25 April 2012
more dandy coffee
Dug more Dandelions from the patch that's destined to grow pumpkins, so I decided I might as well try roasting them again. A full bucket of plants
gets you remarkably few roots, although it was after heavier rain and I pulled slower so I got better, complete roots this time.
I roasted them longer, 2 1/2 hours this time, to get a darker flavor. Added a small Stevia leaf for sweetener
when I ground up a tablespoon with pinch of cinnamon and a bit of clove
It steeps in the french press for ten minutes
and comes out looking more like a tea than anything
tastes pretty good with a bit of sugar (half of what I used before; maybe a few more stevia leaves and I wouldn't need any sugar) and some milk.
This is the first time where I've seen a gardener do something with dandelions other than getting rid of them. Love the stevia leaves too!
ReplyDeleteThe leaves are edible too but I've always thought them too bitter. I don't like bitter salads. It's a lot of work for a little reward, though- one batch of pulled and roasted roots gets me about a week's worth of dandy coffee.
ReplyDeletei want to try dandy coffee. are alll dandylions the same. am guessing my eighbors would not mind if i took the 'weeds' out of their yards. also need to pick some nettles and try making pesto out of them
ReplyDeleteThe ones you want are the dandelions with hollow stems; there are a few other yellow-flowered plants that look almost exactly the same but they have solid stems. Dig them after a heavy rain, it will be easier to get most of the root up. I'm sure the neighbors won't mind!
ReplyDeleteI've heard nettles are very tasty but something about the spines puts me off...