Candied Violets

So last week, while I was home one morning and taking my yorkie Fritz on a walk I had an internal dialogue with myself, this occur pretty often I must admit. But this one when something like this,

"Those are violets that grow like weeds in our yard, right? That's what Dad calls them, I think. (pause) Aren't violets edible? How could I use Violets in something?"

 (long pause as I continued to walk with Fritz) 

"Wait! Violets are one of the flowers commonly used for candied flowers! Like at For The Love of Chocolate in Carytown. And they are so crazy expensive there! I wonder if I could make candied flowers? I'm sure I could make candied flowers! And they'd essentially be free! I need to go do some research on edible flowers and candying them!" 

And then I quickly turned homewards with Fritz to do said research! And all of my thoughts were correct and the little purple flowers growing like weeds in my yard are in fact common violets and you can indeed eat them (Warning: if your yard has been chemically treated DO NOT use any edible plants from your yard for consumption! Our's hadn't been treated since well before winter so I went for it) and they can indeed be candied if you have the patience to do so!

So while it was still early and the violets hadn't yet been hit by full sun and gotten wilty I went outside and picked probably close to 100. I have an issue with quantity when it comes to projects like this, I always go for "MORE if more" over the Less if More and always pay for it in the end. 

The rest is pretty simple but is not for the impatient. This is a tedious and time consuming task so for a 1st time I'd start with 20 very nice looking Violets as large as you can find from a safe area that has not been treated with chemicals or pesticides and is not close to a road or busy traffic area as exhaust fumes can be absorbed into surrounding plant life making it unsafe for consumption.

Now I looked through a lot of different "candied flower" recipes and found two common themes for creating the glue that will adhere the sugar to the petals. I used the more old fashioned one because I had it readily available and because I eat raw cookie dough and cake batter but if you plan on serving someone who may be pregnant... go for the simple syrup instead of the egg white glue. 

Candied Violets Recipe: For Approximately 20 candied Violets
* Use only common Violets like the ones you see pictured here, Do Not use the more indoor common African Violets- those are for looks and not eating! 

Version 1 

20 freshly picked and washed violets with stems on- atleast 2 inches of stem

1 Egg white- from eggs you trust- beaten just til frothy. 

1/4-1/2 cup white granulated sugar

1 clean small soft bristled paint brush

Parchment Paper

2-3 toothpicks

Small Scissors (for trimming off stem once candied)

Patience

Version 2

Simple Syrup- to make put 1 cup water in small pan and heat to warm not boiling- then add sugar starting with 1/2 cup and stir until dissolved- continue adding until sugar no longer dissolves- you have simple syrup!

Everything in Version 1 minus egg whites. 

1st- clean your violets! However you rinse them make sure they get a good rinse and under a gentle flow of cool water, shake off gently then place on paper towels and allow to dry for 30 minutes. 

Now, assemble your Candying station- I recommend sitting down at a table. Have a bowl for your sugar, bowl with your "glue" of choice, paint brush, a plate to work on the violet and a lipped baking sheet to place the finished sugared violets on. 

Pick up your violet and brush each petal front and back with the liquid glue. Then sprinkle sugar over petals to coat, front and back... may need to touch up in areas brush missed. If flower looks wet after coating with sugar, coat it again. Once flower is nice and coated carefully lay it on parchment lined baking sheet and arrange petals face up how you'd like it to dry (enter tooth picks)- then snip off the stem with scissors. 

Repeat for each flower! 

Once all flowers have been candied- double check to see if you need to sprinkle more sugar over any and then place in a dry cool place away from people and pets to dry for 24-48 hours. Don't cover with clear wrap- I did and when I checked them the next day they'd gotten floppy- need to be left to open air so flowers can dehydrate and set. 

Once stiff and dryed out place in an airtight container and keep for up to 1 month! 

Use them as a pretty way to sweeten your tea (remove after sugar has dissolved) or to top cakes, cupcakes or even fresh fruit! 

Basically, after going to the trouble I would say this was a fun project.. though I was at it for 4 hours because of the 80 some violets I sugared... I have a knack for choosing tedious tasks! But aside from how pretty they come out and harken back to Victorian times which is one of my favorite Eras. Candied flowers are basically a pretty way of transporting sugar to your mouth. Its really not worth the effort unless you have a particular use for them like above mentioned suggestions in which case if you are willing to sacrifice a few hours it is definitely worth it over the crazy expensive price to buy them in specialty shops and is a rather fun and meditative activity! 

You can also candy Rose petals, Carnation Petals, John Jump-Ups, Fuschia, Impatiens, Pansies, as well as herbs like mint and lemon balm leaves which are especially great to put in your tea both to sweeten from the sugar on it and flavor!

Play around, just BE SURE to use plants from areas you trust and that you have identified for SURE as being EDIBLE! A quick internet search will pull up a lot of sites that are focused specifically on Foraged Food and even mention the taste of each edible flower!

DO NOT use store bought unless they are Organic and you really trust the seller but personally even then I would not use store bought unless maybe I specifically went to a florist and got their ok as a seller and DO NOT use flowers that are growing in either a place you know has been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides or you are unsure of having been sprayed or is near a road!
 Always better safe than sorry so if it means foregoing then accept it and instead add some of the edibles I mentioned to buying list for your spring/ summer herb pot/ garden so you can know for sure what's going into their soil and being sprayed on them which should be nothing except water. :)

Photography On A Budget: Making It Work

So, as many of you know, or at least have seen, I have been getting more serious about my photography. Particularly towards portrait photography. Currently I am working with one of the lower end DSLR cameras on the market which at times can be hindering and frustrating but which also forces me to be more creative than a photographer who has the top of the line equipment at their finger tips. I would love to one day purchase a Nikon D800 or even a Nikon D4 or Canon 5D Mark but currently, those are not remotely within my budget. Or really my need. And right now, if I'm going to splurge on anything, it is going to be on my lenses. 

Why? Well easiest way to explain it to a non- photographer is that camera bodies are like iPhones. Every year or just about Nikon and Canon come out with new bodies that are often very similar to their existing counterparts but which out perform in functions, options, settings etc. So to go drop $2,000-$5,000 on a camera body when I (a.) don't have that kind of $ to blow through and (b.) haven't gotten to the point in my business yet where I am charging the kind of money or even have the need for a heftier camera. 

Lenses though, they're a whole different game. There might be some that I'd have to upgrade when I upgrade my camera down the road, but lenses hold their value, they're much better resale than a camera body and ultimately, lenses are what can make an image better in terms of crispness, clarity and depth of fields. So I have been considering for some time now purchasing a new lens. Originally I was just going to go spend all my Christmas and Birthday + a little from savings on one. 

But again, that is still a considerable purchase of $300 on the low end and $600 on the higher end in terms of quality and aperture. Me, being the sometimes overly thoughtful purchaser that I am, just couldn't bring myself to splurge for the $400 50mm 1.4G AF-S lens that I'd like to get for my camera and for my portrait photography. And isn't it ironic that the only 50mm 1.4 aperture lens that functions on my lower end camera body is the MOST EXPENSIVE one! 

The main reason I've hesitated is because again, I'm still early into this business. I want to pursue this and I am more than willing to invest in it, but personally, I feel I need to make sure I am booking clients regularly and creating a somewhat regular income before I'm going to drop that kind of cash. 

Enter my Poppy's collection of cameras and lenses. I chose to get a Nikon DSLR over a Canon because well I'd always worked with Nikon in 35mm film and about half the cameras I have from my Poppy are Nikons along with a lot of additional Nikkor  and Nikon compatible lenses. I assumed (wrongly) when I purchased my DSLR 4 years ago that I would easily be able to pop those lenses on my DSLR. Turns out, for the level of DSLR I purchased, that isn't so. But I keep going back and putting those lenses on my camera anyway, hoping that my camera will be able to read the lens and function with it. Today.. I had SUCCESS!

Ironically, it wasn't with any of my Nikkor lenses but with a 50mm Tamron lens. Its a whole new game with this lens since I have to do it all manually through a digital camera, but it's definitely something I am willing to conquer in order to have that 50mm lens I've so been wanting to add to my lens options for portraits. This is a high quality lens too... for free! It's all metal casing and made in Japan. It seems to only work well in bright light- like full sun- situations on my DSLR but I've only tried it out once outside so I could be wrong. I only shot about 10 shots on it today during a paid photo shoot but didn't want to take up too much of my client's time with a lens I didn't know for sure would give me a nice clear image. 

Here are some of the successful shots I got with it! These are straight from the camera with no editing done to the image except to add my watermark. I am sooooo excited!

So I may be on a budget in a field of play that normally requires $20,000 worth of equipment if you really want to make it, but I am making it work! I would love to eventually be able to be at the point with my business where I am making the money and booking the clients for it to be worth investing in a better camera body and adding more lenses to my repertoire but those things aren;t going to make my ability to capture an image that much better. They'll make the quality slightly better, but being a photographer isn't about just your equipment. Its about "Can you take a picture with interesting composition in your own back yard"" because if you can't, then you may want to reconsider it as a profession. Get creative! Don't let a need for equipment trap you in the "I have to buy this to be better" mentality. Do some research and be willing to fail a few times. You might just find a hidden treasure that saves you $400 and gives you the image capturing ability you wanted!

Thanks for being my Tamron 50mm lens test model Christina! More photos of this gorgeous friend of mine to follow on the blog this week!