Dandelions

[Oatmealer]

Dandelion leaves make a great additive to a salad, or a garnish, or all on their own.

Some grocers even sell them, but why buy them when they are everywhere! You can also dry and grind up the root to make a yummy coffee-type substitute!

Avoid dandelions from treated lawns though ;)

[hminus]

cool. I will have to try the coffee trick.

[Jamman]

cant you eat the whole dandelion plant? stem, flower and all i thought. and lemon grass is tasty too.

[cj_002]

I have so many popping up in the yard now...after a few of them here and there in meals, think I would quickly get tired of them...but while in survival mode, food is food.

I will have to try the coffee trick as well...sounds promising.

[Oscar Wilde]

cant you eat the whole dandelion plant? stem, flower and all i thought.

I can't find the source but I've read that the stem is not to be eaten .... the rest is a go particularly the root.

O.W.

[troubled troubadour]

Makes good wine too.

[wyatt265]

Hey, back in a small town in Illinois where I grew up in the 50's My Grandma and I used to walk the yards an alleys for the fresh greens from the dandy.....lion... Also the flowers without the green part can be used to make a really light flavorful wine. takes a lot tho. the flowers I mean. Of course, you don't want dandy lions that have been sprayed with weed killer or other noxious things. The greens as I recall with a bit of vinigar were similar to spinich. Pretty tasty, the stems.............. just don't know. don't think so tho,

[Oatmealer]

cant you eat the whole dandelion plant? stem, flower and all i thought. and lemon grass is tasty too.

You shouldn't eat anything buy the roots and leaves. The "milk" the plant produces is extremely bitter

[Skyowl's Wife]

This is pretty good dandelion info:

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Dandelion.html

[PT945]

cant you eat the whole dandelion plant? stem, flower and all i thought. and lemon grass is tasty too.

Indian lemon grass is also a bug repellent because it contains citronella.

[Skyowl's Wife]

I had never heard of lemon grass until daughter found Lemongrass Chicken at a local Viet Namese eatery.

Will look into it. If it will grow here, I can add it to the chives and marigolds dotted around the garden boxes to repel bugs.

[Professor Weno]

I cooked up some dandelions yesterday. 1) I think I got older leaves - all I could find 2) I think that I should have boiled them 3) I sauted them with onions, butter and garlic but they still had a bitter, overpowering taste. What is the best way to prepare them?

[badkarma]

I cooked up some dandelions yesterday. 1) I think I got older leaves - all I could find 2) I think that I should have boiled them 3) I sauted them with onions, butter and garlic but they still had a bitter, overpowering taste. What is the best way to prepare them?

New leaves are best. I'd recommend eating them uncooked, I don't know how heat makes them react. That might make them bitter in the same way that cooking some greens makes them NOT bitter.

[Stitch]

The leaves are best before they flower. It helps with the older leaves if you change the water after bringing it to a boil, this will help get rid of some of the bitternes. The juiced roots are a good liver/blood cleanser, but the taste is horrible.

[maric]

This is pretty good dandelion info:

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Pla...Dandelion.html

Good stuff, Wife! My almost 3 yr old eats everything, literally... she loves dandelions, I got a lot of info from the article!!! thanks