I love dandelions. I never understood the people who spend their springs complaining about them, poisoning them, and freaking out when children blow their seeds. They bring me joy. Their bright yellow flowers signify that spring is in full bloom. Their seeds are things that wishes are made on.

 

Did you know that dandelions are also fully edible? You probably knew that the leaves were edible and perhaps have even had dandelion leaves mixed in with other greens in a “spring mix” salad. But have you ever gone out to your lawn, dug out the dandelions and ate them? No? Me neither. But I’m thinking about it. So I’ve started researching what can be done with dandelions.

 

Dandelions are full of vitamins and minerals. They contain iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and zinc, and beta-carotene as well as vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-6, B-12, C, D, E, and P. I didn’t even know there was a vitamin P, but there is. Vitamin P is often called bioflavanoids.

 

Here’s some things I’ve come up with that won’t make me look like the crazy woman on the block eating flowers.

 

Cream of Dandelion Soup – Here’s a recipe from Care2 that mixes dandelion greens, leeks and carrots along with other traditional cream soup ingredients. It’s finished off in the blender, so no one can see the dandelions in it (unless you garnish with dandelion flowers like suggested. I think MNN’s Chef A should make a video of this for us someday.

 

Care2 also has an article on how to harvest dandelions and prepare them properly.

 

Dandelion Pesto – Okay, here’s one that I could give a go. If I was willing to substitute asparagus for avocados in guacamole, I can certainly do this. This recipe from Yankee combines dandelion leaves with some traditional basil and other pesto ingredients.

 

Dandelion Fritters – I’ve got a video for this one from Howcast.com.