Yes, I know that the Vernal Equinox is still ten days away but darn it, there were dandelions in the front yard!
One of my favorite springtime harvesting activities is the gathering of those delightful, nutritious, golden bursts of sunshine; the dandelion! Bane of the mainstream suburbanite lawn, but the beautiful bounty of the homesteader.
I let Rhiannon venture outside on Friday afternoon so we went dandelion picking:
The pickings were very slim, so we just made a few fritters to go with afternoon tea:
Once, I made individual flower fritters. They were pretty and fancy looking on a plate. But it took more time that I'd normally allow for such a frivolous side dish so now I just dump a bunch of flowers in the fritter batter & spoon them out into the hot oil. Kind'a like a Dandelion Funnel Cake, but not as sweet.
Easy-Peasy Fritter Batter: 1 egg, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, pinch salt, 2 Tbsp. sugar.
I have to admit, I did not follow the above recipe, mostly because I didn't need a ton of batter, so as usual it was just "some of this and more of that" and I dumped the flowers in. Feel free to add a bit more sugar than suggested (and maybe even a sprinkling of powdered sugar on top) if you want a sweet fritter recipe in order to encourage otherwise "frightened" persons to try eating what they normally consider a lawn weed.
So if Tiny Gardener can manage to stop rolling in her seed packets and potting soil for just a bit, you can post your recipe over there for her Saturday Oven Lovin.
yes, although they say anything battered and fried is suppose to taste good, I am still frightened!
ReplyDeleteWow, you guys have LOTS more dandelions than we do so far! Fritters and afternoon tea, how lovely! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is a great idea! Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
ReplyDelete-Jaime
What's the dandelion flavor like?
ReplyDeleteOoo, that looks so good!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've always read that most plants know when to start they're spring growth according to the length of the day. Honestly, I don't think that's correct. Temperature is what's making the difference here. We're a month ahead of where we were a year ago, spring growth-wise.
I think using your dandelions in this fashion is a great idea. As for mine, well we kinda sprayed them with weed kill spray. Don't think we will be eatting them anytime soon, lol. Have a good one!
ReplyDelete