I am a big outdoors person — with an even bigger collection of field guides. When it comes identifying the flora and fauna encountered on my adventures, this season, I’ve turned most of my attention to wildflowers.
Yes, the hills are alive with blues, reds and yellow this time of year. And guess what? There are quite a few you can eat.
Amid my burgeoning fondness for flower identifying, I added a new book to my collection: “A Guide to the Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail,” by Heather A. Housekeeper. The Mountains-to-Sea trail is 1,000-mile footpath in North Carolina, and any of the species found there are also found in East Tennessee.
Here are a few of my favorite recipe ideas:
Bluets are small blue-violet flowers, typically growing in low-elevation grassy woods and open meadows.
Suggested recipe: Brie and bluet open-faced sandwiches
Chickweed is a white wildflower with five petals so deeply cleft they appear to be ten petals.
Suggested recipe: Chickweed hummus wrap
Red Clover looks like a puff of fuchsia flowers and can be spotted alongside roads, parking lots and even your lawn.
Suggested recipe: Red clover tea
Violets are an irregularly shaped flower that can range in color from white to deep purple. Both the flowers and the leaves are edible.
Suggested recipe: Pasta Alfredo with violets