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First Foraged Salad This Year!
I Had to Mow
Yes... Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods. Which means it's that time of the year. Time to saddle up the trusty ol' lawn mower and get busy. I had spent many a warm moment during this past fall digging up stands of nasty crab grass... that stuff thinks it's running something! But I left the dandelions and red clover alone.
As I walked the yard before mowing, I saw several dandelion flowers, along with little humped patches of red clover. So... I went inside and grabbed a small bucket, then went foraging in my own back yard!
Putting It Together
I picked only the flowers from the dandelions, and some flowers and greens from the red clover. Back inside I washed my forged treats, and set them aside.
Next I went to the fridge for lettuce, sweet peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots, and onion. There was a whole lot of chopping going on in my kitchen! I sliced. I diced. I crawled on my belly like a reptile.... Oh wait! I didn't crawl on my belly like a reptile. But I did hum a little tune.
After finally tasting my foraged fare, I had to put the red clover into my compost bucket. I'm sorry to say, the greens were too green, and the flavor wasn't mature enough to compliment my salad. And since the flowers were only tiny unopened buds... they went there too.
But...! All my other goodies were tossed together in a big ol' bowl. A sprinkle of stinky cheese was thrown in, along with a pinch of sea salt for good measure, then the whole thing went back in the fridge to wait.
The Fruits of My Labor
After mowing, and looking forward to my salad the whole while, I went inside, washed my hands, toasted a cheese sandwich, piled my salad high on the plate, added some dressing, and chowed down! Yum! Yum!
The texture and flavor of the dandelions was wonderful! It gave the salad just a little something special. It was a mini-celebration. The first forage of the season! A reminder of the tasty things to come as Spring glides by with all it's wonderful food delights just waiting to be found, gathered, and eaten.
Yesterday I walked around the yard again, still on patrol for that ever invasive crap grass. And again I saw dandelion flower tops hugging close to the ground, waiting for me to notice. Today there just may be more salad...
Happy foraging!