Clover Tea for You and Me

Recently my cousin got a huge haul of stuff from a household she knew
that was foreclosed upon. Sad, I know. However, the people ditched
and left everything in the house. It was all under someone else's
credit as well. I started to feel bad about the situation and seeing
how people are really suffering in this recession, but that about as
far as my empathy ran. Mainly because I heard they left their horse
as well. They could have at least notified a shelter or someone, but
they just abandoned the horse there like he was a piece of furniture.

Thankfully, the horse is ok now from what I've heard and living with
a new family. Besides that I got a score out of the whole situation.
Most of the stuff was brought to my cousin and she picked out what
she wanted. Super cool and thinking of me she brought home a brand
new bread maker and a whole paloozal of organic herbs/flowers.

Saving the bread machine story for next time, I wanted to talk about
the jars of flowers, herbs, and seeds I got. They are pretty huge.
Off the top of my head there are flax seeds, fenugreek, licorice,
peppermint, echinacea, red clover leaf/flower, and... fennel.
There is more but I can't remember all of them. I'm not too fond of
licorice or fennel so I'm not sure how I'll be using those.
Any suggestions are welcome of course!



But the other day I mixed up some red clover leaf and peppermint
and made some tea. I don't know why I waited so long. I guess I am
a little too hooked on my black tea and coffee. It is a little too
flowery for me at first, but it quickly grew on me.



I know peppermint tea is good for stomach aches and is helps if
you drank the water in mexico and got the runs! Also, I've heard that
peppermint is a great natural way to prevent gallstones. This is
good for me because they run in my family like crazy and being
vegan will only help me deny genetics for so long!

I really want to make a bath with the peppermint or a face wash
because I've heard its great for your skin.

As far as red clover leaf goes, I was reading that the isolated
isoflavones are similar to those in estrogen and can help relieve
PMS symptoms. I'll go with that!

I love the colour too!


I added just a tiny tiny bit of agave to take off some of the
'grassy'(?) taste. I'm just waiting for it to get a bit warmer...
because I LOVE making sun tea in the summer!

Next I think I'm going to infuse this red clover tea with some
lemonade. To me, it sounds like a match well made.

Add a flourish with flowers

I finally got to the farmer's market early enough to buy some

eatable flowers for my younger brother who was incredibly eager

to try them.

Flowers, which have been eaten for centuries, are now making a

culinary come-back. Indeed, they are being seen more and more in

haute cuisine. Flowers add not only a beautiful appeal, but possess a

wide variety of delicate flavours. One must be careful to not overpower

them with other items in the dish, especially strong dressings.

Imagine a little spicy bite or sweet tang completely destroyed by a

powerful balsamic vinaigrette.

If using as a garnish in a salad it is important to keep the dressing very

light and mild. I personally feel they are best to just trim dishes.

I of course will being using them more as we get into the summer

months. Perhaps I will be getting up early enough from now on to get

them regularly or heaven forbid- Grow them myself! Although, I kill

just about every plant I get near. RIP herb garden. A local organic-vegan

farmer produces them here in Hawaii and also supplies them to our

local natural health food store.

The most commonly seen eatable flowers are daisies, pansies, roses,

violets, and of course lavender. But there are so many others to utilize,

as long as you are positive as to what you are picking and they are not

treated with any sort of pesticide, &c. You should absolutely check out

more on the subject.

A great quick source is Please Eat the Daisies by David Heeran.

More soon to follow... and in the meantime, be sure to stop and to

eat the roses!