Edible and Medicinal Flowers

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A TABLE OF CONTENTS
B 3
Introduction
L Edible Flower Basics 4
E Wild Radish
Flowers
11
Wild Mustard Flowers 15
Calendula Flowers 20
O Nasturtium Flowers 25
Borage Blossoms 30
F Chive Flowers 38
Rosemary Flowers 42
Garlic Chive Flowers 47
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N
T
E
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INTRODUCTION
I Love Flowers. I Love Edible

Flowers even more
F lower by flower, learning which ones

can be added to my food and drinks has
If you come to my house for dinner you will
see… there will be edible flowers in your
been such an amazing journey. I feel nothing water, edible flowers in the wine, flowers on
short of wonder and awe for their colors, your salad and the main dish will be
shape, texture and beauty. Such an garnished with flowers…. I love decorating
incredibly generous offering that the earth our meals!
gives us!
8 favorite edible flowers and their gifts are
I will never forget the first time I learned that here for you. Delicious ways to eat and drink
I could eat borage flowers! That amazing them, how they affect you and their amazing
luminescent blue, dancing, star shaped healing benefits. You are going to enjoy the
flower could garnish my drinking water and I super easy recipes for each flower along with
could eat that blue star flower? Wow. I some simple growing tips and of course we’ll
couldn’t believe it. And… it awakened an talk about the healing, medicinal qualities of
insatiable appetite to learn as much as I each flower.
could about edible and medicinal flowers.
Let’s dive in and explore yummy ways to get
For the past 25 plus years I have had the these edible flowers onto your dining table. I
sheer pleasure of discovering these amazing truly hope you are inspired to grow and eat
flowers and the joy of using them in my food, more edible flowers!
drinks and home remedies. I mean it when I
say that adding edible flowers to a meal turns We’ll talk about the healing, medicinal
even the simplest dinner into a celebration. qualities of each flower. If you like what
you've learned here, you can get on my
Picking edible flowers brings you the email list and receive more of my herbal
absolute pleasure of turning your garden or recipes and tips that will come to your inbox
the wild places into yummy, enticing food twice a month. Click here to join.
and drinks that celebrate the harvest;
celebrate the earth, the flowers and Enjoy!
celebrate life.
3
© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers
Edible Flower Basics
5
EDIBLE FLOWER BASICS
I'm so glad you're here. I'm happy that you're interested in edible flowers. Sometimes they're
overlooked or neglected as food and medicine. At the end of this book you are going to
wonder how that could ever be possible.
The recipes on these pages are meant to delight and inspire. Use them as a starting place
and then let the flowers speak to you. I look forward to hearing about the recipes you come
up with as you bring more and more edible flowers to your table.
First, I want to talk about some edible flower basics. A few things to think about so you can
get started with enjoying this amazing kitchen craft.
5
100% ACCURATE IDENTIFICATION
1 You want to have 100% accurate identification of your

flowers. If you are at all unsure about which flower you
are using, find someone that knows what they are doing.
You can go to the blog on my website here and see
more pictures of edible flowers. Go to the blog and type:
Edible flowers into the search bar at:
www.livingawareness.com
ONLY EAT EDIBLE FLOWERS
2 Not all flowers are edible, some flowers are poisonous.
JUST BECAUSE A FLOWER IS SERVED WITH FOOD,

DOESN’T MEAN IT IS EDIBLE
3 I have seen lots of meals decorated with non-edible

flowers. Just because there’s a flower on a cake, you still
have to know if it’s edible or not.
THINK TWICE ABOUT FLOWERS FROM A FLORIST OR

STORE
4 Most flowers from the florist or a store have been grown

with pesticides. You only want flowers that have been
organically grown.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT VARIETY OF THE
FLOWER
5 Make sure you have the correct variety of the plant you
are using. For example, there are hundreds of varieties of
sage plants, some of them have edible flowers and some
of them don’t.
HARVEST YOUR FLOWERS IN A CLEAN AREA
6
This may go without saying, but you want to harvest your
flowers in the cleanest area possible. Some of the flowers
we talk about thrive in neglected fields, roadsides and
vacant lots. Of course, you don't want to harvest next to
the road, golf course, railroad track or where the dogs and
cats hang out, right? You know what I mean. Try to stay
away from the roads, driveways and the dog park.
OK, here are a few other basic tips to start out
on the right foot with your edible flowers. Every
flower is different and people live in all different
kinds of climates, so here are some suggestions,
but things will vary (as always)!
1. LET THE BUGS FLY AWAY
I don’t think you want fresh bugs with outside in the shade and let the bugs
your fresh salad, so here is a simple leave. Leave your flowers outside in the
trick to help you enjoy your edible shade for an hour and let everybody go
flowers without the extra protein! Let the home. There’s no need to bring the bugs
bugs escape! Harvest your flowers, put into the house.
them in a basket, colander or on a plate
2. TO RINSE OR NOT
You can rinse your flowers if you want. outside for a little bit and then they get
The thing is that many of them wilt eaten.
quicker after being washed. I don't wash
my flowers. Some flowers fade away
quickly after being washed. What I do is
I pick them from the garden, let them sit
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3. FRESHNESS
The other little consideration about That is how you make everything real, by
edible flowers is freshness. I know you coming up with a recipe that everyone
already know this – the flowers have a loves and that you can share! I enjoy
short shelf life. Some people harvest creating recipes that turn our garden into
them and keep them in a bowl in the yummy, enticing food and drinks to
fridge for a day or two; but I usually eat celebrate the harvest and celebrate our
them that very same day. meals.
Some flowers keep longer than others Also, I don't know about you, but I'm a
and you’ll have to experiment. Radish busy mom, so recipes need to be simple.
flowers don’t store very well, but borage I'm going to share some super simple,
flowers, you can keep them in a delicious, easy recipes for the 8 edible
container in the fridge for a couple of flowers that we cover. You’ll find simple
days. If possible, try to eat your flowers gardening tips for each of these amazing
fresh! flowers and we’ll also explore the
healing, medicinal qualities of each
Ok, let’s get started with our Edible beautiful blossom.
Flowers and some yummy recipes! You
know I love recipes, right?

Wild Radish

Wild Radish
Raphanus sativus/raphanistrum
Cultivation Tip: Wild radish is a hardy weed. It likes all soil types and wet conditions.
It thrives in full sun and is cold tolerant. This weed is a real weed. It’s not just a weed.
It’s a serious, competitive weed. Did I say it can be invasive? Well you only think of
it as invasive if you don’t love it!
Wild radish flowers are beautiful! The bees and the butterflies love this plant. It’s
food for you, and it is food for the bees. We like those kind of plants, don't we!?
Flavor: Spicy, peppery, sharp, warming and pungent
Edible Tips: It goes well with root vegetables, potatoes, egg dishes, butter, cheese,
cream cheese and salads.
This flower is a snack to eat along the way when you are out for a walk. Whatever
sandwich or food I've got with me when out for a hike, the radish flowers find their
way into my snack. I like to garnish my food with the wild radish flowers found along
the trail. I grew up surrounded by this wild flower; basically, you can harvest it for
about ten months out of a year here, so I have been adding it to my sandwiches for
decades….
You want to think of it like adding a little salsa or hot sauce to your meal, or a little
pepper bite float on your soup, it definitely has a kick!

Radish Flower Butter
Here’s a crowd-pleaser recipe! If you are just starting to use flowers in your meals,
you may have to work your family into it, little by little. This is a great place to start.
People love butter, no matter what you put into it. So, start your herbal flower
experiments by making edible flower butters.
What you want to do is just let the amount of butter that you're going to eat for the
day soften. Mix the radish flowers into the butter and you're good!
Start with just the flowers or take it a little further with this recipe. Your people are
going to love this yummy butter.
Radish Flower Butter
INGREDIENTS
1 stick softened butter
¼ cup minced radish flowers
¼ cup minced red onion
2 tablespoons minced, fresh rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
PREPARATION
1) Let the butter soften
2) Add all ingredients to the butter and mix together well
3) I like to use this butter up in a couple of days. The water in the
fresh herbs tends to make the butter go rancid if it sits around,
so eat it up.

Medicinal Uses: Wild radish is a highly medicinal plant! So, delicious
and so many uses! Radish blossoms are carminative and a wonderful
digestive aid.
This is so important. The carminative action in this beautiful flower

what it does is increases blood and oxygen to the gastrointestinal tract
and helps you digest your lunch.
Medicinal Qualities:
• Carminative
• Digestive Aid
You think it’s a fun and novel thing to add these flowers to your food, but
adding this little bit of zesty kick to your dinner helps you to digest and absorb
your nutrients. It helps you do the daunting task of turning your lunch into
you.
One of the gifts of carminative acting herbs and flowers is the gift of energy.
Carminatives help your body digest your food, so that less energy is spent
on the digestive process. Basically, they make digesting your lunch a little
easier for you.
The thing is that we can have the best organic food, but we still have to
digest it well to get the nutrition that we need from it. Adding carminative and
digestive aids- they are the bridge to digestion; to turning your food into you.
This flower is a “helper” flower to help you get the most out of all the hard
work you put into preparing your food. Is that awesome? It’s awesome. Let
wild radish flowers help you digest your lunch!
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Wild Mustard

Wild Mustard
Sinapsis arvensis
Cultivation Tip: I'm not going to even pretend like I know how to grow this plant. I
know it loves full sun and will tolerate a little shade. It’s cold-tolerant. It likes pastures,
gardens, roadsides, disturbed soil, vineyards, and orchards. I don’t plant it in my
garden. It just grows on its own all around me. Mustard flowers are also food for the
bees. Bees love this plant.
This is one of my heritage plants, I grew up with

mustard flowers. The “golden explosion” happens
every spring; hills of sunshine all around. Wading
through the mustard fields is an annual ritual that is
the signature of winter transforming into spring. My
mom took pictures of me at all different ages sitting in
the mustard fields.
As a girl, I remember old women walking the fields harvesting the leaves and
blossoms. I can see them in my mind’s eye right now. My family didn’t do it, but there
were people in our valley, that harvested this plant every spring.
Flavor: Spicy, piquant, sharp, and zippy.
Edible Tips: Think of the mustard in your fridge. What do you add mustard to?
Mustard flowers go well with poultry, sandwiches, eggs, beans, savory breads, corn
bread and leafy vegetables.

These beautiful flowers have a little bit of a bite to them and are a nice
compliment to savory foods. They're really good with hearty soup, chili and
lentils. They are the perfect addition to bean dishes.
I love decorating with these bright yellow sunshine flowers. Add them to
chicken or basically, any meat that you would use mustard on. I have to say;
this flower is really good on turkey sandwiches.
Let me ask you: do you ever come up with a dish, or pairing your flowers
with foods that you would have never come up with on your own? You just
go outside and pick whatever edible flowers you can find. Do you know what
I mean? This is what the earth is presenting, and even on your best day, you
wouldn't have planned that for dinner!
I will begin making a meal and then go out into the garden and see what is
happening. The edible flowers end up on our plate in ways that I sometimes
can't even imagine. Edible flowers keep your meals interesting!
17
Asparagus with Mustard Flowers
This is one of those recipes. This is a traditional food or meal that started
happening just because it’s happening. In my neck of the woods, mustard flowers
are in full swing at the very same time that the asparagus is ripe. It’s just a natural
match created by the garden and the neighboring field. We eat this for about a
month straight, and then it’s over and we don't eat it again until the next year. Do
you have any foods like that or flowers where it feels like a little festival every year
when they first comes to life?
Again, I'm a busy mom. Most people I know are busy even if they aren’t moms.
Busyness seems to be the thing we are all dealing with. I love low impact, low effort
recipes. This is an easy spring meal that’s super satisfying.
Asparagus with Mustard Flowers
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch of asparagus
¼ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup mustard flowers
PREPARATION
1) Steam the asparagus just the way you like it
2) Put it on a serving platter and add oil, salt, pepper
3) Garnish with mustard flowers just before eating

Medicinal Uses: Mustard flowers are also medicinal. Mustard (as
you’ve probably experienced) is a great decongestant. Mustard flowers
help to clear the sinuses and lungs.
Got a stuffy nose? Got a head cold? Have you ever taken a bite of
something with too much mustard on it? Well, the flowers do the same
thing. They clear your head. If you’ve got stuck snot, mustard flowers
will move it. Like wild radish flowers, it’s also carminative and a
digestive aid.
This is family herbal medicine. It’s the little stuff that adds up that even
your kids can do. Garnishing your food with carminative flowers can
become a simple every day thing that just happens in your kitchen.
The beauty of the flowers alone is healing, but garnishing with fresh
carminative flowers-that’s powerful medicine. Every day at every meal
you get a little dollop of herbal medicine that’s safe. You don't have to
worry about the dosage.
These sweet little flowers—well, they're not sweet. These spicy flowers
offer you more than you think they do. You are what you eat, but you
are what you digest. Carminative flowers increase the flow of blood,
oxygen, and energy to the digestive tract, so that you can digest your
food.
This is such an amazing flower. I hope that you have the opportunity to

Calendula

Calendula
Calendula officinalis
Cultivation Tip: Full sun, moderate water and what I love the most is once you get
it going, it just re-seeds itself. If you have enough sun, it’s easy to grow.
Flavor: Mild, slightly bitter flavor, hint of tanginess
Edible Tips:
You can do a lot with this flower. It’s one of the flowers that goes well with sweet
and savory foods. It’s good with desserts, salads, soup, veggies and smoothies.

This is the confetti flower. What I like to do with calendula petals is put
dinner on the table, and then confetti sprinkle all the dishes with
calendula flower petals. Pluck off the petals and sprinkle a splash of
color all over the place. It’s food art. It makes your food more
appealing. People are always surprised and enjoy having the flowers
on their food.
In some cooking schools, they talk about the value of the color and
presentation of the meal. Edible flowers take your color and
presentation over the top.
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Dried Calendula Flowers
The one cool thing about this flower is that many of the edible flowers don't dry
well, but this one does.
When using the fresh flowers, you pluck off the petals and put just the petals in
your food. When drying calendula, don’t pluck off the petals, dry the entire flower
bud and put the entire flower bud into your food.
Dried Calendula Flowers

• Remove the flower from the stem
• Lay the flower bud on a basket or screen until it’s completely dry
• Store in a jar in a dark cabinet
• Dried calendula flower buds last for one year
• Add 2 or 3 calendula flower buds to soups or broth
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Calendula Ice
Calendula Ice
Do you decorate your drinks? Making herbal ice cubes is SO easy and people
love it!
You can make individual ice cubes or you can use any size container that makes
a block of ice that fits into your water pitcher. Whenever we have guests at our
house, I set up a water station with flowered ice. Try it!
Calendula Ice
INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
1 cup fresh calendula blossoms
PREPARATION
1) Freeze water and calendula in a 7-inch by 7-inch container
2) Once it’s frozen, pop the ice out and put it into a pitcher or
punch bowl

Medicinal Uses: Calendula flowers are vulnerary and anti-
inflammatory. We usually think of vulnerary and anti-inflammatory herbs
for topical use on the skin; for cuts, scrapes, rashes, eczema and things
like that.
Your skin cells are also inside your body. You will find skin epithelial
cells on the inside of the mouth and they continue all the way down your
digestive tract. Think of them as your ‘internal skin’. Vulnerary flowers
increase the rate at which skin cells regenerate, enhancing skin cell
regeneration and renewal. This vulnerary activity is not only for your
external skin but does the same job for your internal skin! Besides being
enamored with this vibrant color, think of skin healing, tissue
regeneration and inflammation reduction inside and out!
Adding flowers to your food is not a “take 2 pills 3 times a day” kind of
medicine; but when you add anti-inflammatory flowers to your food, it
adds up. The thing is, you can't see inflammation in the gastrointestinal
tract. Stress, pesticides, chlorine in the water, any kind of medication, all
of these things contribute to this inflammation. Gut inflammation is a
super common health problem.
Using an anti-inflammatory and vulnerary flower in your meals is so

valuable. You basically can just know that you're taking care of yourself
at every meal. I talk a lot about this in my book, The Herbal Kitchen.
Every meal, you have a chance to use the herbs, and spices, and edible
flowers to help you. Check out The Herbal Kitchen here.

Nasturtium

Nasturtium
Tropaeolum majus
Cultivation Tip: Nasturtium likes moist, well-drained soil and partial shade. It likes
to be trellised or hanging from baskets.
Flavor: Sharp, hot, nutty, warming and spicy. It’s got a hot, biting after taste.
Edible Tips: Nasturtium flowers are large flowers with a lot of room to stuff things
into, so you can use them like a shell. They are the perfect container for cream
cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, pâtés and hummus.

It’s a great flower for decorating salads and appetizers. The
brightness of these flowers gives a vibrant flare to your food that
people really enjoy. I use them instead of tomatoes or pickles on
sandwiches. Fair warning, these flowers add a bite to your food.
They are spicy!
It may sound a little cliché, but there’s an elevated mood; a kind

of a “gasp” when people sit down to a dinner with an edible flower
decorated meal. Nasturtium flowers illicit a big gasp factor, they
are so big and bright. I love serving a dinner bursting with color
that just dances on the plate.
To learn more about nasturtium flowers head on over to my blog:
6 Spicy Edible Flowers
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Nasturtium Cream Cheese Appetizer
This recipe is a delicious appetizer. You can follow the recipe or instead of bell
peppers, choose your favorite vegetable. If you take this to a potluck or a gathering,
it will be the first thing to go. Guaranteed. Also, be prepared to respond to all the
requests for the recipe. You watch. People will email you for the recipe after the
party. I'm serious.
Nasturtium Cream Cheese Appetizer
INGREDIENTS
8 oz. pack of cream cheese
• ½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• ½ cup chopped walnuts or other nuts
• ¼ cup chopped green onion
• ¼ cup minced parsley
PREPARATION
1. Mix ingredients together well and roll into one inch balls
2. Stuff each nasturtium flower with a tablespoon of the mixture

Medicinal Uses: This flower is an incredible medicinal flower. It’s
decongestant, antibacterial and spicy. That spicy, hot, moving, aromatic
bite, just like mustard and horseradish; it opens and drains the sinuses.
Even if you just eat one flower, you’ll feel it in your sinuses, and things
will start to drip if that is what you need. (Hidden message: if you have
stuck snot that needs to come out.)
Have you had that experience? You innocently ate some mustard or
some horseradish and then suddenly you need a handkerchief? That’s
how it is with nasturtium. It’s also antibacterial and high in Vitamin C, good
for warding off infections and colds.
It’s amazing. You can prevent a lot of sickness depending on the herbs,
spices, and flowers that you put in your food. If you’re in prevention mode,
get these flowers into your food.

Borage Blossom

Borage Blossom
Borage Officinalis
Cultivation Tip: This is a direct sow plant. It likes full sun, partial shade. It’s weedy
and invasive. You probably already know that. Sow a feed seeds and soon it’s
everywhere in your garden. You wake up next year and it has chosen 10 new spots.
Bees love this plant. It’s a high nectar production flower and a good one to have in
your garden for feeding the bees.
Flavor: Mild cucumber flavor, cooling
Edible Tips: Borage flowers are amazing with desserts, cakes, yogurt, fruit, melons,
drinks, salads and soups. It’s one of those flowers that’s good with sweet and savory
foods.

I have to say, there’s something about eating a bright blue food that
looks like a star. You can just feel the vitality of this flower when
you see it.
Try some color contrasting with your edible flowers. Add this flower
to red and orange foods to get that gasp factor I’ve been talking
about.
Borage flowers have a cooling effect. It can get quite hot here
where we live, and using borage blossoms is part of the “cool down”
strategy for my family.
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Cucumber Salad with Borage
Cucumber and borage both have a cooling effect on the body. We eat a lot of
cucumbers in the summer. This salad is just a “go-to” summer staple that is so
yummy and satisfying on a hot summer day.
Cucumber Salad with Borage
INGREDIENTS
2 thinly sliced cucumbers
• ½ diced red onion
• Handful of fresh dill leaf and borage flowers
• ¼ cup rice wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1. Do a super thin slice on your cucumbers
2. Add onions, vinegar, salt and pepper
3. Mix together well
4. Add dill and borage just before eating

This flower is crazy abundant in my garden, so I’ve got a 2 nd recipe for
you. This is my son Gabriel, and he is the reason why I need cooling
strategies in our household. He never stops. I'm not kidding. He runs
hot and is always getting over heated. I promise this is the only time
I’ll pull my family album out on you… But this is my life!
The fact is, I am always trying to cool him down. He’s a gardener. He
loves animals. At 9 years old, he started volunteering at events that
involve pre-tractor farming technology. The earth and the animals keep
him busy!
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Cucumber Water with Borage Blossoms
The soothing, cooling qualities of borage are basically one of the ways that I help
to heal him. This cucumber borage drink, we make it all summer long.
Make sure you really want to decorate your drinks because if you do it for a
while, and then stop, your family will wonder, “Hey, where is the beautiful stuff?”
Go ahead, spoil them with flowers in their drinks!
Cucumber Water with Borage Blossoms
INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups tea or water
• 12 thinly sliced pieces of cucumber
• Handful of fresh borage flowers
PREPARATION
1. Pour water or tea into a glass
2. Make sure to pull the flower all the way off the hairy part of the
plant, so you get only the flower
3. Garnish with cucumber and borage flower

Medicinal Uses: As I have been talking about, one of the main
medicinal qualities of borage is its cooling nature. It has a cooling and
soothing effect. Borage flowers are also mucilaginous. Mucilaginous -
say that 3 times.
Mucilaginous is the “slime factor.” A mucilaginous flower has a little bit

of slippery, sliminess to it when you eat it. Think of okra. Okra is highly
mucilaginous. We don't have enough mucilaginous foods in our diet.
Mucilaginous foods reduce inflammation. They cool, soothe and heal
the gastrointestinal tract.
With its mucilaginous and cooling properties, borage is a refreshing

flower for summer’s heat.

One of the things that I like to do is
read old herbals. Pliney was a
Roman botanist. He died around 79
AD. His book, “Natural History,”
talks about hundreds of uses of
medicinal plants.
This is what he has to say about

borage flowers: “Use the flowers in
salads to exhilarate and make the
mind glad.” Ooohhhh… I love that!
“Use the flowers in salads to

exhilarate and make the mind
glad.” -Pliney, 79 AD
To tell you the truth, I get what Pliney is talking about. It’s hard to put
your finger on it, but those blue flowers, when people see them in their
food and then realize they can eat them,
I see these fleeting moments of gladness. It’s a little hard to explain, but
it happens. When I read this, I knew exactly what Pliney was was talking
about.
Eat your borage flowers and let me know if you see a little bit more
gladness.
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Chive Blossoms

Chive Blossoms
Allium schoenoprasum
Cultivation Tip: Full sun, can handle some shade. Frost tolerant and likes well-
drained soil. Chives can be a little bit pickier than some of the invasive weeds we’ve
talked about so far, but once they take hold, they spread easily.
Flavor: Spicy, piquant, mild onion flavor, hot, pungent
Edible Tips: Chive flowers go well with grains, savory dishes, soups, potatoes, eggs
and dairy. One thing about chive flowers, is they are hot. Chive flowers are made up
of lots of little flowers, so break the flower apart and spread the flowers out. Believe
me, a couple of those little flowers can make you sweat!

Chard Soup with Chive Blossoms
I have a simple recipe that you're going to like, it is so yummy and falls into the
category of low effort recipes.
I'm serious when I say it makes me happy to decorate our meals with flowers.
When I get ready to prepare a meal and gather up that little basket of flowers; in
that moment, I'm not thinking about anything else and I feel genuinely happy. It’s
just me and the flowers. Then when we sit down to our flower adorned food, it feels
so healing on so many levels.
Chard Soup with Chive Blossoms
INGREDIENTS
1 bunch chard
• 1 medium sized red potato
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• ¾ teaspoon cumin
PREPARATION
1. Steam the chard and potato
2. Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and
creamy
3. Top with chopped chives and chive blossoms and voila!

Medicinal Uses: Chive blossoms have super powers. They are
antibacterial, help with digestion and are highly nutritive. Nutritive
herbs, spices and flowers have lots of vitamins and minerals and add a
whole other level of nutritional density to your meals.
Chive flowers are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous,

Vitamin K, Vitamin A and Vitamin C. What’s so cool is that as a
digestive aid, chives help you to increase that nutrient density uptake.
Whoop woop!
Again, I love reading old herb books. Old European herb books talk about
hanging bundles of chives in the home to ward off evil spirits. Chives chase
away colds that can feel pretty evil sometimes…
Everyone knows garlic is antibacterial and chases away colds. Like garlic,
chive blossoms contain sulfur compounds, which basically, exterminate
bugs that don't belong in your body. There are lots of good bacteria in your
body, but chives know the difference and chase out the ones that don’t
belong there.
If you've got this plant growing, take advantage of the abundance of

antibacterial properties. Use plenty of chive flowers on your salads and in
your meals during cold season.
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Rosemary

Rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis
Cultivation Tip: Full sun; good drainage. It handles some frost but not hard frost. I
live in a Mediterranean climate and rosemary loves it here, but I’ll tell you about
once every 10 years, the frost and rain combines in such a way that the rosemary
bushes die. Wherever the rosemary grows, the bees will come. I have a hedge of
rosemary, and it just hums and pulses with the bees.
Flavor: Salty, mildly bitter, mildly spicy, piney
Edible Tips:
Sprinkle it on sandwiches, tacos, rice and salads. Top your pizza with it, garnish
drinks and add it to iced tea. Fresh rosemary blossoms in your afternoon tea…
now that is a high quality of life. Rosemary goes well with meats, fish, squash and
all kinds of veggies.

Rosemary Blossom Vinaigrette
You can save so much money by making your own salad dressings. Even the
‘natural’ salad dressings in the stores have borderline ingredients in them. We use
the garden to make super nutritious salad dressings that are so much better than
what you find at the market.
Rosemary Blossom Vinaigrette
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vinegar of choice
• 2 tablespoons minced rosemary flowers
• Salt and pepper to taste
PREPARATION
1. Just throw it all together and enjoy!
2. Make up a batch at the beginning of the week and use it all week
long.

Medicinal Uses: Rosemary flowers have so many amazing benefits.
They are a bitter tonic, circulation enhancer and amazing nutritive.
Rosemary flowers improve circulation and help with memory. Rosemary

is known for things like brain fog, forgetfulness, and inability to
concentrate. Are you dealing with any of that?
Rosemary is considered a bitter tonic. Just as mucilaginous foods are

lacking in many people’s diet, the same is true with bitter foods. Bitter
flavored foods stimulate the flow of digestive enzymes and digestive
hormones throughout the gastrointestinal tract.
Foods that have a bitter flavor increase the flow of saliva, stimulate bile
from the liver and gall bladder and enhance the digestive process
overall. Once again, a flower that helps you to digest your food…
amazing, right?
Rosemary flowers are also super nutritive. They contain iron, calcium,
magnesium, B Vitamins, potassium and Vitamin C. The circulation
support that rosemary gives helps to deliver that nutrition. It’s such a
great flower to have.

Here is a quote from one of the very
first herb books that I bought when I
started studying herbal medicine
more than 30 years ago. Common
Herbs for Natural Health by Juliette
de Bairacli Levy.
“If my name could be associated

with any plant, I would choose
rosemary. I use it more than any
other plant, and I love it most of
all. As Johnny Appleseed
planted apples, I plant rosemary
wherever I travel.”
- Juliette de Bairacli Levy
46
Garlic Chives Flowers

Garlic Chive/
Society Garlic Flowers
Allium tuberosum or Tulbaghia violacea
Cultivation Tips: Full sun, frost hardy and it can handle a little bit of shade. It’s
basically a sun-loving perennial. It can handle some frost, but not prolonged. This
is a drought tolerant plant that’s used a lot where we live in city and county building
landscapes. It’s an amazing pollinator plant. Hudson Valley Seed Library calls this
“One of the Top 15 plants to plant for pollinators.”
Flavor: Pungent, hot and spicy with an onion-garlic flavor. It’s got a bite!
Edible Tips: Garlic chives or society garlic flowers can be used interchangeably. I
will just refer to garlic chives for the rest of the chapter, but just know, both flowers
can be used in the same way. They go well with fish, stir fry, sauces, soups, miso
soup, beans, brassica vegetables and cream sauces.
Do you want a garlic flavor without the full garlic experience? Garlic chive flowers
do that for you. They add garlic flavor but they aren’t quite as hot and aromatic as
garlic is. Basically, any food that you add onions or garlic to, you can put some
garlic chive blossoms into the mix.
We sprinkle garlic chive blossoms on sandwiches, kale salad, coleslaw, potato

salad and eggs.

Basil Garlic Chive Flower Pesto
Basil Garlic Chive Flower Pesto

INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 cup basil
• ½ cup parsley
• ½ cup garlic chive flowers
• ¼ cup sun flower seeds (or whatever nuts or seeds you like)
• 2 teaspoons tamari or salt to taste
PREPARATION
1. Blend olive oil, tamari and sunflower seeds
2. Add in basil parsley and garlic chive flowers and mix well

Medicinal Uses: Garlic chives flowers are nutritive and anti-oxidant.
This flower; it’s not sweet, but it’s sweet looking. It’s spicy and hot and
full of Vitamin C, magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, B Vitamins. It
contains iron and helps with anemia.
The Vitamin C and Vitamin A content are powerful anti-oxidants that

help protect your cells from damage caused by unstable or otherwise
knows as ‘free radical cells.’
These free radical cells, along with being a natural byproduct of the
body’s metabolic process; their damage increases with exposure to
pesticides, environmental toxins, pollutions, rancid fat found in
processed food, chlorine in water and stress.
Free radicals increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. They make
you old, so mop up those free radicals, and get some chives on to your
table!

There you have it--lots of ideas for how to bring the beautiful edible
flowers on to your table; this amazing edible flower herbal medicine that
you add in small amounts to every meal.
I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing these edible flowers with you.
I hope that the flowers come to life for you on your kitchen.
For even more information on edible flowers, natural remedies and home
herbalism stop on by my blog at: http://www.KamiMcBride.com/

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kami McBride, author of The Herbal Kitchen

has taught herbal medicine in the
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Department at University of California, San
Francisco School of Nursing. Over the past
30+ years she has helped thousands of
families learn to use herbs and natural
remedies for their self-care to prevent illness,
take care of common ailments and protect
their health naturally.
Connect with Kami
http://www.KamiMcbride.com
Facebook.com/LivingAwarenessInstitute
This book is intended as an educational tool. The techniques described are not to take the place of
professional medical care. The author and publisher disclaim any liability resulting directly or indirectly from
the use of any remedies, procedures, or preparations found in How to Make Healing Herbal Oils. If you are
pregnant or taking medications consult a health care practitioner before taking herbs.
Never taste an herb that you are not sure of what it is.
Only use herbs that you have complete accuracy in identification.
Copyright KamiMcbride.com
52
Top 5 Lavender Home Remedies
This short, easy to read eBook gives you some of my favorite, simple recipes
for using this powerful healing herb to relax and take care of yourself and
your family.
Learn to make:
✓ Lavender Tea for Indigestion
✓ Lavender Compresses for Headaches
✓ Lavender Wash for Cuts and Scrapes
✓ Lavender Bath for Muscle Tension
✓ Lavender Steam for Household

Fumigation
✓ Lavender Lemonade
Click Here To Get Your Copy
52
EDIBLE AND MEDICINAL
FLOWERS
by:
Kami McBride
© Copyright KamiMcBride.com
52

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I Love Flowers. I Love Edible

F lower by flower, learning which ones

1 You want to have 100% accurate identification of your

ONLY EAT EDIBLE FLOWERS

2 Not all flowers are edible, some flowers are poisonous.

JUST BECAUSE A FLOWER IS SERVED WITH FOOD,

3 I have seen lots of meals decorated with non-edible

THINK TWICE ABOUT FLOWERS FROM A FLORIST OR

4 Most flowers from the florist or a store have been grown

HARVEST YOUR FLOWERS IN A CLEAN AREA

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Flavor: Spicy, peppery, sharp, warming and pungent

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Radish Flower Butter

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This is so important. The carminative action in this beautiful flower

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

This is one of my heritage plants, I grew up with

Flavor: Spicy, piquant, sharp, and zippy.

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Asparagus with Mustard Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Flavor: Mild, slightly bitter flavor, hint of tanginess

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Dried Calendula Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Using an anti-inflammatory and vulnerary flower in your meals is so

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

It may sound a little cliché, but there’s an elevated mood; a kind

To learn more about nasturtium flowers head on over to my blog:

6 Spicy Edible Flowers

Nasturtium Cream Cheese Appetizer

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Flavor: Mild cucumber flavor, cooling

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Cucumber Salad with Borage

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

I’ll pull my family album out on you… But this is my life!

Cucumber Water with Borage Blossoms

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Mucilaginous is the “slime factor.” A mucilaginous flower has a little bit

With its mucilaginous and cooling properties, borage is a refreshing

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

This is what he has to say about

“Use the flowers in salads to

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Flavor: Spicy, piquant, mild onion flavor, hot, pungent

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Chard Soup with Chive Blossoms

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Chive flowers are rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous,

If you've got this plant growing, take advantage of the abundance of

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Flavor: Salty, mildly bitter, mildly spicy, piney

© Copyright KamiMcBride.com Edible and Medicinal Flowers

Rosemary Blossom Vinaigrette