The second week was just as delightful as the first. Families came by to pick their greens, choose their harvest and have the children play nearby. Voices murmured about recipes and the weather; will we ever see the sun?. Growth is everywhere you look ~ flower starts seem to grow taller if you look away, the parsleys begin to bush and the beet starts in the kids’ garden appear two inches higher than last week. Ah, spring!
Yes, these are the days of late spring when rows and rows of lettuce fill the fields and, from there, my salad spinner. It gets quite a workout these days, what with the plentiful lettuces of magenta, concept (aka butter leaf), and romaine available in the harvest bins.
I bring my bounty home and wash it right away. Then I bundle it in damp tea towels (thanks, Mom) or use damp paper towels. It goes straight away into the lower drawer in the refrigerator.
When I’m ready to use it, I tear it apart into the salad spinner then spin, spin, spin. That’s a fun part of the preparation. While it is spinning, I whip up a vinaigrette of olive oil (1 part) and balsamic vinegar (1 part). For a Mediterranean flair, add chopped rosemary and marjoram then add salt and black pepper to taste.
Then slice up a white asian turnip bulb or two and put that into the mix. It adds a crunch, don’t your think? Throw in a few Kalamata olives for their saltiness. For color, add slices of carrot or red bell pepper. For something creamy, add goat cheese or maybe feta. Then grab a fork and eat!
Next time, a different dressing (http://rootconnection.com/rec-dressings.html) or different blend of lettuce.
What do you like to do with your lettuce? How do you dress them?
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