Yup, you read that right!  And it was deeeeelicious!  Here’s how a bowl full of weeds ended up on our dinner table this past Sunday night:  I went out into the garden Sunday morning to pull some weeds, etc., and discovered a patch of mostly dandelions on the shady side near the magnolia.  As I began to dig them out and toss them aside, I remembered my daughter having mentioned a friend of hers in Toronto who used to cook dandelions.  I began collecting the dandelions in a separate pile from the other weeds.  Next, I soaked them a LOT in multiple buckets of fresh water to get all the dirt off.  Finally, I brought them inside, cut the leaves away from the roots, and then checked one last time to make sure the leaves were perfectly clean.   I had about 4 cups of dandelion leaves.

In a medium-large bowl I whisked together 1/4 cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon honey, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (couldn’t find any fresh garlic), and 1/2 teaspoon salt.  I added the honey because I figured this wasn’t the kind of recipe that would appeal to your average uninitiated American, and I thought it would cut some of the bitterness of the leaves.  Bingo!

To the very-well-whisked olive oil mixture I added approximately half the leaves, now cut into 2-inch lengths (approx.), and stirred until everything was completely coated with the dressing.  Then I added the rest of the leaves and mixed again.

Dinner was served.  Barbecued chicken, homemade cole slaw, sliced radishes, watermelon, and the dandelion greens.  I called it “bitter greens salad” because I didn’t want to surprise anybody, nor did I want them to think it was sweet lettuce and be startled.  As I said, not a speck was left.  Kinda crazy when you think about it.  Weeds.
——————————————————————————————————-
Follow Dr Sukol on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RoxanneSukolMD
Follow Dr. Sukol on Facebook at Roxanne Breines Sukol.
Follow Your Health is on Your Plate on Facebook.