This time of year, my salad will be different than yours, but it will all taste of the new season.
This week, we had a perfect, even brilliant, May day. Brilliant in terms of the beautiful 74-degree temperatures, no humidity, and bright light, but also the blue skies, the still air, the newly green grass and budding trees, cherry blossoms dropping their delicate petals. It doesn’t matter that it rained the day before, or after. Birds are everywhere, so we have a symphony in the background, and outside my study window I watch a few new friends who wander by each day.
Let’s pay a visit
One is Madame Crow who first arrived on Easter to steal our colored eggs. I have placed out bread crusts for her, and she has returned the favor with a bit of aluminum foil, I’m told they like to offer gifts. My second new friend is Sister Fox. For the last three mornings, rain or shine, I’ve see her scamper up my driveway (she seems to prefer it to the fields) with her family’s breakfast in her mouth, usually what looks like a bird, and I’m sure madame is watching her closely.
Watching me
Then there’s Mr. Fat Woodchuck who likes to stare at the house, no doubt willing me to plant the garden so he can forage. But this time of year, a few herbs would be his only reward. He’s not terribly patient, and appears to not care for chives.
Farm stands opening up
The farm stands and farmers markets are opening up again, and my travels this week were a little more interesting when I made my way to the farm to pick up this week’s shares – we had something other than roots from which to choose! – and a stop at a second one newly opened with lots of fun spring crops and the best organic eggs around.
Outdoors again
How delightful that the CSA market was set up for the first time this season outside, under the red awning that gives all the produce a rosy glow. This was the signal that the season of plenty was upon us, and the variety would change with the passing of each week. This time around, there were beautiful new radishes with tops that only had the occasional flea beetle nibble. These tops will be used in salad and soup and stock this week. Some freshly picked herbs, including garlic chives, were in the offering, as were a variety of greens and tender micro-greens and pea shoots, baby pak choy, and the remnants of last year’s well-nurtured roots such as spring-dug parsnips. I rounded out my canvas bag with a box of local mushrooms, some yellow miso, and a loaf of multi-grain sourdough bread. I don’t think it gets any better than this in May, well at least until the asparagus is here, probably next week.
Time for the markets and meeting up with friends
This week, the farmers markets will start to open up again, the real signal of the new growing year. Consumer demand means these markets continue to grow in the United States with more than 8,600 offering local, seasonal produce directly to us all, eliminating the middleman.
They all have their own character
There could be a hundred vendors, or just a dozen, even less. Sometimes there is music, often crafts and other hand-made products. But they are not just a place to get fresh, local food; they are part of the social fabric, especially if you live in a rural area. You will always bump into someone you know for a chat, enjoy a cup of coffee, or pick up a unique prepared dish to serve at dinner. If we are lucky, the crêpe wagon will be there and we can enjoy breakfast as well.
Introduce yourself, get to know your farmer by name
It is also an opportunity to get to know your farmer by name. They are glad to answer questions about what they grow, and share tips on how to prepare their fruits and veggies. This is valuable information, and I always learn something from these conversations. This is the best kind of food shopping possible.
Let’s make a salad
But for now, I am content with my delightful haul from the farm, and where else would my mind go but to salad! But not just any salad, a salad of all locally grown everything, simple to make and the freshest flavor.
Make it fast, or slow
Simple and easy, yes, but definitely worth contemplating for those few moments it takes to put it together. Cooking is always a good time to slow down, clear the mind. Whether I’ve grown the vegetables myself or let the farmer do it, preparing them at dinnertime can be a frantic assembly to get the food on the table, or a kind of ritual; either way, it takes about the same amount of time, only one way will help your digestion!
Tend to those greens
It doesn’t matter what type of lettuce or greens you find, or the color radish, what you love and discover will all work well here. Gently rinse off the leaves to remove any left-over soil or grit, but don’t soak the greens. It’s amazing how much of the nutrients will leach into the water and go down your drain. Just a quick splash is all you need. Shake and place on a towel to drain, or spin in a lettuce drying contraption; I usually just use the towel, and I store the greens in the same towel as well, the best way to keep them fresh in the refrigerator. If you are buying fresh from the farmer, stored this way the lettuce will easily last until your next trip.
Mushrooms please
The ‘meaty’ part of this salad supper was mushrooms from a local grower. The basket I get most weeks is ever changing, and always delicious. This week, there was a new one I don’t know the name of yet but it looks like a lion’s main mushroom only lacier. I will have to ask about this one!
And a little spice
Radishes played backup here, they were nice and spicy, both slices of the root, and the leaves that I tossed in with the rest of the greens. A little onion minced added a bit of spice and interest, and I saved some garlic chives and edible pansy flowers to garnish.
Simple Spring Supper Salad with Mushrooms and Garlic Chive Vinaigrette
This isn’t a recipe, but a process, and it will change every week of the growing year. It will be different where you live and what you have available. Have fun with it.
First, put on some beautiful music! I have a new Bluetooth speaker that connects to my playlists, so I’m having lots of fun experimenting with it. A little jazz is always a good choice at suppertime. Helps clear out the tangles of the day, takes you away.
Choose your greens, give them a gentle cleaning and dry well. Decide on what else you want in your salad, if the salad is a meal or a side will help you determine that. As a side, there is nothing wrong with a little plate of fresh greens simply dressed and served up before or after your main course. But a few toppings, some nice bread, and you’ve got a whole meal. I also added some grilled baby pak choy from the CSA to the table, great to dust off the grill!
Garlic Chive and Miso Vinaigrette:
- 2 parts fruity olive oil
- 1 part white wine or prosecco vinegar
- A bit of lemon zest
- A squeeze of lemon juice
- A little Dijon mustard
- A little yellow miso, just a touch
- Some garlic or regular fresh chives, minced
- Salt and pepper
While the greens are drying, make your vinaigrette. You can’t really go wrong here, just shake everything together and taste, with a lettuce leaf of course or it will always taste too acid, and adjust according to the way you like it. I’ll often add more acid, but some folks like a lot of oil. It’s all up to you. Place everything in a jar, shake well, taste, adjust to how you like it, and shake again. Put into a cruet or sauce bowl and everyone can dress their salad separately.
The salad, a few suggestions:
- Mushrooms of choice
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Greens and radish tops
- Micro-greens and pea shoots
- Purple onion, minced
- Daikon Radish, sliced
- Salad radishes, sliced
Sauté the mushrooms in some olive oil with a crushed garlic clove and some minced thyme, a great friend of mushrooms. You know how much you like. Let cook for a few minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add a tab of butter, or vegan butter, and set aside to cool slightly, this is one time you don’t want to wilt those beautiful tender greens.
Make a bed of greens and micro-greens and add the onion. Mix with fingers, or salad tongs. Arrange the radishes and sautéed mushrooms on top, sprinkle with just a bit of the vinaigrette, season, and top with chives and some edible flowers if available.
Add anything else you like or find at the market, a piece of protein perhaps, some nuts, zucchini or eggplant, artichoke hearts, beans, it’s all up to you.
Slice the baby pak choy in half lengthwise, brush with olive oil, season, and grill just a few minutes until they soften and take on some color. While you are at it, toss some lemon slices on the grill as well, and maybe a few mushrooms.
Cherry Blossoms at Full Moon
“Astral Snow” slipped
like tears of the graces
through branches
of moonlight.
One by one,
tender stars
sailed their single
fragrant journey and
lit the ground
around me.
Through streams of light.
An owl spoke,
and I too slipped
into the night.
© DGR 2017
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Supporter of: Slow Food Fair Trade USA Northeast Organic Farmers Association EcoWatch Let’s Save Our Planet No Kid Hungry Hunger Free Vermont Environmental Working Group World Central Kitchen Sustainable America Seed Savers Exchange Save the Children
My kind of salad it looks delicious , Dorothy 🙂
Thank you Carol! It’s one of my favorite things to eat, especially this time of year.
Spring is such a wonderful time! And what a lovely and colorful salad you have! Super delicious!
Thank you Ribana! These are what we crave in the north after a winter of root vegetables!
A wonderful read, Dorothy. From new animal friends to new Spring fresh foods & long awaited human interactions – I loved it all.
Oh yes – then there was your marvellous salad. Makes me absolutely hungry! 😋
The new critter friends are quite fun to watch. Madame Crow seems to recognize me!
So colourful
Thanks Sheree! It’s so easy at this time of year.
😎
We really enjoy fresh herbs in our salads, dill seems to be a favourite right now, chives for our mashed potatoes.
Oh I agree! There’s not much better than mashed potatoes with fresh chives.
That looks so delicious and I want it now!
Coming right up!
Radishes are my favorite in a salad!
They add such a lively little bite, don’t they! And they grow so fast, they are rewarding.
Dot, this is such a lovely post. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bernie! And Happy Spring!
Oh, the lovely month of May! And what a lovely piece to honor this special month. That salad looks delicious and so wonderfully flexible.
Thanks Laurie! The best time of year! How’s your garden coming?
My gardens are doing very well. Mostly flowers. I am making slow but steady process removing the leaves that blew in. Spreading compost. Stopping the rampant spread of sweet woodruff. The usual spring chores.
Sounds lovely my friend!
What a beautiful and unique salad!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna! Every day is unique when we go gathering locally!
“This isn’t a recipe, but a process…” what a clever way to present a dish to make!
Thanks Amie! I think of most of the cooking I do as a process, and rarely use recipes at home. It has been a discipline for me to actually figure out what I put into a dish in order to share it with everyone. When I taught cooking classes, one thing I emphasized was trusting our own instincts, we all have an inner chef!
BTW, my daughter’s name is Amie, spelled the same way!
You have so much in this post, Dorothy. I loved your story of all your little friends and their activities and on to the farmers market. I cook as you do with this salad. The ingredients depend on what’s fresh. And thank you for the vinaigrette recipe. I’d like to get better with dressings.
What kind of dressings do you like? I tell folks to find a base, even just oil and vinegar, find the ratio that pleases you, and then let all your creative urges decide the rest! It becomes a habit. I can tell my grandkids now to go make the vinaigrette, and they don’t bat an eyelash!
We’ve been going to our local Farmers Markets for decades and are seeing more and more people at them! A very good sign. Support small and family-owned farms and businesses!!!
I totalyl agree! It is good to see more and more interest in eating locally. Many of our markets have been around a long time too, Brattleboro’s for example started in the early 1970s and is still going strong, growing all the while. Almost every town seems to have one around here now, on different days of the week too, which is handy.
Our local farmers’ market is a dozen or so vendors but always with some music. You’re right that it is part of the social fabric around here. A few nearby local restaurants have “farmers’ market happy hours” at the same time the market is open. Makes for a festive vibe.
Oh Ally, that’s such a brilliant idea! A win-win all around!
I love your story telling as much as the beautiful salad! Those mushrooms look wonderful.
Thanks Suz! I think I could eat mushrooms every day of my life and never get tired of them.
Hi, Dorothy – I absolutely love this time of year for the reasons that you give here. Farmers markets, fresh local vegetables and fruits in full bloom and wonderful salads! You salad dressing sounds awesome as well. Thank you for the suggestions!
You are very welcome, and thank you for stopping by! Enjoy this wonderful season.
This isn’t a salad, it’s a work of art, Dorothy! I LOVE dishes like this, there is nothing like combining the freshest, most local seasonal ingredients into a meal of beauty. It’s a true celebration of spring! Your farmers’ markets sound truly wonderful, by the way.
Thank you Lis! Putting together a simple salad can be a pleasant experience.
I really enjoy the farmers market, opening day for one of them tomorrow and we’re bringing the granddaughter, who loves them as much as we do, although I suspect for the crêpes and the lemonade as much as anything else!
I thoroughly enjoyed your story from start to finish! I have a few wild animal friends that come to visit my yard on occasion and they entertain me as well. What a great salad and dressing recipe! I love it! Happy Mother’s Day to you.
Happy Mother’s Day to you as well my friend! Keep watching those little creatures!
Beautiful looking salad
Thank you so much! It was delicious, and tasted like spring.
Oh how I love your stories and praise of this time of year. My favorite too. And then you have this budding relationship with Madame Crow who brings you gifts. Love, love, love. Damn, you eat healthy, I’m inspired by the “meaty” part of the salad, the mushrooms, yum! Thanks Dorothy for sharing your special brand of brilliance. Hugs, C
Ah, thanks Cheryl! You are always so kind.
I put out two crusts of bread for Madame Crow this morning and she only took one, so far. I think she is not greedy.
I try to eat as healthy as possible to avoid going on drugs to reduce my cholesterol, and because my husband had a heart attack. I have dropped the cholesterol level to just around 200, and would like to get it down a bit further.
Plus it is easy to healthy with so many wonderful sources around here, and I recognize that is not always the case in other areas.
Love your post in praise of farmer’s markets and those salads are simply splendid!
Thank you so much! The season begins anew!
Spring – truly the best time of the year. 🙂 Happy gardening and eating.
You too my friend!
I would love to see Vermont in the spring! I’ve only been there in the fall, which was unbelievably gorgeous. Great salad. Love those mushrooms!
The color in the spring Mimi is just as wonderful, fruit trees are blooming right now, all the daffodils and tulips, azaleas, the lilacs are starting, everything is lovely.
As long as you’re not allergic!
I’m all for spring salads and this one looks so colorful and appetizing! I’m glad to see farm stands opening up again too!
The time has come! Went to the first farmers market of the season today. All is right.
The ever changing salad is one of my favorite meals.
It could be different every day of the year!
Wow! I know that every spring salad at your house is going to be a masterpiece. Loved the stories about your wild neighbors. 😁
Those neighbors Terrie! Although I feel I’m having a nice relationship with Madame Crow. The first time we fed her was with your wonderful last bits of KA class rewards!
What a fabulous spring salad Dorothy!
Thank you so much! My favorite time of year!