Week 2: Green machine

Week two of our CSA share from One Straw Farm brought us many green leafy things. Luckily I knew what all of them were. There was one bunch chard, one bunch spinach, one bunch of super peppery arugula, three purple sweet potatoes, one bunch white radishes, one bunch romaine lettuce, one bunch green leaf lettuce, one bunch kale and a bonus bunch of garlic scapes.

Better break out the salad spinner.

caesar salad

Caesar salad isn't easy, it isn't low fat, low calorie, or particularly swanky. But when it's made well, it's delicious.

And when I saw the leafy green head of romaine lettuce in the CSA box this week, I thought of Caesar. Caesar Cardini, that is, the restaurateur that invented this salad in 1924 when a rush of business on July 4 depleted the kitchen of his San Diego restaurant and he had to improvise.

I like anchovies and homemade croutons. I hate oily fatty dressing and I didn't want to use raw egg. So I reached into the Eating Well Recipe Rescue Cookbook and pulled out a favorite recipe that uses a dressing made from roasted garlic and a little bit of chicken broth, vinegar and oil and whirred in a food processor.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/caesar_salad.html