We’ve had gorgeous weather for the last few days. I planted the cold weather crops in the garden, and raided the refrigerator to plant lettuce and leeks. And, I weeded. It’s surprising how big the dandelions have grown in such a short amount of time. I couldn’t “pull” them out — their roots ran deep. So, I took a shovel, and dug them out, cutting out a virtual tap root.
There were so many dandelions. Luckily, I caught them before they were creating the seed… and as I dug, I thought about that… I remember reading that dandelion greens taste good when they are young and tender… before they have gone to seed.
So… my mind immediately set to work. I had not had lunch yet — and here were these dandelion greens, nice and tender… just like the ones I would find at the farmer’s market. Dandelion greens are such a good spring tonic… flushing out the system, the way we spring clean our homes.
This would be lunch. Sauteed in a bit of bacon drippings, with caramelized onions, sea salt and lemon juice on top. I couldnt’ wait to eat this lunch.
Needless to say, the edible fantasy I was having while I was shoveling out the weeds, certainly made the chore of weeding less like drudgery, and more like a quest, with a prize at the end. Did I leave any dandelions behind? No! Because greens shrink to almost nothing when they’re cooked — and if I don’t have enough dandelions, I’ll be hungry. And, I wondered if maybe all of these other “weeds” I was pulling out would also make a great lunch.
Once finished digging the dandelions — it took about an hour — there were that many — I chopped off the roots (I KNOW, it makes a great nourishing tea) but still threw them out, and soaked the greens in a bowl of water while I jumped in the shower.
Next, I heated the skillet, adding the chopped red onions and let them sizzle while I cleaned off the greens. Then, I threw in some chopped garlic into the skillet, and patted the greens dry before adding them to the skillet with the onions and garlic. I cooked and sauteed until the greens were were almost crunchy. Then, I squeezed a half a lemon on top, and ate the freshest lunch I’ve had in a long time, while I admired the weed-free yard.
