Flowers in Winter - A Picture that Grows on You!

There are no flowers growing in the garden in the dead of winter so I had to force it by making them myself for an outdoor party. Finally we have one week of sun in January. We are going out to enjoy the outdoors and pick the flowers and eat them too. Flowers that don't wilt for days or before they do, can stir-fry them in a wok for a quick meal. They are after all carrot, daikon, beet, and radish flowers. The phoenix that is of red and orange carrots will add color to the stew. Here are some of the vegetables I carved for this crowded picture.

The carrot is a year round vegetable and the fresh ones are best for carving. I use a homemade knife that I am really comfortable with. Just long enough to manipulate it and do strokes like a pen.

I love to work with green daikon for its lovely color.  These look more like succulents than flowers, I think.

The watermelon radish is only available from October until early January and is the most colorful of all. They can have different shades of red like ruby or magenta. The golden beets have also very nice yellow hue and the daikon is of course completely white. The red beets are the last ones to carve because they stain a lot. I soak them in water and blot them dry before putting them with the rest.

Behold!