Roasted dandelion root "coffee."

I am not a coffee drinker.  I'm not even a tea drinker.  Still, though, a nice warm comforting beverage is something I enjoy.  I dry mint and stinging nettles for herbal tea. A couple of days ago, I watched this wonderful YouTube video about making "Dandelion Coffee."  I did exactly what he said to do and it worked perfectly! It makes a very nice warm drink.  By the way, never drink HOT drinks.  That can lead to cancer of the esophagus.  

Here is the link to the video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiGlA2tlh2c&t=470s

I didn't have very many dandelions here at our home, so I went to the original Garden Fairy's home and she helped me.  In fact, she did almost all of the digging and getting the soil off of the roots.  As you can see, I brought them home and covered them with water and let them soak for a few hours to help get the soil off.  The Fairy has clay soil, so that was not easy.  

After soaking and rinsing, I cut the roots right off of the plants.  And then I scrubbed them carefully under running water.  Here they are.

I am not going to give you a complete tutorial here.  Please refer to the link above.  Here is what they looked like after I chopped them up in my food processor.

There are roughly 4 cups of chopped roots in that bowl.

Here you can see how I spread them on a baking pan.  This is a "half sheet" pan and worked out very well for my 4 cups of chopped roots.

When they had been dehydrated in the oven, and then roasted, here is the product that I ended up with.

I'm very pleased with this. It tastes very nice to me.  I am hoping to make some more soon. 

Maple Milk!

Many children love flavored milk... strawberry, chocolate... but, oh my...  Don't read the label!  Here is a wonderful flavored milk that you can feel good about serving to your family.  Maple syrup is rich in minerals, particularly manganese, zinc and iron.  So, drink up and enjoy! (true confession...this is my substitute for ice cream ~ just for me, you understand!)

Maple Milk

1 cup cold milk (raw is best, of course, but often hard to find)
1 Tablespoon Real Maple Syrup

Pour the milk into a glass.  Add the syrup and stir!  That's it!

This post is linked to Clever Chicks Blog Hop #16

Fresh Juice

I don't think drinking bottled juices from the store is a very healthy choice. I've read too much scary stuff about it. I am lucky to have one of these: It is easy to use, quick to clean up and I love it! Juicing is not my passion, understand, but sometimes I just want some fresh juice and particularly in the colder months of the year, because we have the unheated greenhouse and a supply of fresh greens all winter long. I went out there this morning and brought in some things to use for a salad for dinner, and I also picked a handful of kale leaves and made a small amount of juice for me and my husband. It was so delicious, I have to share the "recipe" ! 2 small carrots, peeled a small handful of fresh kale 1 whole sweet apple (core removed) 1 whole lemon I was worried the lemon might be too sour, but oh, my! It was like the best lemonade ever! I think you would like it too. :) This post is linked at Real Food Wednesday ! ... and Simple Lives Thursday #75.