Dandelions...Eww or Yum?

I grew up on a 5 acre farm in Colorado.  

yes. that's me.

We had horses, and dogs, one cow and plenty of feral cats.  

i once saw a bird attacking a cat. but that's another story.

The house was always dusty and the summers were filled with cottonwood tree fluff, giant spiders in the eaves, field irrigation, moths, mice and the sound of bug zappers.

do people still use these?

cotton. glorious cotton.

p.s. if spiders give you the heebie jeebies, DO NOT i repeat DO NOT
do a google image search for "spiders in webs".

Summers were also filled with another lurking menace....

Dandelions

(dramatic music, dum dum dum)

Those oft misunderstood, oft hated 'weeds' of our modern suburban world.

Each spring these tenacious plants would poke up through every crack, shooting yellow flowers in every direction. 


Soon, their frothy heads scattered feral children 
to the wind.  

Dandelions were everywhere. 

Happily sunning themselves in the hot Colorado sun. 




However,
this debauchery wouldn't last long...

                                              inevitably my parents would pull out the herbicide.

, 

 They would spray and spray until the dead, shriveled dandelions were a testament to our efforts 
in taming the wild.


  I grew up thinking dandelions were the worst kind of weed. 

Fast forward..... 


In my early 20's I was in a women’s group, full of bright, well read and well educated women.   

One of them was a pharmacist named Stacy.  

Tired of the world of pharmaceuticals Stacy had turned to herbal study. She was probably the first herbalist
 I had ever met. 

She would say: 

"We should all eat something wild every single day".

Stacy would follow up that statement with tales 
of city foraging.

Guess what she wanted to eat? 


                                                   DANDELIONS

(What?! Dandelions?  The worst of the worst weed. The spindly brown, must be eradicated weed? The dangerous, may-take-over-and-eat-you-weed? NO. Hell no. Not me. No way.) 

Stacy also wanted to eat all sorts of other weeds growing around the city.  Weeds in vacant lots, weeds growing in alleyways, weeds sprouting up between the cracks in the sidewalks. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to eat these plants.

Funny, how time, perspective and exposure 
can change things!

Well, it wasn’t long after, that I began to get curious about natural medicine and in 1999 started my own herbal study.  

                                              I fell in love with plants.
                                              I fell in love with:
                                                         using plants  as medicine, 
                                                                            as food, 
                                                                            as a natural way to heal the body.  
                                             I fell in love with:
                                                               being outside with the plants, 
                                                               connecting to their vitality and resilience
                                                               their wisdom, 
                               and yes,
                                           
                                             I fell in love with dandelions.

Dandelions, also known as "dent de lion", "nail in the earth", "swine snout", "puffball", "irish daisy" and more officially as Taraxacum officinale are (yes) an edible food, 
leaf, flower and root.  

Here are some Dandelion facts:

• The leaves are bitter in flavor, although quite mild in the Spring.  
• Dandelions are chock full of vitamins and minerals.  
• It is one of the best sources of natural potassium. 
• The leaf contains more units of vitamin A per ounce than lettuce or carrots. 
• The leaf is also a source of vitamins B, C and D. 
• The plant is used as a bitter digestive and liver tonic.
• Dandelion is used as a medicine and as a food.

SO, what are dandies good for?

I'm glad you asked!

Dandelion has been used to treat:

 skin problems, arthritis, gout, fluid retention, constipation, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, anorexia, hepatitis, IBS, PMS, morning sickness, rhuematism, and as an effective diuretic.

Best of all Dandelions are FREE.  

FYI. you can buy them in a natural foods store for $3.50 a bundle, if worse comes to worst

Go outside almost anywhere
                 in spring, summer or fall and you will find them.

Although, I noticed when I lived in a more suburban place they were harder to find sans herbicide.

Make sure you know what they look like..for example, 

THIS

IS a dandelion.

THIS:

Is NOT 

IS:

IS NOT: (it's prickly lettuce often confused with dandelion)

That's the thing about eating wild foods..you HAVE TO..know what you are getting. Most people are very familiar with dandelions and can recognize them easily.  Not all plants are edible and some are quite toxic.  So be safe...okay?

Speaking of safety: 

Its very important that the plants you gather have not been sprayed for at least two years and do not 
gather them from roadsides.  

Here is a photo of a dandelion patch right outside my door 

I'm so lucky.

This is a vinegar(with dandelion, motherwort, yellow dock and cronewort) I'm making:on the left

plus a dandelion aperitif (apple cider vinegar, dandelion flower and leaf, brandy and lemon)on the right

I have also been really into making wild greens pesto. 


All you have to do is to follow a regular pesto recipe and use dandelion greens along with the basil or other herbs (mmmm..arugula).

How else can i use dandelions?

Eat them in salads, make a dandelion fritata, or fritter,
with the leaves and flowers, 

collect the whole plant and make an herbal vinegar, 

drink a fresh plant tea, make a tincture..... 

YUM!


What's YOUR dandelion story?

MORE...

Dandelion recipes:

Dandelion Blossom Fritters
Dandelion Recipes from Mariquita Farm
More Dandelion recipes from epicurious
Dandelions:Can't Beat them? Eat them.





ps. this blog is for informational and fun purposes only. its intention is not to treat or diagnose any disease. please consult an experienced natural healthcare practioner for recommendations.