Dandelion Salad

Wash the dandelion greens carefully. Drain well and cut into pieces. Add the onions, tomatoes and cheese. Toss to mix.

Dress the salad, toss and serve.

NOTES:

* Dinner salad made with dandelions and cheese — The U.S. Department of Agriculture once had a big presence in the life of the average American. Their publications on home canning, gardening and cooking found their way into almost every household in the country.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service still exists, and they still produce books and pamphlets on every topic having to do with growing, eating and analyzing food. In this era of frozen food, microwave ovens and iceberg lettuce, there's much less demand for their books than there once was.

In time for the Bicentennial, the USDA produced a book called "Favorite American rural and farm recipes. All are simple and nutritious; most are also a little dull. Here's one that I like. Yield: serves 4.

* Make sure that you take the dandelion greens from a lawn that has not been treated with pesticides or anti-growth hormones recently. (Many lawn fertilizers also contain weed-control hormones).

* You can substitute a commercial salad dressing for the oil, vinegar, pepper and dill.

: Difficulty: easy. : Time: 5 minutes. : Precision: no need to measure.

: Brian Reid : DEC Western Research Lab, Palo Alto CA

Your Dandelion Salad is ready. Good luck!