After my previous post on dandelion tea, I thought I'd try a recipe using the flowers rather than the leaves. As ever, there are a million and one recipes for how to make it online, so I've cobbled my version together out of a few of them.
Pick as many flower heads as you can (ideally about 100) from a pesticide free area well away from roads. If you've got some in your garden, even better! Try to do this on a sunny day when the flowers are open. As ever when foraging, make sure you are absolutely sure what you're picking. There are some look-a-likes of dandelions, make sure you check exactly what you've found first. The one you're after has an unbranching hollow stem from a rosette of leaves.
Rinse the petals and add to a pan with just enough water to cover them. Turn on a low heat until it reaches boiling point, then remove from the heat, put a lid on and leave overnight to infuse. If you've not got time, you could simmer the petals for 20 minutes instead.
Strain the liquid and weigh it. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. Add the same weight of white sugar as liquid to your pan, and heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Continue simmering until the liquid becomes syrupy. This took about half an hour for me.
Pour into sterilised bottles or jars and keep any opened ones in the fridge.
You can use the syrup as a cordial, poured over pancakes or add hot water for a soothing drink. Apparently, you an also add some pectin and keep boiling the syrup to make dandelion jam. A project for another day!
I admit it, I'm an addict. The clock has barely struck 8 before I need my first hit of the white powder, but no longer! Starting this week, I'm doing something about it. I'm going cold turkey. I'm giving up sugar.
Since Alice was born, I've increasingly relied on high energy foods that are easy to grab. Biscuits, cake, sweets and chocolate don't last long in our house. Once a packet is open, it's usually empty by the end of the day. Even as I'm eating, I'm planning what I can eat next. I'm fed up with relying on food to give me a boost, and the energy boosts and dips are doing nothing for my mood, so I've decided to do something about it.
So, here is my plan:
- Naturally occurring sugars are fine - I can still eat fruit and have dairy produce. I'm just cutting out refined sugars. I say 'just'. I'm amazed at how many innocuous seeming foods have added sugar. Even the bran flakes that I usually feel so virtuous having for breakfast contain an extraordinary amount of added sugar.
- Make other easy to eat foods to help me through cravings. I have trawled through this blog, amongst others for sugar free recipes and have a stock of lovely biscuits, cake and even some savoury flapjacks ready and waiting.
- I will start on the 27th July (tomorrow - when every diet begins...) and finish on the 27th August.
I expect it to be a difficult experience, but I need to get control back, especially as Alice is beginning to notice if I'm eating something different from what she has. Hopefully, this time next month I'll be clean!
