Dandelion Recipe Experiments

It's dandelion season! I've really enjoyed getting to know these flowers over the years, they are a great weed for my honey bees to enjoy while the other spring flowers wake up. 

Every part of the dandelion flower is edible, from the root to the flowers so makes for a safe and easy foraging activity.

My bun Delilah helping me sort the greens from the flowers.

I like to be part of the action (I really just want to hang out outside with them) so I've started trying out dandelion recipes myself. 

Last year I made a dandelion wine. 3 month task that produced something edible but not exactly desirable. ..

This year I tried sautéed dandelion greens and a dandelion syrup or jelly. See the reactions videos here:  The Greens and The Jelly

Sauteed Dandelion greens

1. Boil leaves in salted water for 3-4 minutes

2. Drain and let cool

3. Sautee in olive oil and slices of fresh garlic

4. Serve with salt, pepper and crispy onions. 

The initial taste was fine, just a garlic taste but that bitter inside isn't far behind and it leaves one harsh taste in your mouth.

One commenter on Tiktok mentioned baby leaves are better and less sour. If I ever get the confidence to try them again I will definitely go that route and update!

For now, this meal was a 3/10

Dandelion syrup

2 cups of the dandelion flowers

1 1/2 cups of water

2 slices of lemon. 

1. Soak flowers for 5 minutes in water to separate any dirt and bugs

2. Place in a saucepan with the other ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. 

3. Remove from heat and let the mixture sit overnight (8hrs)

4. The next day, strain the mixture through a cheesecloth. 

5. Measure your liquid and add equal parts brown sugar. 

6. Heat slowly to dissolve the sugar then let mixture boil for 15 minutes. 

7. Pour into a sanitized mason jar and let cool. 

Enjoy in teas or coffee, apples or toast.

This one for me was a 7/10. Clearly shouldn't have used dark brown sugar but otherwise it was a fun new sweet treat. 

Leave me a comment if there’s something Dandelion related you’d like me to try next year!

Recipe: Ina Garten’s Coconut Cake

Who’s Ina? No idea.

When my coworker Sara was quoting someone for insurance they were kind enough to include their favorite cake recipe in an email to her. Naturally she shared it with our team and I immediately asked to test and showcase it in the work newsletter.

The document had been clearly scanned a few times before being digitized and the order of the ingredients was a little off but I was able to figure things out.

The recipe as it was sent:

My Adjustments:

For testing, I halved the recipe to make 2-6” round cakes as opposed to the 9” rounds the original makes.

With the smaller batch the bake time was 35 minutes at 350 degrees.

The final product:

Overall I am happy with this recipe, the coconut flavor was prominent but not overwhelming and the cake despite the heavy amount of eggs involved was light and fluffy. This can easily be a staple in any coconut loving’s person’s recipe book.