Dandelion Brew----A Very Healthy Drink----This Is Very Yummy For The Tummy !

      Every spring when I begin to clear out my garden of it's weeds getting it ready to plant seed, I always save the roots from the Dandelions and the Marshmellow Plants. But most people call this weed the Mellow Plants. I have a Sun Oven that I bought for a couple hundred dollars a few years ago and if the sun is shinning the oven will heat up to as high as 350 degrees F. I will put the roots into a stainless steel square cake pan and I will roast the roots in that oven for 5 or 6 hours or until they are dark and crispy. These roots can be roasted in any kitchen oven also for a few hours at 350 degrees. When the roots are ready I will put then on to a double paper towel in a double boiler which is two pans, one inside the other. The top pan has holes all over it's bottom and the bottom pan has water in it that boils with a lid over the top pan. The drippings that are coming off of these roots is called  " Dandelion Brew ". I have traditionally made this Brew now for over 30 years. Dandelion roots are bitter if you eat them raw or cooked, but the roasting of the roots must remove much of the bitterness because the Brew does not taste bitter.
      The Dandelion is a yellow flowered plant with long toothed leaves and each yellow flower sits on the end of a long hollow stem. The sun makes the whole plant taste bitter. This plant is found on just about everyone's lawn in the spring that has not been sprayed for weeds. Children love to pick the Dandelion flowers and give them to their mothers. The Marshmellow Plants grows on any poor soil and they grow commonly in my garden every year. It has almost round leaves with 4 or 5 grooves and the leaf is toothed all around the edges. Each leaf has a split in it and each leaf is attached to a long stem. The roots of the younger plants are long and narrow. On the older plants many of the roots look like human body with arms and legs and they can grow up to a foot or more into the ground. These roots are tough and they are well anchored in the ground. In other words most of these older plants can not be pulled out by hand. Most generally you have to use a shovel to get them out and if you are not too careful on the much older plants, shovel handles have been broken trying to get these plants out of the ground. Some Herb Books claim  that the Marshmellow Plants are in the same family as the Herb that is called Ginsing and that it has some of the same medical properties. This plant is sometimes called  " American Ginsing " The roots of both the Dandelion and the Marshmellow Plants are very healthy for you and most Herb Books claim that the roasted roots make a good coffee substitute. I have been drinking this Dandelion Brew for over 30 years and in my opinion it does not taste anything like coffee. It has it's own taste and I believe that it is a non-bitter pleasant taste. I do sweeten my Brew and I add milk to it. Sometimes I will add a bit of Molasses and a few drops of Vanilla Flavoring and or when it is available I will put a flavored coffee creamer into the Brew. Either way the Dandelion Brew always taste Yummy !!!!
      When you drink the Brew from the roasted roots of the Dandelion and the Marshmellow Plants, the Brew is very healthy for you. A Pathologist or one who know all about the Herbs and their medical properties, they will tell you that the Dandelion Roots have about 12 Amino Acids and Salts. These will get into your blood stream and clean out the foreign matter making your blood very pure. Both the leaves and the roots are rich in all the Vitamins and most of the minerals. The reason why the Dandelion is not popular as a food is because the sun makes the leaves taste very bitter. The yellow flowers when they are in full bloom, these are collected and are made into a pleasant tasting healthy tea. The Mountain Folk make a famous Dandelion Wine from the flowers. When gathering the flowers make sure that there are no stems. The stems will make the tea taste bitter.
      So if you are one that is willing to drink this " Dandelion Brew ", it will purify your blood and it will provide you with several Natural Vitamins and Minerals. It will also kill Cancer Cells and it will kill off the Free Radicals that are found in our bodies. This Brew helps the kidneys to function better and it will get rid of urine infections. It will also help you to overcome the Common Cold and the Flu. This Brew will also slow down your aging process. These side effects sound great don't they ? Also there is no Caffeine that is found in Dandelion Brew.
      Before you roast the roots they need to be cleaned of all the dirt that is on them. I will put the roots into a bucket and swish them in water, changing the water several times until the water no longer looks muddy. Then I will put the clean roots in a pan and roast them.
      Right now I have a fresh batch of roots that were roasted a few days ago sitting on my back porch and they are ready to be processed into Dandelion Brew. So if any of you could come to my house I would serve you a fresh batch of this Yummy Brew.

      For those of you who maybe interested the Dandelion plant is very rich in Vitamin A. It also has Vitamins B,C and E. It is also rich in these three Minerals, Potassium, Calcium and Sodium. Other Minerals that are found in Dandelions are, Phosphorus, Iron, Cobalt, Tin. Copper and Zinc.
      The Marshmellow Plant is rich in Vitamin A, Calcium and Zinc. It also has Iron, Sodium, Iodine, and the B-Complex Vitamins.
      Again this year I have gathered the roots of the Dandelion and the mellow plants. The roots have been roasted and it is in a double boiler right this minute on the stove making Dandelion Brew. I even bought some coffee creamer so that I could enjoy some Dandelion Brew this very day. You too can go gather some Dandelion Roots. They grow just about everywhere and they are free for the taking. All you have to do is ask. The Dandelions that grow in a farmer's fields, these have big, long nice looking roots but be careful in digging them up. They can break you shovel handle as you try to dig them up. But most of all have fun and enjoy one of the healthiest beverages that can be freshly made in your kitchen. Plus you can drink all the Dandelion Brew that you want because it has no side effects. This is way better then coffee. Coffee is expensive to buy while Dandelions are free for the taking, and there is so much of it to be gathered.