Friday, July 25, 2014

Homemade and Homegrown

I've often said that one day when (not if, WHEN) I win the Powerball that I'm having a salad bar installed in my house.  Having won the Powerball, I'll also be able to employ a full time salad bar attendant to keep it all nice and fresh & pretty.  But in the meantime, I have to either seek out a good salad at a restaurant or make one myself.  As we all know, anything homemade is better every time.  But, salads can be like sandwiches...they always seem to taste a bit better when somebody else makes it for you.

Today was a salad day, but I had no one around to make one for me and alas, I still haven't gotten my salad bar and attendant.  So, I whipped up what I'd say turned out to be a beautiful and delicious, super-fresh veggie delight.  And crazy simple.  I tore some romaine, sprinkled a little cheddar, a few croutons, sliced some olives, my homegrown cucumber, my dad's homegrown tomato and my homemade bleu cheese dressing.  



Usually, I'm not a big cucumber fan.  But, I have noticed a homegrown cuke always tastes better than a grocery store one.  I slice them thinly and sprinkle with salt and boom, I'm a cucumber eater.  My dad's tomato was perfectly sweet and a beautiful blood red.  Again, a little bit of salt and some pepper and it was divine.  Cheddar I don't  know how to make, but I assure you, if I did, I'd make it myself.  Same thing with olives.  Trust me; if we could grow olives in South Carolina, my backyard would be a veritable grove.  



Now, salad dressing, I've told you about before. With a couple of exceptions, I don't buy dressing.  It's just too damn easy to make yourself and (you know what I'm going to say...) it's so much better when you make it yourself.  I love this guy's recipe, but I do thin mine with milk.  This recipe makes a super thick and chunky dressing.  It you want/need it to be more liquidy, the milk does the trick. If you're a bleu cheese lover, try this dressing.  Like, now.

We're lucky here in the South because we can grow practically everything  (ok, except olives, artichokes, oranges, but pretty much everything else). And we still have a couple months in our growing season so take advantage of all that our markets and your own gardens have to offer!

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