A new meaning for "Tea Roses"!

Folks are beginning to wonder if I have lost my marbles or something. Over the past few days, several people have asked me why there are bottles containing dried flowers in my kitchen and when I tell them that I make tea with them, I receive quite a few odd stares. A few have even gone so far as to say things like "Eww! Why would you drink flowers?" Maybe I am one of the few that actually reads labels but most herbal teas have things like hibiscus flowers or rose petals combined with the other flavors. This is more prevalent in the fruity flavored teas but the flowers are in there. It just takes a bit of studying up on the edibility of flowers in the garden to discover which can be safely used in food or drink. Both roses and hibiscus flowers can. Actually the hibiscus flowers are quite tasty! The taste is reminiscent of cranberries and the tea made from these flowers is the most lovely rosy red! Since I grow a lot of flowers in the gardens, it is only natural that I started adding them to my diet.

So it is out to the garden I go! With snips in hand, I peruse the buds. Today's picking consisted of roses. Usually the darker the rose, the more flavorful the tea. I should have picked and dried these in early Spring but here it is late summer and I am just snipping. The buds are a bit scarce and what are there are small. It has been a hard summer on the rose bushes what with the drought and extreme heat. I picked about two dozen blooms and headed inside to wash and dry them. Washing is easy..merely pull the bloom apart, drop the petals in a bowl of water and swish around a bit. I try to leave mine soak for at least ten minutes. To dry, you can use several methods. If you have a dehydrator, simply follow the directions. It only takes a few minutes to dry the individual petals. I find that the dehydrator tends to heat up my house a bit too much during the summer months so I am a bit hesitant to go this route. Another method is to spread the petals on a paper towel lined pan and place in a warmed oven (200 degrees) and turn the oven OFF. You can then forget about the petals for most of the day. This usually does ok but sometimes the petals will lose their color. My quick and easy method? Use the microwave! Spread the petals loosely on several layers of paper towels that are on a microwaveable plate. Cover this with several more layers of paper towels and then top with another plate. Make sure that the plates are stacked tightly. If you have more than enough petals for one plate..just keep layering petals and towels. Then top with another plate. Then depending on how many layers there are, nuke them for anywhere from one to two minutes. Remove the plate from the oven, check between the layers. Test for dryness. If the towels are wet, start over with dry ones and repeat the process. After completely dry and crunchy, let air dry for a few hours and then store in an airtight container. The petals can be used with the persimmon leaf tea for a delightfully aromatic tea! Just a word of warning..make sure you know what type of flower you have and make sure it is edible before trying to ingest it! Some of the most beautiful flowers are highly toxic and can cause sickness or even death!

This evening ended with the usual trek to the pier. Ezzy, the dog, and I enjoyed the cooling bay breeze and were treated to a beautiful sunset. The clouds hung heavy in the sky and lightning danced on the horizon. We stayed just long enough to get a glimpse and then headed back to the safety of the little Bayou House. Now, I am praying for rain as the garden is withering once again.