Upsides to the Down Economy/ It's a Dandy Day!

About 27 years ago, I got a book that changed my life and the way I approached food and cooking. It was The New James Beard- a wedding shower gift from my Mom's friend Karen Pope. I loved the book, the recipes and, maybe most of all, the stories that went with the recipes. I collected other cookbooks of Beards (who was friends and a contemporary of Julia Child) and once ate at a restaurant in Boston simply because he had praised it. My mother had these cookbooks I used to love to read as a child- Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cooking and when I re-read them years later, I discovered James Beard had written some of the entries. One recipe of his that fascinated me was for dandelion greens. Every time I passed a dandelion in my yard, I would think "I should pick some and make that recipe", but inevitably, I would not. Finally, the other day, I went through my yard and garden, picking dandelions willy nilly. Since we do our own yard and I maintain my garden organically, I assumed this was okay. I felt like Euell Gibbons (if you're young, Google it) foraging in my front yard, living off the land. Finally, after 27 years, I tried dandelions! Today I sauteed them Italian style, in garlic and olive oil, with a little crushed red pepper and balsamic vinegar. My skeptical son Christopher, an adventurous eater who shared them with me (along with some potato gnocchi) said: "It tastes like spinach, but not as soft. They're good." According to the Encyclopedia of Cooking "To our colonial forefathers, a mess of dandelion greens on the table meant a spring tonic, a blood purifier and a cure for heart trouble and rheumatism." They are also an excellent source of Vitamin A, iron and calcium. If you go forage in your yard, look for young, tender leaves that have not started to flower. Pull them out, root and all (you get your weeding done too!), cut off the roots and wash thoroughly in salted water. Wrap in a paper towel and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Here's the recipe that started it all:

Fry chopped bacon in a heavy skillet until fat has rendered. Add the washed and dried dandelion greens and toss in the fat with the bacon, a little chopped garlic, finely chopped mint and a touch of red wine vinegar until wilted, about 5 minutes.