Red Clovers in the Kitchen

The recipe I thought sounded the most interesting was “Red Clover Rice” from Prodigal Gardens. I collected the best looking flowers I could find from my yard and my neighbor’s. The total amount of flowers I collected came to about 2 cups. The recipe doesn’t have the specific recipe outlines that I’m used to, so I decided to improvise it.

First, I made 1 cup of brown rice, with 3 cups of water and ½ tbs of butter in my rice cooker, seasoned with salt and pepper. While that was cooking, I cut the Clover flowers off from their stem and sautéed them with 1-2tbs of butter, salt and pepper at a low temperature. You’ll notice that the flowers shrink up a lot. Keep this in mind when you’re picking them. I took the recipe’s advice to sweeten the dish, but only used ¼ cup of walnuts and 1/3 cup of honey.

Once finished I plopped the rice in a bowl and put the sautéed Clovers on top with fresh Clover as garnish. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the dish. The flowers had a really rustic taste to them that went particularly well with the sweetness of the honey and the crunch of the walnuts.

I would definitely recommend this recipe to others and strongly encourage tweaking it to your liking.

Red Clover

This week I noticed thousands of small white buds, like snow, sprouting up all over the yard. It occurred to me that it was White Clover (Trifolium repens). All of a sudden I started noticing it everywhere, as well as its larger and colorful relative the Red Clover (Trifolium pratense). It was then that I decided to search for recipes. I found a multitude of Red Clover dishes, honeys and syrups.

Clovers are used as nitrogen-fixing crops to improve soil fertility between crop seasons. In addition, it is used as crop for grazing cattle. Red Clovers specifically are used to treat symptoms of menopause, but also have been known to help treat other medical conditions such as cancer, whooping coughs, and bronchitis.

Clovers have a very short flowering season, so to avoid my mistake last time (picking too late) I went out right away to harvest them. Red Clovers are not as abundant as White Clovers, but are easy to find in most yards near shading areas.

Taxonomy

Common Names: Red Clover

Kingdom: Plantae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Genus: Trifolium
Species: T. pratense

Distribution: Native to Eurasia but naturalized in North America.

Quote of the Plant: To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One clover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few. –Emily Dickinson.

Dandelions in the Kitchen

I didn’t realize when I chose Dandelions as my first recipe that it was so close to the end of their season. Therefore, despite their typical abundance it was somewhat difficult for me to find them. Luckily there were a few in my yard and I was able to collect enough for 3 cups.

The recipe I decided on was Melissa Breyer’s “Cream of Dandelion Soup Recipe” from Care2.com. Her recipe called for 6 cups of Dandelions, but since I only found 3 cups worth, I simply cut the recipe in half. I’m not sure if this had any significant affect on my final product.

When using mature Dandelion greens it is essential to blanch them in boiling salt water. I blanched my greens once, but found the soup still had a bitter taste. When I researched a little further I discovered that many cooks recommend multiple trials of blanching. If cooking late in the season, like I did, I strongly advise at least three rounds of blanching with boiling salt water.

The recipe was fairly simple. A word of caution though- vigorous whisking of the milk is a very important part of the soup making process. Milk is sensitive to curdling when heated; I feel that Breyer doesn't stress the importance of this step enough in her recipe. Garnishing with a flower is a very nice addition to the plate presentation (especially since the soup color could be a bit off-putting). Other than the bitterness from lack of blanching, it was a tasty dinner that we all enjoyed.

Dandelions

We’ll start off with Taraxacum officinale, otherwise known as the Common Dandelion. Dandelions are one of the most abundant species of wildflower in Rhode Island this time of year. They are easily identifiable by their bright yellow florets that glow in yards, on roadsides, and even in parking lots. As most of you know the Dandelion is the bane of many a landscaper’s existence. They are prolific growers and despite the number of times one plucks, it seems 10 more show up in a single stalk’s stead.

I personally have always had a soft spot for these weedy foes. To me, they seem to have an overall cheery disposition, with their buttery appearance and carefree lifestyle. Also they are the bellwether for the coming of summer. But as the case with many an American homestead, they just won't do on my father’s lawn. As a comprise I am going to remove the plants by hand (not by chemical) and see if my father’s stomach changes his opinion about my golden friends.

The entire Dandelion plant is edible and they are considered to have medicinal value. The flower is most commonly used to make wine, whereas the greens are typically used for soups and salads. Honeys, syrups, breads, cakes, and jams are made with Dandelions as well. The roots are used to make a type of coffee good for digestion and liver problems. The leaves are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium; it’s no wonder they have been used for centuries as medicinal herbs to fight off sickness, cure headaches and prevent bone, heart, liver and stomach problems.

Taxonomy
Common Names: Common Dandelion, Lion's Tooth, Priest's Crown, Pu Gong Ying, Swine's Snout, Dent de Lion
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Taraxacum
Species: T. officinale

Distribution: Native to Eurasia but naturalized in the Americas, Africa, Oceania and India.

Quote of the Plant: Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them. -Eeyore