Day 1 –
Dandelion salad and tea.
When I first
thought of foraging in Ontario for a rich cultural dish, my first
thought (perhaps I’m biased toward an Italian background) was
dandelion. On a warm day in late spring/early August one doesn’t
have to go far in Toronto to find groups of people combing hills and
fields for these gems. There are a couple of reasons for this recent
growth. For one thing, people have long enjoyed the leaves of this
plant for use in tea and salads, most prominently. Until recently,
many municipalities in and around Toronto employed pesticides and
chemical herbicides to control the dandelion and other “weed”
populations. However, in the last few years a number of
municipalities have stopped (and in many cases banned) the use of
chemical pesticides and herbicides. This has led to a massive growth
in the dandelion population around Ontario.
With this in mind,
I had hoped to go out and fine these delicious little gems along with
my Italian friends, and write about it here. Sadly, I’ve missed
the season for this activity. I thought about retracting this day
from the week’s entries, but it’s worth noting here that the
dandelion, an often overlooked culinary delight, can be found in and
around Toronto once again around April each year before they bloom
fully.
Harris
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