People who know me know that I don't like to cook. If you told me I could afford to eat good food and never cook another meal again, I'd throw a party. And dance on the table tops. And do whatever else I could think of to express my joy.

But since that doesn't seem to be happening (sigh), I do cook, although with very little flair. After making a delicious meal of four cheese bowtie pasta (from a prepared mix), with frozen vegetables (I did thaw them) and fake crab meat thrown in, I turned on the computer to find a web release about cooking.

Cooking with flowers.

What?

I know Mother's Day is coming up and we're all supposed to be planning to send flowers, but I had no idea that they could be used as part of a meal. Apparently for hundreds of years, cooks all over the world have been using flowers in the kitchen as more than just decoration. According to the web release, "The Romans added lavender to honey and used marigolds for their color and flavor. Recipes from all over Britain dating from the 17th and 18th centuries contain nasturtiums, borage, and lavender." Edible flowers went out of favor for a while but are now becoming "in style" once again.

Of course, anyone who just heads out to their flowerbeds to grab salad fixings might have a serious problem. If you are like me and you know less about flowers than you do about cooking, do some research and find out what kinds of flowers are edible before you get yourself killed sampling some poisonous petals.

Once you know what flowers are safe for you to eat, collect ones that are unsprayed and free of wildlife. Flowers might be good for cooking, but I'm not getting involved with cooking bugs. Sorry.

If you are using delicate flowers, add those to salads just before serving, especially if you are using an oil-based vinaigrette dressing. Sturdy flowers, like lavender, can be used when roasting meat and then discarded before serving. Rose petals can be used when decorating desserts or in jams. Borage, marigold petals, nasturtium, and others can also be used in various dishes.

In case I've aroused your appetite, check out Scotherbs (www.scotherbs.co.uk), which sells edible flowers. And don't take my word for what you can and can't eat. Remember, I made my dinner with frozen veggies, crab with a K, and pasta mix from a bag.