Colorful Crunch Salad

Photo:
Tod Dimmick











Late summer and early fall yields a wealth of substantial vegetables - goodies with a satisfying crunch. Here's just one of many possibilities.

Prep time: 5-10 Minutes

3 large carrots, scraped and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 head fresh cabbage, coarsely chopped
1/2 head lettuce, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
Vinaigrette
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Combine the solid ingredients and toss with the vinaigrette. Top with Parmesan cheese (optional).

Submitted by Tod Dimmick,
"The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Salad of Beets, Cucumbers and Greens

Beets are nutritious and versatile. Keep a container of cooked beets in the fridge, and you're a few chops away from a colorful salad like this.

Warm & Cool Salad with Beets, Caramelized onions, & Mozzarella

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










There's a lot going on in this salad, with its balance of warm & cool, crunchy & tender, tart & sweet.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 as a light entree, 8 as a side dish

1 head lettuce, rinsed and prepared as you like for salad
2 cups mixed salad greens for spice and bitterness
1 cup cooked beets, 1/2 to 1/4" dice, warm
1 cup caramelized onions, warm
3TB Toasted walnut pieces (optional)
Balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or your favorite vinaigrette
freshly-ground black pepper

Toss solid ingredients and dress to taste.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
AKA "The Foodie" at 1000radishes

Lettuce

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is a familiar veggie from the daisy family Asteraceae. Plentiful in the spring, early summer and fall, lettuce hates hot weather and won't often appear in shares during the summer. While often overlooked as a healthy food, lettuce actually provides a great amount of vitamins K, C and lutein. Many types of lettuce are grown here, including such cultivars as Romaine/Cos, Looseleaf in Green, Red or Speckled, and Butterheads such as Bibb and Boston varieties. We also grow lettuce and mesclun mixes which are snipped as baby leaves.

To use farm lettuce, try soaking leaves in cold water, rinsing a few times to remove grit, and drying a little before use. Salad spinners are so worth it here. Store unused lettuce in an unsealed plastic bag in the fridge and use as soon as possible.