RSS
Why It's Good:
It's the first organic bottled salad dressing flavored with real flowers.
Why It's Green:
It's made with organic olive oil and vinegars, with farm-grown organic blossoms and herbs. No chemicals on the plants, which means no chemicals going in you or into the ground and water.
Where To Get It:
The retail price for an 8-ounce bottle is around $4.49. Get it at Whole Foods markets in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest; assorted health-food stores in the East; and online starting from July 26 at www.lavenderhillherbs.com.
A Summer Salad Like No Other
Although you see edible flowers on the menus of more and more stylish restaurants today, they aren't just a newfangled foodie idea. The first recorded mention of their consumption dates back to 150 B.C., and ancient Middle Eastern, Greek, Roman, and Asian cultures were all known to partake.
Now flash forward to the present, and the lush fields of Marjorie Lamb. Since 1989, she's been growing organic herbs and flowers on Lavender Hill Farm in Delaware's Brandywine Valley, selling her cuttings to customers, stores, and chefs. A couple of years ago, she had a culinary epiphany: Fresh herbs are used to season salad dressings, so why not fresh flowers? The results of her experiments are subtle, spot-on blends: There's a fruity, heady White Balsamic & Rose Petal Vinaigrette; a peppery Orange Nasturtium Vinaigrette; a tangy Pomegranate Hibiscus Vinaigrette; and a perfume-y, lemony Lavender French Vinaigrette. We can imagine tossing them on salads on a dreary, chilly day to re-live the aromas and essences of a summer garden in full bloom—but once you taste them, you won't want to wait.—Daryl Chen
