May Showers, May Flowers or Old Dandelions look like White Balloons

(Image care of CarlChristensen over at Etsy)

 I have my sliding glass door open, the rain is pouring down here, I can see the columbines stooping a bit from the downpour and I am imagining this afternoon and the event I scheduled with balloons tagged with seed paper poems all and launched into the fair blue sky.  (Or some sky, or a cancelled event? We shall see.)

We did this flying poetry thing a couple of years ago and balloons made their way from Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland and even Pittsburgh. It was pretty thrilling: little fragments of poetry, biodegradeable balloons, and a perfect day that one was as The 5th Dimension helped sing poems into the spring horizon. 

Today is a stay in bed and drink tea day, but since I can't, here's a recipe for dandelion honey made just to be drizzled slow as lazy rain into one's weekday-off tea.

Dandelion honey is also made for: toast, muffins, pancakes, and biscuits.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups dandelion petals
• 4 cups water
• 3 (1/4-inch) thick slices lemon
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split in half
• 2-1/8 cups granulated white sugar

Preparation:

Pick dandelion flowers during the daylight while in full bloom, remove petals, then measure petals only. 

Place petals in a heavy saucepan along with the water, lemon slices, and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 6 hours. 

Strain dandelion tea through cheesecloth and discard solids. Place in a heavy saucepan and bring to a low boil. Gradually add sugar while stirring until sugar is dissolved. Lower heat and let simmer to desired syrupy thickness (may take up to 4 hours).