2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative Recipe 2: Daylily Fritters

Fried Blossoms
Fried Blossoms
Edible Blossoms
Edible Blossoms

And we’re back with a second helping of the 2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative.  In case you missed the first installment, the Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative is all about using what comes out of our gardens to make delicious dinners for less than $11.50. 

I shouldn’t say my garden since it resembles a nice pile of dirt right now, but that’s where the always awesome Shawna Coronado comes in.  She has been gardening up a storm and has given me a nice bunch of daylilies to cook up (along with some delicious herbs).  So now my goal is to give you a great daylily meal that will feed a family of four and all I have is what comes from Shawna’s garden, cooking oil, salt, pepper, flour and $11.50.

No sweat because I’m turning her daylilies into

Daylily Fritters

Daylily fritters were actually Shawna’s idea.  Apparently her grandmother used to make these little delicacies for her when she was a child so I really hope that I can do them justice.  The fritters themselves should be fairly substantial with their breading, but to make this a meal, I’m going to use some of Shawna’s delicious lettuce to make a nice salad and pair it with rice to round out the meal.

Frying Daylily Fritters

I’m going to use my favorite tempura batter for these lovely little daylily blossoms.  Just make sure the batter is as fairly wet so that it coats the daylily.  

You will need:

  • 5-6 daylilies per person
  • 2 cups of All-Purpose flour
  • 2 cups of milk ($1.00)
  • 1 egg (25 cents)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder (10 cents)
  •  Oil for frying
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (25 cents)
  • (optional) 4-5 leaves fresh basil from the garden if you have it sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • Lettuce or seasonal greens
  • 1 tomato, diced ($1.00)
  • 4 carrots, sliced ($1.00)
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained ($1.00)
  • 2 cups rice ($1.00)
  • 1 orange, juice and zest (50 cents)

Total: $6.10

Preheat the oven to 250.

To make this dinner, start with the rice.  Make 2 cups of rice according to the package directions.  When the rice is done and still hot, mix in the orange juice and zest.

To make the fritters, take the daylilies out of the refrigerator to bring them to room temperature.  Mix the flour, milk, egg, salt, and baking powder together well with a fork to remove any lumps.  Dip the daylilies in the batter and let them rest.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or over medium-high heat.  Fry the daylilies in batches of 5 or 6 until they are golden brown then place on paper towels to drain.  Sprinkle with salt when they are out of the fryer.  Keep them warm until serving by putting them in the oven.

Make the dressing by combining the rice wine vinegar, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of pepper and optional basil in a bowl.  Then slowly whisk in the olive oil.  Taste to make sure it is well-seasoned.  If not, add more salt.  Finally, toss the dressing with the lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and chickpeas in the salad dressing.

Then all you need is a couple of forks and you can enjoy!

Get healthy today and follow the “2009 Nude & Eco-Cheap Cooking Initiative” with Blog Well Done’s Chris Perrin and the Casual Gardener, Shawna Coronado.

Thanks to Shawna and biskuit for the magnificent pics!

3 Comments

  1. This is most definitely one of the best posts I have come across on this topic. Have you looked into the other side of the subject of gardening? Personally, I think a good argument could be made either way, but let me know if you have found more sources on the Web that back up what you are saying.

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