Dandelion Frittata- The TRULY Radical Food!

 

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a normal-person-type frittata.

This was apparently more than my 14 year old could tolerate, for he boldly declared- 

"You're becoming more radical, every month!"

"It's a just a FRITTATA!"   (?!?)

Imagine his delight this weekend, when I tried another frittata and put dandelion greens in it!

Thankfully, by then he had accepted my radicalness, and all was well.

the main ingredients  :)

quinoa, pre cooking

quinoa, post cooking!

simple dandelion greens frittata

and the REALLY radical frittata- dandelion greens, artichoke & feta cheese! mmm...

 Dandelion Greens Frittata

yield 3, because we're a family of 3  :)

recipe can easily be doubled or tripled

1 large handful of dandelion greens, rinsed, dried & chopped

2-3 tbs olive oil

1/2 sweet onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper, to taste

4 oz cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs

1/2 cooked quinoa

*optional additions:

1/2 c chopped artichoke hearts

1/2 crumbled feta

preheat oven to 400 degrees

over medium heat, sautee onions in olive oil, till tender

add dandelion greens and cook till wilted

add garlic & cook 2-3 minutes

add salt & pepper, to taste

in large bowl, mix cream cheese, egss and quinoa

*I use an electric mixer.

add dandelion mixture and blend well

*add artichoke & feta, at this time too, if doing these additions

pour into single serving oven proof dishes or a small casserole dish

*I opted not to grease the dishes, b/c the edges turn brown more quickly.  

The frittatas seemed to stick, either way.

bake at 400 degrees, for 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness of frittata

shallow dishes will require less time

ramekins require more (last photo)

All sorts of additions can be put into this frittata. 

If it tastes great with eggs, it'll taste good in this!

All measurements are approximate, as I'm a "just wing it" kind of cook and don't always measure.  :)

Notice that I didn't post the first frittata attempt, from 2 weeks ago?  That's because it was icky.
This frittata is GOOD.  The cream cheese addition was key.  Don't skip it!

Enjoy!!

*Want to see more dandelion recipes?  Check out this blog post! 


“This post was shared on Wildcrafting Wednesday”

Grow Food Not Lawns. Unless of course you eat your lawn, in which case. Carry on.

It's been a dandy weekend, to say the least.

Yesterday, was my first official harvest day, of 2013. 

Try not to be jealous.  

Not everyone has a green thumb.

With both of my guys warned, I assembled the dandelion greens salad.

 

And I quote- "It's not bad!"

To be fair, dandelion greens CAN be bitter.  But really, what's NOT good with bacon?

Dandelion Salad Recipe

bacon dressing-

fry up a panful of bacon (approximately 7 strips)

remove bacon from pan, allow to cool and then crumble it up.

to the bacon oil (I prefer oil, over fat.  So we're calling it oil.) add a medium sized onion (chopped). I used sweet onions, because that's what I had on hand.  Red onions would be great too.

saute till tender.

mix in 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar & 2 tablespoons of brown sugar (or honey... maple syrup... etc...) and bacon.

Pour generously over dandelion greens (rinsed, dried and chopped into one inch pieces).  Side dress with a hard boiled egg and a pretty little dandelion flower.

Soooo simple!

Next up was a more adventurous undertaking.

Dandelion Fritters!  *Made with dandelion flowers!

Recipe found here.  I opted for coconut milk, to increase the sweetness.  And we dipped our fritts into Newkirk Honey (more on that, to come!), sprinkled with dandelion petals!

How were they?  

I'm so glad you asked!

Over all, they were quite good!

But evvvvery once in a while, I'd get one that had lots of green in it and think- broccoli???

So, next time I think I'll try a savory version and mix in a lil cheddar cheese!

*Side note, I gave my flowers a quick rinse before batter dipping, which decreased the size of the flowers/hence fritters.  I may brave a little dirt and try them fresh from the lawn, next time.

My final experiment was by far, the most beautiful!

 

Isn't she pretty?

Dandelion & Violet Lemonade

The recipe can be found here.

We made this one, today.

I had high hopes of drinking it, tomorrow.

Till I remembered that I had been working in the garden right before picking the flowers, and while I had washed my hands... I hadn't WASHED my hands and well... I had been playing in the dirt.

And methane-free cow manure. 

So, since I'm still not THAT crunchy, this jar will be for photo purposes only.  

Now, before you go away thinking- "That Kimmi has gone off the deep end!" here is the most important information... the REASON behind all of this "eating my lawn" stuff.

DANDELIONS ARE GOOD FOR YOU!!!!

Like REALLY good!

Click here for lots of details.

Too lazy?

OK!  

Here's the short version!

Dandelion greens are an excellent source of vitamins A, K and C, and a good source of fiber, calcium, manganese, iron (more than spinach!), and vitamins B1, B2 and B6!!

 More can be found here, as well.

And if you're still not convinced, just do a google search for dandelion health benefits... dandelion remedies... or dandelion nutrition.  

Then put on your reading glasses and be inspired to hop on the dandy-bandwagon!

**PS Please do not eat dandelions that are in lawns that have been chemically treated.  Even if you're not normally an "organic" eater.**

Next on my dandelion docket- dandelion root coffee!

“This post was shared with Wildcrafting Wednesday.”