Goofus and Gallant

I was a huge fan of Highlights magazine when I was a kid, and there was no feature I loved more in the magazine than Goofus and Gallant. This was a cartoon about two brothers, one named Gallant who had impeccable manners and the other, Goofus, who was a real jerk and could never do anything right.

An example: Goofus plays with matches and likes to start fires in class. Gallant always asks his parents before picking up any type of incendiary device.

I liked Goofus the best. Here's why: The boy was a troublemaker and great fun to read about. I was a goody two shoes, and even I found Gallant boring.

I don't mean to bury the lede, it's just that so far this week I have been more of a Goofus than a Gallant when it comes to my mess of greens. Like Gallant I was prompt to pick up my CSA share on Wednesday afternoon. But like Goofus, I let the greens sit in my fridge for several days before even deigning to wash them.

Friday afternoon I got to work and washed and spun two heads of lettuce, the arugula and the spinach. I blanched the swiss chard to use on Monday.

So Gallant.

Then I promptly shoved it ALL back in the fridge and went to a friend's house for pizza.

So Goofus.

Saturday afternoon I decided something should be done. So I pulled out the bunch of scapes and decided to put them in a crazy lady vase and shoot their portrait. (They kind of look like an 80s side ponytail, no?)

Then my inner Gallant kicked my inner Goofus to the curb and I decided to get busy for real. What's the best way to use greens? Salad. And I knew just the one.

A former coworker gave me this salad recipe that she got from Martha Stewart Living. The original recipe uses a mix of arugula, spinach, watercress and Belgian endive and is topped with blue cheese, hearts of palm and a killer vinaigrette. She calls it "Mother Stewart's Salad." I substituted green and red lead lettuce for the endive and watercress and bagged the hearts of palm, which I don't really like.

The result? Spicy, crunchy, green, garlicky, stinky blue cheese goodness. Given my split personality this week, I renamed the salad in honor of my favorite spiritual guides. My apologies, Martha.

Goofus and Gallant Salad

2 heaping cups baby spinach

2 heaping cups arugula

1 heaping cup red leaf lettuce

1 heaping cup green leaf lettuce

1/3 cup crumbled Maytag Blue cheese

Mix washed, torn greens in a bowl. Top with cheese. Then for the vinaigrette, press one clove garlic into a jar with a lid, and add salt, freshly ground pepper and 1 TSP Dijon mustard. Add 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar and shake. Add 3 TB extra virgin olive oil and shake. Pour over salad. Toss. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.