LOCAVORATIOUS! Adventures in Community Supported Agriculture

Ok.  Just to prove that I'm not always going to post asian meal creations, let's talk Salad. 

To be perfectly frank, I've really never been much of a salad fan.  Sure, I enjoy a well fashioned Greek salad from time to time (mmmmm crumbled feta....), and when a Caesar is done up right, with fresh eggs, real parmesan (not the powdered garbage), lemon and anchovies, I too can go gaga over garden greens.  But for my vegetable accompaniment, i'm more a cooked veggie kind of guy. 

That certainly was the case,  until I discovered the sublime joys of organic, living arugula, complimented oh-so-perfectly with the sharp pungency of organic white cheddar. I can honestly say that I think I've had a salad just about every night since the last CSA box.  

And my kids (aged two and four) are even asking for it!  Think about what normally passes for kids' fare in restaurants.  Cheese Pizza?  Bland.  Mac and Cheese?  Creamy, but bland.   Chicken nuggets?  Saved from blandness due only to the lathering of ketchup.   Can you imagine your kids asking for peppery arugula and aged, sharp cheddar cheese?  Well mine did, and it's all because of this salad!

Here's what you'll need. 

Ingredients
Organic Stuff

• 1/2 head of living, organic Boston Lettuce (hand ripped into pieces)
• A cup or two of spinach greens
• 4-5 liberal handfuls of arugula (still on the roots!)
• A more-than-generous scattering of hand crumbled cheddar cheese
• 5-6 strands of fresh, lemon thyme, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon (or more, to taste) of organic 100% Canadian Maple Syrup!
• handful of edible violets - ooooh!

Non Organic Stuff

• handful of sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 clove, garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon whole grain mustard (in wine)
• 2 generous glugs, Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 generous glugs, Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 cup or more of shredded, crunchy Red Cabbage
• Boxed Croutons (yeah yeah, processed, I know!)

Other Stuff

• your hands
• A beautiful Salad Bowl
• your favorite large chef's knife
• a whisk
• clear nasal passages

Locavoratious Cooking Secrets!
Ok on to the secrets...

Secret #4 - use your hands
Don't be afraid to get down and dirty.  What better way to get to know your food than to touch it, feel, it, rip it up.  Toss caution to the wind, and tear into those organic greens with gusto!  Not only is it more fun, but it will look ummm, artisanal.  After all, you're going to eat it, right?  Why does it have to be knife chopped precision?

Secret #5 - smash your garlic
Personally, I can't stand it when I see people gingerly peeling garlic, then mincing it delicately with a paring knife.  It DRIVES ME CRAZY!  Here's how to do it right.  Take your garlic clove.  Put it in on your chopping board, somewhere close to the centre.  Take your favourite large chef's knife, and lay it flat side on top of the poor, unsuspecting garlic clove.  Form a fist with your other hand, and SMASH the knife passionately down onto the garlic.  This will crush the garlic, release the skin, so you can start enthusiastically mincing your garlic. 

Secret #6 - wake up and smell the arugula
Smelling my organic arugula does something funny to me.  It seems to click on this weird part of my (reptilian?) brain, I swear I get this little twitch when I do so.  Maybe it's not arugula after all? :)   Anyways, when you rip into your living arugula, make sure you take a good whiff, i'm sure it will excite something!


Start your Salad!

1.  If you haven't already, wash, spin (wheee!) and pat dry the Boston Lettuce
2. Admire the crystalline beauty of your salad bowl
3. Stop admiring your salad bowl and dump in the Lettuce, then the Spinach
4. From its still living root system, tear the aromatic handfuls of your gorgeous, organic Arugula
5. In a reverent motion, cup your hands together, raise the Arugula to your face, and inhale deeply
6. Do it again
7. Toss in the arugula into the bowl.  Notice how the light catches the bowl just so?
8. Add in the cabbage
9. Crumble in the oh-so-glorious cheddar
10. Throw in a few handfuls of the croutons.  If you have kids, give them a few to munch on, but be prepared to tell them they can't have any more
11. Add the toasted almonds
12. Finish off the salad, lightly scattering the edible violets strategically for maximum floral effect 
13. Now make the dressing - in a mixing bowl, or measuring cup, pour in the glugs of olive oil
14. Add the glugs of Cider Vinegar
15. Drizzle the maple syrup slowly and sensuously into the mixture
16. Plop in the mustard, garlic, and lemon thyme
17. Whisk the whole lot together, until smooth, then call your guests to table
18. Transfer the dressing into something dramatic, and with a flourish, pour it slowly over the salad
19. Bask momentarily in the "oohs" and "aahs"
20. Toss the salad, serve, and enjoy!

On a personal note, I would have added some sliced red onions to the mix, as it would have provided yet some more purple power, but my wife's not big on raw onions.