Mrs. Greenhands - Dandelion Salad

Happy Groundhog Day - a gardeners indication to see if spring will make an a early appearance. During the winter, not much is growing and gardeners are chomping at the bit to get started. Gardening catalogues are flooding in and you are planning your fantastic garden for summer 2016. However, you can probably find dandelion leaves poking their heads up and this is one of the plants that blooms very early in the spring. Here is a recipe using dandelion leaves ... afterall, 

weeds are in the eyes of the beholder.

Pick tender young leaves for salads - before the flowers bloom - they're great mixed with other pungent greens such as cress and arugula, and dressed with a good vinegar. Since the dandelion part of this recipe is so easy, I will also include directions on how to make great vinegar (although this takes 4 weeks to get the full flavor).

Ingredients:

• Dandelion and other pungent greens
• 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
• ¼ onion, chopped
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of your favorite mustard
• 1/2 tsp mayo
• 1-2 cloves of fresh garlic
• handful of pine nuts or sunflower seeds
• salt and pepper to taste
• Garlic croutons (optional)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients, expect greens and eggs, together in a bowl and whisk vigorously until emulsified. Put greens and eggs in large salad bowl and pour mixture over your fresh greens. Gently mix salad until greens are lightly covered. Garnish with garlic croutons if using.