Dandelion Delight

It's dandelion time! I know, it's strange, but I love dandelions. My children bring them to me as gifts, and that's adorable. Also, they're pretty.

Also, it turns out, they're good medicine. They've been valued for ages.

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 Imagine you are moving to a new world, leaving behind everything you know and love, for life in an unknown country. If possible, you'd probably want to bring along favorite foods and most-used medicines. ... It's ironic to me that dandelions were once so cherished that people intentionally intentionally brought them across the ocean so they would not be separated from them. But then fast forward a few hundred years later and many people in North America poison dandelion with chemicals to discourage its abundance... -Rosalee de la Foret

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Imagine you are moving to a new world, leaving behind everything you know and love for life in an unknown country. If possible, you’d probably want to bring along favorite foods and most-used medicines. What would those be for you? Tomatoes? Pumpkins? Antibiotics? Dandelions?

Text from Dandelions and Delicious Dandelion Fritters - LearningHerbs
Read More at http://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/dandelion-fritters/
Copyright © 2015 LearningHerbs.

So, it's dandelion time, and I'm playing. Tigress and I went out and we picked all the blossoms in the front yard. These, I popped into the dehydrator for a few minutes on the lowest setting (you don't want to overdo it, or they'll turn white), and they are in oil on the back porch, steeping. In about a month the oil will be ready to turn into lotions and soaps.

We added some of the greens to our sandwhiches today, too. Having heard a lot about how bitter dandelions are, I was a little nervous about this, but they were mixed with some romaine, and I couldn't taste them at all. The kids ate them up. And they asked to make something out of the flowers. So we'll be trying some Dandelion Fritters, probably tonight.

I also tried making some tea from the dandelion leaves. That was not as good as some other flavors I've tried, but it wasn't too bad, not nearly as bitter as I thought. Maybe this bitterness is less than I'd been lead to believe. 

If I can find enough blossoms, then there are some other things I want to mess around with. One of the ladies in an online group said that she dries the leaves, crumbles them, and then uses them like parsley. Several mentioned that they add them to soups and smoothies. There is also Dande Flower Syrup, I've had my eye on this Dandelion Bread for a while, now, waiting for the flowers to start blooming. And, if I really hit the jackpot for blossoms, then there's this Dandelion Jelly that is supposed to taste like honey. That would be fun to make, just to see if it really does. Over at Eat The Weeds, they've got a whole collection of recipes. Their Pumpkin Dandelion Soup sounds interesting. I have no idea if I'd actually like it, but it could be fun to make. And there's Dandelion Lemonaide from Herb Mentor.

I never knew there was so many interesting things to do with a few Dandelions!