Bloomin' Delicious

Photo by Greg Hume

I recently read an interesting article about native trees and shrubs that you can use for edible landscaping and was surprised to find out that I had one of them, a redbud tree, growing in my back yard.  The article said that the flowers of redbud trees were "tasty and attractive additions to salads, pancakes, and muffins".  Since the tree just started blooming a couple of days ago the timing was perfect to find out if they really were.

Tonight after dinner Son Donald and I went out and collected about two cups of redbud blooms and buds.  Our redbud tree is about 20 feet tall, but it grows right next to the deck and the branches are easy to reach. I sorted and washed the blooms and added them to my standard muffin recipe. When it was mixed the batter looked stiff and lumpy, but the finished muffins were dense and moist, with a vaguely fruity taste.

Wikipedia told me that Native Americans consumed redbud flowers raw or boiled, and ate roasted seeds.  There just might be another redbud project coming several months from now.

Five years ago today: Apologies In Advance