April 30, 2010

Dandelion fritters and wine

It's dandelion season here in Pennsylvania and I'm looking for some new ways to add them to our diet.  We've eaten them prepared like endive with hot bacon dressing but I'd like to learn to use them in other ways as well.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to gather dandelion flowers for a batch of wine.  It's a wonderful tonic to have on hand to chase away the beginnings of a cold or just for a healthy boost, one spoonful at a time.

A cooking site that I belong to mentioned dandelion fritters.  My first thought was a batter dipped flower head deep fried and crispy.  But what I found was an interesting recipe that included other healthy vegetables as well.  Since the recipe was not precise on other ingredients, I used what I had on hand plus a few wildcrafted leeks.  (Probably not a good choice for Sunday morning breakfast before church!!)  The batter is one egg, one cup of flour and one cup of milk.  To this I added the leaves, flowers and roots of about 5 hearty dandelions, 3-4 wild leeks (bulbs and leaves), one shredded white potato, 1/2 shredded sweet potato, one small zucchini and one small yellow squash, both shredded.  These were mixed together in a bowl and cooked on a hot griddle like a pancake.  Next time, I'll saute the veggies first and then add the batter.  They were a little bitter even with S&P to taste but a little salsa took care of that problem.  Maybe maple syrup would be good.  Yum!

3 thoughts about my meanderings:

Londerz said...

Wow! That sounds really interesting! I'm not as much into experimenting with food, but I bet Zach would like trying that recipe! Thanks for sharing! :)

Londa

Sharon said...
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Sharon said...

No problem! Thanks for commenting and becoming a follower. Welcome to the world of blogging. It's rather cleansing to write down what's on your mind and read over it.
That's kinda what this is about, I guess. That and the wandering ideas and worries and "stuff" I have meandering around in my head and heart. Sometimes it gets crowded in here! Not because I'm so thoughtful or clever but because I allow little things to become so big that they take up space I could (should) use for other things. Spring cleaning to be done! :)
There's a great book called,"When PEOPLE ARE BIG and God is small" that I read a while back. Maybe I should read it again.

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