Springtime Greens – Arugula

by thesaladgirl

We continue our “Spotlight on Spring Ingredients” with Arugula [ah-ROO-guh-lah].  One of the first springtime greens, arugula has a distinct flavor — spicy pepper with a hint of nut.  It is a good source of vitamin A and C, antioxidants, calcium, and potassium.

To take full advantage of your flavorful arugula, purchase a copy of Pam Powell’s recipe book Salad Days (available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble).  You’ll find a dozen recipes featuring this zesty green including the Apricot and Arugula Salad pictured here.  If you don’t have time to make a dressing, try the Apricot and Arugula Salad with Salad Girl’s Organic Curry & Fig Dressing.

Apricot and Arugula Salad from Pam Powell's recipe book, Salad Days, page 80.

If you don’t have copy of the recipe book yet, arugula is delightful with any flavor of Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressing.  Try it with a mild cheddar goat cheese, some roasted almonds or pecans, and your favorite Salad Girl Organic Dressing.

When you purchase or pick your arugula, the leaves should be bright green and fresh looking.  Arugula is very perishable and should be tightly wrapped in a plastic bag and refrigerated for no more than two days.  The leaves hold quite a bit of grit and must be washed thoroughly.

Organic Arugula at Whole Foods Market, St. Paul

Grow Your Own Salad — Arugula is easy to grow in containers indoors or outdoors.  The following steps will give you tasty arugula throughout the year.  Place loose organic potting soil and ½ cup of composted soil for fertilizer in a 4-6 inch clay pot.  Plant 4 arugula seeds 2 inches apart from each other and cover with 1/8 inch of soil.  Water just enough to moisten and check daily to keep moist.  Arugula will do best with indirect sunlight.  Place in a relatively shady area of your house or yard that receives about 4 hours of sunlight per day.  To maintain the health of the plant, take off yellowed or dead leaves once a week.  In about 40 days, you may harvest your arugula all at one time or a few leaves at a time.  Have several plants growing at different intervals to keep fresh arugula available at your finger tips.  Good resources for gardening include www.organicgardening.com and www.gardenguides.com.  It doesn’t get any more local than that!

Article and photo of Fresh Arugula by Sarah Baron Sullivan

Celebrate Earth Day with Salad Girl

by thesaladgirl

Live in the Chicago area ?  Visiting the Chicago area this Earth Day weekend ?  Have friends or relatives in Chicago ?  Take a trip to the Sauganash Whole Foods Market to sample and purchase Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressings.  The store is located at 6020 N. Cicero Avenue, 773-205-1100.  Samples will be available from 10:00am – 2:00pm.

Celebrate Earth Day !

If you haven’t made the switch to organics yet, Earth Day is the perfect time to start purchasing Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressings and organic ingredients for your salads.  Organics are not only better for your body, but they are better for the earth too.

Earth Day is also a wonderful time to explore the local Farmer’s Markets.  Buying local produce that is in season and organic is the greenest way to go.  Some vendors at the Farmers Markets may not be certified organic but may follow many, if not most, of organic standards.  Get to know your farmers.  If their produce is not certified organic, find out if they’re doing enough to meet your standards.  To find a Farmers Market near you, check out www.localharvest.org.

You may also want to use the research of The Environmental Working Group (EWG) at www.foodnews.org to help you decide what produce items you always want to purchase organic (even if they’re not available locally).  EWG’s research provides the lists known as the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15 — you will see which produce items have the highest and lowest (respectively) pesticide loads.

If you can’t fit organics for all of your salad ingredients into your budget, make sure you focus on purchasing organic for the Dirty Dozen (this includes lettuce, spinach, apples, strawberries, blueberries, and kale).  And, don’t forget the Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressing :)  Happy Earth Day !

Article and Photograph by Sarah Baron Sullivan

Earth Day Spring Spotlight: The Delectable Radish

by thesaladgirl

Celebrate Earth Day this year with Spring radishes.  They will add a flavor kick and nice color to springtime salads.  They are available in shades of red, pink, purple, white and black.  Spring radishes are also fast growers if you enjoy growing your own salads.  Some varieties are oval or globe-like in shape such as The Champion, Fuego, Cherry Belle, Easter Egg, Snow Belle, and Early Scarlet Globe radishes.  Other spring radishes can be long and cylindrical such as French Breakfast and White Icicle.

Make an Earth Day resolution to grow some of your own salad ingredients.  What could be more local than growing your own salad?  In addition to the varieties mentioned above, Burpee White, Plum Purple, and Cherry Queen Hybrid radishes are good growers.  If you don’t have the yard space, consider starting a container garden.  Radishes can be grown indoors or outdoors in 6-10” clay or plastic container where they receive at least six to eight hours of sunlight each day.  Radishes thrive in moist soil when planted in a potting mix versus regular garden soil.   Most spring radishes take 23 to 28 days to harvest. Summer varieties include French Breakfast and Icicle with similar harvest time frames. Spring and summer radishes should be harvested when the root is 1” in diameter.

Enjoy your radishes in a “Spring Asian Salad” —  mix leaves of  baby arugula with some fresh basil leaves, sugar snap peas, a handful of crunchy sesame sticks (in the bulk dried foods area of your Co-op), a generous grating of local goat Chevre from the Poplar Hill Creamery called “Minnesota Montrachet”,  and a drizzle of the New Salad Girl Organic Honey Ginger Dressing.

Ravishing Radish Salad, page 21 Salad Days recipe book by Pam Powell, photo by Paul Markert

OR….. pick up a copy of Pam Powell’s recipe book, Salad Days: Recipes for Delicious Organic Salads and Dressings for Every Season  (available online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble).  On page 21, you’ll find an amazing Ravishing Radish Salad with Chive and Cracked Pepper Vinaigrette that is pictured here.  If you don’t have time to make a dressing, simply substitute Salad Girl’s Organic Lemony Herb Dressing into the recipe.  Happy Salad Making :)

www.organicgardening.com or www.gardenguides.com are great resources to start gardening!
Recipe tip by Pam Powell
Article and Photo of fresh radishes by Sarah Baron Sullivan,
Photograph taken at Whole Foods Market in St. Paul, MN

Springtime Asparagus Bowtie Pasta Salad

by thesaladgirl

If you’re hosting a holiday gathering this Easter, consider making an Asparagus Bowtie Pasta Salad to have a filling and flavorful alternative for your vegetarian guests. Asparagus, a member of the lily family, is a true sign of spring.  It was once known as “sparrow grass” and is available in several colors — green, white, or purple.

Asparagus is best when cooked the same day it is bought.  Rinse holding the tips down to remove dirt and sand.  Snap off the bottoms where the color changes, and cook al dente.  The asparagus should still be crispy and maintain its color.

If you’re not able to cook it the day of purchase, it will keep 3-5 days in the refrigerator if you place damp paper towels around the ends, and wrap it tightly in a plastic bag.  You could also store your asparagus with the stems in a glass with 1” of water and a plastic bag covering the glass and asparagus.

Enjoy the wonderful flavors of Springtime !

Recipe by Pam Powell

Article and photo (taken at Whole Foods Market, St. Paul, MN) by Sarah Baron Sullivan

Spring Goodies: Dandelion Greens

by thesaladgirl

Spring is here!  To celebrate, we’re going to highlight some unique, interesting, and flavorful Spring ingredients over the next few weeks that you may not have experienced in a salad.  Today we’re starting with Dandelion Greens :)

Dandelions are a member of the sunflower family. The greens of the dandelion are edible and will be the tastiest in early spring before the flowers emerge.  Make sure to purchase or harvest the dandelion greens when the leaves are small and young.  They will have a unique, slightly bitter taste.  Once they blossom, the greens become very bitter and are not edible.  Remember to use only organic dandelion greens (the blossoms may be used for decoration but not for eating).

Organic Dandelion Greens at Whole Foods Market in St. Paul

Remove the tough stems and rinse your greens.  If you have extra greens, keep them refrigerated in a plastic bag, and  use them within five or six days for optimal freshness.

Dandelion greens are amazing with some sweet and salty flavors to balance out the slightly bitter.  Try the following recipe or the suggestions below.

Stickney Hill Dairy Farm in Minnesota makes a delicious goat’s milk chevre that could be used for this recipe.  Ask your cheesemonger for an alternative locally-made chevre if Stickney Hill isn’t available where you live.

Another delightful option for your dandelion greens would be to add kiwi, pistachios or sunflower seeds, feta cheese, and Salad Girl Organic Pomegranate Pear Dressing to your dandelion greens.  Hidden Springs Creamery in Wisconsin makes a wonderful sheep’s milk feta cheese.  Again, if that’s not available, check with your cheesemonger for a similar feta.

Enjoy Spring and the flavor sensations of your Salad Girl salads!

Recipe by Pam Powell
Article and Photograph by Sarah Baron Sullivan

Spring into Salad Days !

by thesaladgirl

Five delicious, seasonal salads from Pam Powell’s recipe book, Salad Days, are included in a new digital magazine article (Note:  Salad Days is available online at Amazon or Barnes & Noble).  The magazine, called Food Loves Beer, may be found at www.foodlovesbeermagazine.com.  Click on the Preview Issue of the March-April 2012 edition in the lower right hand corner.  The article, Spring into Salad Days, starts on page 22.  Enjoy!

Baby Greens and Fava Beans Salad from Pam Powell's recipe book, Salad Days. Photo by Paul Markert.

Class: Crafting Organic Artisan Salads

by thesaladgirl

Pam Powell (aka The Salad Girl) will be facilitating a class at the Mississippi Market (1500 7th Street) on “Crafting Organic Artisan Salads for Every Day”.  This fun gathering will meet on Saturday, March 24, 2012, from 11:00am-12:30pm, $20 for general public/$17 for members.  Call the Mississippi Market to register, 651-690-0507.

Eating of the Greens

by thesaladgirl

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Salad Girl Organic Salad Dressing !  Delicious samples will be given out at the Fresh and Natural Foods in Hudson, WI, this Saturday from 11:00am-2:00pm.  The store in located in the Plaza 94 Shopping Center at 1701 Ward Avenue, Suite 200, www.freshandnaturalfoods.com .  Hope to see you there !

Salad Girl Special In Chicagoland!

by thesaladgirl

Salad Girl is kicking off its arrival to several of the Whole Foods Stores in Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, and Illinois (Chicagoland as the Salad Girls call it) by putting Salad Girl Dressings on special ! The special $1.00 off each flavor for two weeks starts today and runs through Valentines Day! Our Chicagoland Salad Girl demo staff will be offering you a taste of each dressing by crafting some unique “Little Salads On A Stick” at several of the these beautiful Whole Foods Markets! Make sure to grab the recipe and all the ingredients for this great little raw appetizer, and serve up something ♥ heart healthy and fresh to your SuperBowl fans and your Valentine honey’s!

Tell your friends and family!  We are newly on the shelves of the following Whole Foods Markets:

Chicago, Illinois                Wheaton, Illinois                  Evanston, Illinois

S. Evanston, Illinois           Willowbrook, Illinois              Lincoln Park, Illinois

Halsted, Illinois                  Schaumburg, Illinois             Northbrook, Illinois

Hinsdale, Illinois                Naperville, Illinois                  Saganaugh, Illinois

South Loop, Illinois              River Forest, Illinois              Deerfield, Illinois

Indianapolis, Indiana

St. Louis, Missouri                  Town & Country, Missouri

Omaha, Nebraska

Madison, Wisconsin          Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Salad Girl In Tailor Made Nutrition (Woodbury, MN)

by thesaladgirl

Today I will be demo-ing “little salads on a stick” at the Tailor Made Nutrition Store, a specialty Gluten Free store in Woodbury, Minnesota from 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.  Come on in, and have a healthy, gluten-free bite of salad as well as great sampling of all sorts of wonderful, gluten-free products this great store carries!  For directions and more information, go to:www.tailormadenutrition.com/