This is how we create recipes when we don’t want to go shopping. This guest blog post is Kazden’s version of our favorite salad… we call it Yard Salad because almost everything in it is from the backyard.
Here’s Kazden… There’s nothing like the taste of freshly picked produce. I came up with this salad based on several salads I have seen my mom make over the years. On this sunny, spring day in the middle of April. Here’s what we had growing in our garden, pots and raised beds.
We picked collard greens from our raised beds.
We picked mustard greens from our garden canoe.
Some collard flowers for garnishing, these are growing like weeds.
The asparagus in a raised bed just started coming in a few weeks ago and it’s growing fast!
A tip when using chives is not to use the ones with buds, the stem is tough. You can however use the chive flowers as a garnish, once they have opened up. These grow like weeds too, we put them on everything!
Herbs make a flavorful addition to many dishes and taste great in salad, here’s some parsley. It keeps reseeding itself in some of our flower pots.
A little mint goes a long way, I only used about 8 leaves for the salad. We had lots of types of mint that overwintered in pots.
Here we have all of the ingredients, washed and ready for chopping.
Before chopping, get rid of the tough stems on the greens. You can remove the stem of the greens like this, with a knife.
Or you can use this handy tool, an herb stripper we got from Chef’n.
Stack and roll up the leafy greens in preparation for the chiffonade.
When doing chiffonade be careful not to cut yourself. This technique is great for any leafy greens because then they are not so tough. It is also good for all the herbs.
Thinly slice fresh asparagus.
Finely chop the chives.
Chiffonade the mint leaves.
From the pantry, these are some of the flavors I thought would go well on this salad.
Yard Salad
- 6-8 cups chopped greens (mustard, collards, kale)
- 10-12 cherry tomatoes
- 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs (mint, parsley, chives, cilantro, basil)
- 2 tablespoons hemp hearts (seeds)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic glaze
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
- 1 teaspoon ginger syrup
- Juice of one mandarin orange
- Juice of one lime
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste
In a large bowl, mix greens with all of the above ingredients. As you mix the salad, the greens will become more tender. The salad should sit and marinate at least 15 minutes before serving. It is also good the next day if kept refrigerated.
Back to Tiffany…
This is a great time to do a few quick product reviews.
Trader Joe’s Balsamic Glaze: Love, love, love this product! I have been using it on salads of all types for almost a year now. It is so flavorful that there are times that balsamic glaze and a drizzle of olive oil are all I need on a salad. A friend suggested pairing this with pumpkin seed oil and that too, is a delicious combination.
Chef’n Kale, Chard, Collard Greens and Herb Stripper: At first I wasn’t convinced this was just a gimmick but it really does work well with some greens. I didn’t like it with smaller herbs as I usually just chop them up stems and all. It works well with rosemary but so does my hand. If doing a lot of greens, this would save time.
Shun Premier 5 1/2″ Santoku: This is the perfect size for a beginning chopper. Easy to handle, sturdy and sharp, I reach for this knife often, as do my boys. Teaching proper knife skills to kids can start at any age, the sooner the better.
