Dandelion......bee-loved and rooted...

 Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is one of the most bee-loved and well rooted plants. Foragers and herbalists adore this yellow blooming weed, maintainers of many lawns consider it as an invader. The whole plant can be eaten, it's general safety and it's abundance is almost unparalleled. Dancing the lines of food and medicine. Magically, the presence of this resilience, tap root nourishment, and it's flowers determined brightness echoes out...

The leaves are busting with minerals, best extracted in water, or vinegar, type preparations ie. as a tea, or tucker. They are also a diuretic, hence it's French name 'piss-en-lit' or wet the bed, but unlike some pharma diuretics which sap the body of Potassium, it's pattern is otherwise. It thus supports with such signs as edema, water retention and research is being done into its effects on high blood pressure, 

Love a good bed of Dandy greens, mayhaps mixed with other garden foundlings, two poached or fried eggs, lashings of mayo, on toast or straight. My kind of breakfast!

The taproot contains a substance called, 'inulin', not the insulin of diabetic levels, but a prebiotic. Prebiotics feed the guts funky flora (compared to supplements that contain these live 'probiotics') that lead to health. Again tea, or Dandelion coffee, is the best way to access this. Apparently unroasted, if this is the reason you are drinking the coffee (rather than simply for it's rocking liver toning and grounding out abilities), has the higher levels of inulin. Otherwise, roast away. It's also often found blended with Chicory root, which alas doesn't contain the same medicinal potency, but has a yum flavor and is sometimes used to 'pad out'.

To brew a kick ass Dandelion coffee, I boil water in my billy first, literally. Pop a good hand full and a half or two in a saucepan, pour like six cup fulls of water over it (scuse the free balling measurements, that's the way I roll) and bring to the boil. Allow to boil a few minutes, then turn off the heat and let it brew for 5 or so minutes. Add honey, n oat milk or your choice to taste mmmm. Put your feet up, find a good gazing spot and ponder over a cuppa...one of my fav occupations, solo or shared....