The hillside behind my house is dotted with sunny yellow flowers. Daffodils? Ha! I wish. It’s a bumper crop of dandelions. Whether this is a good or a bad thing depends on how you perceive this pervasive weed.

Why settle for the same bland greens when you can go bitter? Dark, bitter greens are not only big in flavor, but also have unique health benefits. While most greens are high in vitamins, bitter greens are particularly beneficial for digestive function. "[They] stimulate taste buds sensitive to bitter compounds," explains Keegan Sheridan, ND, of Beverly Hills, California. "In response, salivation [and] gastric acid secretion increase, and pancreatic enzymes are primed to respond when food enters the small intestine, helping to maximize food breakdown and speed waste elimination."

Some will accuse me of needlessly politicizing a vegetable, but I ask you: what do beets have in common with the Clintons? Well, like Bill and Hil, they’re a “twofer;” if you buy ‘em with the greens still attached, you get two vegetables for the price of one.

...and spicy sausages of every ethnicity are welcome. Any kind of greens will do.

Curried lentil soup with greens and sausage is the kind of equal opportunity recipe I like to employ in my kitchen. My recipe allows for all kinds of substitutions; I make it with whole crimson mansoor lentils or the French green du Puy, but you could use any color lentil you like.