Carrots and a radish rose; lemon hibiscus apples that I canned on Saturday, with oranges; organic granola bar and almonds; cheddar and whole grain crackers on spinach salad; and cherry-flavored dried cranberries in the center.
I canned a lot of apples this weekend. My generous neighbor Becky always gives us the apples from her unsprayed tree in October, but this year they were all black at the center (codling moth?), so we only got a couple of jars of pie filling out of them. I finally broke down and used store-bought apples, because we love opening jars of spiced apples and applesauce all year long. I made spiced apples for pie filling, and tried something new with dried hibiscus blossoms. Hibiscus blossoms are high in vitamin C and anti-oxidants, and they have a lot of heart-healthy compounds. They give the apples a fresh, citrusy taste that is complemented by fresh lemons. I infused green tea in the syrup, but the flavor didn't come through. The blossoms turn the apples a beautiful natural rosy color. I sweetened the apples lightly with agave.
R really likes these, and the jars look so pretty lined up on a shelf with the sun shining through. The dried blossoms make a nice tea too, either added to black or green tea, or by themselves with honey and lemon.
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