Food is freedom. Control the food, control the people.

Wild onion grass, violets and Dandelions! It is Spring in Oklahoma.

And my hens are producing more eggs since the daylight lasts longer. I have 10 dozen in my fridge right now. When I was working I would take eggs for my co-workers, now that I am retired I use a lot of eggs. They are a great protein to add to breakfast frittatas or quiches and when hardboiled,  they are a quick snack. But back to my yard.  

Even though we had a mild winter a Spring tonic salad is just what the herbalist ordered to get your body cleaned out.  

I don’t spray anything on my yard so everything I forage is pesticide free. When I am gathering for my salad I use a plastic veggie bag from the grocery store. I fill it with a variety of large and small dandelion leaves some blossoms, violet leaves and violet flowers. I have cleaned wild onion grass in my fridge so no need to gather more. Unfortunately, I have not seen any lambs quarters yet. There is a lot of henbit taking over parts of my yard, but the leaves are a little too old for a salad now but I can probably use some flowers for color. I will make this salad again for Easter Sunday lunch.

After I have washed and dried the greens I toss them with the chopped wild onion grass, flowers and dandelion petals in a large bowl. I posted a recipe for PA Dutch hot bacon dressing back in August 2011. It was one of first blog posts. I’ll summarize the recipe here. This is a wonderful dressing for a slightly bitter Spring salad.

• 3 slices of Bacon (or more to your taste) well cooked and crumbled
• 1 Tbsp all Purpose Flour or Wondra
• 1 whole Egg, beaten
• 1 Tbsp Sugar
• ¼ cup Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar
• 1 cup Water

Cook bacon and remove from skillet and set aside. Keep the bacon fat in the skillet. I like to use a cast iron skillet for this recipe. In a small mixing bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Add beaten egg, vinegar and water. Whisk until well blended. Cook in bacon drippings until the liquid thickens. Pour over your salad. This is a great dressing to use for crisper greens like frisee, radicchio and dandelions. Serve while still warm. It can be reheated in the microwave but is best fresh.

I do hope you have food in your yard! Happy foraging.