Dandelion Wreath and Appetizer!

This week I’ve been collecting dandelions, spruce shoots, stinging nettles and ground elder. My first wild harvest this year!

Two years ago I wrote about fried dandelion flowers. Unfortunately I had to remove that recipe because I lost the photos due to unfortunate events. Today I made them again and I remembered to take photos, and repost the recipes.

This is what I wrote two years ago:

“The other day my husband Kal was working in the yard. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and I went down to our food garden to see what Kal was up to.

On my way I admired all the beautiful yellow dandelions that had just begun to bloom. Anna and I were already planning on picking them to see how they tasted fried, and they looked just about ready to eat!

You can imagine my shock and horror when I passed the old stone wall in our yard and was welcomed with the sight of my husband whacking and uprooting dandelions with a determined look on his face.

“Wait!” I shrieked.

I ran back to the house and fetched a basket, and before my husband could uproot them all I picked as many dandelion blooms as I could. Anna and I tested several recipes for fried dandelion blooms that we found online, but they were all disappointing.

Good, but not good enough.

But I wanted dandelion blooms to taste heavenly, and so I whipped up my secret weapon: my Magic Fritter Batter. It’s guaranteed to get even the most picky eaters devouring your food, and it’s perfect for summer.

We tried it on the dandelions, and like I said: magic! They turned out delicious and had a soft, chewy texture and a nice crunchy crust. We ate them alongside some deep fried onions using the same batter, and the crispy, sweet onion rings complimented the dandelions perfectly.”

 

While I picked the dandelions, I decided to make a wreath.

A lady who used to babysit me taught me to makes these when I was just 5 years old.

The flowers do not stay fresh for long, but it’s a fun thing to do while spending time among dandelions. And a little girl or boy will be very happy to wear it!

You can use other flowers and leaves with this same technique.

bdandetutorial

 

 

Have fun with the dandelions!

~Marina

Update May, 31, 2013

Here’s an old photo of my brother and me, having fun with our trikes and dandelion crowns … =)

Biking 2