By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter

Being raised in the country and a natural forager, I love dandelions.

Every spring I love to see the stems rise above the lawn and produce bright yellow blooms.

This simple sign is the one I use to welcome spring.

Every part of the dandelion is useful.

The leaves harvested in the early spring make a delightful salad or sautéed with onions and garlic make a perfect green side dish. Leave harvest later in the season can be dried and used for tea. Blooms are eaten when they are green.

When they open up they are picked and used for jelly and tea. Dandelion wine is a wonderful country drink that is made from the blooms while the sap from the stem and roots is used as a wart treatment. A coffee substitute can also be made from the root but only harvest root after a hard frost.

Before jumping into Read the rest of this entry »

By Sonya Welter

Here in Duluth, Minnesota, spring has arrived early, after a few weeks of above-average temps and early rains.

But that doesn’t mean we’re stuck eating nothing but grocery store produce.

Underneath last year’s dead grass, dandelion green are starting to emerge.

Today, most North Americans think of dandelions as a weed, but they were actually brought to this continent intentionally as a potherb. Dandelions easily took to their new home, and now grow wild almost everywhere.

Pioneers considered these super-early vegetables to be a spring tonic, and it’s easy to see why: imagine surviving the winter on potatoes, bread and meat, and then suddenly being able to eat fresh leafy greens again. Not only are they incredibly cheering and invigorating, but dandelion greens Read the rest of this entry »