homemade French dressing – Twice as Tasty

It’s easy to think of spring salads as light and delicate, because many of the first vegetables available to mix into them are tender greens and herbs, rather than the meaty tomatoes and sweet peppers that ripen in the summer garden. By mixing spring crops into a hearty, filling base, a salad like the one I share this week my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon can carry a meal.

Grains like pearl barley and farro, beans and other legumes, starchy vegetables like potatoes and sweet potatoes, and breads like a sourdough loaf for panzanella and Twice-Baked Sourdough Pita Chips for fattoush all turn a couple of handfuls of raw vegetables into a full meal. On the weekends, I often cook a double batch of Bulgur Taco “Meat” or beans to turn into Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice and then fold the rest of the batch into fresh lunch salads throughout the week.
Learn to make Spring Pearl Barley Salad

In winter months, when the ground is frozen and blanketed in snow, I rarely buy and eat fresh greens. But as the soil warms and spring greens sprout in my garden, I start eating salads—daily. The first ones feature mounds of greens and herbs sparsely dotted with other vegetables. When my lettuces bolt and turn bitter, tomatoes, cucumbers, and snap beans take over. Beets, carrots, and kale, plus a small flush of spinach, bump up against the first snowfall.

This type of seasonal salad building means you rarely find a mix of lettuce, tomato, and cucumber in my bowl. But as I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, you can still enjoy flavor pairings produced in different seasons. The secret is simple: make your own salad dressing. Homegrown frozen cherry tomatoes and dried basil have far more flavor than the fresh options you could buy at the store right now. In an easy dressing, they give summery flair to spring greens.
Learn to make Tomato and Herb Salad Dressing