the jelly flavorful enough. All I could taste was the sugar.
I am told that the flavor of peony jelly is close to that of mayhaw, which I also adore.
Oh, I wish I had known of this recipe when my yard was awash in violets a week or two ago. Dandelions are a possibility as currently washing over said yard, but most of them go to our bunnie Petros who sucks the down like spaghetti.
You can make jams and jellies with rose petals, also. The best flavor and color is supposed to be from red roses (unsprayed, of course). You have to trim the white bases, which are bitter. (Try a middle-Eastern cookbook; they make it too.)
Daylily petals are supposed to be good with fruit dalads.
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/blflowers.htm
This is not a complete list, but is useful. In another recipe I found that 125 dandy blossoms is a quart. Let me know if youse guys want the recipe (untried) for dandelion wine.
Ah, thanks for the edible flowers reference (which also comes with a “poisonous” link). I’ve bookmarked it, not only for my own nibbling but for an on-going, mental project of mine: The Bunny Farmer’s Handbook. I daily harvest tasty weeds (as my bun’s pet farmer) and keep track of edible plants for bunnies and will some day write it up. My working presumption is, “if it’s edible/poisonous for humans, same for buns.” While one can’t take it to far — given chocolate is poisonous to many critters but also not growing in gardens — it stops me from offering daffodils to my bun and let me try out liatris last year. “Meh,” said Petros, though.
On the other hand, even though the bun liked tomato leaves, I later found out they solanum (sp?) in them and it is not wise to eat, so I ceased that small quantity experiment.
“Dandelion Wine” brings to mind the Ray Bradbury book of the same name, which is a wonderful book, BTW. His daughter is supposed to be slowly but surely reissuing his catalog as ebooks.
I wonder what other flowers you could use that recipe on? I don’t have violets (or dandelions!) in any supply around here, but I often wish I could eat the plumeria blooms. One variety in particular has a lovely rich, creamy scent with a faint lemon tone. I’d have to research and find if there are any contraindications about turning a particular flower into jelly, or if it just doesn’t translate well. Maybe I’ll stick to mango jam.
Word of warning: trying to fix one plumbing leak, especially if in an aging supply line, will often beget more leaks. The first plumber got delayed and wanted to reschedule for Thursday, so I called another plumber who was able to come out Monday. They capped the leaking pipe to the outside tap, but when they repressurized the line, another leak erupted closer to the house! Our supply lines are all 30+ years old and nasty galvanized steel, so getting them replaced is imperative. The second leak was repaired, I have 3 or 4 lengths of ugly, ugly rusted pipe in the yard, and the water flows to the house again. I believe I will leave Adventures in Ponds to CJ and Jane!
Oh, dear. If you have metal pipe, I’d recommend pvc, or even hose, if you have ground that deforms or quakes.
Wish we could help you! I hope the digging is minimal.
OTOH—(ducking)—you could always install a small pond in the affected area…
Oh, the new stuff will be PEX. You can glue it together, and it’s rated for at least 50 years in household systems, so this will hopefully be the last replumbing of the main supply for a very long time. I also want to add a pressure control valve, replace the original cutoff, and maybe put in a diverter T, so I can eventually install a sprinkler system for the back yard. The next step will be finding where the old pipes run so we don’t accidentally cut them when digging. The original plumbing job looked very homebrew.
That sounds good.
We didn’t run across any house pipe, but we sure became well-acquainted with our irrigation system when we were installing the pond. We now have no fear, and Jane will be extending some of the sections to cover where we need, as we have removed some that no longer served.
This is wildly off topic, and I haven’t caught up with recent entries yet, but way back when you said you liked Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon. There is another, similar book (it shares one of its authors with Over the Edge) called Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite.
Seaboe
I’ll have to find that one!