Im not sure what i was thinking when i decided to bypass the normal approach of just picking a tiny bunch for a tiny vase for the kitchen windowsill to be enjoyed when doing the dishes. A moment of whimsy perhaps? a fanciful idea of high tea and snooty minds? I saw these in bloom around the garden yesterday while 'taking' a walk with the boybean and immediately related these delicate faces to the stomach. It flabbergasted the husband that's for sure, that I took the gastronomique approach. Sugared violets... why not? I should really have asked myself 'why? , but there you go, Taurean by nature.
Certainly after i had finished dusting /embedding /burying them under the rather unrefined organic sugar, which had resisted the most full strength industrial kitchen whizzer (by this stage damned if i was gonna let some crunchy sugar get the better o me) they looked more than a little pedestrian, in fact rather agricultural. More like the sugared peanut at Christmas than the refined end product Mrs Beeton would have preferred. I think i failed. Big time. First time and never again. But the nearly- teen -bean verdict was very enthusiatic upon consumption of a morsel from the fridge 'OMG, they taste AWESOME!' So there ya go.
Chalk that one up to expereince to never be repeated. Sheesh. What do i even cook that needs a sugared violet? What to do with leftover violets which have no stem that you just couldnt bear to entomb? Chuck them in the Okonomiyaki of course!
8 comments:
...but atleast you tried :-)
I think they look gorgeous!
I do the 'why not' thing all the time and then think better of it after I've committed - I didn't realise it was a Taurean thing but there you go, that'd be me!
I guess there are some things that you really do need caster sugar for. I always substitute it for raw so I guess I'll steer clear of the sugared flowers. I'm impressed by your effort though!
I am sooo glad that I'm not the only one having a fancy/strange food moment.
We decided to make poppy seed pappardelle from The Cook and The Chef episode last week. We really enjoyed the first 3 bites. Then we put down our folks, looked at each other, and quickly pushed the bowls aside to make room for crusty bread, cheese and sprouts. :)
Sugard Violets would be nice as decoration with icecream or cake.
LEF- true, but Im not very comfortable with 'failure'. i struggled to post a pic i must confess...thanks for the vote of confidence but i still think they look a little turdy like!
Telela-exactly- Id committed. therein lay my problem. The Taurean thing Id referred to was the 'thinking with the stomach' lol. I really should know better that there sometimes really is no substitute for caster...
veggie-so what exactly was the papadelle problem- metallic? yes, it was something cakey i had i mind but...
Kel, the problem was that 3 bites were tasty and lovely and real comfort food. After that it was just plain sickly rich.
I read a brief comment in a Maggie Beer book that said you could make a liqueur from violets. Maybe along the lines of limoncello, steep in the vodka, then add sugar syrup. Would be a gorgeous colour.
veggie- all that work...well the chooks will enjoy it!
pip- yes i had heard of that too, pretty indeed! not sure id like the high floral, but then again, not until i try it..
They are beautiful and I'm sure would taste like romance whatever you did with them. How about tossing them into a jar of honey so they could crystalize and then rationing them in your tea or yogurt one sweet spoonfull at a time?
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