It's all about lettuce - we're definitely in the green now. Reyn first planted lettuce seeds on February 11th, then followed with a second planting three weeks later.  When it was time to transplant the seedlings, the first batch went directly into the garden, while the second planting went in the ground - but, within the cold-frame.  At the time we were experiencing unusually mild weather.  Well, that didn't last long and we have now been blessed with a typical long, wet, cool Oregon spring.  The seedling which were planted in the garden spent weeks hunkered down in survival mode, while the plants under the protection of the cold-frame basked in the warmth and put all their energy into large, lush, delicate leaves.  We ate our first salad on May 5th and have been enjoying an abundance of greens since then. We have been surprised and delighted by the size and tenderness of the leaves.  While they taste like baby lettuce leaves, they are huge.

We are happy to begin settling in to our preferred mode of meal preparation, which begins with a trip to the garden.  It is truly a gift to finish our meal with a salad of greens so fresh that they were in the ground only an hour before.  Tonight we enjoyed a Salad Nicoise on a giant bed of fresh greens.

The salad consisted of a combination of steamed red potatoes, lightly steamed green beans (from the freezer), cubed tomatoes, a few calamata olives, a can of wild, line-caught Oregon Albacore tuna, 2 hard boiled eggs (eggs purchased from a woman at the swimming pool each Monday morning), a garden fresh sliced scallion, a few capers, and a good measure of chopped parsley.  Toss all with a lemon vinaigrette and pile atop a mountain of greens.  Yummm . . . .

At last, greens -  picked just before dinner and oh, so young and tender. Suddenly we have a cold-frame full of lettuce.  The leaves are big, delicate and succulent; they are tender and sweet, and perfect.  My dream has finally come true, we're eating from our garden.

So, what does one do with these beautiful young leaves?  It was clear that some sort of salad was in order. First, I perused the pantry and vegetable drawer of my refiegerator, then decided on a variation of one of my favorites - a lentil salad with grated carrots and beets, on a bed of lettuce, of course.

I started with beautiful teeny, tiny black lentils, then added chopped broccoli, sliced scallions, grated raw carrots, and lightly sauteed grated beets.  A tasty vinaigrette pulls it all together, making a beautifully colorful and satisfying one dish meal.  You may want to round out the meal with a dish of hummus served with crackers or a good loaf of bread.  Here are specifics on how I made the salad:


Lentil Salad with Broccoli, Beets, and Carrots

Lettuce leaves, torn into large pieces
1 cup small black lentils
3 cups water
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/2 tsp salt
Rinse lentils then combine with water, garlic, and salt in a small pan.  Bring to a boil and simmer until lentils are cooked, but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Add more water if needed. Drain and allow to cool.

1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets
2 scallions, thinly sliced
3 carrots, grated

1 - 2 beets, grated

1 Tbsp chopped almonds
1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
1/2 tsp black sesame seeds

Vinaigrette:  Whisk together
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp sugar
14 tsp salt
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

Prepare vinaigrette. In a bowl, combine lentils, broccoli, scallions and about 1/3 of dressing. Allow to sit at room temperature.  Place grated carrots in a bowl and toss with a touch of dressing.  Lightly saute grated beets in 1 Tbsp olive oil until slightly limp, about 2 minutes.  Drizzle with a little dressing.

To serve, line plates with a generous amount of lettuce leaves, top with beets, carrots, and lentils.  Drizzle a little dressing over each plate.  Sprinkle chopped almonds atop the lentils, black sesame seeds over the carrots, and white sesame seeds atop the beets.  That's it!  Simple, fresh and very good.  Enjoy!