It's a dandy time indeed...

It's dandelion time again! This time last year I was crawling around in the grass finding joy in the blessed blossoms of dandelions....
This year, I'm finding nutrition in the rich greenery of dandelions. They are all over my yard, and everywhere else, and they've been calling my name for days. Today, I went out and gathered a large jar of the sunny yellow flowers for oiling. I think I'm going to switch from using primarily olive oil for herbal infusions, and start using more sesame oil. Sesame oil is good for all the doshas and is the most commonly used oil in Ayurveda for all sorts of medicate oils and abyanga (massage). It is a lighter oil than olive, and I just want to experiment with it. So dandelion flower is the first, and soon it will time for plantain oil. I've seen a few plantains up in a friends yard this week, but will wander by the garden to see if they lance leaf variety are out yet. There is a giant patch there.
As I gathered the flowers, the lush spring greenery of the dandelions also called, so out came by collecting basket and I got a nice basketful of greens which promptly went into my dinner. Dandelions can be rather bitter, and though the bitter flavor is a healthy flavor, and good to include in our diets regularly, it can be a bit intense. Here's the recipie I used to tonight to tone down the bitterness a hair and enjoy the fresh spring greens.

Several handfuls of fresh dandelion greens, washed and chopped.
1 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
Water to cover

Mix all the above and soak for 15 min.

Drain.

Blanch dandelion greens, and about the same amount of chard or spinach in boiling water for 30 seconds.

Drain, place in a bowl and add 3 glugs of olive oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, and and 2 pinches of dried rosemary. Stir well and serve hot.
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

This went perfectly with spring artichokes, feta cheese, roasted peppers, salami and figs and olives.