Thursday, May 4, 2006

Dandelions

My husband LOVES dandelions. He wonders why they are considered a weed. They are the bane of everyone who lives in the Northeast. I wonder if they are the bane of other homeowners and landscapers in other parts of the U.S.?

DC loves dandelions because they remind him of  his childhood (fond memories.) The "older", neighborhood , Italian gentlemen used to go to a golf course out in the "country" (now think suburbia) to pick chigote (dandelions). THey would pick mounds of fresh, "organic" dandelions with only the best leaves for the recipe. They would then bring home their bounty and the wives and children would clean the dandelions and the cooking would begin. Some people liked the salad with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of vinegar. Other families liked them sauted in olive oil and salt and pepper. However they were prepared, it was not so much the actual recipe and preparation, rather the whole family process of gathering, cleaning, and cooking together. Too bad we have ChemLawn, PerfaLawn, Weed & Feed, and Round Up today. Not only do we destroy the beautiful flowering plants that are a great food source, we have destroyed a family activity that everyone helped to prepare for the meal that they would all share together with crusty bread and a well earned glass of red wine. I am sure that the TV was not on in the background either!