Dandelions for breakfast!

You read that right!  We had Dandelions for Breakfast!  Really, it was more like brunch... as we had to wait for the dandelions to open their faces to the sun before picking them!

Note:  Dandelions are a natural diuretic, and encourage the body

to release excess water. EXCESSIVE consumption of dandelions

may have a laxative effect! Everything in moderation please!

Did you know that the entire dandelion plant is edible? Not only that, it's actually rather tasty. Dandelions are best eaten in the spring, when plants are tender. The leaves are excellent added to a salad of fresh greens, the roots can be made into tea and of course, the flowers are edible too!

I have to thank my junior high science teacher for introducing me to fried dandelions. He spent the whole day one spring taking each of his classes out to pick dandelion flower heads and batter dipping them, frying and eating! This is how I first learned of the diuretic effect of dandelions, as my poor teacher forgot and ate dandelions every class period and ended up spending a lot of time in the bathroom that evening! This is why we made a small batch ourselves today!

How to make Fried Dandelions:
Make up a batch of your favorite batter.  We used Pakura batter, as it is usually made with lentil or chick pea flour, making it safe for Kevin's allergies.

I halved the batter recipe since I wasn't planning to cook up much, and we still had a lot of batter left over. The nice thing about pakura batter is that you can pretty much batter up anything and fry it. That's what they do in India! So don't throw away leftover batter, just fry up your fresh veggies too.

Set up your oil to heat while you go pick the flowers.

Picking the flowers was Kevin's job. Because that's ALL he's done since the dandelions showed up, is bring me fistfuls of dandelion bouquets every day! Several times a day!  :)

Kevin then suggested we put chives in the batter. What an excellent idea! Our chives grow like crazy, so we have a ton!

Having a very special helper on hand to do the important jobs is very important!

Pluck the stems from the dandelion flowers, then dip them in the batter. Pakura batter is thicker than most batters so I had to kind of work the batter into the flower to get it to stay on the flower. That's okay though, as I love the smell of the pakura spices on my fingers! Put the dipped flowers into the pan to fry!

Fry till brown on all sides. Remove from pan to drain on a plate with a towel.

Garnish with a fresh Dandelion and serve! It was not enough for Kevin that we were eating flowers... we had to have a picnic on our porch too!

Our neighbors (some of whom have PRISTINE lawns) may not like the fact I let our yard have "weeds". But I don't think of them as weeds. I think of everything in my yard as having a purpose... it's either edible or compost-able or just pretty to me even if it is a "weed" to someone else.

But if you don't want dandelions in your yard, this is one good way to be green and get rid of them! Just pull them up out of your yard and USE the whole plant, flower to root! DON'T SPRAY!

Are you interested in other uses for dandelion (I fondly remember dandelion wine when my mom took me to the Amana Colonies). Check out Herbal Roots 'zine, an e-zine devoted to teaching (kids and adults) the medicinal (and more) uses of common plants. The 'zine is great! it's got activites, puzzles and recipes and much more!  Here is a link to buy the back issue devoted to Dandelions.

PS: Kevin did like the fried dandelions however the pakura spices were a little overwhelming for him, so next time I use the batter I need to add more flour or less spices! :)

Happy flower eating!