Dandelion Wine

This is going to be my first real picture post!!!

I decided to try to make my own Dandelion Wine after reading this post, especially since it was a gorgeous day out! I grabbed a basket, a handy little basket that my boys got for easter, but looks like a basket NOT an easter basket, lol. In our apartment complex, the property line is edged by garages, but just beyond our garage (in other words behind it) there is a little house that has probably been there for as long as I have been alive. This house has a nice sized yard, and the yard was FULL of dandelions, score!

 Here's a better view, lol!

I could pick forever there were so many! But I only picked flowers for about an hour, and at that point, I had a large bowl full of blossoms. I wish I had taken a pic of the bowl full, but by the time I thought of it, it was too late.

After picking the dandelions, I then had to pluck all of the yellow petals from the green part, which took 3 times longer than picking them did! I set up my lawn chair in a nice sunny patch because I really wanted to enjoy the wonderful sun - which had not been seen since sometime last year, lol!

Little did I know at the time, but I was cultivating a nice sunburn too! The funniest part is that - once upon a time ago, my sister gave me a cross. I am a pagan, but it has an opal; my birthstone, and is probably one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me - well, it is now a part of me, lol!

After about 5 hours, I was tired of plucking petals, and so I decided to make a second batch using the MANY blossoms that I just didn't want to de-petal.

The instructions say to boil a gallon of water, and steep for 3 days, but I was not about to boil 2 gallons of water. A- I didn't have a big enough pot, B- I didn't want to wait that long, and C- I didn't have enough good quality water on hand... so I was just going to have to use tap, sigh! I turned the tap on, and let it run until it was scaldingly hot. Then I used a pitcher to transfer enough water to each of the jars. After about a half hour, they were looking pretty good.

Now, I just have to let them steep for another 2 days before I finish the recipe. Note: it's hard to see in the picture, but both jars look golden it the picture above.

I CAN'T wait! Letting them brew for 6 months is going to be hard, but with our upcoming move, I may just "lose" the jars so that they will be out of sight out of mind. The original poster recommends letting them age even longer than 6 months, say a year. So, I may just have to hide them so well that I don't find them until next spring when I see all the dandelions, and want to do it again!

Oh, and the best part is that for the price of 3 lbs of sugar, 4 oranges, and 2 lemons, I am making 2 gallons of wine that would probably sell for at LEAST 10.00 per 750ML. Saving money, and learning new things, gotta love it!