So the next time you see lilacs and you smell them, remind yourself that another lilac memory is only a stovetop away. Leona’s Lilac Jelly with its mild sweet taste could be considered gourmet. This could be a good reason why you have lots of dandelions in your yard because you like dandelion greens and wine! Remember to use only flowers that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Here is partial list of edible flowers: lilacs, sunflowers, peony, dahlia, pansy, marigold, snapdragon, dandelion, chrysanthemum, lavender and hibiscus. Before I left she informed me that her next adventure might be peony jelly. She laughed as she mentioned that family members often say to her “You were playing gourmet chef again.” She mentioned that another joy of cooking is sharing it with her neighbors and family. Upon hearing her ideas for making kuchen and how her iron skillets are married to her grill, one realizes she is perfectly fine with forgetting the straight and narrow and blazing a new trail. Her vast and well-organized kitchen perhaps could give the impression that she walks the line when it comes to following recipes.
She explains that her many years in the kitchen have given her the confidence to substitute an ingredient and to also add another to improve the flavor. Leona enjoys reading recipes and trying ones that “Catch my eye because they are unusual.” This was certainly the case with lilac jelly. Leona also graduated as a home economics teacher. She admits her interest in cooking was established by her mother, and her Aunt Edna who was a home economics teacher. She is the daughter of the late Doris and Leon Axt and resided on the family farm with seven siblings. What a delight to spend some time with her and from the very start, I could tell this lady was a Magna Cum Laude graduate of farm life cooking school. the next afternoon, I had planned to meet with Leona. The conversation immediately went to lilacs and the jelly Leona had made.īy 5 p.m.
We were at a lovely dinner party at the home of Brad and Jackie Thomas, and I nearly dropped my fork upon hearing this.
The speaker also informed the audience that perhaps the oldest living lilacs in America were those at the Governor Wentworth Estate in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.Īre you aware that lilacs are ready to go into the kitchen because they are an edible flower? I must admit I did not know this until Judith Howard and Pete Hugret recently informed me that they had received some lilac jelly from their dear neighbor, Leona Lochthowe.
Lilacs were everywhere! It was here that I became aware that lilacs can live to be 100 years old. While living out East, I visited Rochester, New York, during their lilac festival. I know that many of you too are lilac lovers and sharing the tradition of how they started growing is wonderful. What memories do lilacs trigger with you? Recently in asking this question, the most popular answers were centered around Grandma, old houses, farm foundation and schools. This is a tradition that we have continued in our own home and it has allowed us to include a few purple glass vases. While growing up, our go to vases were a milk glass hobnail vase or a Russell Wright green water pitcher. I also remember big bouquets in white baskets on the Underwood High School graduation stage and a chorus of vases that truly harmonized with these beauties each spring. Seeing their glory brings back memories of how my parents adored lilacs.
0 kommentar(er)
