Dandelion Greens--Umm, Er, Maybe Not

I've been thinking for a while about trying dandelion greens. I mean, what's not to like? They grow in our yard like crazy at this time of the year, so since I'm going to pull them up, anyway, we might as well eat them, too. There was so much advice about this all over the Internet that I decided to just ignore all of it and serve the greens raw in a salad.

I enlisted DS to get out the old Fiskars weedeater and rip a bunch of dandelion plants out by the roots. The websites all tell you that the big leaves can be bitter, so I carefully cut off only the small leaves for our salad. By the time DS got tired of yard work (about 15 minutes, I'd say), I had enough greens for the three of us. I chopped up a tomato to add to the "salad" and dished up three bowls of it.

DH tried gamely to eat it, but after one bite DS was through. You can see from the picture how much he didn't like it. Before I had even taken a seat at the counter they were both proclaiming the greens to be inedibly bitter. My first couple of bites were all right, but by bite #3 I was inclined to agree with them, so we picked out the tomatoes and unceremoniously dumped the greens in the trash.

Still, as I was walking outside this morning, I saw a whole fresh new crop of the telltale yellow flowers scattered on the lawn. Maybe I could collect a new bunch and try cooking them...

Teal Suit Finished At Last

Okay, so in February I didn't finish any UFO's; but already in March I've finished two, if you count this suit as two pieces, the jacket and the skirt. This project got abandoned more than once since I bought the fabric a while back (you may remember it from my December 16, 2010 post "Polyester, Nein, Danke!). Despite my earlier reservations, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The fabric is a synthetic suede, very out of character for me (I tend to be Ms. Natural Fibers). It wasn't particularly easy to work with, and then I lost 30 pounds after the jacket was nearly finished. I couldn't take in the side seams without taking out the in-seam pockets, so I just lapped it farther over in the front for a less baggy fit. Fortunately I hadn't cut the skirt out yet, so the size change wasn't a problem there.

I'm also proud that I didn't have to buy any new notions for the suit; the buttons, interfacing, zipper and hem tape all came out of my stash. (And I swear that I will not accumulate any more such items without having an immediate use for them! She who dies with the most fabric, zippers, hem tape, etc. stored in plastic boxes DOES NOT WIN.)

The jacket back comes to an off-center point at the bottom that is interesting to look at and flattering, too. I can probably use this outfit as an excuse to buy new shoes, since my green ones are too green and my navy ones too blue. Styling it, as they say on Project Runway, could be tricky.

My goal for April is to finish a knitted lace top and scarf. I had lots of time to work on it last week, when I traveled to northern Michigan with DD and her boyfriend. I'm using two yarns, a variegated cotton boucle that I bought from Robin Edmundson and some discolored Knit-Cro-Sheen that I dyed dark blue to coordinate. Stay tuned for details and pictures--I'm on a roll!