This Memorial Day has been one we will never forget. Memorial Quarantine Day. As you know the last two months have been like something we never could imagine. School closures, lock downs, emotional frustrations, teleworking, and so many good and bad firsts. While it has been challenging at times we have attempted to utilize the slower time to our benefit. Getting caught up on projects around the house, getting our backyard, new garden area, and detached garage finished, and retrofitting our shed to be a chicken coop are just a few projects we have been working on. Part of our garden project was prepping our garden areas but this year also included adding 3 new garden boxes and 15 garden bags! I am in love with these garden bags. They are portable, easy to set up, and are perfect space for our tomatoes. But that’s a different subject. This year we started some beautiful Dazzling Blue Kale and a mix of leaf lettuce in our salad garden box. The kale did not disappoint. I am sure the cooler, wet spring, we are having has played a role in how well our kale did. (I would show you a picture of our kale but it’s ranining outside and I don’t want to walk through the sludgy sod to get back there 😂) So here is a picture of the package we planted and the beautiful greens we picked!
The amount of leaf lettuce and kale, not to mention other greens we have in the garden, and our microgreens, have led to some amazing salads this spring and today was no exception!
Having an abundant kale crop means more kale for the salads and more nutrients I am sneaking into the kids and our diets. Whether it is full grown kale, kale microgreens, or another leafy green vegetable the amount of natural nutrients is fantastic.
Leafy green vegetables, with both kale and microgreens being the top two greens in regards to health benefits, can have more than 100% of the needed daily value in Vitamins C, E, and K. They also provide amazing minerals and antioxidants. All of this is important in reducing risks of stress related diseases, cancer, heart disease and high blood pressure.
The hubbie decided to do the main course for tonight’s dinner! He is becoming quite the grill man and he has had an idea in his head for a hamburger, stuffed with grilled onions and garlic, topped with an egg, and microgreens. I’m not a huge hamburger, or meat, person but if he is going to cook I will eat it and enjoy it 😆😆😆! This gave me ample time to come up a delicious salad that was a little different than our normal salads. As I was looking through the fridge to see what I could use I saw the beautiful berries. Normally these berries won’t last past 2 days as the kids devour them. But for some reason, this week, they haven’t been eating them. These beautiful berries sitting in the fridge started the inspiration for a berry salad. I have had berry salads before but my kids haven’t.
Do you ever wonder why you spend the money to buy these colorful fresh fruits and veggies. Did you know there is a scientific importance to eating a colorful meal?? It is proven that each color of the fruit/vegetable has a different vitamin, mineral and nutritional make up. For our salad we picked green (greens), red (strawberries), and blue (blueberries). Green vegetables aide in improving eye health, reducing high cholesterol, and regulating your immune system along with many other things. Red vegetables and fruits have a high amount of antioxidants. They aide in improving overall heart health and reducing heart related diseases such as hypertension and high cholesterol. They also help prevent cancer and improve cognitive ability. And blue fruits and veggies are key for memory and healthy aging. Food can be tasty and healthy all at the same time. Eating these foods fresh provides the most nutrients since you don’t loose the nutrients in the cooking process.
The health component of eating is so important to living a healthy life style. Working out is important as well but if you don’t understand the role food plays you can’t truly live a healthy lifestyle. However, like most of us, I don’t think I could eat something that tasted bad just to get the healthy benefits. I want both the benefit of healthy food and a tasty meal. I am a foodie after all! Like any dish we create layers of flavor and texture is the difference between a regular tasting dish and a phenomenal dish. This salad was no different. I knew I wanted multiple layers of accompanying flavors and textures for this salad starting with the dressing. Lets be honest...it’s the dressing that pulls it all together. I knew the berries would add a sweetness to the salad and I wanted a vinaigrette to add some acidity. Balsamic is one of my favorite vinegars, however, it can be overpowering and very acidic. Having berries in the salad the dressing needed to have some sweetness to pair well. Trying to get away from all the processed sugar I opted for honey to counterbalance the acidity. It gave the dressing the needed sweetness and also helped slightly thicken it. The final touches of the salad was adding microgreens. I actually had some left over this week giving me a chance to pick and choose. Normally I’m at the mercy of whatever is left after selling at the farmers market. We recently started growing dandelion and chicory. I have been so excited to add them to something for my kids. Not only did I want to see how they would react to the bitterness I wanted them to eat the chicory and dandelion for the benefits they add.
Chicory and dandelion are both loaded with prebiotics and aide in biome/gut health.
The bitterness they offer was a good balance to the sweetness and acidity the salad would have. We also added some extra kale and broccoli microgreens we had laying around...getting those leafy greens in anyway we can. One final microgreen I was excited to try made its way into this salad...komatsuna.
Komatsuna is a mustard green found in a lot of Asian cuisine. It has a sweet delicate flavor similar to spinach.
Knowing spinach is often a main green in a berry salad it was a pairing meant to be. And the last part of the salad that rounded out the flavor and textural profile was some pepitas and dried cranberries.
Are you hungry yet? I just ate and my mouth is still watering thinking about this salad. It had a well rounded flavor profile including: salty, sweet, acidic, and bitter. It also had a great textural profile between soft and subtle to crisp and crunchy!
Ready for a spring time salad?!? Go pick some greens from the garden and give it a shot! No greens growing this year...that’s ok...swing by the store and grab some romain or leaf lettuce and let’s make a salad! I even have leftovers for tomorrow lunch 🥗🥗🥗🌱🌱🌱!!!
Berry Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
Salad
3 Cups - Salad Greens chopped (we used a mix of leaf lettuce and kale from the garden)
1-2 Cup - Microgreens (we used dandelion, kale, komatsuna and broccoli. Any variety will work but I strongly encourage you to try out some dandelion.Dandelion microgreens are so different tasting then their wild annoying full grown variety that grows in my yard 😂.)
2-4 - Strawberries, sliced
10-12 - Blueberries
Handful - Pepitas
Handful - Dried Cranberries
Mixed everything together
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/8 Cup - Onion Diced - (I like adding the onion to the dressing and letting it sit so it is lightly picked)
1/4 Cup - Balsamic Vinegar
1/8 Cup - Honey
1 Tsp - Dried Mustard
1 Tbsp - Poppy Seed
Mix until everything is combined.
Drizzle a few tablespoons over the top of the salad and toss. Dress to your desired amount and store the remaining dressing in an airtight lid
Bon appétit!!