Simple and so delicious this really is the best Kale salad! Garden-to-plate in a couple of minutes. Kale can be a struggle for many people to like but the curly edges and small dimples are amazing for holding on to flavours. This dressing is so easy and full of flavour it can be used on any of your garden salads.
The Best Kale Salad
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Simple and so delicious! This Kale salad is a staple garden-to-plate recipe.
Ingredients
4 cups chopped Kale (I used the Tuscan Variety)
2 TSBP Nuts or Seeds (Pumpkin and Sunflower)
3 Fresh Calendula Flowers
3 Fresh Nasturtium Flowers
1/4 tsp Salt
1 pinch dried chilli flakes
Salad Dressing
2 TBSP Lemon Juice
1 tsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp Maple Syrup (or Honey)
Instructions
Wash and chop the Kale into 1cm strips. Add to a mixing bowl.
Toast the nuts or seeds in a dry frying pan - medium heat - for 2-3 minutes until slightly golden.
Mix together the dressing and massage into the kale with your hands until fully coated.
Sprinkle the salt, chilli, and calendula petals over the Kale and mix.
Add the salad to a serving dish and sprinkle over the seeds and Nasturtium Petals.
Enjoy!
Notes
Serve with a protein of your choice or pan-fried Haloumi or enjoy it on its own!
Ssubstitute edible flowers for what is available in your garden.
Beautiful and delicious floral shortbread with subtle flavours of orange and thyme. This basic shortbread recipe can easily be adjusted to add seasonal edible flowers and herbs from the garden. The perfect treat to impress your guests and enjoy with tea or coffee in the garden.
Botanical Shortbread
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour40 minutes
Fresh, subtle flavours infused in soft melting biscuits. These botanical shortbread biscuits can be made using seasonal edible flowers and herbs.
Ingredients
250gram butter
1 cup icing sugar
3 cups flour
2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp ( 1 orange) zest
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 /2 cup edible flowers
Instructions
Beat sugar and butter until very pale yellow/white and creamy.
Grate the zest of one large orange and add to the mix along with 2 TBSP of juice.
Mix through the flour to make a soft dough.
Wrap or cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 140 degrees. Lightly dust a baking tray with flour.
Remove the dough and lightly knead to bring it together.
Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to approx 1 cm thick (easier to manage using 1/2 the dough at a time)
Sprinkle over edible flower petals and fresh thyme leaves (removed from the stalk).
Gentle roll over the flowers. Some may not stick so just lightly press into place. Cut out shapes using a cookie cutter and place on to the baking tray.
Merge the leftover edges and re-roll out and continue to cut shapes. The second roll will incorporate the flowers into the dough so you may want to add extras on top.
Bake for 15-20mins or until very slightly starting to go golden. You want to keep them pale so they don't become too dry and crumbly. Remove and allow to cool on a wire wrack.
Notes
Edible flowers I used: Pineapple Sage (red flowers), Calendula, Rose, Sweet Violet, and Nasturtium.
Use seasonal edible flowers and herbs: other options to try are Lemon and Lavender, Lemon and Rosemary, or Mint.
Calendula-infused salts or sugars make perfect gifts from the garden. It is a great way to preserve calendula to use throughout the year. Infused sugars can be great for finishing cakes, desserts, cookies, cocktails, or other sweet treats. There are two easy ways to make infused salt or sugar:
Mix dried herbs and flowers with Salt or Sugar and place in a jar.
Blend equal parts (1:1) of fresh herbs or flowers with Salt or Sugar and lay flat on a tray and allow to dry completely in a dehydrator or oven at 40 degrees celsius. Once the herbs are dry you can loosen the mix back up and place in a jar.
Note: blended sugar will turn to fine powdered sugar, similar to icing sugar. If you want more of a granular salt or sugar just blend a small amount with the herbs and mix the rest through at the end.
Calendula and Lemon Sugar
Ingredients
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup Raw Sugar
6-8 fresh Calendula Flowers
Instructions
Zest Lemon using a fine grater.
Remove petals from the fresh calendula flowers and add to a bowl with the sugar and lemon zest.
Lightly blitz in a mixer or blender.
Spread on a tray to dry. Use a dehydrator at 40degrees celsius or the oven for 4-5 hours or until lemon zest and flowers are completely dry.
Place in an air-tight jar to store.
Notes
To make an infused salt simply swap the sugar with salt.
Let’s dive into this incredible companion plant and explore how to grow Calendula and what to make with it! Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a hardy edible flower that has many beneficial uses both in the garden and in the home. Calendula is easy to grow and if left to go to seed, will pop up each year in your garden with bright pops of colour.
Calendula has anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and antibacterial properties great for making healing teas, balms and lotions.
Autumn – Spring.Mild summers can grow all year round.
SOIL
Grows well in most soil types.
LOCATION
Full sun – part shade position
CARE
Consistent watering.
FERTILISE
Doesn’t require feeding.
PESTS
Slaters, slugs, aphids, snails, green caterpillars.
HARVEST
Harvest young leaves fresh and flowers once fully open.
REPRODUCE
Seeds can be saved once the petals have fallen and the flower has dried off.
Why Grow Calendula?
Calendula is an edible that provides flowers for the bees they look beautiful and ornamental in the garden.
Here are some of the many reasons to grow Calendula:
Easy to grow
Flowers for the bees
Natural pest management
Low maintenance
Edible flowers
Can be used raw or cooked
Edible leaves
Healing and medicinal qualities
Protects soil
Anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal
Natural food colouring or dye
High in vitamin A&C
Cut flowers
Chicken coop health
Popular Calendula Varieties
‘Pink Surprise’ – Large double-layer petals with a peachy colour.
‘Double Red’ – Large double-layered petals with a deep orange colour.
‘Golden Emperor‘ – Large single-petal flowers. Daisy-like flower with bright yellow colour.
‘Balls improved orange‘ – Large double orange flowers.
‘Pacific Apricot’ – Large double-petal light yellow-peach flowers.
When to Plant Calendula
Calendula can be sown at the end of summer or autumn. It can grow all year round in some locations that have mild summers.
How to Grow Calendula
Choose a sunny location.
Plant seeds directly in the soil or in seed trays.
Plant seeds or seedlings 1 hand width apart
Protect young seedlings from slugs and snails but adding a ring of crushed eggshells
Add mulch to retain moisture
Care/ Maintenance
Calendula is a hardy, easy-to-grow plant. Harvest flowers regularly once petals are open to encourage more blooms.
Pests / Disease
Slugs and snails may eat young seedlings. Use natural pest management. Caterpillars can eat the leaves and flowers. Calendula can become a “trap” for pests and this will keep them away from your other plants.
How/ When to HarvestCalendula
The best time to harvest flowers and most vegetables is early in the morning, while the plants are hydrated. Wait until the flowers have opened usually once the sun is out. For medicinal uses, dry the flower with the green central structure attached, as that is where a lot of the healing properties are.
Reproducing
Wait until the flowers start to die off, their petals will fall and the seeds will start to form at the centre of the flower. Once they start to go brown and dry you can pick the flower and allow it to dry inside. Calendula self-seeds easily. If you would like to have flowers pop up in your garden next year, allow the seeds to dry on the plant and fall onto the soil. Once you know what calendula leaves look like you will be able to identify volunteer plants next year and dig up seedlings to spread around your garden.
Cooking and Using Calendula
Calendula flowers and leaves can be eaten raw or used in baking and home products.
NOTE: Calendula is not suitable for those who are pregnant or trying to conceive, as it may affect menstruation. Or those who are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae family.
Preserving the Harvest
Calendula can be easily preserved to use throughout the year.
Calendula petals can be sprinkled in chicken bedding to help reduce ticks and bacteria. They can also be incorporated into their food which can make the egg yolks a deeper yellow colour.
Diversity is so important for creating a thriving and sustainable edible garden. Choosing edible or medicinal plants to use as companion planting can not only boost the health of your garden but also your own! Each plant type has a different root structure, leaf coverage, height, nutrient absorption, and nutrient excretion and attracts different insects and wildlife to the garden. The more diversity we have in plants, the more life we are encouraging both above the soil and below. Diversity also helps reduce severe deficiencies, as all the plants aren’t competing for the exact same nutrients.
Diversity and companion planting are closely related. Companion planting is generally two different plants that grow well together and have a mutually beneficial relationship. With a diverse garden, we want to build on those relationships and continue to add more and more.
Disclaimer: The information included on this site is for inspirational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation.
