Dandelions for Dinner
Keeping traditions alive through food
STORY BY SAYAKA IIDA | PHOTOS BY GRACE SCHRATER
(above) Maria Stavrakas, owner of Dandelion Organic Delivery, measures out the appropriate amount of rainbow carrots for each delivery box. The selection of vegetables vary week by week, and delivery customers can specify and substitute if they do not like a type of produce.
They’re a flower, they’re a weed, they’re edible. Most Americans think of dandelions as a nuisance to be chased from their gardens, but to Maria Stavrakas, and her family, dandelions are prized vegetables that make a delicious meal.
Maria wants to raise awareness about the health benefits of dandelions and educate people about eating wild greens through her business, Dandelion Organic Delivery, which she owns with her husband Jonny Stavrakas.
Dandelion Organic Delivery delivers local, organic produce to customers once a week. There are four delivery options that include potatoes, carrots, apples and many other fruits and vegetables. The delivery plans are priced from $28 to $36 and are customizable to include the produce an individual customer wants to eat. The options range from 10 to 15 different vegetables per package, so they can feed a single person or an entire family, Maria says.
Although dandelions themselves are not in the produce bins, the business aims to educate their customers about them, while providing them with other delicious produce.
In the past, Maria has held cooking classes at the Community Food Co-op and at Fairhaven Village, where she has taught how to prepare dandelions. Her favorite way to eat dandelions is with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice and feta cheese.
Maria has lived in Bellingham for eight years, and has enjoyed eating dandelions since she was a child. She learned how to cook and eat dandelions from her family who came from Greece. After moving to the U.S. Maria’s parents started a traditional Greek restaurant called Taverna Athena in Baltimore.
“I grew up being a business owner in a way with my family, and I felt that I could do that,” Maria says, “That definitely inspired my love for food.”
When Maria was a child, she would pick dandelions with her family on Sundays. They went to the edges of farms where the dandelions grew undisturbed and dug the dandelions out of the ground with a knife. They took them home, roots and all, and boiled the dandelions all day, putting them in the freezer for later after they were done.
Dandelion is one of the most nutritious vegetables on the planet, but generally is only considered a weed,” Maria says.
Dandelions are filled with iron, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin C. Eating dandelions can also help with inflamed tonsils, can help prevent urinary tract infections, soothe an upset stomach and help with other ailments, according to the National Institute of Health’s website.
Customers have told Maria and Jonny that they have found some of their favorite produce items through the delivery. Maria and Jonny are very happy to introduce people to new vegetables and fruits, they say. Jonny is also glad to connect customers with local farmers, by delivering local produce, he says.
Maria dreams of having a dandelion celebration in the future to celebrate and educate the community about the amazing plant. She looks forward to springtime to see the dandelions first bloom and enjoy eat them with her friends and family.