Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Dandy Burger


It's game time. My boy is scheduled to take the mound today. I deliver the pep talk and then hand him a shot of nourishment. A sports drink? An energy bar? Nah. I hand him a hot Dandy Burger.

Yes, I've gone off the deep end. Just when you thought I was done with $&@%# dandelions...

What can I say? I had a fresh crop on the lawn.

This recipe comes from a member of the Forage Ahead Yahoo group. I adapted it slightly, adding more flour and onion plus an egg.

1 cup packed dandelion petals (no greens)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp each basil and oregano
1/8 tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients together. The batter will be wet and goopy. Form into patties and pan fry in oil or butter, turning until crisp on both sides. Makes 4-5 very nutritious veggie burgers.

The Mariners bullpen could use a few of these.

13 comments:

  1. I don't know whether to be frightened or enticed, but I think I might be a little of both...

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  2. Awesome. I just started some dandelion wine earlier this week... maybe I'll make a whole dandelion meal for the uncorking!

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  3. How many dads make dandy burgers for their sons, and how many sons actually eat them? What a cool kid.
    Such an innovative take on the veggie burger. Thanks.

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  4. I'll be honest with you--my boy was a little weirded out by the dandy burger. Everyone in my family thinks I've taken this dandelion thing a bit far.

    But now dandy wine, that's an undertaking. Let us know how yr batch turns out, Aaron. How many quarts of petals will you picking anyway? I've heard to watch out for the hangover in the morning...it's supposed to be a doozy if you drink too much.

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  5. We picked six quarts of compacted flowers. As for the kick, I don't like refined sugars, so I used honey, and I've never been bowled over by a honey wine before. We'll see though, maybe the dandies contribute something special. =o)

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  6. Hey there Finspot, when you say "no greens" does that mean you took the green base of the flower off of each blossom? This seems onerous, but I'll do it if it makes a difference.

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  7. Yeah Aaron, the least painful way to to do this is get to your patch in the AM before the flowers open. Grab the blossom and twist/pull the petals away from the green. Sometimes a couple green sepals will separate along with your petals, but these can be easily discarded. Good luck!

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  8. You refer to Peter Gail's "The Dandelion Celebration: A Guide to Unexpected Cuisine" regularly, and include recipes from it without crediting them other times. When you do credit, you send people to Amazon, where they pay more than retail for the book. Please let people know that they can buy Dandelion Celebration directly from Peter Gail, the author, at www.dandyblend.com. Go to the catalog, click on Dandelion Books, and it will take you to three books on dandelions with over 200 recipes from his collection of ove 1000 collected from 64 countries. I know all this because I am he!!
    You can also reach me by calling 800-697-4858.

    I am flattered that some people are asking around $65.00 a copy for new copies. A personally autographed brand new copy sells for $11 plus $4 shipping.

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  9. Wonderful!
    And just in time for the dandelion frenzy in my yard.
    Used up the egg whites in the fridge, used yogurt instead of milk, added chopped mushrooms and some sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
    Thanks for the inspiration, they were delicious!

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  10. OMG!!! I sure hope that the hands that made that burger are cleaner thant he ones eating it!! I'm a 6th generation farm girl and have eaten my fair share of dirt. But when sharing a recipe with the public, clean hands (and clothes) are a must! This is the #1 complaint in foodie circles against a lot of those promoting healty/vegan/organic diets. It gives EVERYONE who raises food a bad rep. I can't count how many farmers markets I've been to where the vendors may have taken a quick sponge bath before heading to town. But, you could smell them a couple aisles over. Guess what I'm saying is those dirty hands wrapped around the "burger" may be cute. But do absolutely nothing at trying to entice people to try something new. In fact, the only thing it does is helps confirm to the outside world the stereo types of how "bizzare the freaks are". Yes that IS how it is perceived.

    ps. I only published as anonymous because I don't have any of the other types of account options.

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  11. I think that burger looks amazing! I will definitely be trying some dandelion recipes in the near future! (FYI, the "dirty hands" did not dissuade me from trying it. The "dirty hands" do not make me think badly of the blogger. In fact, the very first line of the post explains the picture.)

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  12. These were amazingly tasty and didn't have a hint of floral-taste. They'll take on whatever sauce you add (I prefer spicy and garlic). The texture is also pleasant. I was expecting chewy or stringy, but they were more "meaty" thank anything. Thanks for the post!!

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  13. The comment about the "dirty hands" is ridiculous! The burger looks great, definitely going to try this! Thank you!

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