The Salad Bar

It’s a beautiful July morning. I’m sitting on the deck, enjoying a cup of coffee and watering the garden. Later today we’ll head to the Guthrie to see Emma, which I’ve heard is lovely. 

The garden is coming along nicely, we’ve been harvesting lots of greens and I can see zucchini, summer squash, and winter squash are on their way. I’d say we will be eating zucchini next week. The green beans seem to be in a love fest with the garlic (see pics) and I’m not sure how I’ll get the scapes cut off and untangled - that is a project for later today. I may have to cut them and leave them where they are, we’ll see. 

My experiments; black turtle beans, ground cherries, and Minnesota midget melons are all doing well and with luck, the crops will be successful - fingers crossed. I noticed last night that the turtle beans are flowering - good things are on the way. 

Our friend Paith stopped by last weekend and wanted a tour of the garden - she dubbed the bed with all the greens in it “the salad bar” so we’re going with that. 

After a day of volunteering at our favorite female-owned STEM bookstore (The Thinking Spot), we came home and put together a quick dinner of mussels, garlic bread, and a salad - with greens from the salad bar. It was light, tasty, and exactly what I was hungry for. 

There isn’t really a recipe for the salad but it was filled with lots of greens (lettuce, swiss chard, kale, mizuna, collard greens, bok choy, mustard greens, and cilantro. I added tomatoes, radishes, peppers, cucumber, raisins, and olives, and topped it with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, a squeeze of spicy brown mustard, and a bit of maple syrup.

Dan did the garlic bread honors - he sautéed the garlic in olive oil, brushed the mixture on the grain bread, and then toasted it under the broiler until it had the perfect crunch. I enjoyed it with a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc. 

I hope everyone enjoys the long weekend and makes time to spend it with family and friends. Thanks for stopping by!