DANDELION: 
Now is when this finest of herbs (on earth) is freely available on the West coast of B. C. Later many more herbs, aka, weeds will be out in all their beauty and utility. But for now, early in March the beautiful Fraser Valley is bursting with life, and food fit for royalty.
The pictures show red lettuce, coming back from last year, chives in an old truck wheel, LOVAGE, a herb used to make Magi cubes, dandelion, probably the best herb ever brought over from Europe, leeks, wild mustard, and French fennel.
The collage on the paper is all in the completed salad.
You can cheat, if you’re not a purist, and add store-bought lettuce, carrots, celery, cheese, tuna and balsamic dressing.
Pick only the tender, central greens. Wash everything in cold water. Don’t use any hard stems, and strip the dandelion off the central stalk as thats a little too bitter. Hold it and use kitchen scissors to cut the greens really fine. Herbs can be pungent, especially as the season goes on, so its really important to cut the greens into fine pieces.
For those of you who wage war against dandelions, you’ll be interested to know that people actively grow them for human food crop, so instead of digging, spraying and raging, just sell them,……..unless my article gives you a new appreciation for this wonderful herb.
From Wikipedia: Edibility[edit]
Dandelions are found on all continents and have been gathered for food since prehistory, but the varieties cultivated for consumption are mainly native to Eurasia. A perennial plant, its leaves will grow back if the taproot is left intact. To make leaves more palatable, they are often blanched to remove bitterness.[17] or sauteed in the same way as spinach.[27] Dandelion leaves and buds have been a part of traditional Slovenian, Sephardic, Chinese, and Korean cuisine. In Crete, Greece, the leaves of a variety called Mari (Μαρί), Mariaki (Μαριάκι) or Koproradiko (Κοπροράδικο) are eaten by locals, either raw or boiled, in salads. Taraxacum megalorhizon, a species endemic to Crete, is eaten in the same way; it is found only at high altitudes (1000 to 1600 m) and in fallow sites, and is called pentaramia (πενταράμια) or agrioradiko (αγριοράδικο).[28]
The flower petals, along with other ingredients, usually including citrus, are used to make dandelion wine. The ground, roasted roots can be used as a caffeine-free dandelion coffee.[29] Dandelion was also traditionally used to make the traditional British soft drink dandelion and burdock, and is one of the ingredients of root beer. Also, dandelions were once delicacies eaten by the Victorian gentry, mostly in salads and sandwiches.
Dandelion leaves contain abundant vitamins and minerals, especially vitamins A, C and K, and are good sources of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese.[30]
Medicinal uses[edit]
Historically, dandelion was prized for a variety of medicinal properties, and it contains a wide number of pharmacologically active compounds.[31] Dandelion is used as a herbal remedy in Europe, North America and China.[31]
(For a discussion about weeds, their beauty and utility, and how best to control weeds, especially in public places, you may want to look at the presentation I made to the Abbotsford Board of Education, and to City Council. The school board subsequently made the decision to experiment with NOT using Roundup and Casaron, for the time being. Thank you to those leaders.)………http://www.slideshare.net/GerdaPeachey/ban-cosmetic-pesticides-on-schoolyards?ref=https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/13360699
Gerda Peachey's Views 