Orange. I choose orange as the number one colour of summer: orange sundresses and accessories; orange toe nails; orange napkins and candles; orange popsicles; orange sunsets; orange flowers.

            The sight of the first brilliant orange Nasturtium blossom pushing its way through its luxuriant green foliage just last week made me want to celebrate.  My table would soon become a canvas for their cadmium brilliance; in vases, tossed in salads, and garnishing every platter. Lest you think that my passion for the Nasturtium is purely superficial, I love it for its flavour as well. The mustard-like taste of the leaves and blossoms can add an interesting zip to many dishes.

            The Nasturtium is native to South America and Mexico, and although it shares the peppery bite of many of the cabbage family, in particular Water Cress, they are not related. Water Cress, native to Asia, was given the botanical name Nasturtium, by the Romans, stemming from nasus “nose” and the verb torquere “torment.” When the English discovered the New World plant, they thought it was a type of cress, and called it Nasturtium because of the similarity in flavour. They also use the name Indian Cress.

             Virtually all of the plant is useful in the kitchen. Mother Nature must have had the burger bun in mind when she created those perfectly rounded leaves. They can be tossed whole in green salads or chopped for egg and tuna salads. They also serve as an attractive liner for basket presentations of cold appetizers such as devilled eggs or a crudités platter. This is a good use for the larger, older leaves as they tend to become hotter with age.         

            There is no shortage of uses for the brilliant flowers. (Yes, I like the reds and yellows too.) A few flowers artfully strewn over the top of a salad bowl makes it seem quite festive. Because the flowers are fairly hardy, they stand up to dressing better than other edible flowers. They can be used whole to flavour and add colour to a pretty bottle of vinegar or snipped and added to a vinaigrette sauce for grilled fish or vegetables. They can be chopped and mixed into cream cheese for making canapés and stuffing vegetables or left whole and filled with a variety of soft cheeses or other fillings such as guacamole. Floating the lily pad shaped leaves and some flowers in a bowl of punch or freezing whole flowers in individual ice cubes would really suit a garden party.

            The flowers can also be folded into softened butter, hardened, then sliced to make pretty butter coins, kept chilled on a bed of ice à la Marth….Whoops, guess I should stop referring to dear, old Martha Stewart. Yikes! Who will be my next doyen of culinary good things?

            The simplest and my favourite way to use Nasturtiums is to cut the leaves and flowers with long stems, and then tuck them around small bowls on a serving platter or tray. Later, I put them in small vases in my kitchen window. They are just too pretty to eat!

            And if those aren’t enough ways to use Nasturtiums, the seed pods can be pickled to make mock capers.

             When you are working with a limited amount of gardening space such as I have, mainly planters on the patio, the Nasturtium probably makes the most efficient use of that space. It is easy to grow and remains lush all summer, providing you with numerous blooms. I love how the trailing varieties escape their pots and travel across the brick patio, winding their tendrils around chairs and table legs.  They don’t appear to be bothered by pests either, which means no worry about pesticides, a no-no for edible plants. In fact, I would venture to say that they handle neglect quite well!

            The flowers and leaves should be cut off close to the soil to encourage more growth, and it is true that the nasturtium prefers a bit of negligence. You will get more flowers in poor soil and a greater profusion of leaves with richer conditions. I guess it just depends upon what it is you prefer. I personally like mounds of emerald leaves with the jaunty flowers peeking through. You can always keep some “neglected” pots near the kitchen door to use for extra blooms.

            I feel a sudden craving for an orange Popsicle. Do they still make Twin Pops?