April 12, 2011 (Updated November 29, 2022)

Last night, I ate flowers for dinner.

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

35 comments

Yep, you read that right! Last night, I ate flowers along with my dinner.

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Kale flowers, that is! Hehe… I know, I’m hilarious.

Have any of you guys tried kale flowers before? The Nutrition Coalition at my school has been holding farmers markets the past couple Mondays at school and I’ve been delighting in buying fresh greens, kale, bok choy, and swiss chard. Yesterday they were selling greens that came mixed with the pretty kale flowers!

The farmer assured me that they were edible, and sure enough, they are! I didn’t notice them taste like anything, really, beyond just lettuce-y. 🙂

I enjoyed some of the greens topped with a leftover farmers market swiss chard, zucchini, and pesto pasta dish that Matt whipped up last night.

Matt made the pesto himself in the food processor and it came out really well! He sautéed it with the swiss chard and zucchini and then added in the pasta once it was cooked. I loved the pesto with the swiss chard because it got all caught in the leaves so each bite was super flavor packed!

Swiss chard is so pretty 🙂

I love the colorful stems. Are they edible or super bitter like the stems on kale? I told Matt they were probably bitter and to cut them off, but I wasn’t really sure.

The other purchase that I made at the farmers market yesterday was some radishes!

I don’t think I’ve ever bought radishes before, so I figured what the hell! Always good to branch out. I like them on salads, but otherwise I have no idea what to do with them. Anyone have any good radish recipes? 🙂

p.s. Sorry for the small photos… I’ve been having majorly frustrating issues with Windows Live Writer ALL morning. I tried to publish this at 9 a.m. and kept getting “500 internal server error”… hours later finally just made all my photos tiny and posted using the actual Wordpress dashboard. Sigh. Anyone have any thoughts on what’s wrong? I’m hoping it’s magically fixed tomorrow 🙂

- anne

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35 comments
  • Julia
    the stems on swiss chard are delicious. i find the kale ones too tough and bitter like you write, but the swiss chard ones are perfect. I've never eaten them raw though--always sauteed. Maybe eating them raw would taste bad?
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Oh no way, really?? We sauteed them, too! Darn! Next time will eat the stems :)
      Reply
  • Amy
    What Julie said: Chard stems are delicious when sauteed! The vibrant color is so beautiful, too. I just start them a bit earlier, since they need to cook longer than the leaves in order to get tender. One of my favorite meals is swiss chard (or other greens) sauteed with onions and mushrooms, topped with an over-easy or poached egg. In that case, I saute the stems with the onions and mushrooms and then add the leaves last. Super tasty!
    Reply
  • Kelly
    I love the stems of Swiss Chard! I usually separate the stem from the leaf and coat the stems in olive oil and sea salt and put them in the oven on a cookie sheet at 450 for about 10 minutes until they are crispy like french fries...I do this also with green beans and asparagus, which my husband loves! The leaves are great just sauteed, like you've been using them! Radishes became my new favorite food last year from my farmer whom I get my CSA basket from. He taught us last year that we should slice the radishes in "coins" and saute them in butter or olive oil until they are tender and a bit translucent and top with shaved Parmesan cheese. This method of cooking takes out a lot of the heat and bitterness that some radishes contain. On the other hand, if you ever see Watermelon Radishes at the farmer's market, definitely give those a try! They are super sweet and look like a watermelon. Pretty cool! Hope you enjoy!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Awesome tips, thanks! :)
      Reply
  • adriane
    i put the swiss chard stems in before the leafy greens, usually about 5 minutes or so, since they take longer to cook.
    Reply
  • Erin @ The Grass Skirt
    You made a wrinkle in my brain today. This is the first I'm learning about kale flowers! They are kinda cute. :)
    Reply
  • Carrie
    Swiss chard is so, so delicious. I got a metric ton of it in my CSA share last year so I cooked it pretty much every way possible. One of my favorite things to make with it is swiss chard & egg tacos...just add the egg mixture once the chard is cooked, scramble it up quickly, add some grated cheese right at the end, roll it up in a tortilla and eat (with salsa and hot sauce, of course). Unreal! I love the idea of sauteeing it with zucchini and pesto and adding pasta! Yum! I'll have to try that with my metric ton this year. ;)
    Reply
  • Johanna B
    I wondered where your post was this morning. I was jonesin for my daily fix. Hope you get your photo problem taken care of.
    Reply
  • Lana
    What a pretty and colorful dinner! I totally want to try a kale flower! I will keep my eyes out for them now that I know they are a "thing"
    Reply
  • Natasha
    I love Swiss Chard, and we eat the steams-I don't find them bitter! I slice them up with a clove of garlic and saute for a few minutes in some EVOO, add in some thinly sliced red onion, cook for 3-4min then add the leaves(don't need as long). This combo is a great one!
    Reply
  • Abby
    That is so awesome that your campus has farmer's markets! :) I would be all over that!
    Reply
  • Christy
    Hi Anne! I was in Portland, OR two weekends ago and hit up the amazing farmer's market they have at Portland State's campus. While we were there, I stopped at this one food stand called Tastebud and ordered a hummus & radish sandwich. It was amazing! I had it on one of their wood-fire baked sesame bagels but I'm sure you could put it on any type of bread. It was so delicious. They served it open faced and sprinkled some coarse salt on top of the radishes...mmm...going to be a go to lunch for me now! Hope you enjoy!
    Reply
  • Michele
    My DH LOVES radishes so we grow them in our garden. Problem is they get hot fast because of the FL heat. So this year we started them about a month earlier than last year, so hopefully we will have not so hot radishes this year. I am hoping they are ready in the next couple of weeks. (They say only 21 days from seed to eat, but not for us, it is closer to 2 months! lol) No idea on the cooked version or recipes, we just eat them plain with salt on them. lol
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Aw, I wish I had a garden! But then I would also wish for a gardener... I have a total black thumb, haha.
      Reply
  • Renie
    Good job Matt. I love radishes. I have never eaten flowers but I have used them as a garnish. Delish looking salad.
    Reply
  • Emily
    Radish + hummus is my favorite radish recipe :) And I always eat chard stems. I don't find them bitter. Chard and mango make a delicious smoothie!
    Reply
  • VCK
    Spread some butter on a piece of chewy bread. Top with sliced radishes and a sprinkle of salt. Apparently this is a very French dish, and it's awesome.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Ooo yeah very European-sounding! I think I had a sandwich similar to that over in Europe at some point!
      Reply
  • DHP
    Looks very tasty!
    Reply
  • Errign
    I do not have any good radish recipes because they are not my jam in any way shape or form. My dad eats them though- just plain as snacks! I am jealous of your farmer's market & I can't wait until the fresh veg starts popping up in New England!
    Reply
  • Katherine
    I personally think the stems are the best part! They don't get bitter- they actually get a little sweet!
    Reply
  • Heather @ girlyeverafter.com
    We are members of a farmers co-op and they have tons of leafy greens so swiss chard and kale became a staple in our house. It took me a while to get used to cooking with them, but now i'm obsessed!
    Reply
  • Sarah
    Saw this recipe for glazed radishes, I am excited to try! http://orangette.blogspot.com/2011/04/have-your-way.html
    Reply
  • PR_Cal
    If you don't like the bitterness of radishes raw, try roasting them. I did that last week, after drizzling a bit of oil and some sea salt on top...they were delicious!
    Reply
  • Carolyn
    Where is the Farmer's Market on campus on Monday? I'm an undergrad here at UNC, and would love to grab some local veggies!!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Unfortunately it was just for three weeks and the last one was this week! It was in the atrium of the Public Health building.
      Reply
  • Mike
    What a colorful garnish! I have never had Kale Flowers before but next time I head to the farmers market I will look for them. Booked marked this page to try this recipe. ------------- Thanks and Regards Mike
    Reply