Salad that Keeps You Humming

My CSA made its first delivery last week.  It was a tummy dance of food so fresh it glowed!  The early spring deliveries are full of greens:  chard, kale, lettuces, and microgreens.  I add a few root vegetables and asparagus from our local organic farmer’s market, some tempeh, nuts or half an artichoke from the health food store to create an entrée salad that keeps me humming all afternoon.  We lunched on salads every day this week and look forward to more next week.

I start by roasting some root vegetables.  Last week I roasted new potatoes, turnips and baby carrots, about four of each.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Slice the root vegetables lengthwise into quarters and place in a cover roasting pan or baking dish.  If you don’t have a covered dish, you can always cover the pan with aluminum foil.  Toss the vegetables with two teaspoons of olive oil and two teaspoons of dried rosemary.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Beets are in season now and are delicious roasted.

If the turnips or beets come with greens—they usually do this early in the season—I chop them into bite size pieces and steam them for seven minutes.  Chard steams in 10 minutes and kale in 15 to 20 minutes.

Slice a block of tempeh in half, and then slice each half crosswise into two thin sections.  Pour 2 tablespoons of shoyu or tamari in a dish.  Marinate the tempeh in the shoyu for about two minutes on each side.  Sauté in grape seed oil over medium heat until golden brown, then turn and brown the other side.

I keep salad dressing simple.  One tablespoon olive oil plus 1 teaspoon vinegar makes vinaigrette for one person.  Add herbs, 1/8 teaspoon stone ground mustard, or ½ teaspoon finely chopped onion for extra zip.

Rinse and spin the salad greens.  Tear enough greens into bite size pieces to cover a dinner plate.  Store the rest in a plastic bag.  Arrange a sliced beet, three slices each of the roasted root vegetables, some cooked greens, the asparagus, a handful of walnuts, the tempeh slices or half an artichoke artfully over the greens.  Top with dressing and enjoy the tummy dance!