Green Salad with Champagne Vinegar Dressing -- a recipe to start your week

Container tomatoes

It's been a hot, hot summer. Turning on the oven isn't an option, and on some days, it's been way too hot to cook on the grill. So salads have been more appealing than ever... especially when you can go out and pick fresh lettuce right from your own garden.

We were late in planting our garden this year, but we have still been able to harvest some goodies... like snow peas, lettuce and, just yesterday, our first bowl of green beans. Yum.

Our garden is a bit nontraditional in that it's on our second floor 16'x20' balcony. This is our 4th or 5th year cultivating a balcony garden (free from deer and bunnies), but this is the best year ever! Why? Because this is our first year using our own composting soil. What a difference!! I tried to grow zucchini every year, yet this is the first year I'm having any success. We don't have any actual zucchini yet, but we have lots of flowers and I can't wait to watch the transformation.

Green beans (the kids' playhouse in the background)

My first eggplant!

I think the eggplant plant is so pretty

Zucchini!!

Cucumbers in the making

Sally, the scaredoll, keeping birds away since 2009

On Thursday, my husband planted more beans. Look at them already! How does that happen?! Wonder soil!!

Our baby beans. Look how fast they're growing!

Anyway, as you can see, our container garden includes pallets filled with composting soil. This was an experiment and we made some mistakes. Next year, we'll plan better by giving the cucumber and zucchini enough room of their own. We're finding it amusing to see plants that we didn't put there, emerging from the soil in various places. Obviously tomato and zucchini seeds sprouted in the compost, as did a kernel of corn! It will be interesting to see what comes of these random plants!

Random plant (zucchini?) growing between 2 pallets

 Aside from our own garden, we've been enjoying local produce from farmers' markets, roadside stands and local farm shops, such as Shenot's in Wexford, PA. We stopped there yesterday afternoon and bought some grass fed beef to go along with the wonderful vegetables we picked up.

As we were checking out, I asked the cashier about their corn and other produce.

"Do you use any Monsanto products?"

She looked at me quizzically. My husband clarified it for her by adding, "GMOs."

"Oh, no," she responded without hesitation. "We don't use anything like that. Let me give you a paper that explains how we grow our food."

She put it in my bag and we left. I was thrilled to read their explanations under the subtitles: Conventional, Organic, Biotechnology, What We Do, Fertility, Pathology, and Entomology. Sweet. Here's what they have to say about biotechnology:

Genetically modified foods, commonly referred to as "GMOs" are growing in popularity and also raising some eyebrows with concerned consumers. Science now gives growers the ability to grow vegetables, grains and even livestock with built-in "pest guards" that make them immune to disease, can produce their own insecticides and be unaffected by synthetic herbicides. Rather than engage in a debate about whether or not this is a good idea, I will just say that the crops grown on Shenot's soil are in no way genetically modified.

Yes! Even though it is a bit costlier than other places we've shopped this summer, we will return to Shenot's often, secure in the knowledge that Monsanto has not yet invaded this territory. And... the corn was phenomenal!!

With all this fresh goodness, I thought it would be a good day to share a salad recipe with you. We had this the other night, and it was amazing!

Green Salad with Champagne Vinegar Dressing

Leaf lettuce (can be substituted)

1 large carrot

1 stalk of celery with leaves

1 kohlrabi

1/2 candy onion, sliced thin
Cherry tomatoes
Parmesan cheese, shredded

Homemade croutons**

Wash vegetables in a bowl or basin with 1:8 ratio of distilled white vinegar and water. Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces. Using a food processor, chop the carrot, celery and kohlrabi in to fine pieces. Toss with lettuce and top with sliced onion, cherry tomatoes,parmesan cheese and croutons. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve dressing on the side.

Champagne Vinegar Dressing

This is a very “pure” dressing in that I don’t add any spices or herbs so the flavor of the vinegar can shine through.

¼ cup champagne vinegar (bought mine at Whole Foods)

3 TBSP water

½ cup oil (I used a light vegetable blend as I thought olive would be too overpowering)

Put ingredients in bottle and shake well before pouring.

**Homemade croutons

Cut bread (your choice) to one-inch cubes. Heat 1 TBSP coconut oil and 1 TBSP butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to taste (I use 1 tsp of jarred garlic) and some fresh snipped herbs. I cut some marjoram out of my herb garden. Add bread cubes to heated pan and toss. Cook until crispy.

That's it. This is a crisp, light salad that is simply delicious.

What is your favorite type of summer produce?

3 Tips for Shopping the Local Farmers Markets

 As spring harvest season is upon us, the opening of our favorite shopping venues is just around the corner -- the Farmers' Market. I can't wait to gather some farm fresh fruits and veggies, home-baked breads and numerous other goodies from the markets in my area. Guest blogger, Maria Rainier, is a freelance writer and blog junkie! Currently a resident blogger at First in Education, Maria writes about education, online colleges, online degrees, etc. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming and avoiding her laptop! Today on the blog, she is sharing her best tips for shopping the local farmers' markets.

Farmers' Market offerings from WillowHill Springs Farm

3 Tips for Shopping the Local Farmers' Markets

Farmers' markets are one of the best ways to find locally sourced, natural, and fresh produce. As obesity and diabetes continue to threaten the health of our society, a real food revolution has taken place throughout the United States. Many individuals, stores, and restaurants are placing more importance on fresh, all-natural products rather than highly processed and unhealthy items. We have also become more inspired to buy our food locally in recent years, supporting our local economy and finding truly fresh items.  Of course, one of the best ways to accomplish all of these things in one place is by scrounging the local farmers' markets. As the warm summer months roll in, farmers' markets are going to crop up more and more often. Farmers' markets are one of the best ways to save money on your produce and find the best quality product out there. Use these three tips to be as successful as possible at your next farmers' market trip.  

Flowers are one of my favorite farmers' market finds!

Always Take Cash

Cash is always your best bet at a farmers' market event. While some vendors may accept credit or debit cards with from their smartphones, it's a much safer bet to just take plenty of cash on hand to pay for your items. Many larger farmers' markets will have ATMs set up throughout the area. However, this convenience often comes with fairly hefty ATM charges that just aren't worth it. Take cash with you. To save some money overall, you should go with an idea of what you'd like and only take enough cash for those items. This can help taper your spending. Also, many farmers' markets participate in the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, providing supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education at no cost to low-income women, infants, and children who are found at nutritional risk. This program offers coupons to these individuals so that they can purchase fresh and nutritious fruits, vegetables, and herbs free of charge.

More from the farmers' market and WillowHill Springs Farm

Know Your Seasons

Another key trick to mastering farmers' markets the right way is really understanding your seasons. If you know a little something about what to expect when you get the market, you can make your decisions about what to get more easily. Take the time to learn about what types of produce grow in what seasons. You should try to educate yourself on the specific produce that you are interested in finding at the market as well. The more you know about the product, the more likely you will be to find the best produce available. Learn what things grow in what areas to get a better idea of what might be available. You can talk to the growers about what will be showing up in the markets in the future weeks and what to look for in specific items. Insider knowledge like this can be extremely useful for any farmers' market goer. 

Flowers from WillowHill Springs Farm!

Bring a Cooler

It's also a good idea to consider the easiest ways to carry the items you purchase around before you go to a farmers' market. One thing that many people overlook is actually getting around the event with all of the fresh produce you purchase. Take some bags and coolers with you so that you can easily store the things you purchase. If you decided to take some coolers with ice packs, you can keep them in your car and then put the fresh things that need to stay cool in there. You don't want to purchase brand new, freshly cropped items, just to let them wilt and wither in the summer's heat after you buy them. The whole idea of the farmers' market is to get things that are totally fresh. Think ahead so that you can bring the very best product back home with you. 

What items are you most excited about buying at this season's farmers' markets?