First of all, HI AGAIN! Apologies for not writing a post in a while. Theresa and I have been overwhelmed by the demand for our Flouwer Co. Artisanal Crackers and we have big news to share with you all soon. We have just been so busy baking, baking, BAKING.....

Our garden beds are wild and we are finally seeing the fruits of our labor in terms of many, many edible flowers! We will post some updates as well as some new recipes to inspire you all next week, but I wanted to take a minute to give you a brief tutorial on drying out your edible petals for use later.

In many of the recipes we will share with you, you may use either fresh or dried petals. However, drying your petals is a fun way to preserve the summer season and add a little cheer to a dreary winter day. Drying your flowers also takes the pressure off picking loads and using them fresh in a recipe right away. Lastly, picking your flowers rather than leaving them to go to seed will encourage them to continue to blossom - so it's a win win!

*Reminder - only eat petals of flowers verified to be edible, that have been organically grown, cleaned thoroughly and never, NEVER sprayed with any pesticides, insecticides, etc.

Instructions:

1. To start, clip your edible blossoms and rinse well to remove any crawlers.

2. Drain and try to remove as much moisture as possible. A salad spinner comes in very handy here.

3. Lay out a baking sheet with a kitchen towel or paper towel overtop to collect additional moisture as your petals dry.

4. Either pick the petals from the flower or cut them off with scissors.

5. Lay the petals in a thin layer on the towel and leave the baking sheet in a cold, dark area to dry for 5-14 days. Drying time will depend on the flower. Marigolds, for example, take a few more days to dry than others.

6. Once dried completely (really, they must be COMPLETELY DRY), you may save in a mason jar for later use.

You can harvest, dry and store by variety or color, or you can mix them all together and just have a gorgeous jar full of edible blossoms of many types and colors - like confetti! How fun is that?!

Enjoy, and be sure to check in with us shortly because we promise to post some more inspiration for ll of you now that you hopefully have loads of blossoms to use as well.

Cheers!

Kristen