I picked her up from the ferry and was delighted to show off the sights. The wooded hills, goats, horses, farmhouses, deer and ferns. We packed in a lot of fun for one day. A walk through downtown, an organic juice at the public market, looking out over a peaceful marina, pier and beach walk, and a quick coffee stop at our favorite place. Then on to a quick trail hike, Frisbee, eagle-watching, and tide pool investigation at our local park. Top it off with Thai to go! Heaven.
Along with the memories, I came home with a handful of big leaf maple blossoms.
The year before last I heard a rumor that these blossoms are edible and confirmed it with my more knowledgeable wild crafting friends. Last year I was determined to try them, but didn't come across a single branch with low-hanging blossoms. I must not get out enough.
Young blossoms are best, I hear, so you have to catch them before they mature. Most people seem to prefer them as an ingredient in fritters. I had no intention to deep fry these delicate flowers, as tasty as that may seem, but I did want to give the battering part a try.
I mixed up a half batch of pancake batter with gluten free mix, water, one egg, and a bit of melted coconut oil, and just pulled the flowers off the stem and added them to the mix.
They turn a light green in the resulting pancake and taste like a mapley, floral zucchini!
The day was a success all around.
