Our pumpkin patch has been blooming so many male flowers
so, while the female flowers have been growing pumpkin fruit...
I've been picking the males after they close and leaving the opened ones to continue...
pollinating so that we will have more pumpkins
by the time the males have done their pollinating and closed up,
and the bees and ants have taken their share of the flowers...
the nectar and pollen
I get to have the rest
pumpkin flowers do have their nutrient value and...
I would assume it is mostly in their raw state
they are good eaten as part of a salad or stuffed
often, we eat them fried, dredged in a gluten-free flour of...
1/2 cup of brown rice flour
1/4 cup of fine corn meal
1/4 tsp baking powder
(you do not have to use baking powder but, I like the way it gives body to the flower)
1/4 tsp of unrefined sea salt
black pepper to taste
1 beaten egg
coconut milk
(if you need to be egg free, just use the coconut milk)
mix rice flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt and pepper together
add the egg and enough of the milk to make a crepe-like batter...
a little thinner than pancake batter
cut off the stem ends and make sure each flower is clean...
taking out the stamens and discarding those
I prefer to open the flower out (as in the photo below) as it fries nicer that way
just carefully tear the flower from the bottom up
also, make sure the flowers are dry as possible after cleaning to keep down the splattering
heat up some oil (I use coconut oil) until quite hot
dredge the flower in the batter and let the excess drip off
carefully lay it in the oil and fry on each side till light golden brown and crisp...
but, do not let burn
lay the fried flowers on some paper towels to soak up any oil
I like to also dry the pumpkin flowers right after picking and preparing
I do this by putting the prepared flowers on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels...
and putting them in the car on the dashboard...
with the windows up during a hot and sunny day
in no time, those flowers dry and crisp up and are good to go...
for crumbling on salads
I've only done this in a car and so do not know how well the pumpkin flowers do...
in an oven or dehydrator
May your day or night bloom in the grace of the Lord