A More Inclusive Mothers Day: Bouquet Brunch with Wild Asparagus and Stuffed Tulips
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Mother’s Day is a loaded holiday for many, which is why I’d like to expand the definition of what a “mother” is. Of course you are a mother if you gave birth to a child, but so many people have lost their mothers (or their relationships to them) and this celebratory day is a reminder of their grief. Others grew up without a mother at all, or one that was distant or abusive. Many people long to become mothers, but aren’t able to conceive for health reasons or infertility. Others may want to adopt, but don’t fit the strict requirements of their state (or can’t afford it.) A trans man may give birth to a baby too, but the moniker of “father” is usually more appropriate. The concept of “mother” is complicated. Becoming one is complicated too.
That’s why, today, I want to celebrate motherhood in a more inclusive and perhaps even metaphorical way. What ideas have you given birth to? Who in your life represents a nurturing mother figure, whether you’re related to them or not? Do you perhaps play that role for someone else? Are you mother to a pet? A club? A group of friends? Do you mother yourself when you are ill or hurting?
On this day, I love to get out into nature and feel the connection with Mother Earth, that mother of all, fruitful with life. When I sit under a tree in a forest clearing and allow my body to relax and “tune in” to the environment, I am met with a feeling of pure unconditional love. Sometimes reassuring phrases pop into my head, like “you will always be loved here” or “no matter how long you stay away, you will always be welcomed home.” Perhaps these are messages from my own subconscious, recognizing how much I need that comfort. Maybe it’s the trees or the plants or the rocks or the earth itself. Maybe it is something completely beyond my understanding. It’s not important to get caught up in the “who.” What is important is to allow myself to open up, to feel that connection, to be bathed in the purest kind of love I can imagine. After sinking into that earth state, I love to go foraging, mindfully walking through the woods and taking a bit here, a nibble there, always being careful about what and how much I harvest. I remember that nature is a gift, and to take more than my share is disrespectful in addition to being unsustainable. If I’m digging roots, I always identify the “mother plant” of the cluster and leave her be; she holds the strength to produce the children that can be occasionally harvested with care. With that hazy peace of unconditional love blanketing me, I can lose myself in searching for the tell-tale ferny tops of wild asparagus, or finding feral fennel on riverbanks. In the city, I can walk past beautiful gardens full of beautiful flowers, many of them edible.
This dish is for the mothers, the nurturers, the caretakers. It’s for the bodies that birth life, and for the brains and hearts that birth ideas. It’s for the fathers who take on this role, by necessity or by choice. It’s for the elders who pass on their knowledge and their love. It’s for the single parents working hard to find their balance. This dish is for anyone who has had to be a mother to themselves first. It’s for the teachers, the leaders, the example setters. This is for anyone who has held life in their belly only to have it taken away too soon (your grief is valid.) If you feel like giving, make this beautiful dish for someone in your life that embodies “motherhood” in some way to you. If you need to receive, make this for yourself. You deserve your own love too. This is a large recipe, big enough to serve 6-8, but you can certainly scale it down to fit your needs.
Eating Tulips
Tulip flowers are one of the unsung delicious edibles of spring! They range in flavor from crunchy iceberg lettuce to something a bit sweeter, to even slightly spicy! I recommend only eating the petals and removing the stamens and pistils and leaving the stems on the plate, since there is some controversy about the edibility of other parts of the tulip. As always, it’s best to try just a little bit of anything new first to see how your body reacts to it before you eat too much, just in case you have a reaction of some kind. Just like any other food, in rare cases some people are allergic to tulips. Much better to be safe than sorry!
Though they seem like wonderfully elegant additions to the plate, tulips have been used as important sources of food during famines throughout history. According to Eat The Weeds:
“Fortunately tulip petals are more edible. The petals can be eaten raw or cooked but loose much of their color when cooked. They can have many flavors: Bland, beans, peas, and cucumbers. Pink, peach and white blossoms are the sweetest, red and yellow the most flavorful. While you can use them to garnish salads their more common use is to hold appetizers or dip. If you use the entire blossom cut off the pistil and stamens from the center of the blossom. The ends of the petals can also be bitter so cut them off as well when used individually.”
As with any edible flowers or produce, make sure you source your tulips from an area where they haven’t been sprayed. Most flowers sold for decoration have been heavily sprayed with herbicides or pesticides throughout their life. It’s much safer to seek out an organic grower, or even grow them yourself if possible!
Breakfast Bouquet with Wild Asparagus and Seafood Salad
This recipe is good for 6-8 servings of 3 stuffed tulips each. It makes a stunning main dish for a brunch! Everything is edible, from the tulip blossoms to the edible fabric, which has a pleasing sweet/sour flavor that accents the flavors in the seafood salad perfectly. Crisp tulip petals are sweet (and sometimes a little spicy) and are wonderful for scooping up bites of the salad, which is full of fun textures and complimentary flavors. You can make the edible fabric a few days ahead of time, then focus on the asparagus, wild fennel seafood salad, and plating the day of serving.
Edible Fabric:
Ingredients:
Rice or potato starch wafer paper
1 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. water
¼ tsp. Salt
Large flat brush (clean)
Fluffy makeup brush (clean)
Non-stick silicone mat
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1 tsp. Edible mica powder or finely powdered beets
Directions:
Whisk together the lemon juice, water, and salt in a heat-proof bowl until the salt has dissolved. Add the gelatin and stir just to combine, then let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
Once the gelatin has bloomed, heat the mixture in the microwave in 10 second increments, gently stirring in-between, until it is completely liquid. Skim off any white foam.
Stir in the glycerine and stir to combine. Reheat a little if needed - the mixture should be hot but not bubbling at all.
Lay a sheet of wafer paper out on a non-stick silicone mat, then quickly brush it with the hot mixture in a thin, even layer, keeping your strokes in one direction.
Very gently, flip the paper over and coat the other side, brushing the strokes in the other direction. Work from one end to the other to prevent air pockets. Let sit for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix the edible luster dust of choice with the cornstarch. After the 15 minutes has passed, use the fluffy makeup brush to dust the surface of the wafer paper liberally with the mixture. Very gently flip it over and dust the other side. You now have edible fabric! It can be cut, draped, and even gently tied into a bow!
One sheet is about the perfect amount for a ribbon and bow for each dish, so repeat the process with more sheets (reheating the mixture as needed) to make plenty of edible fabric for serving this showstopping dish!
To store, layer the sheets of edible paper with pieces of waxed paper, then gently roll up and seal in a zip-top plastic bag. Keep refrigerated. Can be made ahead several days.
Wild Fennel and Seafood Salad
1 fennel bulb (about 2 c., chopped)
2 ripe avocados
2 oranges
¾ lb cooked seafood of choice
1 Tbs. Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Juice of ½ large or 1 small lemon
2 tsp. Freshly grated lemon zest
¼ - ½ tsp. Dried chile flakes, to taste
½ c. mayonnaise
½ c. lightly packed mixed fresh herbs, finely chopped (tarragon, parsley, dill)
¼ c. capers, rinsed and drained
Directions:
Slice the fennel bulbs as thinly as possible, then soak them in ice water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Cut out the orange segments, then cut them into thirds to make small pieces. Chop the avocado into small cubes.
Drain the fennel slices and dry well, then toss them with the avocado pieces, orange pieces, and fresh seafood.
Whisk together the rest of the ingredients and toss together. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Chill until serving.
Plating:
Fresh spring asparagus (about 50 spears)
Olive oil
Half a lemon
Salt and pepper
18-24 tulips (unsprayed and clean)
6-8 sheets edible fabric (above)
1 recipe Fennel Seafood Salad (above)
Directions:
Trim the asparagus and toss with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some salt and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and cook at 375F for 10 minutes, then let cool completely.
Pinch the stamen and pistils out of each tulip, then place 3 on each plate. Divide the chilled asparagus between all of the plates, arranging it like a bouquet with the tulips. Gently stuff the tulips with the salad mixture.
Cut the edible fabric into 1 ½” strips, lengthwise. Use about half of one strip to place around the middle of the bouquet, tucking the ends underneath the tulip stems and asparagus spears.
Form a circle with another strip, using a tiny dab of water to overlap the ends to close them up. Another strip will serve as the ribbon ties; cut the ends at an angle to resemble cut ribbon.
Place the ribbon ties strip across the plate, over the piece holding the bouquet together. Set the loop on top, seam side-down. Use the remaining half strip to wrap around all of the edible fabric pieces to form the center of the bow. Tuck the ends under the piece wrapped around the bouquet to anchor it.
Repeat with the rest of the plates, and serve cold!
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