Dandelions

This is an excerpt from the weekly News-Loveletter. If you would like it sent to your inbox directly (with all the other juicy bits, including a mini joy practice), you can add yourself to my mailing list here.

I love dandelions. Root, leaf, and flower, these tenacious and boldly beautiful plants show up at every garden party, invited or not. Their leaves bring a nutritional punch to salad, their flowers make an edible garnish, and their roots are full of inulin, vitamins, and minerals.

Dandelions reach their long roots down to tap nutrients hidden beneath the topsoil, drawing them up to deposit at the surface when their greenery fades. When I pull up dandelions, I lay them down nearby so they may finish their work.

This week, Nancy and I will meet up for dinner like we did in autumn, and the occasion will be a showcase of what’s in season. I’ll bring crisp asparagus with dandelion root hummus (garbanzo in there, too), to serve on freshly baked naan. The first local carrots will make an appearance and lovage greens will dance with fennel fronds and dandelion in a salad. I’m so excited to see what she puts together too! Nancy is a landscape-kitchen-artist. I’m so happy we are friends.

What is your favorite edible “weed,” and how does it inspire you and your spring cuisine?