Monday, June 2, 2008

Dandelion Quest



I was amused to see some dandelion greens growing by the curb when I stepped off the grounds of the Madrona Market this past Friday to empty some waste water (shhh, I'm not supposed to do that.)

Some of the market vendors have been selling dandelion greens. They're supposed to be great for your liver and kidneys, but they taste really bitter. I find that strange because bitter flavors often indicate poison: there's some evolutionary thing going on where we've developed congenital distastes for foods that are harmful to us.

I've tried various ways of cooking dandelion greens, but I haven't yet been able to get them to taste good. I hear they're somewhat sweeter in the winter, but that's just hearsay. Jason, from Local Roots Farm, suggested using something sour to counteract the bitterness so I sauteed them with rhubarb. It was interesting and I was able to choke them down, but I won't be trying that again. The quest for a palatable dandelion recipe continues.

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