The entire plant is useful as both medicine and food. The root is a classic liver tonic (blood purifier). The leaf acts as a mild diuretic and is a good source of potassium, iron, calcium, and vitamins. The fresh flowers are traditionally used to make dandelion wine.

I make an herbal tea every morning and use a variety of dried herbs. When making dandelion tea, I always add another "sweeter" herb such as lemon balm, passion flower, chamomile, or holy basil (tulsi).

You can steam the leaves, drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice, and add some feta cheese. Delicious! The leaves have a bitter zip and a good idea is to blend them with other greens. Steam them and marinate overnight in an Italian dressing and lots of honey. The dressing mellows the greens and removes a lot of the bitterness. You can make tea using the fresh flowering plant or dried leaves.

You can purchase dried dandelion in health food stores that sell dried herbs.