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Heartwings Love Notes 828 - A Spring Recipe to Try for Yourself

Heartwings says, " Love is the most important ingredient you can use."

The Joy of Cooking is a popular cookbook. I have a well-thumbed copy which along with my ancient Fanny Farmer's form the lynchpin of my collection. Cooking has been my joy since I can remember being allowed to cook. My mother was born in Germany at the onset of WWI and the resultant lack of food she endured as a child made a lasting impression. Afraid I might spoil the meat or vegetables in some way, she was reluctant to let me make main dishes--I was assigned to salads and desserts, so I had to learn how to make meals for myself. My cookbooks were and still are a great ally in this process.

I enjoy reading them as well as the recipes in newspapers and magazines. It's fun to see what's trendy. Some fashions I don't care for—roasted broccoli, for instance. I also favor eating with the seasons; now that we are coming into spring it's time for spring vegetables like asparagus and dandelion greens. Some people think of dandelions as weeds, however they are beneficial in a variety of ways and good in salads as well as steamed or stir-fried with other greens and/or vegetables. Their slightly bitter taste is diminished when they are combined with other vegetables.

Try this recipe for yourself, either digging the dandelion greens from your garden or purchasing them from a market. The purchased ones are milder and easier to use. The harvest of garden and lawn weeds can be seen as a bonus. Ingredients: ½ cup chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic minced or chopped fine

1 small to medium summer squash chopped small or 1 pound of aspargus

4 cups dandelion greens

olive oil as needed.

Method: Gardeners, remove dandelion roots and tough bottom stems. Wash them in several waters. Purchasers can skip this step. Rough chop or cut up with scissors. Steam greens briefly in a small amount of water until they have wilted down. Strain water into a cup and set aside. While you are preparing the dandelion greens, sauté chopped onion, garlic and summer squash in a olive oil, stirring occasionally, or steam asparagus. Add chopped steamed greens to sautéed vegetables. Cook until stems are relatively tender. You can stop here and serve squash as is or put into your food processor and pulse a few times to create more of a mash. Pulse steamed asparagus with dandelion greens and olive oil to taste. Delicious! Use salt and pepper as desired.

May you enjoy preparing meals as well as eating them.
 

I love to hear from readers and would be honored if you would comment and let me know any suggestions or thoughts. If a friend sent you this, you can sign up at my web site, www.heartwingslovenotes.com, where more love notes can be found in the archives.

Blessings and Best Regards,
Tasha Halpert
 

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