We have enjoyed our first few meals of dandelion greens this season. Along with cooked potatoes and bacon, dandelions make for a good meal. I make a sour cream of salad dressing vinegar, salt and milk, and then add the dandelion greens and some hard-boiled eggs. Verena, 10, Joseph, 5, and Lovina, 3, have all discovered that they like them too. So far five out of our eight children will eat them. I'm hoping some day they will all be as eager for that first spring meal of dandelion greens as I am.
Elizabeth, 13, says dandelion greens taste too much like grass although I don't think she has really ever tasted grass. Elizabeth and Susan went to pick them around the yard. The dandelions are very plentiful now so it doesn't take too long to get enough for a meal. The girls don't like to wash them, though. We usually wash them quite a few times. Sisters Susan and Verena told me that they tried dandelion salad with baked potatoes. They didn't think that tasted as good as with cooked potatoes. Son Benjamin piped up and said "maybe the dog went potty on your dandelions and that is what tasted different." Benjamin is one that doesn't care for dandelions and now I wonder if that is why. I cook my potatoes by streaming or boiling them on top of the stove, which makes for a different taste than baking the potato.
We had a quiet Sunday just here at home all day. We had mashed potatoes, gravy, fried steak, corn, cheese, and lettuce salad for lunch. Then we had ice cream and brownies for dessert. In the afternoon the children ran races with each other in the yard. It was interesting to watch them. It brought back memories of my siblings and I racing and playing outdoor games. Now our children are making memories of their own for years to come.
Busy Day Brownies
3/4 c. flour
1 c. sugar
5 T. of cocoa
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
2/3 c. nuts
1/2 t. vanilla.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and beat well until blended.
Spread in greased 9x13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Lovina Eicher is Old Order Amish. She hand-writes this column from her home in southern Michigan.
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