dandelion greens, mint, and broccoli

It officially feels like Spring today in balmy Victoria - 11.9 degrees! daffodils blooming underneath the porch and rhubarb sprouting leaves-lots of herbs coming on gang busters so I decided to pick a bunch, along with some dandelion greens to add to couscous and lentil salad. Made some Jamaican veg. patties to go with some green tomato salsa I'd made last summer. Recipes: Jamaican Veg. Patties: 2 - 3 T. veg. oil, divided 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion 3 T. jerk seasoning 3 cloves of garlic minced 1/2 tsp. salt 4 cups grated carrots ( I mixed half yam) 2 cups frozen peas, thawed (I added some frozen corn, too) 1 1/2 cups soft breadcrumbs 3 large eggs 1/2 cups milk Saute the onion in 1 T. oil until soft, add seasoning, garlic & salt and cook stirring 1 min. Add carrots, cover, reduce heat and cook until carrots are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in peas, cook 1 more minute, fold in breadcrumbs. Whisk eggs and milk together and stir into carrot mixture - form into patties (they will be wet, like potato pancakes) Heat oil and fry patties about 5 mins. per side - keep your eye on them as they darken quickly. Couscous and Lentil Salad recipe:cook 1 cup lentils in boiling water with one bay leaf until tender, drain and stir in 1 T. vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool. Pour 1 1/4 cups boiling water over 1 cup couscous, cover and let sit 5 mins, fluff with a fork and add 1/4 tsp salt. and 2 tsp olive oil. Whisk together 1 clove garlic paste (I used my ginger grater), 3 T. olive oil, 2 Tbs. vinegar, and mint. Stir into lentils and couscous, crumble feta over top. I put in some dandelion leaves and broccoli from the garden, but you can use whatever greens you happen to have such as arugula and parsley. Serve with black olives and homemade green tomato salsa.

Dandy Dandelion Chai

*** If you like the bitter taste of dandelion roots, you can chop then roast them, and add them to spices to make Chai - to roast the roots, chop them finely, but not too finely, and place them on trays to toast in your oven. I put the oven at 250,which seemed too hot, so reduced it to 200 degrees, and left the oven door ajar to allow steam to escape. It took 1 and 1/2 hours to dry and toast the roots, and they needed to be stirred frequently. To 1 cup of dried dandelion roots, add: 6 Tbsp Fennel or Anise seed 36 green Cardamom pods 72 Cloves 6 Cinnamon sticks 1½ tsp black peppercorns 12 Bay leaves To make the chai, put 2 tsp. of the mixture into a small pot with 1 cup of water, add some fresh ginger slices at this point, if you like. Simmer for 5 minutes, steep for 10, then strain out the spices. Reheat in the pot with 1 Tb. honey or brown sugar, and 1 - 2 Tb. milk or cream The bags of Chai can make sweet Yule gifts, too.