Salad Days

This time of year we always receive a lot of greens, which is fine with me because we eat a large salad almost every night. There are a lot of salad dressing recipes on this site; select the Salad Dressing category for several suggestions. Homemade dressings are delicious, and if you place them in a sealed container, they will keep in the refrigerator for about a week. Change up the dressing to keep from getting bored. The recipe section's Mixed Greens category has salad ideas as well as cooked ideas for using these wonderful greens.

If you are wondering how best to store all the lettuces (and other greens), I have found the best is to place in large, good quality plastic containers. I place a folded up towel in the bottom of the container to absorb excess moisture. The worst thing for greens is to sit in a puddle of water - it causes rotting within a few days. Greens will easily keep this way for over a week.

Romaine lettuce, fresh garlic - made a grilled romaine Caesar Salad. Cut the head of romaine in half or quarters, depending on the size. Brush with olive oil. Place on the grill and leave for about 30 seconds - less if the grill is really hot. You want to get the head slightly charred, but not wilted. Turn the lettuce over and let grill for about 10-15 seconds. Place on cutting board, chop up and dress - I actually used the Creamy Basil Dressing this time. My basil plants needed to be snipped, so it was a great use of the cuttings.

Mixed lettuce, turnips - made a mixed salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette. Was delicious with pizza.

Mini head lettuce - this time I made a Lemon Vinaigrette - served with a grilled chicken.