Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Dandelion Jelly & Syrup


Awe, Dandelion Jelly
 Its as easy as any jelly.
We started off by picking flower 
4 cups worth of dandelion flowers


we washed them until we thought they were clean enough
finished picking the longer stems off.
we chose to leave the green bottoms on
but if you want your jelly to be a brighter yellow without a little tint of green
take the green bottoms off. 
I really didn't want to spend that much time on making this jelly.


6 cups of water 


bring to a boil 
reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes
remove from heat and let sit until cooled

NOW for the fun part... Strain and Squeeze all the yummy goodness out of those little flowers

Next your going to put 3 cups of the juice back into the pot
(this is for the jelly.
 Syrup will be at the end)


O~Kay... this is what make Jelly so yum~a~lishous 
Now for the 'healthy" stuff..... 
*enter sarcasm here*

5 1/2 cups of sugar
1/4 teaspoon real vanilla
1/4 cup real Orange Juice (I used pulp free)
1 box of Pectin 

Now you let it boil until it passes your jelly test.
(cold plate, a little bit of you syrup 
back in icebox till cooled 
then wipe your finger through it if it looks like jelly then your done)


once its reached your likeness of consistency pour it into 
sterile jars and process in hot water bath for 15 mins
Viola, 
You have Dandelion Jelly.

Now for the Syrup,
add 6 cups of sugar
DON'T add the Pectin
boil for 10 mins
pour into your jars
and process just as you did with the jelly

Husband says,  "hm, that's interesting it tastes just like the flower smells"

(  big smiles from me  )

So get out there and make some Dandelion Jelly!!  

Until Next Time,

Amy

Monday, March 21, 2011

Welcome to Spring!

Nothing say's Welcome to Spring like a yard full of Dandelions.
So we decided to pick a bowl full of these lovely little weeds.
Susun Weed says,  "the gardener's best revenge is to eat the weeds."
So that is what we intend to do,
we will walk you through different ways to 
eat your weeds this Spring.



First off we started by picking these lovely flowers from our yard and our neighbors yard 
knowing that no herbicides have been used in these yards.

We washed them under cold water until we felt they were clean. 

Next, Al~Bug seasoned some flour with salt and pepper
Wiped up an egg... Dipped each flower into the egg then into the seasoned flower.



Then into the hot oil around 400 degrees 
until crispy and crunchy 
Watch closely or they will burn


Then ENJOY!!

You can enjoy them plain or dipped into you favorite dipping sauce.



Until Next Time,

Amy