Dandelion Wine

Looking around these days at all the dandelions I see blooming in yards and fields makes me think of one thing:

 

Granddaddy Sam's Dandelion Wine
1 quart dandelion blooms packed down 3 lb. sugar 3 lemons, sliced	1 gallon water 1 pkg. yeast
Put blooms, sugar, lemons, and water in pot and bring to a boil.  Boil for 10 to 20 minutes.  Let cool to lukewarm and add yeast.  Let set for 10 days.  Strain and bottle liquid.  Do not cork too tightly.   It also makes me think that if I knew nothing had been sprayed on that field – I would have to pick a quart or two of those sunny, little blooms and make a batch of wine.  When I was little my grandmother would make this.  Granddaddy Sam was her father and she gave me this recipe.  Years ago I compiled a family cookbook as a Christmas gift to relatives.  It was very popular and in another few years, I compiled another.  At present I am working on combining the two and self-publishing this volume.  I am going through the many old photos to see what would be good to add in some of the empty spaces on pages.< SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">  I hope it works out.  The copies I have of these books have been well used.    I remember my grandma washing and rinsing the blooms -- all so pretty and bright yellow.  She would stand at the stove boiling them with the sugar and lemons.  The kitchen would smell so good.  My cousins and I would sneak into the basement at grandma's house to find the pot she had covered loosely with a lid and tea towel.  We would lift the towel and the lid and sniff it.  A sweet, citrus, yeasty odor would greet our noses.  We had to taste it – it was wine and forbidden for children to sample.  We would find a small empty jelly jar on a shelf and dip into the liquid, watching out for the slices of lemon floating on top.  We wo uld all take a taste and make a face with eyes so large.  The consensus among the group was that it was good and we could not wait to be old enough to have a nice glass when it was "ready."   I don't think I ever had a glass since I have been old enough.   I wonder if it would taste as good as I remember those stolen sips in grandma's basement?  I think I read somewhere that dandelions are good for you, right?