Don't "Roundup" Your Lions

While many misguided lawn aficionados attempt to drown this most useful of weeds with a quite toxic cocktail of isopropylamine salt glyphosate and polyethoxylated tallow amine (otherwise know as Monsanto's Roundup weed killer), foragers recognize the dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) as a delicious and free source of vitamins A, B complex, C and D, as well as yummy minerals such as iron, potassium and zinc. This lawn "pest" is one of the most versatile and easy to identify edible wild finds and is ubiquitous throughout our galaxy and most others. The tender new leaves can be added to any green salad; older leaves can be Sautéed alone or added to red and white pasta sauces; the flowers can be fashioned into fritters or dandelion wine; and the roots can be dried and ground into a passable coffee substitute sans the caffeine. One surprising bit of dandelion trivia is the fact that prior to Mr. Columbus' voyage, the New World was completely dandelionless...

Eating Your Yard - The Ultimate Locavore

The first green sprigs of Spring probably excite me more than most folks. Not only can I now clean out the ashes from the wood stove (my only source of winter heat) but I see this new growth, not as nature's miracle of rebirth and a harbinger of warmer weather, but as tender infant plants about to be sacrificed to the salad bowl. Many, if not most, common yard weeds are edible as long as your lawn has not been chemically-enhanced, so remember, a friend with weeds is a friend indeed...