early in the Spring, the fruit trees and lilac bushes are blossoming, releasing their sweet aromas into the air...the perennials are bursting through the soil, eager to rule over the garden beds once again…the tulips give you that first spray of bright color…and the dandelions are happy to dot the lawn since you’re not quite ready to start mowing the grass
it’s at this time that you can walk through your gardens or nearby parks and find delicious young sprouts to enjoy…when foraging, do your research so you know what you’re picking is not poisonous or sprayed with pesticides…fortunately, my neighbors are happy with yards that embrace the pollinators and are full of edible “weeds”
with hundreds of dandelions at the ready, it is time to unfold the yellowing piece of paper that has my time-honored recipe for a scrumptious bread that uses many of nature’s ingredients…the only way to make this better is to spread it with rhubarb jam
garden foraged bread
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons pink sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon dill weed
½ teaspoon pink peppercorns, crushed
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 cup chives, minced
¼ cup morel mushrooms, chopped
1/8 cup lilac blossoms
1 cup dandelion heads, petals removed from green cap
¼ cup canola oil
¼ honey
1 egg
1 cup milk
¼ cup strong brewed herbal tea
¼ cup fiddlehead ferns, blanched and chopped
mix together the dry ingredients, herbs, mushrooms, and blossoms
in separate bowl, mix the oil, honey, egg, milk, and tea
fold the liquids into the dry ingredient bowl, do not overmix
pour the batter into greased loaf pan
top with the fiddlehead ferns
bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
* if you don’t have lilacs, substitute with extra dandelions, or marigolds, pansy, or violets
* if you don’t have morel, substitute with baby bella mushrooms
*if you don’t have fiddlehead ferns, substitute asparagus
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