As God Is My Witness, I’ll Never Go Hungry!!!

There are edible wonders, right out there in your very own yard, or park, or wood!

I have a very unique, creative, and interesting daughter. Melissa already farms circles around me. Now she has taken to foraging. It makes for exciting mother/daughter adventures. She came over Monday and we decided that my very own yard would be the first place we looked for edible treasures.

Off to the back we went in search of our bounty. We picked the last of my winter greens to serve with black beans and rice. That was yummy in and of itself, but the real treat would come after lunch with wildflower syrup over dandelion frittatas.

My yard is full of dandelions and wild violets, both of which we’ll need for her recipe. Melissa suggested only picking every other flower. That way, you leave plenty to reproduce and provide nectar for the bees. I already make use of dandelions in dandelion salads for their interesting taste and texture in addition to the good nutrition they provide. But this recipe was nothing short of culinary delight!

We began with the dandelions. These guys get a really bad rap. Many folks work and toil away at removing these lovely yellow “weeds.” Personally, I find looking over a yard full of the beautiful yellow bursts of flowers uplifting, and blowing away the little parachute seeds is irresistible.

After we had our supply of dandelions, we moved on to the purple and white violets. There’s an ample supply in my yard and we quickly had all we needed.

As we use no chemicals or fertilizers of any kind, you can pick and eat to your heart’s content. However, we spread them across a clean cloth. This encourages any tiny varmints who’ve unwittingly ridden along to flee the scene before the flowers go into the pot. As predicted, several almost undetectable black spots began their exodus.

Melissa began boiling about a cup of water and added a half cup or so of sugar. She then added the cup+ of violets for their flavor and color. The mixture should thicken. If it doesn’t, add more sugar. When the mix began to thicken, she added the juice of a fresh lemon.

While that was cooking, we mixed up our favorite pancake batter and dipped the flower heads in the mix. These went directly into a heated skillet of sunflower seed oil. You treat these just as you would a silver dollar pancake.

When the cooking was complete, we sat down for lunch. After the main course, we placed the golden brown dandelions on our plates and covered them with the still hot syrup. Amazing! Lunch was delicious and joyful. And what a fun date!

Soon we’ll head to the forest for another foraging adventure. I can’t wait to see what we’ll cook up next!

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