Oh, what to do about the evil lurker known, properly known as Taraxacum Officinale? Never mind that dandelion greens are an amazing source of Vitamin A and beta-carotene, and are also rich in Vitamins B, C, D, calcium, iron and other minerals. Ignore that dandelion roots are used in natural medicine as an appetite stimulant, digestive aid, and diuretic. They are horrible nasty little bits of nature that find their way into every nook and cranny of our lawns and gardens. Have you seen the bright yellow flowers they produce in spring? Disgusting!
I treat these noxious little buggers exactly the way they deserve to be treated. Here's my simple process for dandelion weed management the organic way:
Step 1: Assemble your tools - basket, gloves, and scissors/pruners.
Step 2: Step outside, saying loudly to yourself and any neighbors who may be listening, "I AM GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE NOW!"
Step 3: Pull the dandelion up at the base, getting as much of the root as you can. You won't get it all and it hardly matters. Cut off the root and flower stem for the compost pile. Put the flower tops and leaves in the basket.
Congratulations! You've organically removed dandelions from your lawn, and they are halfway read to be put in a pot. "Not fair!" you say. "They will grow back from the root that's left in the ground!" you say. True indeed, but you missed my point. I promised you information on the easiest way to remove "dandelion weeds" from your garden organically. And the easiest way to do that is to rename them "dandelion greens" and call them dinner. Done and done. However, if that does not satisfy you, I suggest you check out this article by radio garden host guru Mike McGrath consisting of actual lawn management tips for dandelion control.
As for those of you who are still reading, I leave you with Tom's basic dandelion (or any other kind of) greens recipe. Last week he made a homemade ricotta gnocchi in a sauce of dandelion greens, shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan cheese - but didn't write down the recipe. When I can get him to recreate it, I'll do another post. In the meantime, here's another great website. Wildman Steve Brill tours, lectures and writes all about foraging for wild foods. Here are a few more of his dandelion recipes. The very first leaves of spring dandelions can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed, but they get progressively more bitter as they get older. The recipe below includes boiling the greens first, which helps soften the stronger late season flavors. Although I haven't tried them yet, googling the phrase "dandelion fritters" will lead you many recipes for battered and deep fried dandelion flowers. Enjoy!
Dandelion Greens Sauteed in Olive Oil and Garlic
2 C. packed dandelion greens, washed and chopped
1/4 C. olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced or minced
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Thoroughly wash and pack dandelion greens. Add to boiling water and simmer for about five minutes until the leaves turn bright green. Immediately move greens to an ice water bath to retain the color and continue rinsing. (The boiling and rinsing helps remove the compounds that cause excessive bitterness, especially in dandelion greens that have already produced a flower). Let rest, and add olive oil to a saute pan turned on medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and saute for a few minutes to release flavor but before garlic browns. Squeeze water out of the dandelion greens and add to saute pan to continue cooking until completely wilted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I treat these noxious little buggers exactly the way they deserve to be treated. Here's my simple process for dandelion weed management the organic way:
Step 1: Assemble your tools - basket, gloves, and scissors/pruners.
Step 2: Step outside, saying loudly to yourself and any neighbors who may be listening, "I AM GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE NOW!"
Step 3: Pull the dandelion up at the base, getting as much of the root as you can. You won't get it all and it hardly matters. Cut off the root and flower stem for the compost pile. Put the flower tops and leaves in the basket.
Congratulations! You've organically removed dandelions from your lawn, and they are halfway read to be put in a pot. "Not fair!" you say. "They will grow back from the root that's left in the ground!" you say. True indeed, but you missed my point. I promised you information on the easiest way to remove "dandelion weeds" from your garden organically. And the easiest way to do that is to rename them "dandelion greens" and call them dinner. Done and done. However, if that does not satisfy you, I suggest you check out this article by radio garden host guru Mike McGrath consisting of actual lawn management tips for dandelion control.
As for those of you who are still reading, I leave you with Tom's basic dandelion (or any other kind of) greens recipe. Last week he made a homemade ricotta gnocchi in a sauce of dandelion greens, shiitake mushrooms and Parmesan cheese - but didn't write down the recipe. When I can get him to recreate it, I'll do another post. In the meantime, here's another great website. Wildman Steve Brill tours, lectures and writes all about foraging for wild foods. Here are a few more of his dandelion recipes. The very first leaves of spring dandelions can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed, but they get progressively more bitter as they get older. The recipe below includes boiling the greens first, which helps soften the stronger late season flavors. Although I haven't tried them yet, googling the phrase "dandelion fritters" will lead you many recipes for battered and deep fried dandelion flowers. Enjoy!
Dandelion Greens Sauteed in Olive Oil and Garlic
2 C. packed dandelion greens, washed and chopped
1/4 C. olive oil
1 garlic clove, sliced or minced
salt, pepper, red pepper to taste
Bring a large pot of water to boil and add salt. Thoroughly wash and pack dandelion greens. Add to boiling water and simmer for about five minutes until the leaves turn bright green. Immediately move greens to an ice water bath to retain the color and continue rinsing. (The boiling and rinsing helps remove the compounds that cause excessive bitterness, especially in dandelion greens that have already produced a flower). Let rest, and add olive oil to a saute pan turned on medium heat. Add garlic and red pepper and saute for a few minutes to release flavor but before garlic browns. Squeeze water out of the dandelion greens and add to saute pan to continue cooking until completely wilted, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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4 comments:
haha! I love this article. Love the attitude! Most people forget that dandelions are great-tasting and they even have many medicinal benefits. For most gardeners, they are just weeds to get rid of. Looking at them from a different perspective will indeed change the way you get rid of them. One of the best organic weed-control I've read in a while. Thanks for posting it.
thanks nova! i appreciate the comment and hope to add more recipes including "weeds" as the year goes on.
you never cease to crack me up. now, i have a serious question about dandelions, which are all over our yard, living the high life. when you say "greens," do you mean just the leaves? you said get rid of the stems, which i am happy to do, but that leaves (haha) only the leaves and the flowers. i cannot imagine eating those nasty yellow flowers. i should point out that i vividly recall sucking the milk out of the stems as a kid- not because it tasted good, for it surely did not, but because it was cool and Seemed like it should taste good. anyway, so, real question: are only the leaves considered the greens? what about the flowers- edible? if so, what would you do with them? not like i will ever do this, but i still want to know.
Yes indeed jenny - the greens are just the leaves, no stems. The flowers themselves are edible too, but I don't have an official recipe for them. I've heard of taking the flowers and dipping them in batter and deep frying them the same way you would do with stuffed zucchini flowers. I tried to do that last year but when I washed them they got all wilty and it didn't seem like the batter would work. I'm going to try again though this year since I have a whole bunch living the high life just like yours!
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