Dandelion

After our long long long Minnesota winter, the plants are exploding out of the ground.

In all my years of living in California, I was always grateful for the year-round beauty of aromatic plants, and on my last visit to SF, I went crazy taking pictures of succulents that can be left casually outside because nobody has to worry about the frost.

 Since I moved to Minnesota 25 years ago,  I sometimes still suffer pangs of mourning. I can't pinch a twig of rosemary to put in my pocket, all year round.  I miss the a clouds of scent from climbing jasmine that can unexpectedly make me look at what someone has growing on their tiny scrap of San Francisco real estate. But I discovered the powerful beauty of "extreme climate," the wild joy of seeing your first flower after six months, the ritual sequence of flowering plants in the spring, the first exposure of pale flesh to the sun. "We can open windows! It's 40 degrees! let's put on shorts!"

Of course, this year we went from snow to 90 degrees with only a few days in between, so I'm experiencing a little bit of weather whiplash. My body needs more time! I'm thrilled, though, to watch how the rain garden we planted last year is returning, with plants growing inches overnight. It will be interesting to see which plants have flourished (so far, we have returning squill, wild ginger, ferns,  wild geranium, virginia bluebells,  spotted-lungwort, and a few whose names I've forgotten).

 I have also realized that there is a garden freebie; I started harvesting the tender leaves of the dandelions in my yard, picking them before the buds appear. Taraxacum officionale is the Latin name of "dent-de-lion" (or pis-en-lit).  A handful of these leaves in a smoothie gives me LOTS of nutrients, and has had a tonic effect on my digestion (but I've learned to use them in moderation--powerful stuff!)

Next,  I'm going to try sautéeing some of the greens..

I adore the Boutenko family, and this video is a classic in the YouTube smoothie/raw-food/Vitamix sub-culture.



Dandelion pesto!