Eat Weeds!

Food and medicines from the wild are one of my favorite topics. It could be important if TS(really)HTF for us to have a good idea about what common wild plants are edible. Since just about everyone knows/has dandelions, those are a good place to start.

The first thing to know is if chemicals have been used on the area the dandelions are growing. If they are in a previously treated lawn or within 15 – 20 feet of asphalt, caution is advised. The nice thing about them is they will grow readily and rapidly so you can gather a couple of their ‘puff balls’ and seed them in nearly any soil to have greens quickly. If in a container, it must be at least 8 to 10 inches deep to accommodate their sturdy taproot.

Talk about good for what ails you… dandelions are amazing. Since no description is needed for these, let’s jump right into nutrition and some yummy recipes!


Raw greens (1 cup serving), best picked young and before the plant flowers, provide minimum daily requirements of 112% of Vitamin A, 32% of C, 9% of Iron, 535% of Vitamin K and 10% of Calcium. They also contain Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin E, Choline and more.

Check out this awesome site for comprehensive information:
[link to www.nutritiondata.com]

This site is less technical and has an informative and easy to read write up on them:
[link to www.leaflady.org]

Ohhh, now on to the tasty part! I’m not going to go into the fresh salads… just know that you can use the fresh, young greens with might near Any mix.

Greens ‘n Taters

Serves 6

7 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 qt. or more, fresh picked greens chopped
1 or more cloves minced garlic
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp oil
chopped red pepper or sliced, chopped or minced fresh jalapeno to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Place cubed potatoes in pot, add water to cover and bring to a slow boil. How long will depend entirely on the size of your cubes, but cook until fork tender. About half way through add the greens.

While the potatoes and greens are cooking, heat skillet with oil on medium high and sauté onion, garlic and pepper until onion and garlic are golden to slightly crusty, depending on personal taste. We like ours a bit darker, almost crisped. Once done, set aside to cool.

When potatoes are tender, drain well, retaining broth. Add potatoes and greens to sautéed onion, garlic and pepper and stir to mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.

I fix this two ways… with the potatoes either boiled until tender with the greens (as detailed here) or cubed and pan fried slowly to a crispy golden, then adding the greens and seasonings, browning a bit until the onions are caramelized. Either way is delicious, but we prefer the fried with beans and tortillas, as a side for our breakfast eggs or even with meat and eaten as a burrito.

About the broth… I keep this cooking water (containing many of the nutrients) to use for soup base or even season it a little with what ever strikes my fancy to sip as a hot drink. It is excellent with 1 tsp oregano and used as a tea for congestion with a nasty chest or head cold.


Here are some great links to more dandelion recipes! Did you know you can make Dandelion wine? The root makes a pretty darn good coffee substitute too.

[link to astray.com]
[link to www.natureskills.com]
[link to www.prodigalgardens.info]
[link to www.mountain-breeze.com]