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.
Your "about me" is very informational, I can see where your coming from and what drove you to create this blog. Your description is also very well done (although, I think you meant "flora" instead of "fauna"). These entries are great, I never would have thought to look into dandelions. I never knew about all their cooking and medicinal purposes. And I like how you introduce your main ingredient first and give lots of info on it, and then the following post is about how to cook it.
ReplyDeleteLoved the 'about me', it was a great description of you, and gave me a good idea of why you are writing the blog. When you described why you loved cooking, and it made me want to see what you cook.
ReplyDeleteThe description makes me interested, and I think its very interesting to learn the whole circle of plants.
The first post was a good introduction and I think everyone knows where to get dandilions, and has seen them in their yard so its something they can relate to.
The second post was a good post to continue and it was good that you kind of explained the problems you had, so that people can relate to it. I would just suggest that you explain any words that people may not know, like blanched.
Celena
Your about me was clear and gave a brief background about who you are. Letting the reader know that you are wildlife and conservation biology major establishes creditability in writing about this subject. Your description states the purpose and focus by explaining why you are providing the recipes and what you hope the reader gets out of reading them. Your first post was very informative about Dandelions and it highlighted your love for wild things which you explained in your description. Continuing with the dandelions, the next post including a recipe for dandelion soup it was good to see the connection keeping the posts relevant. I look forward to reading your next post and recipe.
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