Missed a post? Click here start back at the letter "A."
D is for Dandelion
My dad spends a lot of time keeping dandelions out of our yard. Our grass is usually so green, the next door neighbour says it looks like a golf course—and having tried golf for the first time last year, I think he might be right. Dad doesn’t like weeds. At all.
In fact, he'll spend hours digging out every last one—if you look closely, you can see the root holes. And the grime under Dad's finger nails from digging up every last yellow petal.
But I wonder what Dad would think if he knew that dandelions don’t quite live up to their “bad weed” reputation? In fact, in some countries, people have been picking dandelions for a very different reason altogether: to eat them.
I know. My throat squeezed a little at the thought of that too. But apparently, dandelion greens and roots are full of vitamins and minerals, and (gasp!) are healthy to eat. Grandma says they're one of the most nutritiously dense greens you can eat.
She claims the best time to harvest dandelions is early in the spring, before they flower. You can use them in salads or sandwiches—and I guess, they’re not bitter at all. I don’t know, Grandma once told me her garden radishes weren’t spicy and they totally were.
The truth is, even if I (probably)won’t eat dandelions—willingly—millions of people do. They’re not the only Alberta “weed” with some nutritional benefits. Further along in the challenge I’m going to talk about other “weeds” that grow... and aren’t really pests at all.
Gotta jet! See you tomorrow for the letter "E."
~ Chase Superman Duffy
P.S. ~ Don't forget to scroll back to the top of the post to learn how you can WIN a full set of the Superman Duffy educational graphic novels. Plus, if you're in Calgary this week, go to Aggie Days and pick up a copy of one of the books there—they're free!
No comments:
Post a Comment