Does A N Y T H I N G  taste better than that first sip of morning coffee (especially with a hefty dash of Italian Sweet Cream)? Ahhhhh! (Oh Rob – I know you are with me!)

Well, not to me – especially when I wake up early – VERY early – like today at 4 am.

I actually love when I wake up early on my own (hate it when I HAVE to – like to catch one of those crazy early morning flights… of course that is when I want to sleep in and my alarm rudely interrupts that).  I love having  two or three hours of quiet, uninterrupted time to do whatever I want – as long as it is pretty quiet to not wake up dear, snoring hubby. And I don’t know about you, but the quieter I try to be, the noisier I am…. I drop, I trip, I bump into……. Oy Vey!

So this early morning, I decided to write my second blog post.

For those of you that read to the end of my first blog post, I shared this photo that Marty (that’s dear hubby) took of me a week or so ago, and you may have wondered what the photo looked like that I took.  (Either that or you are still laughing at how silly I look!)  Well – here it is – not very earth shattering, but I swear that little bee atop that “flower” is looking right at me and saying, “DO YOU MIND?!”

Do you see it?  (Put your reading glass on if you are – err – in my generation and beyond).

Do you see how he/she (not sure how you tell girl bees from boy bees – that’ll be some Google research for another day) has his head cocked and those two black  eyes (almost wider than his head) are staring right at me?  (so humor me if I’m imaging it – k?)

It got me thinking about the little ole’ dandelion.  Such a despised “weed” to most.  But did you ever really think about the many attributes of those bright yellow, cheerful “flowers?”

Ok – so most of us want a beautiful, plush, green lawns, but after a long white and brown winter, isn’t it great to see the cheerful bright yellow color (if you think about it for simply what it is)?  When you look at one very closely – they are quite intricate – the flower AND the leaves.  Look at the delicate petals and the tiny curly spikes in between.   Quite beautiful up close and personal.

I’ll bet many of you can think back to picking some of these “flowers” as a child for your mom or grandma or recalling your child picking them for you.  It makes me smile to recall my boys playing outside and running to the door to give me a handful (often stemless) that I would put in a tiny glass or jar and float in some water on my kitchen window sill for days.

And then… a couple of weeks after that, those once bright and cheerful yellow flowers magically transform into “wish makers!”  Don’t lie.  I know e v e r y  o n e of  you has done it… picked one of those puffy globes after they turn to seed, and blown on it after making a wish (and spreading those lovely seeds all over the lawn so that they can create even more beautiful yellow flowers for next Spring!)

I hope some of your wishes have come true.

One of my favorite things about dandelions however, is the memory of my grandma (my former best buddy and pal and forever life mentor) foraging for those tender leaves in very early Spring – usually around Easter and served with Easter dinner.  She would head out with a bucket in hand, and what I recall as a screwdriver shaped tool (anybody know the technical term for that gardening tool?) and dig (often under snow) up the tender early shoots of dandelions (BEFORE they flower) to make a D-E-L-I-S-H salad!

I haven’t had it for years (I really need to remember early enough to go picking myself), but it always had a tangy vinaigrette type dressing and lots of fresh garlic and onions.  I especially love the bottom white part where all the leaves came together (closes to the root).  It was the sweetest and most tender part.  You can’t wait too long to harvest dandelion greens as they become quite bitter with age, but oh – if you get them at the right time – they are quite a delicacy!

I think foraging has become trendy lately.  I didn’t have a photo of my own to share of a dandelion salad, so I found this one at  Whole Eats & Whole Treats (where, by the way, there are some great recipes, but it looks like Zoe hasn’t written for a while.  I’ll be checking it out more.)

Flower?  Weed? Salad? Wish Maker?  The dandelion – my crazy random thoughts on life “in between.”

Well – the birds are beginning to chirp and dawn is breaking.  I think I will pour another cup of coffee and get ready for a walk before I begin my work day.

Thanks for checking back in.  Hope you will share your thoughts (and maybe even great recipes or memories).

Cheers and hugs,

Jodi