Food: A Study in Still Lifes 7

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Maybe it’s because of these cold winter days that I was attracted to these brightly colored spring flower cupcakes. The sun rising later and descending earlier can make one feel a little blue at times. I do find I love to take walks in the crisp, cool air, though. It’s so invigorating. Although I was immediately drawn to these delightful miniature cakes of joy, my excitement was followed by a moment of sorrow…I mourned that I would never be able to replicate them, as my icing piping skills are nil. Little did I realize the ‘icing’ was actually marshmallows. Just fabulous for folks like myself! Then, I thought that even though these were a tribute to spring, you could easily use blue, silver, gold, red, or green for this Holiday season. I think they would also make lovely birthday cupcakes. Cheers to the Holidays and the coming spring ahead!

The Many Uses of Food Powders

Adding to my other posts about preserving our foods, I thought the many uses of dehydrated and powered foods might be interesting. As you can see from my pics, I dehydrated red beets, sweet potatoes, and chard, then ground them into powders. I dehydrated golden beets around the same time, but after tasting one…well, they got eaten! Many people are allergic to artificial dyes and colors, so this is a great way to get the food coloring you want and save some cash. I’ve pictured veggies, but fruits (like cherries, black and blue berries, etc.) or herbs are also wonderful.

Colored pasta is the first thing that comes to mind for me (it’s ALWAYS pasta for me!), but there are a plethora of other uses. You can use your powders to enhance color and flavors for broths (you can thicken them a bit with sweet potato, as well), cream, sauces, bread doughs, cakes, truffles, and frosting. You can make powdered drink mixes, use them for garnishes, and they are great for craft projects. Mix them with a little water and use them as an alternative to water colors for little ones. Naturally-dyed Easter egg shells are fun, or you can make marbled eggs like Chinese tea eggs (see my pic. *As a side: In case you’re interested, I made those from an adaptation of this recipe: Chinese Tea Eggs.*). Teas and coffee are fab in that they are already dried. They can be used for food dyes, but also try them for natural and inexpensive wood stains (fruits and veggies, too).

I used a blender for my veggies this time, but you can also use a spice mill. I store my powders in recycled containers with a desiccant to keep out the moisture. There are probably a ton of other options, but those are just a few I’ve thought of for now. I will post more ideas as they come to me.