I've been posting from time to time about good cheap food. Most of the recipes I learned from my immigrant Italian grandmother who gave new meaning to the word frugal. So in honor of her here's a twofer below the orange flourish.
Dandelions. Looking out at my lawn, I think I could feed an army on the dandelions in it. I love dandelion salad and we had it almost every Easter when I was a kid. My grandfather would pick a big bag of dandelions. They have to be picked before they flower otherwise they are tough, preferably where dogs don't run. Then wash and dry like regular salad greens. Make a wine vinegarette dressing and add one or two hard boiled eggs to the salad.
The other ways we would prepare dandelions are similar to spinach. They are very good sauteed in olive oil and garlic with salt. Or you can make a minestra out of any greens, potatoes, a little water, garlic and salt. Minestra is a cruder version of minestone. In a pot add quartered small boiling potatoes, greens like spinach, escarole, dandelions or Italian flat green beans, a few cloves of garlic and water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer til the potatoes are cooked. Add salt to taste, drain off most of the water, return to low heat and drizzle with olive oil. Heat through.