Emergency Food: Dandelions

The title of this post suggests that dandelions should only be consumed for emergencies, but actually they are eaten in many part of the world quite regularly as a delicious vegetable.  What is commonly hailed as merely a pesky weed in the United States is actually a bud of nutrition and health just sitting in your backyard.  Harvest it in emergencies and any other time as well.

Quick dandelion facts:

• Dandelions are extremely nutrient dense with plenty of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and antioxidants in all parts (leaves, roots, flower) 
• Dandelions have more iron than spinach, more vitamin A than carrots, and 1/2 c. of dandelion greens will give you more calcium than a glass of milk along with loads of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, thiamine, and riboflavin
• Medicinally they can be used to treat digestive disorders, eczema, arthritis, and are great for detoxing the blood, preventing or curing liver diseases and anemia, dissolving kidney stones, cleansing your skin, aiding weight loss, controlling diabetes, lowering cholesterol, regulating bowl functions, and for use as a gentle diuretic among other things
• Before flowering, young leaves are tender and tasty and can be washed and eaten like salad; more mature leaves have a strong, bitter taste that you can staunch by boiling (make sure to drink the water you used for boiling to aid your digestive track), or wait until after a fall frost for the bitterness to calm down
• Boiled greens can also be served with other greens, eaten hot with butter, salt, and lemon juice, and even served over pasta
• Flowers can be fried or served with yogurt
• Roots can be roasted and ground to make a nourishing drink
• The French make a "Cream of Dandelion Soup"
• You should never eat dandelions that have been sprayed with chemicals or pesticides