Did you ever use dandelions to tell the time? Did you ever use the milky residue from dandelion stems as a medicine?
No? I did! I have no idea who taught me these things, but I do remember very vividly the person who taught me the French word for dandelion - 'pis-en-lit'. This literally means 'piss the bed', which is great, and according to my grandfather anyone eating dandelion leaves is pretty likely to do just that...
Anyway! He was right. Tea made from dandelion root and/or leaf is a traditional remedy for all sorts of things, including kidney problems, iron-deficiency anemia, liver damage and constipation.
So, today (after an evening that may not have been particularly kind to my liver), I resolved to make dandelion tea.
I began by digging up a few dandelions: