I have written at greater length than one might think possible about dandelions and the ways they’ve been used throughout history since Theseus feasted on them in before facing Ancient Crete’s Minotaur. And I’ve purchased their greens from organic farms at the farmers market, bundled in neat bunches that looked not-weedy-enough to eat. But if I am to be honest, I never had picked them myself.
But we are where we are now and greens are harder to come by. So, bereft of salad, I went out into my backyard, much in need of a mow, and picked one. I am of course not the first to think of it. During the Depression, many tried to make a meal out of what they could forage. Since dandelions are apt to grow anywhere, they became part of the American diet, particularly in Appalachia where they’d already been used to make wine during Prohibition. Inventive people.
In any case, my bowl of backyard salad tasted better than I thought it would have while stirring the realization that I’d do well to better acquaint myself with wild edibles in case push comes to shove.
Lorissa Rinehart 