Sunday, April 08, 2007

Mmm....Dandelions?

Did you know that the lowly dandelion is as nutritious as it is relentless. Bursting with more than 74 nutrients, the dandelion is high is vitamin C and is a good source of both calcium and iron. Just one cup of raw greens has five times more vitamin A than the same amount of broccoli. You can eat wild dandelions from your yard (pick at least 75 feet from the road side) but some people prefer the broader-leaved cultivated varieties, such as "Dandelion Ameliore"

Dandelions are perfect for gardeners eager for a quick payoff. Begin picking as soon as they sprout and continue to harvest the leaves only until 6 weeks after sowing to avoid bitterness. Once they have flowered, clip back to the soil surface, then gather the young greens that sprout. You can repeat this process all summer!

Who knew?

5 comments:

rcsnickers said...

I learned the nutritional aspect of those flowers when I was pregnant last time. I was just thinking the other day that I need to get my pregnancy tea, plus buy more, and start drinking my nettle, alfala, dandelion, etc yummy tea!

Such a beautiful picture!!!

Letisha

Linda said...

I've never heard of anyone actually eating the flowers?

My grandma, who lives in Italy has loads of 'em in her garden.. she lets them grow quite big and then collects all the green leaves to make a sort of cooked salad....

The leaves are bitter, but when dressed properly it tastes quite good (also because it's free..*lol*) her recipe:

cook the leaves in salted water, then add lemonjuice, pressed garlic, olive oil and some more salt to taste.... (eaten cold)

greetings from the netherlands!

Audrey said...

Linda thanks for the recipe...I really am going to try this. Your right, dont eat the flowers...just the greens.

I also read that if you eat them while they are still young plants (anytime before 6 weeks) they are not as bitter.

The Netherlands huh, sounds so romantic!

Elise @A Path Made Straight said...

There is dandelion leaf in my Mama's Milk Tea - it helped my milk supply so much, as I nursed Eliana exclusively till she was one year old - no solids! Yes!

Letisha, did I miss something? Are you pregnant??? :D

Anonymous said...

Hahahahaha..... the netherlands..... romantic!???

You mean.... there are americans out there that don't have the words 'red light district''gay marriage, abortion and euthanasia free-for-all' and 'smoking marihuana' as a synonym for the netherlands? ;)

Honestly, if sodom & gomorra were still on earth, they'd be located in the netherlands..

So..... wanna swap? hehe.. I'd love to live in the states, somewhere where there are still like-minded (read: christian!) people.. they're so scarce up here now, churches have been mostly abandoned and traded in for either eastern philosophies or the islam.. :(

Oh that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! Duet 5:29