still diggin' on violets

I've been going out to the yard and picking up all sorts of "weeds" to make lunch or dinner with lately. At first, I was just out of lettuce, but now I turn to the yard first and fridge second. Dandelion, chickweed, purple deadnettle--and my favorite--violet leaves.

I finally got around to making that violet syrup, too. I picked as many violet blossoms as I thought made sense in the yard, which didn't seem to add up to much in the mason jar. I wonder why they seem to only grow in our yard, but neither of our neighbors'? I poured boiling water over the blossoms and let them sit in the closed jar for two days, even though only 24 hours were suggested (I had to go out of town). Afterwards, I strained the liquid through a cheesecloth, combined it with what I deemed to be an equal part of local honey from the food co-op, and simmered it for over a half hour. It smelled fantastic, and made about 12 oz.