Did you know you can make jelly from dandelions and it actually tastes good? It does. It tastes like a mild honey. I’ll bet pretty much everybody has dandelions growing somewhere in their yard, so if you have an abundance of dandelions, why not give this jelly a try?

This is one of those things that at first I turned my nose up at. Then I saw a recipe that said it tastes like honey, so my curiosity got the better of me and I just had to try it. I wasn’t disappointed.

Of course, you need to use dandelions that haven’t been sprayed with weed killer. You need nice clean ones. But go ahead and give this a try. I think you’ll be surprised at how good it is.

Dandelion Jelly

2 cups dandelion petals, clean and lightly packed ((Make sure your dandelions haven't been sprayed with weed killer or fertilizer.))
4 cups water
4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 box powdered pectin

Clean picked dandelion flowers in a sink of cold water. Remove from water and allow to dry. Cut the green part of the flower off and place the petals into a quart canning jar. (Cut close to the base and then remove any remaining green parts with your fingers. They should slide off pretty easily. It could make your jelly bitter if you leave the green part on.)
Pour 4 cups of boiling water over the flower petals. Allow to cool, then place a lid on the jar and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Strain the flowers well and squeeze out as much dandelion tea as possible.
Pour 3 ½ to 4 cups of dandelion tea into a large pot. Add lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil.
Add sugar and return to a boil while stirring. Boil the jelly for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and pour into sterilized canning jars. (I used 4-ounce jelly jars.) Process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner or according to your altitude.

Recipe adapted from Homestead Acres.

Meringue cookies are, in my opinion, a perfect treat for Valentine’s Day. They’re light and airy, crunchy and sweet, and a perfect change from the chocolatey-ness of the usual Valentine’s treats.

These cookies are nice and fancy too, without being difficult or time-consuming to make. (Hands-on time anyway. They do take about 3 hours in the oven, but you can whip them up in about 10 minutes.) Everyone will love these classic meringue cookies, so I hope you make some for your valentines this year.

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Garlic Herb No Knead Bread is on the menu today. I have to say that I’ve never made a no knead bread before because I looked at it as cheating. I know how to make kneaded bread and I have a mixer to do that work for me, so why would I need to stoop to a no knead bread? I started getting curious, though. Then I saw a recipe that sounded really good, so I tried it. Let me tell you, I’m so glad I did!

Contrary to my former belief, no knead breads are NOT cheating because there’s more than one way to develop gluten. One is, obviously, by kneading. Another way is by not kneading. Let me explain: If you have a dough that’s wet enough, as it sits for 12-18 hours, the glutenin and gliadin move around and form gluten on their own. The dough does need to be wet enough, though, and it works best with a lean dough. A lean dough is one without fat and other extras. Pretty much just flour, salt, yeast, and water. Below is a picture of some no knead dough that had been sitting for a couple of hours. You can see how wet it is.

The result is a crusty, chewy, dense bread. I haven’t been this excited about a loaf of bread in years. I’m seriously so happy about this. Imagine the possibilities! Because kneading is not required, it’s a perfect solution for baking bread in an emergency situation where you don’t have electricity to power a mixer. Just pop it in a dutch oven to bake over some coals. My husband and I are planning on taking this recipe camping with us this summer. Wouldn’t it be fun to mix up a batch of dough in the morning, let it sit all day, throw it in a dutch oven that evening and have some fresh baked bread with dinner? I think so!

It’s also a great solution for those who can’t make the investment in a mixer yet. Or if you’re like me and you have a mixer and can consistently produce great loaves of bread, it’s still a fun way to easily make a different style of bread with a different (and amazing) texture. So I hope you give this recipe a try! I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.