May Flowers

It’s supposed to be April showers, not May showers. The past few weeks have been rainy ones in the Capital Region, but today it’s lovely. Looking into the future, it seems like we’ll have good weather for Saturday’s Saratoga Brewfest!

But enjoying a beer festival in the rain is all about coming prepared for the weather. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy an occasional shower beer?

Still, the rain has dampened people’s spirits about spring. But the Fussies are loving that we actually have a transitional season this year. Sometimes the leap from winter to summer is far too fast. Personally, I love being able to mow the lawn in jeans without becoming a sweaty mess.

Right. So April showers bring May flowers. We still have flowers despite the extended rain and mud season. In fact, they seem extra happy. Since flowers are on the mind, and this is a food blog, I thought I would share a quick story about cooking and eating these beautiful springtime gems.

Little Miss Fussy is in an adult cookbook club, and she’s been going so long that she’s welcome as an adult member of the group. My role is merely to be her assistant and personal shopper. That means, helping to pull out tools from their cabinets, running the appliances, and securing the necessary ingredients.

For this latest effort she selected a recipe of pistachio almond cakes with cardamom and rose icing. Here is the finished product.

The crowning touch of the dish was dried organic rose petals. Which as it turns out, are available locally in the bulk spice section of Honest Weight Food Co-op. While I wasn’t sure they would have this ingredient in stock, I figured it was worth a visit, because we also needed small quantities of coconut and tapioca flours.

HWFC had them all! They even stocked rosewater. Seriously, this local market is a gem. Despite some of my grumbling about the co-op in the past, this will be one of places I will truly miss when we leave. Maybe Ann Arbor has something like it, but we are very lucky to have this resource in our backyard.

Buying the rose petals was a little terrifying though. The price on the bulk jar says that they are about $50 per pound. Somehow I lost the receipt, so I can’t tell you precisely. But that makes these a precious commodity. So I delicately filled a small bag with the quantity we would need to decorate the cake. Or maybe just a little bit more, to be on the safe side.

When checking out, our bag of organic dried rose petals cost a mere fifty cents.

Fifty cents! I think that makes them less expensive than sprinkles. Sprinkles! Actually, I have no idea how much sprinkles cost. Sprinkles are pretty to look at, but I am not a fan. Anyhow, I was surprised and delighted by how inexpensive it was to decorate these cakes with something so beautiful and fragrant.

Personally, I’ve come to love rosewater scented desserts over time. However, that was not always the case, so I totally understand there are others who think these sweets remind them of soap or other kinds of cleansers. That just means more rose petals for us.

Seriously, I’m going to take the leftover petals and make myself extra fancy rosewater and cardamom lassis. In the meantime, if anyone else has favorite rosewater recipes, I’m all ears.