Dandelion Recipes

Every part of the dandelion is edible! Around right now is a good time to harvest dandelions (I live in the midwestern USA) so here's some easy things to do with them:

For maximum enjoyment, try to get the whole root out of the ground when you pick your dandelions. You can use the stem, leaves, flower, and root for many different things. You might need a shovel, but sometimes you can do it by hand if it rained.

Dandelion Tea: Set the oven to 200 degrees F, and wash and dry some plants to roast. Just put them on a cookie sheet for 2 hours. Turn them every now and then so they don't get burned to your pan. When they're done, let them cool and then crunch them in a bag. They say store it in a jar, but I just am using the bag.

 Use 1 teaspoon of roasted dandelion for every cup of boiling water. I also added some ground cinnamon and lemon juice to mine. I'm a huge tea fan so I loved it. Also, turns out it is great for your liver and kidneys. I drank mine right before my sister's birthday party, and it made it so easy to drink! Could just be coincidence though . It also doesn't strip your kidneys of potassium. 

Dandelion stir-fry: For this I used only the leaves of the plant, not the roots or flower. I found some wild garlic in my yard and sauteed that in olive oil for a while, then added my washed leaves. I stirred it every now and then, sometimes had a lid on it and sometimes not. In the end I added some pepper and it tasted just like spinach. It was DELICIOUS. 

Boiled dandelion greens and roots: I separated the roots from the bottom of the greens when I did this. They also say peel the roots, but mine were really tiny. Turns out they peel really easily after being boiled, so I was in luck. Anyway, just boil everything for a few minutes, then change the water. I changed the water 3 times when I was cooking. You do this because dandelions are pretty bitter. You'd know if you just ate a whole dandelion off the ground. Nothing wrong with it, just bitter. Anyway, after it is done boiling however many times to your liking, just strain out the water and let it cool. I thought the roots tasted a lot like broccoli stems. I didn't like the leaves much, but I've read that butter makes it a lot better.

Dandelion Fritters: Okay, I'll admit I cheated and used pancake mix for this recipe. 

I couldn't help it. It was just so damn easy. 

Just dip =]

I used olive oil in my pan. Turned out good to me.

I can't really tell you when I flipped them. I am really anal when I cook something for the first time, and I won't leave it be. 

It's fun to hang them by the stem and drop them into your mouth and bite their heads off.

I thought they tasted like fried okra, kind of. The darling fiance says they tasted good, just plain. Next time maybe I'll flavor the batter. And most the recipe's I've read online used cornmeal, too, which I imagine would have made it more like a hot dog. 

I can't wait to get out tomorrow and eat some more free food!

I want to try...

I want to build a spring snare trap and catch a rabbit, but I have no clue what I'll do with it after it is captured. Obviously, in a wilderness situation, I would eat it. Problem is I don't know how to skin anything. And what if it is still alive? I can't actively kill something. That's the point of me trapping rather than hunting.

So I'd hate to kill something and waste it, but on the other hand I'd hate to trap something and only injure it, then set it free. I'm going to have to think about this some more. Until then... looks like it is boiled dandelion roots for me!

Goals

Going green. Off the grid. Reduce, reuse, recycle!

So, it might seem like a trend... but sustainability is real, people. Our Earth is a living, constantly changing being. That is my reason for going green.

Personally, I'm doing it to get closer to nature. I feel like I depend too much on machines (including this laptop) and I want to learn how to do it myself. I want to learn how to garden, preserve food, sew, and so many other things! 

My fiance is doing it, for the most part, to get away from the system. Living for free, while making money, while not buying into consumeristic lies is his goal. Together we are going to build a small house on a piece of land that we own and make it as sustainable as possible. 

We are also preparing for emergency situation. Adam and I each have a "bug-out-bag." A bug-out-bag is an emergency survival kit in the case of an evacuation, attack, or natural disaster of some sort. They are usually prepared to last for 72 hours, but what they contain is very dependent on the individual. It is important that I learn and practice survival skills, because simply having the equipment to start a fire with no matches doesn't mean I'll be good at it, or able to do it at all under extreme stress.

A second goal that Adam and I have in common is our camping trip, set tentatively to begin during May 2015- when I get my BA. We plan on traveling for a year, either by bicycle or motorcycle. We will be staying at free camp sites (http://freecampsites.net/usa/ - awesome resource) and living off the land. Obviously, we will plan strategically so as not to end up in Flint, Michigan in the winter and Birmingham in the summer! Our skills (and health) are important for this trip.

So, even though we do plan on living in a nice, sustainable house with modern conveniences (albeit most of them 12-volt) we also plan on being seasoned in wilderness survival, should something ever render us stranded, homeless, lost, etc. 

Free Stuff- everywhere!

I'm studying edible wild plants (just in my area for now, so I can get outside and practice finding different plants) and my mind is just BLOWN at how much free food is EVERYWHERE, just growing naturally.

Since I'm going to be a teacher, I'll have summers off to do all the foraging and gardening I want ^_^

My first off-the grid meal!

My fiance made the coolest little stoves! They're called Penny Coke Can stoves. They run off of grain alcohol (everclear) and are super portable (we love camping, so it is important that we are willing and able to use alternative methods once in a while!)

So, my meal was a very humble can of chili beans. I almost forgot to take the paper off my chili can. Good thing I did, or it would have caught fire! Anyway, I opened the top of my can all the way except for a little bit to make a flap for venting and stirring. I only stirred it twice. By the time I had run out of alcohol (now I'm wishing I would have timed it) the beans were the perfect temperature.