Dandelions, We Love You!

Twas a sunny day in May
As I traveled on my way
When I was strangely moved to pray–
For my eyes beheld a scene
Of the yellow on the green!

In the wake of winter’s storm
God’s earth again was warm
And new life was there in form:
It was easy to be seen
For there was yellow on the green!

But in the town and in the city,
These blooms are scorned–and that’s a pity!
Men say that they are weeds,
And they hate their awful seeds,

Which will soon be in the air
To be carried everywhere!
But in the town and in the city
Don’t forget–they once were pretty:
When they were yellow on the green!

In life, too, we must remember
There’s a May for each December.
Some times are tough, some days are lean,
But God controls the changing scene,
And His blessing come–like yellow on the green!

–Arleen McMahon

What a beautiful spring this one was! I am late posting this, but every springtime, when the dandelions appear like a shimmer of sparks across the lawn, I remember my grandmother’s poem, “Dandelions, We Love You!”

Her last spring, in 1999, was bursting with beauty the same way this one was. She told me confidentially that “It was because God knew it was her last one.” I told her not to make me sad, but she just looked at me, and I realized that somehow she knew.

I bet she would love to see what Tony is up to. He was her first great grandchild, and they loved each other!

Spring is long past now, but we are finally getting around to re-creating our first experimental flower jelly: Dandelion-Forsythia!

Last year was no fluke: This jelly is delicious! The steps to make it are very simple, and anyone can do it. The hardest part is to process the dandelion flowers so that not one speck of green sepal is included when you make the tea. (Makes it bitter!)

The recipe is based off of the one posted by Homestead Lady, but Tony put his own spin on it, and we all helped to make it. We have both dandelions and forsythia in our own yard, but if you forage for these, you only need make sure you get your flowers from an area that isn’t sprayed with pesticide (nowhere near a field or roadside!)

Last year, we had no problem harvesting both the flowers are the same time, but this year, the dandelions were a little later than the forsythia, so we harvested in season (both species should be gathered soon after opening, and preferably in the morning), and made a forsythia tea by pouring boiling water over the blossoms and allowing them to steep overnight. The green is fine on the forsythia blssoms, which makes this an easy and enjoyable task! We strained them out in the morning and froze the tea until we could ready the dandelions.

When the dandelions were ready, we prepared the blossoms by grasping the yellow part all together and holding the green base with the other hand. Give a little tug and the petals will pull right out. You’ll notice a little weak spot at the base of the petals almost like a perforated line, and the petals will release easily from that spot. This takes a lot of time and we try to make it fun by doing the task all together around the dining table and listening to an audiobook. This time we “proofread” Tony’s upcoming fairytale book, The Princess and the Goblin by George McDonald. (It sounds great!)

Anyway, because of life and its twists and turns, we ended up freezing the dandelion tea as well, and only thawed the tea and made the jelly this week. I explain all of that to let you know that getting the flowers harvested at the right time is important, but you can put off the jelly-making until later if you wish.

Here is the recipe:

Dandelion-Forsythia Jelly

10 c forsythia blossoms
5 c. dandelion petals
4 cups of filtered, boiling water
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 pkg pectin
3 cups of sugar
1/2 t. vanilla extract (we use Watkins Baking Vanilla)

Put the petals into a large gallon jar and pour the boiling water over the top. Cover the jar and allow the petals to steep overnight.

In the morning, strain out the petals and discard. (It is fine to press the petals to extract the full flavor from the tea.) Add the lemon juice and then pour the tea mixture into a large, heavy-bottomed pan. Stir in one package of powdered pectin and make sure it is fully dissolved.

Bring the tea mix to a boil and cook for 1 minute (or whatever length of time your brand of pectin recommends). Add the sugar and return to a boil. Boil 1 minute and remove from heat.

If you want you could stir in a teaspoon of butter to reduce the foam, or just skim it off with a metal spoon. Stir in the vanilla. Pour into prepared jars and finish preserving as you wish. If you want, the jelly can go right into the refrigerator at this point, or you could seal it with paraffin wax, or you could give it a water bath to seal the jar and it will be good for at least a year on the shelf.

Or, skip all that hassle and buy a jar from us! Tony will be selling them at the Reading Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays from 4 to 7 p.m., while they last. We have limited quantities.

Either way, it is fun to explore the many flavors God has created. Dandelions, we love you!