Dandy Dandelion
Spring is here & everyone's lawns are aglow with the most favored of flowers- dandelions!
Now, before you go wasting energy in an attempt to be rid of them, hear me out. These little 'nuisances' are actually blessings!
Did you know dandelion is edible? Not only are these sunny little flowers nutritious, but also delicious!
I successfully kicked my outrageous caffeine habit, without any headaches, using dandelion root "coffee." I've seen beautiful yellow dandelion jelly, wine, and umpteen ways to prepare the greens, but I've never tried baking with the blossoms. I found this recipe for Dandelion Bread over at Saving4six.
There are numerous sites that will tell you all about the medicinal use & health benefits of dandelion, so I won't write about that here. We're here for the magical element, after all!
Dandelions are commonly associated with wishes but also with calling spirits & psychic ability. Because the flowers resemble brilliant little suns, we are using it in conjunction with the salt to dispel negativity, and the honey to sweeten our own dispositions. Even the wheat is full of power, associated with rebirth, wishes, abundance & prosperity. It's all about intention. Baking is itself an alchemical process, turning your raw ingredients into an entirely different thing. I love the visual baking provides- you can see your intentions becoming the desired outcome.
You'll need 2 cups of petals so get picking, but leave a few for our buzzing friends! My kids did most of the work & had a wonderful time. Our hands smelled amazing after the harvest, like sunshine and honey and pure unadulterated joy. I would wash the petals well ahead of time, because wet petals clump together and aren't very easy to stir into the dry ingredients.
The recipe as written is perfect, though mine needed about 35-40 minutes to bake. It was very easy to throw together & pretty quick. One batch makes two loaves.
The finished product has the texture of banana bread, golden flecks of petal, & the flavor reminiscent of a very mild honey-sweetened cornbread.
