Then they go to the grocery store and spend still more money on lifeless, nutritionless lettuce for the table. The Dandelion Celebration includes some of the world's best recipes for dandelion greens, flowers and roots. Peter Gail, a colleague of the late Euell Gibbons, collected the recipes over a twenty-year period from friends, colleagues and students. The recipes cover everything from soups and casserole to ice cream and wine. On average, I eat about one dandelion every two days through the growing season, usually on sandwiches.
Dandelions are about the first and the last available greens.
I keep a simple digging tool in a handy spot and harvest the dandelions root and all. Most of the time I put the greens on a sandwich. The roots I clean and dry. When I save up enough roots I roast them and grind them for a delicious coffee substitute. Originally I hoped to eat all the dandelions out of our lawn, but I wasn't able to keep up.