| Author | Content |
LouC
Desoto, TX
(Zone 8a)
October 13, 2007
11:14 AM Post #4078486
| Very good article, Dea. Never eaten dandelions but when we were newly married our next door neighbor used to bring us "poke salit". I don't know what the poke looks like...just know it is supposed to be poisonous if not cooked. And it grows wild. She prepared it like spinach salad with bacon, bacon fat, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper...it was so good. Going to see if I can round up some dandelion and try your two recipes.
LouC |
carrielamont
Milton, MA
(Zone 6a)
October 13, 2007
12:29 PM Post #4078697
| Sounds delicious. Reminds me of Ewall Gibbons' Stalking the Wild Asparagus and that kids' book, My Side of the Mountain, where a boy runs away and lives off the land. I would love to try them but my family won't even eat home-grown tomatoes! I have to begin NOW training my DH to eat squash this winter.
xx, Carrie |
jadajoy
Newport News, VA
(Zone 7b)
October 13, 2007
04:18 PM Post #4079271
| Great article on an old southern favorite. Didnt know they were so nutritious. The recipes look good enough to eat off the screen! Good job. |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
October 13, 2007
04:54 PM Post #4079365
| Glad you enjoyed the article and hope you'll try some dandelion greens some time :)
|
Islandshari
Kwajalein
Marshall Islands
(Zone 11)
October 13, 2007
05:58 PM Post #4079509
| Like many others, I had always heard of dandelion greens, but had no idea what to do with them. Thank you for the interesting and informative article! |
starlight1153
Seale, AL
(Zone 8b)
October 13, 2007
06:32 PM Post #4079576
| Boy this article brings back memories. We used to go out as kids and eat them off the yard. Like you said , way before peopel knew what chems on the yards were.
Beautiful and appetizing pics and thanks so much for the butrition ratings. Sure didn't know they were that good for ya. Gonan give yoru receipe a try it sounds and looks so appetizing.
When I was younger and Indiania, I remember folks gathering dandelions all the time to make dandelion wine. beat they didn't realize the extra vitiamin kick them dandelions was givign them.
Got anymore recipes of ways to serve them? |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
October 13, 2007
10:35 PM Post #4080294
| I had no idea they were so nutritious! That, and your recipes made me careful not to step on the many young plants coming up in front of the house...gotta go snatch them tomorrow for my salad. Thanks! |
Cambium
Tamarac, FL
(Zone 10a)
October 19, 2007
12:43 PM Post #4101081
| Bon apetit! Dandelion greens & Poke were 2 major greens we'd eat in the spring as children. As an adult I read several Euell Gibbons & Jethro Kloss books and found out the flower itself could be eaten. After proper preparations, I served many platters of those luscious flowers to my family. The flavor reminded us of batter-dipped deep fried mushrooms which are a delicacy! |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
October 19, 2007
12:53 PM Post #4101116
| Neat info Cambium - thanks !!
Dea
|
MarshaMLF
Chapel Hill, NC
(Zone 7a)
June 23, 2009
08:43 AM Post #6726805
| My parents, grandparents, and so on would be delighted to
see your article ... dandelion and poke greens were a "must-eat"
growing up. Somehow, they must have known the nutritional
value. I just might have to get some seeds and start my own
patch ... my grandma would be so proud :) |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 23, 2009
09:05 AM Post #6726881
| That's great Marsha, and I'll be she would :)
|
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
09:37 AM Post #6726998
| I will have to think hard to get myself to grow and eat dandelions. I gather the ones from my lawn aren't the right type? I do like some bitter greens like turnip greens, but even mustard can be a bit much for me. But the nutritional value of these greens really tempts me. You have inspired me to try them. My DH will eat anything in the greens department without question. I will buy some at the grocery store before growing them. |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 23, 2009
12:20 PM Post #6727596
| Hooray !!
|
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
June 23, 2009
12:23 PM Post #6727607
| I feed our parrots dandelion greens every day, so I thought I would grow some. I have yet to get any seeds to germinate and grow. I just bought them from Johnny's Seeds, so I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong - too much water? Any tips on growing them? |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
June 23, 2009
12:46 PM Post #6727695
| I used to gather dandelion greens to add to salad. From a European taste perspective, they are not much more "bitter" than endive or escarole, bot of which are essential to a good mixed salad. Of course, as Dea points out, there are "garden" varieties of dandelion over here. I've never planted them because, frankly, I have not only come to appreciate escaroles and endives as far finer plants, but also because I have enough dandelions in my yard and do not want to add to the population! |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 23, 2009
01:06 PM Post #6727792
| lol - that's a great view Potagere :)
KaperC - that stumps me as ours have always germinated rapidly. I barely cover them soil and spritz them or use a hose mister depending on container or out in the raised beds.
I'll do some checking though :)
|
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
June 23, 2009
01:51 PM Post #6727994
| Our local Meijer store sells the greens. They're really long, as opposed to the shorter leaves that grow wild on our property. Is it the growing conditions? We do have a lot of rock and clay. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
02:03 PM Post #6728028
| You know, I love escarole and frizee endive. Maybe I would like dandelions as picked from my lawn! Lord knows I have enough of them. I am already picking the purslane that grows in my yard as a weed. Delicious in salads. Maybe I need to pick the dandelions as well. That will definitely make my husband think I am trying to kill him. It took him a long time to get him to trust that I knew what I was doing when I picked mushrooms. But he loves them now. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
June 23, 2009
05:18 PM Post #6728618
| Pajar: What is frizee endive, anyway?
Dea: Great info. in your article; maybe we will try Dandelions sometime. My family just had 'regular' salads when I was growing up, although my Mom used to like mustard greens--- too bitter for me! =/ I'm gonna save your recipe here, & try it sometime with Our family. Thanks for sharing with us. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
05:27 PM Post #6728660
| Petal,
I guess I spelled frisee wrong. Here is a nice description. It grows best in early spring and late fall -- a cool weather crop, but very tasty:
http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/products/vegetables/frise... |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
June 23, 2009
05:29 PM Post #6728672
| That's "frizzy" or "curly" endive to you, Petal. Not a real common grocery green in the US, although very popular in Europe, especially in Italy. Pretty bitter by US standards, but once you acquire the taste, no green salad is "green" enough without it! |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
05:36 PM Post #6728703
| Lots of endive in the US is too prickly and bitter for my taste, but frisee is wonderful. I have even grown it in my garden.
You have to watch out for some members of the chicory family, though. Some can be pretty bitter -- expecially in Italy. but I love frisee. In France they make an unlikely sounding salad of frisee and other greens, duck gizzards and lardoons ( sort of like bacon bits only larger). Sounds weird, but if you ever get a chance to try it, don't turn it down. |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 23, 2009
05:39 PM Post #6728714
| Don't even get me started on how these taste under a seared duck breast...oh my :)
|
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
05:40 PM Post #6728719
| hummm--- another interesting idea. |
MarshaMLF
Chapel Hill, NC
(Zone 7a)
June 23, 2009
06:33 PM Post #6728913
| My parents gathered dandelion greens out of the fields at my
grandmother's farm. I think they did it early, when they first
appeared ... before they sent up a bloom. It was an early
spring ritual :)
We had our first house built, and when we moved in, it
was barren as far as plant life. I was so excited to see a
polk plant ... I let it get huge, cut all the leaves off - which filled
a basket - let's just say I was a little disappointed when it all
cooked down to about a half cup LOL. |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
June 23, 2009
08:35 PM Post #6729393
| Potagere: I do recognize Curly endive; I've eaten some in mixed salads, but have never grown it; I like the peppery flavor if it isn't too bitter.
Pajar: Thanks for the link; I looked it up--- great info. on frisee---wow, I learned a new word today! The duck gizzards thingy,...well...I think I'll pass if you're talking about a Real, quack-quack duck; don't eat duck, or any kind of gizzards =/ unless you're talking about another type of Green?!? Also never heard of 'lardoons'...but I know bacon bits, though! LOL
Dea: So you like seared duck, ...with or without lardoons?! Ha!
Marsha: Just how Huge was your Polk plant?!
Gee, I learned alot today! Happy Gardening--- |
KaperC
No. San Diego Co., CA
(Zone 10b)
June 23, 2009
08:38 PM Post #6729401
| Here's some info about Frisée http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/products/vegetables/frise...
I like it mixed in with other greens that aren't so bitter. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 23, 2009
09:13 PM Post #6729542
| Okay. I was mowing the lawn ( tiny) today and I noted that as usual it was full of dandelions. I said to myself, "Why don't you taste the dandelions and see how they taste before you mow them. " I had to say this to myself until I had mowed about 3/4 of the lawn. Then I tried it. I picked a couple of large leaves. I hadn't mown the lawn for a while. I was totally impressed. They weren't the least bit bitter. They had a nice "green" flavor, but I was sure I could include them in a salad that I would enjoy and that DH wouldn't notice anything different in. And I will do that tomorrow night. Thanks for getting me to try something new. I am amazed how delicious the simple dandelion can be. Why buy them at the store when they grow in the lawn? |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 24, 2009
04:13 AM Post #6730885
| That's wonderful !
|
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
June 24, 2009
06:27 AM Post #6731006
| So, you want to share the "seared duck breast" recipe?
My current paquet (and I use a lot of them) calls them "lardons". I was beginning to get them confused on this thread with "cardoons"! |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 24, 2009
08:37 AM Post #6731252
| Sure! I make a brine of 2 cups water warm enough to melt salt and sugar, 1 handful of raw sugar (or brown sugar if you like), a big handful of kosher salt, some smashed garlic cloves and 5 or so whole peppercorns. Mix well and let get to room temp.
Toss in your duck breasts and make sure they stay submerged - I use a brick in plastic wrap. Put in the frig for at least 3 hours but no more than 6.
I use a cast iron skillet - never tried anything else for this and not sure it would work otherwise. Get the skillet very hot on your stove. Pat the duck breasts very dry and take a super sharp knife and score the fat. Don't pierce through to the meat; just score the skin deeply. It looks very pretty if you do a cross-hatch pattern :)
Put your duck breast side down and cook for approx 6-8 minutes. You can peek after 4 minutes or so to make sure the skin isn't becoming black. Once it's very dark golden color, flip and cook for another 4 minutes. Be careful as the duck fat sizzles! We like ours medium rare.
Remove the duck to rest while you finish; there's no hurry whatsoever...take your skillet off the stove; it will stay very hot. Make sure you leave at least 1 Tablespoon of the duck fat in the skillet.
Take your dandelion greens or any tough greens and wash and roughly tear up. Chop a shallot. Throw the greens and shallot into the pan with 1-2 Tablespoons of good quality sherry vinegar. This will all cook in like 30 seconds and requires no seasoning as the duck fat from the brined breasts will have more than enough salt.
Plate your greens and slice the breasts on the bias / diagonal and lay across greens.
Savor each bite :)
|
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
June 24, 2009
09:01 AM Post #6731320
| Pajar--- did you ever mow the other 1/4 lawn, or did you pick it all?! Wait till you announce after dinner that you all just ate 'lawn' in your salad! Guess I should go out & check to see what kind of weeds are growing in our yard...
Dea, see what you started?! =)
Kaper, I think that link you sent is the same one Pajar sent; guess alot of
people use it---Thanks.
Potagere, what is 'paquet'? Can't find it in the dictionary, so it must be a Frenchy-word.? Is it a plant book or a cookbook? |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 24, 2009
10:56 AM Post #6731722
| Oh, Dea, that duck breast recipe sounds fabulous. DH would love it.
Petal, I did mow the rest of the lawn but I have plenty of dandelions in flower beds and in our vacant lot out back ( true confessions). I haven't served them yet because I had some bean sprouts I needed to use up first so I made bean sprout salad last night. But the dandelions are coming soon to a salad near me. I did tell DH that I discovered dandelions were delicious and healthy. He rolled his eyes, but I won't let him know until afterwards what all was in his mixed green salad. He won't mind afterwards.
Potagere --I guess I misspelled lardons. Sorry. But spelling was never my best subject. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 24, 2009
11:12 AM Post #6731807
| Checked out spelling of lardon and lardoon. Both are acceptible. Lardon is the preferred, though. From an online dictionary:
lar⋅don
/ˈlɑrdn/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [lahr-dn] Show IPA
Use lardoons in a Sentence
–noun
a strip of fat used in larding, esp. as drawn through the substance of meat, chicken, etc., with a kind of needle or pin.
Also, lar⋅doon /lɑrˈdun/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [lahr-doon] Show IPA . |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
June 24, 2009
12:03 PM Post #6732046
| Thanks for the recipe, Dea! Can never have enough of them. And we both love duck, which is so easy to get here.
Sorry Petal, I do find myself losing English and using French or something else when the words are almost the same. That would be "package: in English!
Well, Pajar, I don't know about so-called "English language" online dictionaries, but here in France (where it is an actual word in everyday use) it's "lardon" and both the spelling "lardoon" and that dictionary's pronunciation would be met with a total lack of comprehension. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 24, 2009
12:28 PM Post #6732177
| Well, when I am in France, I will be sure to use lardon. |
Potagere
(Jim) Farges
France
(Zone 7b)
June 24, 2009
01:51 PM Post #6732576
| That would be good.
Probably the word of preference even there in Newclear Mexico.
This message was edited Jun 24, 2009 6:57 PM |
KyWoods
Melbourne, KY
(Zone 6a)
June 24, 2009
05:44 PM Post #6733583
| LOL |
Petalpants
Corpus Christi, TX
(Zone 9a)
June 24, 2009
07:52 PM Post #6734090
| Potagere & Pagar: I'm glad ya'll figured out that word 'lardon'; I had a year of French language in college (long time ago!), & only remember those important terms, like "Je'taime" & phrases that I thought I needed at the time. =) Seems like lardon is the same thing as 'lard', or fat from animals? I don't use lard anyway; they used to use it in alot of Mexican dishes here in S.TX., but because of health issues alot of people use vegetable oil instead.
Remember, Save a Duck--- it makes a scene prettier! |
stellamarina
Laie, HI
June 24, 2009
09:50 PM Post #6734570
| In the nutritional info vitamin A was left out. This is the vitamin that is especially high in dandelions and all dark green leafy vegetables. In fact dandelion is almost double vitamin A than many of the other greens. I have found stir fry and soups will disguise most of the free gathered food that I feed to my family. :o) |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 25, 2009
12:05 AM Post #6735236
| Thanks for the suggestion, stellamarina. I feel sure that would work around my house as well. Along with putting it into mixed green salads. And possibly into cooked spinach dishes. I was surprised at how much I liked it when I just went out into the back yard and tasted it. DH will eat anything he doesn't already have a preconceived notion about. So I just won't tell him that the greens he is eating are dandelion greens. Then a year or two later I can tell him that his favorite dishes are made with dandelion greens and he will be okay with it. |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 25, 2009
05:56 AM Post #6735682
| stellamarina - how could I have missed that when writing the article!!! Thanks so much, I'm going to see if I can get Admin allow me to edit it :)
|
Mitzifrommonti
Monticello, IA
June 29, 2009
01:37 PM Post #6754282
| I've been around a long time - probably longer than most of you. When I was a child in the early 1940's my grandma always made dandelion salad with the dressing that Dea used. She always picked the dandelions that were small, early in the spring, saying the large ones and later ones were too bitter.
I imagine it was the way the old-timers got the nutrition they had missed all winter when there were no fresh fruits and vegetables to be had. Isn't it remarkable that they were able to choose what was good for them, even before they probably had ever heard of vitamins or minerals, much less what was needed for health? |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 29, 2009
03:55 PM Post #6754894
| wonderful Mitzi :)
|
phfurballs
Mississauga, ON
(Zone 6a)
June 29, 2009
10:28 PM Post #6756575
| Now I know what all the Italian grandmas were doing roaming the lawns in my neighbourhood when I was a little kid ! The street I grew up on had about an even split between Italian immigrants and assorted WASP types... and as kids, we would watch the Italian families, especially the grandmothers in their black dresses, roam the lawns picking things. The black clothing that most of the older women wore fascinated us nearly as much as what they were doing, to be honest. We didn't know what it was they were after and it was rude to ask so I never did know for sure, but I think it must have been dandelions they were picking, certainly there were plenty of them around. Later on, it got to be a point of pride to have a weed free lawn and naturally, that included dandelions. Once people got to using various chemicals on the grass, no more dandelion picking. I wish we'd known then what has been learned since, about the effects of all those chemicals, sigh. |
pajaritomt
Los Alamos, NM
(Zone 5a)
June 29, 2009
11:22 PM Post #6756828
| Pleasant memories, pffurballs. Dandelions aren't the only yard weeds that are edible and delicious and healthy -- there are also lamb's quarters and purslane and not everybody uses weed killer on their lawns anymore. You, too, can go out and pick weeds for dinner -- there are more than I know about, I might add. |
Horseshoe
Efland, NC
(Zone 7a)
June 30, 2009
09:30 AM Post #6758080
| What a great thread. Glad this popped back up, Dea. Thanks!
Now about them dande-flowers? Might have to make some wine to wash down the greens, don'tcha reckon?
Shoe (who is now keeping an eye out for duck breasts, too!) |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 30, 2009
10:34 AM Post #6758343
| quack quack :) |
bozley
Columbus, OH
June 30, 2009
12:14 PM Post #6758821
| Our spring ritual is to always go out and gather the young dandelions from the yard, the ones with buds that haven't opened are the best. The buds add a level of sweetness. We prepare a dressing very similar to the one in the article, the same one we use for wilted spinach salads. Added to the wilted greens are sliced boiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs. An old farmer told me many years ago that this is a great "spring tonic" and that by digging them out of the garden and throwing them away, you are throwing out the most nutritious vegetable you grow to replace them. His wife also used to make dandelion wine from what they didn't eat. |
Dea
Frederick, MD
(Zone 6a)
June 30, 2009
01:01 PM Post #6759019
| I've always wanted to try making dandy wine - maybe I'll just do this coming spring :)
|
MarshaMLF
Chapel Hill, NC
(Zone 7a)
June 30, 2009
09:25 PM Post #6761192
| Bozley
Thanks for your post ... "spring tonic" is exactly
what my parents/grandparents called dandelion
greens, and I'd forgotten that.
My husband made dandelion wine in his
parents' kitchen in high school. He said it
was delicious and tasted like sherry :)
Marsha |
