here kitty, kitty...

Two things: Not my cat, and not a squirrel.
and now this :

I was thinking of sending roses to my mom. Mainly because when I ask she will always say, send roses . So I will, but mom, did ya know you can cook with flowers !
Sue Lawrence from Scotsman.com reminds us that for hundreds of years, petals and whole flowers have been used in the kitchen. The Romans added lavender to honey and used marigolds for their colour and flavour. I've seen recipes contain nasturtiums, borage and lavender. But before you just start cooking away, please, make sure that the flowers are unsprayed, then carefully expel any wildlife by giving them a good shake or a wipe with kitchen paper Probably the most versatile edible flower is the nasturtium. Shred its young leaves into salads or add them to sandwiches with cream cheese. Snip off the whole flowers from the stems and add them to vegetables, fish or pasta. Their pungent, peppery taste is also the perfect match for mild-tasting ingredients such as avocados. Scotherbs (www.scotherbs.co.uk) sells edible flowers as well as fresh pestos and salsas

Here's a great dish ! NASTURTIUM AND AVOCADO TAGLIATELLE . Serves four 350g dried tagliatelle olive oil 2 ripe avocados, peeled and stoned juice of 1 large lime 2 tbsp crème fraîche 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 20 nasturtium flowers Cook the tagliatelle and drain thoroughly. Pour in a good drizzle of olive oil, add some salt and pepper and toss through. While the pasta is cooking, chop the avocados and place in a food processor with the lime juice, crème fraîche and cayenne pepper. Blend well, then season to taste. While the pasta is still piping hot, toss the avocado mixture with the pasta. Add most of the flowers, reserving the best for a garnish, and toss the pasta again, until thoroughly mixed. Serve at once, sprinkling with the remaining nasturtiums. CARROT CAKE WITH THYME FLOWERS This is my adaptation of the famous carrot cake at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel. For the cake 4 large free-range eggs 400g golden caster sugar 175ml sunflower oil 250g self-raising flour, sifted 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp ground cinnamon 450g grated carrots (peeled weight) 90g chopped walnuts For the frosting 200g light cream cheese 50g butter, softened 3 tsp orange flower water 100g golden caster sugar handful of thyme flowers Whip the eggs and sugar until pale and creamy, then slowly add the oil (on low speed if using a mixer). Fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, a pinch of salt and the cinnamon, then fold in the carrot and nuts. Once combined, tip the mixture into a deep 24cm springform cake tin (buttered) and bake in a preheated oven (180¼C/350¼F/gas 4) for an hour and 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cover loosely with foil for the last 20 minutes or so. Place the cake on a wire rack and release the sides of the tin. Leave it to cool completely before placing on a serving plate. Beat the cream cheese and butter together and then beat in the flower water and sugar. Once the mixture is smooth, spread it over the cake and decorate with thyme flowers.