CSA Salad

As you know, faithful readers, Brianna and I rely a great deal on our weekly CSA pick-up.  So, last week, when the Winter/Spring season ended and our dear Sixth Street Community Center CSA took a break, we were at a loss.  We bought lunch every day that week, which is a rarity for us, as we usually make and bring lunch every day of the week.  We ate out for dinner and even ordered pizza one night.  It was really weird.

Though I did have the opportunity to go to Northern Spy Food Company, which I had been dying to try, and I did have awesome bánh mì for lunch one day, my wallet cried a little and my digestive system was all out of whack by the end of the week.  So you can imagine my excitement when, this week, I picked up our first batch of veggies for the Summer/Fall season of our CSA.  I skipped home, a bunch of collard greens in my tote, a basket of strawberries in hand.  What, oh what, would I make for dinner?

In the end I settled on a simple summer salad of several different greens, some radishes, said strawberries, and a homemade dressing.  I topped it all off with a few crumbles of fresh farmstead cheese from Robie Farm in New Hampshire, which I also picked up at my CSA.  A perfect meal for a hot summer day, this salad was more than just the sum of its parts.  The greens tasted freshly picked (rightly so, since they were) and packed an earthy, spicy punch.  And maybe it was just me, in all of my CSA excitement, but the strawberries seemed still warm from the fresh farm sun.  And the radishes.  Oh, the radishes.  They delivered a perfect crispy, cooling contrast to the strawberries and pulled the salad together.  They have that tendency, radishes do, of harmonizing and making things right in the world.

And now, a word (or two) on homemade salad dressing: once you try it, you never go back to the bottled stuff.  People have said it before, and I'm saying it again.  It's just so much better than anything you'd buy at the store.  Now, every time I am forced (usually only in a desperate situation) to use store-bought dressing, I find myself wondering what the heck I'm tasting.  Obviously it's stuff that does not belong in salad dressing.  So, dear reader, if you've never made your own dressing before, I suggest you try it.  Today.  I know I make a lot of promises, but I really do promise, you won't regret it.

CSA Salad

a couple of handfuls of different greens (I used arugula, mustard greens, and something that our CSA labeled "baby spicy greens," which I think were actually a baby cress), rinsed and thoroughly dried
1/4 cup radishes, trimmed and quartered or sliced into half moon shapes
1/4 cup strawberries, trimmed and sliced
a handful of crumbled cheese, whatever kind you like

1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine greens, radishes, and strawberries in a large bowl and gently toss together.  In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together mustard and vinegar until smooth.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper to taste.  While continuously whisking, slowly dribble in olive oil.  As the dressing begins to emulsify, increase dribble to drizzle.  Continue adding oil until all ingredients are incorporated.  Taste for seasoning; add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Dress salad with vinaigrette and top with crumbled cheese.  Enjoy!