Health knowledge made personal
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She once wrote a meme on her blog about the “5 Things To Eat Before You Die” and the last item on that list was her “87th birthday cake”. Today would have been her birthday, and even though she isn’t here to celebrate it, I’m happy to celebrate her spirit and courage by dedicating this post to Barbara. May you continue to be happy but at peace and free of pain and suffering wherever you are. Jeanne and Meeta are dedicating this month’s edition of the Monthly Mingle to Barbara’s memory with the theme “A Taste of Yellow” and I hope I’ll be seeing you all there. 
I’ve been seeing pumpkin flowers at my market for the past few years but never thought of cooking with them. Never having seen anyone I know cook with them, I didn’t know what to do with them. This year I took the plunge, and bought a couple of bunches of pumpkin flowers. 
I understand that pumpkin flowers are very much part of the food culture in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal . There they make fritters (both stuffed and plain) with pumpkin flowers which they call Kumro Phool Boda/Bhaja (Bengal) or Kakharu Fulla Bhaja (Orissa). Think of an Indian style pumpkin blossom tempura and you have an idea about what I’m saying. 
I decided to make some fritters, the plain kind, and this recipe is all my own and so is not authentic or representative of the fritters made in the mentioned states. In India, a favourite batter for making fritters is one made with chickpea flour and rice flour so that’s what I’m using here. You could add a 1/2 tsp of baking powder to the mix if desired. If you would like to fill them you could use a spiced mashed potato and pea mixture or spiced paneer. Indian Style Pumpkin Blossom Fritters Ingredients: 12 – 15 pumpkin blossoms Method: Trim the stalk and the sepals off the bottom of the flowers. Gently open each one and remove the yellow coloured stamen carefully. Carefully wash the flowers and lightly pat them dry.
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didn’t know her very well. My friendship with her was limited to interactions by e-mail and on Facebook and Twitter. I read her blog posts (Winos And Foodies) occasionally and first met her (virtually) when I won a bid on a book on photography that she had sponsored for a fundraiser . That led to our discussions on and off about our mutual interest in photography.