Inserted in an old Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook from the 1930s, in the papers of the once teetotalling Laura Ingalls Wilder:

Pour four quarts boiling water upon six quarts of [dandelion] blossoms. Let stand three days, stirring often. Strain. To liquid add four pounds of granulated sugar and bring to boil. When cold, add one sliced lemon, one sliced orange, and one yeast cake. Cover. Let stand a full three weeks. Strain. Bottle. If bottled too soon, it will break the bottles.

Her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane, wrote this out and stuck it into her three-ring cookbook. With it were recipes for Laura Ingalls Wilder gingerbread, French bread that includes shortening and sugar, crusty rolls, refrigerator rolls, and many more recipes for cheesecake and rhubarb than I thought possible.

Share This