Dande Lyin'

Current Crop

Are YOU a weed eater? Everything comes a little late in Alaska, and Dandelions are no exception. On my run this morning, I saw brilliant yellow streaked along the roads and in fields. A very welcome contrast to the inhospitable mountains and usually cold, cloudy sky. On a clear day they GLOW! Yellow is one of my favorite colors; and although most people hate the pesky non-native invaders, I think they are beautiful! Free floral landscaping!

Maybe you've heard stories from the Depression Era of Dandelion green salads as a supplemental source of veg. Maybe, you think it's WAY freaky to eat lawn veggies. Maybe it's those pesticide commercials that give 'em a bad name? Maaaybe, you should just try it!

If you've had Arugula or your basic Mustard Green lettuce, you've tasted a bitter/spicy green. Dandelion greens are very similar to Arugula and are best picked young, before the flower stalk has grown. The greens will be much more mild and tender at this stage. If there are stalks, you can also pick the smaller leaves before the bud has bloomed. The larger ones are edible, but not too palatable and certainly not the best way to introduce your taste buds to this wild forage.

Pick the young leaves (Left) not the old leaves (Right)

Pick off the blossom right HERE

Keep the green on to keep the blossom together..

There are so many things you can do with this wild burst of sunshine. The plant is entirely edible, blossoms included. You can dry the leaves or root and make tea. (Roasted Dande root tea is kind of like coffee.. to me). It will be bitter (but not as bitter as say, Golden Seal and is tasty enough with honey). It's a kind of digestive tonic (like ginger root tea). If you are interested in foraging more, check this fun slide show out.  All kinds of landscaping, edible beauties like nasturtiums. I'm hoping to harvest some rose hips soon. I'll post something yummy with those.

Don't you want to be a little bee?

Onto Dandelion Salad!
You can add anything you want to these greens. Try to balance the bitter with something sweet. I went for sweet root veggies, beets and carrots and sweet baby spinach. You could try butter crunch lettuce, a ripe tomato, pear and onion.. and maybe sprinkle in some raisins. Experiment!


Dande Lyin'
1 C Dandelion greens (chopped in half or whole)
1 C Baby spinach
1 Beet shaved thin
1/2 Carrot shaved thin
Handful of Dandelion Blossoms

Mmmm edible sunshine!

Ready to Eat!

Miso Honey Mustard Dressing:
1 Tbs Miso (I use brown rice miso-anything will work)
1 Tbs  Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2-1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp Mustard Powder or 1/4-1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (any kind really)
Any basic vinaigrette would work with this. I just wanted something tangy and sweet.


I'm pretty sure you can take it from here! Place salad in bowl. Stir dressing well, drizzle over salad.. enjoy!

 

Miso Soup, It's Marvelous Dahling

MMmmm Miso

A lot of the time I don't feel like cooking and end up eating salad, steamed veggies, or soup. It's easy without compromising health and my produce doesn't go bad! My hubs on the other hand has a thing going on with frozen 'all natural' ravioli. He makes it a lot! I'm not into that, even though the ingredients look 'okay.' I'm lucky if my produce comes from as close as California, but that is still fresher than packaged 'all natural' ravioli.

One thing I love to make is miso soup. It's really easy and versatile. While traditional Japanese Miso calls for Dashi, I've never been able to find it, so I just use miso and water for the broth.
Miso Soup
1/2 cup cubed/dry fried tofu (you can use firm/silken etc. or omit)
1 big scallion sliced thin
3-4 cloves garlic crushed
1-2 inch piece ginger grated (yum!)
1-2 big leaves bok choy chopped coarse
1 big carrot grated
1 cup shiitake mushrooms (mine molded so I used cremini-but I normally use shiitake) sliced thin
Couple dashes sesame oil
1/4-1/2 cup miso (I use brown rice miso)
1-3 cups water
sprinkle of Kelp flakes
bean sprouts

So, I eyeball all of the ingredients and add water when I need it (when I go crazy on the veggies!). This is a pretty good guess. You can use any veggies you want. If you have access to dried seaweed, that would be awesome! I never do though. I have tried to chiffonade nori, ended up in bits.. but that works ok. Not the same as wakame! (yum!) I have kelp flakes on hand as an everyday salt substitute and you can just sprinkle it on the top when you are done.

Miso is a super feel good food (google miso gravy for another yummy recipe) that has many health benefits.. but I'll let you google it your self. One important tip when making miso, never boil the water, and only add miso prior to serving, not before simmering your veggies.

Dash some sesame oil in a pan, lightly (on med-low heat) stir saute the scallions, garlic, ginger, carrot and bok choy (adding bok choy just before you turn the burner off).

Transfer to a soup pot, add the rest of the ingredients (except miso/kelp/sesame). This is where you may need to adjust the water. Simmer for a few minutes (or until the veggies are how you like them-I like them crisp not smushy). Remove from heat. In a separate small bowl, stir miso with enough water to dissolve it. Now stir it into your soup. Dash sesame/kelp/sprouts over individual serving. Enjoy! A light, easy, pretty quick and healthy dinner/lunch etc. Miso is a bit salty by the way, so don't add salt to your broth!