Weed or Feed? A Dandelion Adventure

Dandelions can evoke some very different emotions.  Some people hate them and here in Canada with the new pesticide rules, many people are even more annoyed.  There are on the other side many people who love these bright sunny blossoms and will even venture to eat them.

Dandelions are in fact very rich in vitamins and they are eatable.  Since our back yard is a carpet of yellow, we (I) decided to see what they might taste like as part of our May Day celebration.

First we made dandelion fritters from LearningHerbs. com We simply made some pancake batter and dipped the heads of the dandelions in and fried them.  We also used the same batter and mixed in some of the petals.

We also made some delicious cookies from Heartfelt Homemaking. We didn't have all the same ingredients but they did turn out quite tasty.  I do believe the lavender would be a delicious addition next time.

The Results: 
TJ and MJ didn't really like the fritters.  I didn't mind them but felt they tasted better with mustard as they had a bit of a bitter taste.

The boys loved the pancakes, of course they were really after the maple syrup.  I do believe I'd make the pancakes again to get some healthy food into them.

The cookies were pretty good.  I'd like to try them again following the recipe more closely once we get some more ingredients.  We also offered them to some friends at the park and they loved them.  The boys aunt and uncle tried the cookie too without me telling them what was inside.  They both thought that there was some veggies inside.  Overall a very successful experiment with our weeds!

Notes to the reader (ones who are daring enough to eat dandelions)
Please consider where you are getting your dandelions from.  If you live in a subdivision chances are high that they may be covered in pesticide from your neighbours.  We live sort of in the country so I figured our lawn was safe.  You may wish to purchase some dandelions or find a nice field somewhere.

Also if you wish to try the leaves they apparently taste less bitter if they are picked before the flowers bloom.


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I will be linking this post up to some different website throughout the week...