Dandelion Picking

I started writing a blog post about two different things, two different times and have left them sitting in draft. Not sure if I should post what I've written so letting them sit there till I decide. Then, I decided I would write and post about something else....Dandelions.  lol
Brings back memories I thought I'd share.

                                                  

My husband and I were talking about the infamous Dandelions weeds/flowers (whatever you want to call them) over the weekend as we took a walk and noticed how many of them are popping up all over the place.  Not to mention that they have colored my backyard.  Since they also pop up between cracks in the sidewalk or wall crevices, I also have them in places they don't need to be.  So, hubby googled about dandelions and also checked out some weed tools to remove them.  lol  I don't think he was that familiar with them. No Dandelions in Miami? Oh yeah...i'm sure they're there somewhere. These things like to multiply like crazy.

Anyways....talking about dandelions brought me to fond memories of when I was younger and my grandma Mary was alive.  She loved to pick and cook dandelions. Yup...I said cook. I ate the leaves of this pesky plant and they tasted pretty good too from what I remember. lol Cooked up almost like any other kind of greens.
If you buy them in the store....yes you can buy them too...(just noticed that at No Frills Grocery store over the weekend) they look like the photo, minus the flower. Or, you can just pick them from your own backyard....as long as you don't have a dog that you let out occasionally to do his business. lol I'd leave those alone!
When my grandma was alive, I have memories of us stopping on the side of the highway to pick dandelions. We sure did. I can laugh about it now but it wasn't funny at the time. The one's on the side of the highway would obviously be cleaner and safer than the one's in the city that could be blessed by local dogs everywhere and city polution in general. lol  So I get it.
When I was around 13, I also remember my auntie taking me to a local field nearby to pick dandelions too.  Like mother, like daughter.  Now THAT was embarrassing! We were at a field that wasn't too far from home. I'm not sure if I'd quite say that it was safe from pet spray. lol But, we were there with our garbage bags picking away.  Unfortunately for me, a few kids from school ran into us and wondered what we were doing. Lord knows I couldn't tell them that I was picking dinner. OMG!  Are you serious?  I was already an outcast at school because the boys liked me and the girls didn't like that. I couldn't tell anyone what we were really doing. I don't even really remember what I said to the kids, but I know I played it off real well. I think I saw them coming and hopped up to dance around in the flowers or something..lol  I just remember the embarrassment. lol  I love my auntie and I'm so grateful that she took me in and raised me as I grew into my teenage years. Picking dandelions....one of the many memories I have from living with her.  Have to laugh.

Here's how you do it properly:

How to pick dandelions:

• Choose young dandelions in a yard, field or wooded spot away from areas where they might be contaminated by vehicle emissions, herbicides, fungicides or insecticides.
• Pick them in the spring when they're young and at their least bitter and tough.
• With a knife, cut the entire plant from the ground up, leaving the root. Discard flowers except for the closed ones: the rest aren't edible.
• Pick enough to fill a large bag or basket, taking into consideration they will wilt considerably in the cooking process.
• Younger ones can be used it salads, while slightly older ones may be boiled to reduce bitterness.

Now, like I said...these plants can be tasty and are definitely good for you. You wouldn't imagine unless you looked it up. So I did to prove my point (See references below):  When eaten, dandelions can be surprisingly good for you. Half a cup of leaves has more calcium than a glass of milk. They're also an excellent source of iron, vitamin A, potassium and vitamin C.

Even though a diuretic, vitamin loss is not an issue because the count is so high (14,000 IUs of vitamin A per 100 grams).

In fact, when counting overall nutritional value, the U.S. Agriculture Department puts dandelion ahead of broccoli and spinach.

How to cook them:

• First, double-wash the dandelions in a sink of cold water. (They tend to be sandy.)
• Cover them with water in a pot, and bring to a boil.
• Much like spinach, they are ready once wilted and the water turns colour.
• If using older plants, rinse and boil them again to take away excess bitterness.
• Drain cooked dandelions and transfer to a pan with one to two tablespoons of olive oil and a clove of chopped garlic.
• If desired, season with salt and red pepper flakes.
• Then, lightly sauté on low heat for about 15 minutes.

So yeah....the next time you weed your backyard of pesky dandelions...think of what I've just shared in case you didn't know...you can eat that!! lol  Here is a recipe too: (I haven't tried it but I'm sure somebody has)

Recipe for pickled dandelion flower buds

Ingredients

• Young dandelion flower buds, tightly closed (not yet opened for the season)
• Garlic, chopped
• Onion, chopped
• Ginger, chopped
• 1 part tamari or soy sauce
• 3 parts apple cider vinegar

Directions

Fill a pickling jar for two to three centimetres with chopped garlic, onions and ginger.

Then add dandelion buds until about a third full.

Repeat process until jar is filled to top.

Cover with one part tamari (or soy sauce) to three parts apple cider vinegar. Seal with a plastic lid or if using metal, put waxed paper between the lid and dandelions so it doesn't rust shut.

Let sit for three weeks on counter. Then use as a condiment like any pickle. There's no need to refrigerate jars, even after opening.

(Source: Good Natured Earthling)

The dandelion!  Oh yeah...I remember when I was younger too we used to hold the dandelion flower under our chins looking for some sort of glow from the yellow that would mean something. Don't remember what it was supposed to mean if you saw the glow. lol According to the internet it could be any number of things: financial success, being in love, liking butter.  Who knows what it meant to us when we were like 12. lol  Kids do the darndest things.  I also remember picking dandelion flowers and while holding my thumb under the flower part I would chant "mama had a baby and her head popped off" while simultaneously popping the flowers head from the stem. lol  Thinking about it now, I have no clue why we did that either. lol It's amazing how such simple and crazy things brought us joy at a young age. Times are soo different now. Today it's all about tv and video games. When I was growing up, we had to be outside playing..no sitting around in the house unless you were doing homework. So, I was outside playing with dandelions, skipping rope, playing jumpsy (string of elastic bands woven together to jump over), handball and I even played jacks!  Remember those?

Anyways...I just wanted to take a short trip down memory lane about my childhood of which my sister thinks was terrible in comparison to another sister solely because she was raised by two adopted parents. lol That's another story. To set the story straight...I had a great childhood. Circumstances that made my childhood different weren't so great but I was loved by many and given then best they could give. It takes a village to raise a child and in my opinion, I was raised by a village. Like I said...another story.  But picking dandelions is one of my fondest memories because it's something that I did with my grandma when she was alive.  I didn't like or appreciate my grandma till after she passed...but I can look back now and only hope she now knows how much I did love her and cherish the time I spent with her. And, if Furman gets around to picking those dandelions, I just might add them with my dinner and thank my grandma and my auntie for what they shared when I was oh so young.


REFERENCES:
An awesome reference about Dandelions is University of Maryland Medical Center-Dandelion
Dandelion References:  CBC News-Dandelions: Time to Throw In The Towel