You Can Eat Weeds. Well Dandelions Anyway

Dandelion's get a mighty bad rap for being a tiny yellow flower. I mean weed. Though I really want to call them flowers.

Did you know the entire plant with the exception to the stem is edible?

From roots to flower bud you can do so many incredible things with dandlions.

There are a three things to note before diving into this fun collection of articles though.

1.) Dandelions are a major food source for our pollinators and friends the honey bees. Recently and not so recently honey bee populations have been struggling. Mostly due to pesticide's such as neonictonoids that the US has yet to ban but also due to weather and climate changes in some areas. California almond orchards have actually been having to truck in honey bees to their orchards for pollination .

Because of that if you see a scarce amount of dandelions please leave them for the bees!

However if you see a nice big field or you get a few dozen or hundered in your yard feel free to pluck them .

2.) Back to those pesticides for a minute though and also the second part of my note. If you aren't sure if a dandelion or yard has been treated with any sort of pesticide. You are taking a risk to consume it. You can clean them with produce cleaner and by soaking them in cold water and baking soda but you are still at risk for possibly getting sick. So please use caution when foraging. For us we have a housing district that was partially built. They made the lots and driveways and the cul de sac but never actually built anything there. I dpn't know why but they didn't and according to the city they wont. Every lot that was meant to be a house fills with dandelions and nobody sprays them and the area only gets mowed once every other month.

3.) While this article includes recipes for salves ,hand oil and food recipes that may have health benefits, nothing in this article is meant to be medical advice or taken as such. I can't make promises if eating more dandelions will help with your liver, bodily inflammation, stomach bloating or headaches.

There are many that claim they do help those things and if you can eat them safely and in a tasty why what does it hurt if they do help with things such as those.

I'm going to start with my favorite first .

Dandelion Bread

I created this recipe a few years ago when my kids were bored and I wanted to keep them busy. Well why don't we pick every single dandelion out of the yard ? They jumped with happiness. Of course they were 5 and 6 at the time and I normally tell them to leave the flowers for the bees. We also made this on Summers Solstice which was a welcome treat.

What else can you make with make with dandelions? Well there's mead , syrups, oil for cracked and dry hand's , fulls meals and more!

Dandelion Lemon Bar's

For Shortbread Base:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cups unsalted butter very cold, cut into small cubes

For Filling

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 eggs

zest of four lemons

3/4 cup lemon juice about 4 lemons

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh-picked dandelion blossoms petals snipped off to yield about 1 cup petals

powdered sugar for dusting

For the Shortbread Base:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan with butter or cooking spray.

Stir together the flour, sugar and salt. With a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until it mixture resembles a coarse meal. Press into the pan evenly, using the bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes, until just starting to brown at the edges. Let cool at least until you can handle the pan easily with your bare hands, about 15 minutes.

For the Filling:

Stir together the sugar and flour. Then add the eggs, zest and juice and stir until combined. Pour over the crust and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the filling is mostly set. A tiny bit of wobbly in the middle is okay.

Cool in the fridge for a few hours, then top with powdered sugar and dandelion petals. Cut into squares with a bench scraper or sharp knife sprayed with cooking spray.

Tips For Maximum Yummy

You need 2 cups of whole flowers for the topping, that will yield about a cup of petals. For steeping the filling you need another 4 cups of whole flowers, which will yield about 2 cups of petals.

Don’t get too aggressive when zesting your lemons. This recipe uses a lot of zest and if you get the white pith in there, your bars will be bitter and metallic.

These have almost a 1:1 crust to filling ratio. The crust is a cookie/shortbread. It’s sturdy but still soft. Let the crust cool a bit before adding the filling. About 15 -20 mins

Make sure you bake these long enough. They should be set almost completely. If the very middle looks a tiny bit soft and jello like that’s okay.

How many bars this recipe makes depends how big you cut your bars. If you, want a true serving, you can cut these into 48 1.5″ squares. Or you could just cut them into 12 -- 3′ squares.

Chill the bars until completely cold if you want them to cut cleanly. I used a bench scraper sprayed with cooking spray.

Herbal Cough Syrup

To remind you I'm not a dr and I'm not able or giving medical advice. However my grandma used a cough syrup made out of dandelions and it was absolutely amazing. I don't have a personal recipe but I use this one , which has written direction's as well as a helpful video.

Dandelion & Honey Marshmallow's

Ingredient's

1 cup dandelion petal tea, divided

3 tbsp Vital Proteins Gelatin

1 cup honey

1 pinch salt

1 cup powdered sugar (or arrowroot powder)

Instruction's :

Pour 1/2 cup dandelion petal tea (or other herbal tea) into a stand mixer. Sprinkle gelatin over the top and allow it to "bloom" for about 10 minutes.

While the gelatin is blooming, add honey, salt and the remaining 1/2 cup of dandelion petal tea to a saucepan. Cook over high heat for 8-10 minutes, until it reaches 240 degrees or soft ball stage on a candy thermometer.

When the honey syrup is up to temp, turn the stand mixer on low to break up the gelatin.

Slowly pour the hot honey syrup into the stand mixer, keeping it running on low to incorporate the syrup into the gelatin.

Gradually turn up the mixer speed (to avoid splattering) and let the mixer run on high for 6-10 minutes until the marshmallow batter forms stiff peaks and is a pale white color.

Grease a 9x9 baking pan and dust it with either powdered sugar or arrow root powder. Use a greased spatula to spread the marshmallow batter into the pan.

Allow the honey marshmallows to set up for 4-6 hours, or overnight. Flip the container over, slice marshmallows and dust on all sides with more powdered sugar or arrow root powder.

Store in a tightly sealed container for 1-2 days, or place in the freezer for up to 1-2 months.

Dandelion Mead

Head over to the awesome site Grow , Forage, Cook and Ferment and learn how to make dandelion mead !

Dandelion Syrup

Ingredients

250 pesticide free dandelion tops (give or take a few) This is about 8-10 cups of dandelions

1 lemon

4 cups water

2 pounds granulated sugar

Instructions

Put the dandelion tops in 4 cups water, bring the water to a boil then cover and simmer for an hour. Let cool and place in the refrigerator overnight for the dandelions to continue to steep in the water.

The next day strain the tops from the water. Mix the water with 2 lbs of sugar and the freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon. Simmer for about 2 hours, until the water evaporates.

After 2 hours, a froth should form on the surface of the syrup. Take the syrup off of the heat and let cool. It should thicken as it cools. Store in airtight containers for no more than 6 months.

Dandelion & Violet Lemonade

What you will need:

Dandelions and violets to fill about half of a half gallon mason jar

3 lemons

water

Gather the dandelions and violets. Rinse them off and put them in a half gallon mason jar. Cut the lemons and squeeze the juice in the jar, then put the lemon peels in the jar too. Fill the jar with water and screw on a lid.

Set the jar in the sun for a day or two. Strain the flowers with cheesecloth or whatever you have on hand. This will make about 1 1/2 quarts of lemonade.

Put ice in a cup, pour lemonade and add honey or stevia to taste. Sit outside in the shade and enjoy sipping this healthy drink!

Dandelion Oil For Your Hands

Now while again I'm not a dr I have leaned on herbal remedies ALOT as I've grown older and I love this over lotions. It doesn't have a bunch of chemicals and makes your hands so soft the worst of it is when you run out.

What You'll Need

1/2 Cup fresh or dry dandelion blossoms

2 1/4 Cup vegetable oil of organic quality (olive, coconut, almond, primrose, etc)

Instruction's

Fill a jar (500 ml Jar ) full of dandelion blossoms

Fill the jar with a carrier oil of your choice

Cover the jar with canvas or cheese cloth so it can breathe and keep it in a warm place for 2 weeks.

After 2 weeks, thoroughly strain the oil with a soft cloth to get rid of all the petals and get only pure oil with herbaceous substances

Dandelion Pesto

The healing homestead has other amazing recipes but this is one of my favorites ! Its a inexpensive way to enjoy pesto with some natural foods and flavors. Super yummy in buttered pasta !

Dandelion & Honey Homemade Ice Cream

Unfortnatly you do need a ice cream machine / maker for this recipe But if you have one it is literally so good and light for summer days and night.

Literally the only thing that could make this ice cream better is if you added lavendar !

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups half and half

1/2 cup honey

1 cup dandelion petals

1 pinch sea salt

6 egg yolks

Instructions

Add heavy cream, half and half, honey, salt and dandelion petals to a saucepan. Slowly bring to a simmer without scorching and then remove from heat. Allow dandelions to infuse in the cream for at least 30 minutes.

Strain the dandelion blossoms from the cream. Pour the cream into another container and rinse out the saucepan to cool it. This is important because egg yolks will scramble if added to a hot pan.

Add 6 egg yolks to a clean, cooled saucepan. Whisking constantly, slowly add the cream mixture. If the cream is warm enough, the egg mixture will thicken to form a custard.

Once all the cream mixture is added, continue whisking for another few minutes. If the mixture doesn't thicken to coat the back of a spoon, turn the heat on low and whisk until it thickens. If you have an instant-read thermometer, cook until 175 degrees f.

Remove from heat and pour into a bowl to chill. Chill the custard mixture in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before processing in an ice cream maker.

Dandelion Candy

Hop on over to the homestead lady. Learn more about foraging, the benefits of dandelions and snag a recipe to make dandelion candies.

Dandelion Dinner - Dandelions Greens with sauteed mushrooms.

Ingredient's

1 Lb Dandelion Greens, washed

8 Oz Baby Portobello Mushrooms, sliced

1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved

4 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 Tbsp Ginger root, minced

1 Cup Shallots, sliced

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

A Dash or two of Red Pepper Flakes

Salt & Black Pepper to taste

Instruction's

1. Wash dandelion greens & cut off ends. Coarsely cut greens into thirds or fourths (smaller pieces are easier to eat but like spinach they shrink).

2. Bring a medium size pot of salted water to boil. Add dandelion greens and cook for about 3-5 minutes. Immediately after boiling the greens, plunge them into cold water to stop them from cooking. You can also run them under cold water.

3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; add garlic, ginger and shallots. Cook until fragrant and shallots are a bit caramelized. Add mushrooms and cook for until golden. Stir in tomatoes; cook until tomatoes are soft

4. Add dandelion greens; toss veggies until well mixed. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Enjoy !

Dandelion Salve

Heading back to our friends at Grow Forage Cook Ferment to snag their awesomesauce recipe for dandelion salves! Great for minor scraps , scratches , dry hands , elbows, feet and more.

And Last but definitely not least

Dandelion Quiche.

But before that. Explore your options for dandelion recipes if you are interested. There are so many more recipes , herbal remedies and more out there and so many people have the knowledge they willing want to share. Just remember to share with our pollinators.

Now about that Quiche

Single pie crust

Butter

1 green onion, chopped

1 C packed dandelions and additional greens (optional), chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper

8 eggs, beated

3/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese- i used half mozzerella, half cheddar

Instruction's

Make your crust recipe of choice. Roll it out, lay it in a 9″ pie pan, poke a couple holes in it with a fork, and bake it at 425 for about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat butter in a skillet. Add green onion, dandelions, garlic, and salt and pepper. Cook for just a couple minutes, until greens are wilted. Beat eggs, milk, and additional salt together in a large bowl. Stir in cheeses and dandelion mixture.

Pour egg mixture into hot pie crust. Lower the oven temperature to 400 and bake for about 30 minutes, or until set. A sharp knife inserted into the center of the quiche should come out clean.

Top with Salt Pepper , Hot Sauce or More Cheese. Honey and feta is also good !

Thank you so much reading! Hope you found something new to have fun making or something yummy to eat !

I'd love it if you share this article!

If you try something from it come back and tell me how you liked it !