Dandelions!

Spring is here!  At least where I am...  And what comes with spring but dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)!  Often considered the bane of homeowners everywhere.  I feel the opposite,  I find them to be cheery with their bright yellow flowers.  I also like a wilder looking lawn, rather than perfectly maintained, it is better for the environment, the water supply, and it takes up less of my time.  Aside from adding colour to the lawn, dandelions have several health benefits.  All parts of the flower are edible.  The flowers can be battered and fried into fritters:

Gather approximately thirty or so dandelion flowers from a pesticide-free location (the side of the road or your neighbours abnormally green lawn are not ideal).  Rinse them and pat dry.  

Next, mix together about 1 1/4 c each of organic cornmeal and organic milk (can substitute almond milk or soy for a vegan option) and one beaten egg (or 1T *(T= tablespoon) flax seed oil beaten with a T or two of warm water for vegans) to make a batter.  Add a pinch of sea salt and give it a stir.  

Add enough oil (I like olive oil) to a pan to pool in the bottom of a pan on medium-high heat.  Holding your dandelion flowers by the green stem-bit, dip them gently in the batter and place flower side down in the hot oil.  

Cook until a spatula slides easily underneath and then flip the blossom over.  It should look golden brown, not too dark.  Fry until the other side is also golden brown.  Once finished, remove and place on a lint-free towel (like a flour-sack towel) to drain a little.  Enjoy while still warm!

*****

The leaves of the dandelion are also edible and are reminiscent of spinach or similar.  Collect young leaves--springtime is usually the best time because they are more tender and have not toughened up or as bitter.  You can eat them raw in salads and the like, or blanch them:

Rinse the leaves well with several rinses of cold water.  Remove any discoloured leaves or leaves that look unhealthy.  

Set a pot of water to boil and toss in a t *(t=teaspoon) of salt.  Toss in the leaves once the water is boiling and let them boil for a couple of minutes.  Removed to a colander to drain well.  You can either use them immediately, or pat dry and freeze for later.

*****

 

The roots can be used to make a coffee substitute/a tea.  Dandelion root tea is good for monthly lady complaints if drunk during the week before menstruation.  (These statements have not been approved by the FDA, blah blah blah).

Collect roots in spring time.  I used a trowel sunk into the ground, gently loosening the earth on all sides and then using it to leaver it out of the ground.  Dandelion roots run deep, by loosening the earth on all sides you lessen your chances of breaking the root.  (You can purchase dandelion root digging tools, but I already have a trowel, so why buy something else?) 

Rinse the roots well, I like to use a medium-strength dish brush.  Let them dry for a half-hour. 

Cut them into half-inch/ inch chunks and place on a baking pan.  Roast them in a 350 degree F oven for a couple hours, checking and turning if necessary.  

Don't let them burn, but they should by pretty dry when they are done and will smell roasted and earthy.  

To enjoy as a tea, place a teaspoon of the dried root in a tea strainer and over with 8-10 oz of fresh boiled water.  Let steep covered for 10 minutes.  If you desire it sweeter, you can add some honey, yum!

My guest blog!

I had the opportunity to guest-blog on Cultural Exposure, run by Rainbow Sprinkles, who happens to be one of my favourite people!  Her blog is filled with baking endeavours, both of the serious and novelty variety. 

Me, playing German at Ren Fest

This lovely lady is full of surprises, including the one she made for me!  Because I go to school in another city and spend my weekends working at the Bay Area Renaissance Festival,  I will mostly likely not get to go home for my birthday, so Rainbow took it upon herself to make me a (soon-to-be blogged) pink zebra-striped cake!!!! 

And I regret to say that the only picture I have is trapped on my cellphone :( .  I will post pictures as soon as I can get my hands on them.

Polenta

I am back!  After undergoing a series of life changes, I fear I will have to give up the plans for my spring garden :(  But I will now, even more than before, have to get better at feeding myself on a budget.  My financial aid money for school has not yet come in and I am getting dangerously low on petty cash.  But not to worry!  I have  flour, cornmeal, a jar of tomato sauce, an assortment of dried legumes and spices.  My goal is to impede on my new roommates as little as possible, grocery wise.  Because I don't mind eating the same thing a few nights in a row, and I know how to dress up leftovers, I am optimistic.

For the last couple of nights, I have eaten polenta.  Polenta is a peasant food from Italy.  It is creamy and takes flavourings very well--making is delicious.  It is also made from cornmeal so it is cheap to make.  Traditional polenta can be a long process, but it doesn't have to be.  Here is how I make mine:

One part cornmeal to three parts water (for example, 1/3 c cornmeal to 1c water)
salt
butter or olive oil

Put water and a teaspoon of salt in a pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, sprinkle corn meal in and stir to prevent lumps.  Continue until all of the cornmeal is incorporated.  It will thicken up amazingly; turn down your heat to low.  Keep stirring for a few minutes to prevent it from forming lumps.  Add a lid and let sit, stirring every few minutes for up to twenty minutes.  Add more water if it gets too thick and starts sticking.  Remove from heat and it has reached the desire creamy constistancy.  When it is no longer gritty it can be eaten, but it is better if it cooks a bit longer.  You can eat it in its current creamy, delicious state, or you can spread it on a baking pan and let cool, cut into squares, brush with butter or olive oil, and broil for a few minutes.  I like to eat mine right off of the stove with tomato sauce.

Garden update

In gardening news, I managed to get my hands on a free strawberry plant a couple months ago and have since transplanted it into a terracotta strawberry pot.  Its still new so it probably won't fruit for a while.  My new Russian tarragon plant looks awful.  It has several stems all coming up from the same spot.  I may move it to a new container where it has more room for its roots to spread.  Tarragon normally thrives from benign neglect, this one does not seem to be doing so.  The oregano I received my boyfriends mother is doing much better.  Its spilling out, draping nicely over the edge of the container.  My Sweet Peas started out a bit leggy, but are crawling up their stakes.  The moon flower grows a little more every day.  I can't wait for it to really bloom! 
I have moved all of the plants to the back porch where the direct sunlight they get is in the morning hours.  They don't burn, they don't dry out to quickly, etc.  I'm still adjusting to the "except in Florida" adendum I have to make, "Tarragon enjoys poor soils and thrives in drought...except in Florida." 

Everyday I learn a little more.

"Socktober"

I am an avid knitter and always have something in the works.  Lately it is socks!  A few months back a dear friend bought me some of the most beautiful sock yarn, it is aptly named "Chocolate-covered fruit."  I had sock needles, now I have sock yarn.  While there are many, many patterns for socks, since I am teaching myself I picked a basic ribbed version, one with out a lot of fancy stitches that will only get lost in the colours of the yarn. 

Unfortunately I can't find the camera, and my phone simply does not do the yarn justice so pictures will have to come later. 

When substituting honey in place of sugar

Honey can easily be substituted for sugar in almost any recipe.  Because honey retains water, recipes made with honey tend to remain moister longer than similar products made with sugar or other sweeteners.
Some minor adjustments may need to be made to a recipe when substituting honey for sugar:
1. Use equal amounts of honey for sugar up to one cup.  More than one cup, replace each cup of sugar with 2/3 to 3/4 cup over honey depending upon the amount of sweetness you want to achieve. 
2. Lower the baking temperature 25 degrees and watch your time carefully since recipes with honey get brown faster.
3. In recipes using more than one cup honey for sugar, you may need to reduce the amount of other liquid by 1/4 cup per cup of honey.
4. In baked goods, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of honey if baking soda is not already included in the recipe. This will reduce the acidity of the honey, as well as increase the volume of your product.

Honey is a little sweeter than sugar, but is a sugar that your body processes better than sugar.  Its less likely to make spike your blood sugar which results in you crashing a little while later.  Sugar can be used to preserve other things.  Tombs in ancient Egypt have been opened with jars of honey that weren't spoiled!

Blueberries!

Whenever there is a buy-one-get-one kind of deal at the grocery store, I try to take advantage of it within reason.  A couple months ago blueberries were on sale so I bought a couple pints and threw them in the freezer.  Last night I decided they had been in there long enough and made a pie with half of them.  I'm not ecstatic over the results, but it was still good.  Here is the recipe I used, based off of The Backyard Homestead book (which I love and highly recommend!):
1/2 c honey
1 t baking soda (a must when you use honey to balance out the pH)
1/4 c sugar (because I didn't have 3/4 c of honey)
3 T corn starch
1 pint (2 c) blueberries
1/4 c water
Toss everything in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until it thickens and clears.  Then pour in a prebaked pie crust (thrown in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes before hand) and bake an additional 12-15 minutes.

Here's what I will do next time:
add: 1 T lemon juice and maybe a 1 T butter.
Remove: 1 T cornstarch and maybe 1/4 c sugar.

It was a little too sweet, it definitely needed the lemon juice and could pry still stand to lose some of the sugar.