With all the lettuce I've been harvesting, I have to eat more salads. Not that I mind. One salad I love, and never tire of, consists of fresh salad greens with dried cranberries and walnuts, tossed with a light balsamic sweet and sour dressing.
Cranberry walnut salad with light balsamic sweet & sour dressing, on an entire head of Little Gem Romaine lettuce, makes a delightful lunch for one.While I was eating my salad, Mr. Granny brought in a large packet from the mail box. I had forgotten that I had sent for the special offer from Seeds of Change over a month ago. For only $4.99 for shipping and handling, they sent out twenty-five packets of garden seeds!
Bean - Aztec Half Runner (1)
Bean - Tendergreen Bush (1)
Beet - Chioga (1)
Beet - Lutz Salad Leaf (1)
Cilantro (2)
Corn - Rainbow Inca (4)
Eggplant - Black (2)
Larkspur - Galilee Blue Double (1)
Lettuce - Barcarole (3)
Radish - Champion (2)
Snap Peas - Cascadia (1)
Squash - Hokkaido Stella Blue (1)
Sunflower - Russian Mammoth (1)
Sunflower - Mix (2)
Sweet Pepper - Corno Di Toro (2)
Bean - Tendergreen Bush (1)
Beet - Chioga (1)
Beet - Lutz Salad Leaf (1)
Cilantro (2)
Corn - Rainbow Inca (4)
Eggplant - Black (2)
Larkspur - Galilee Blue Double (1)
Lettuce - Barcarole (3)
Radish - Champion (2)
Snap Peas - Cascadia (1)
Squash - Hokkaido Stella Blue (1)
Sunflower - Russian Mammoth (1)
Sunflower - Mix (2)
Sweet Pepper - Corno Di Toro (2)
Most of the seeds will be stored in the refrigerator until next spring, as my garden is already planted. I might try to find a spot or two for some sunflowers though, and the beets can be planted later for a fall crop. Barcarole (or Barcarolle) lettuce is a Romaine type that is supposed to be especially frost tolerant, so it might very well find a place in the fall garden for over wintering. There are a few packets I won't be using, but hopefully I can find someone else who needs them. We just don't like eggplant, and we prefer super sweet corn varieties over the old heirlooms.
I'm loving your salads! I've been thrilled with all the great lettuces I've been harvesting from
ReplyDeletemy garden...usually my lettuce fails...I think all this cool, wet weather makes them happy!
Lynda, "cool" = at least ten degrees below our normal temperature, and 35 degrees last night. "Wet" = broke a record with over an inch of rain falling on Saturday. Enough is enough.....even though the lettuce IS good.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a yummy salad! I love to add berries or other fruit and nuts to my lettuce! Sometimes I'm bad and sneak in a little cheese too.
ReplyDeleteAlison, Mr. Granny likes savory salads, with cheese, olives, onions, radishes, etc., and ranch dressing. I've always liked sweet dressings on mine, usually oil and vinegar with quite a bit of sugar or honey, and added fruits and nuts.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Mr. Granny on this one. I love meat and cheese, onions, radishes, eggs, sunflower seeds, etc. with ranch dressing, too. I just like my sweets to be separate. I don't care for cheesecake for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteGot most of my tomato plants and all of my peppers in the ground today, as well as a few more beans and my cukes. I also have planted a bunch of flowers. I'm gonna try to finish up the rest of the tomatoes after lunch. Then my veggies will be done (except pumpkins) and I can move on to haying...and weeding.
Langela, you and Mr. Granny are already sweet enough without eating sweets....at least that's what he'd say ;-)
ReplyDeleteI still don't have my cucumbers planted. I am just pulling out my hair trying to find room for everything this year. I really used my neighbor's fence for a lot of stuff (her side and my side). With the new owner, I wouldn't feel comfortable just going into her yard to plant something, or even to plant on my side and let it climb on her fence. I ended up planting my hot peppers in containers in the front yard, mixed with flowers.
I am with you on the sweet salads. That one pictured looks delish! What great seeds you have there, and that was quite a special
ReplyDeleteShe might be fine with you using her fence if you came with lettuce in hand and promised more veggies later. I would anyway.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I plan to get a head start on my seed order for next year, I always wait until the last minute.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sweet salad person too. I love French dressing because it is so sweet. And sweet coleslaw. Yum. I'm not a big fan of eggplant (though I don't hate it or anything). I planted it anyway. If I don't want them, I'll give them to my townhouse mates who will love them. I even planted a few beets (very few) for them. I think beets are so disgusting. I can't even eat chard stems because they taste too much like beets.
ReplyDeleteKelly, I never can resist "free", even if it costs me! I figure whatever I can't use, somebody else can.
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Langela, I would do just that, but I never see her! She works all day, and goes out of town on weekends. Her side of the fence still has the dead plants from what I put there for Pat last year....tomatoes, beans and zucchini. It's just filling up with Bermuda grass now, which is trying its darndest to get into my garden. Pat was always good to keep it away from the fence. As long as I don't plant against the fence, I think I can keep the grass at bay.
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Erin, I really wanted to start with all fresh seed next year, during the half price sale on Ed Hume seeds. Except for tomatoes and peppers, of which I have a lifetime supply. I need to use up what I have and stop getting more! It's a sickness, I tell ya.
Daphne, if I buy bottled sweet dressings I actually add sugar or Splenda to them! I like my coleslaw extra sweet, too. Many times, if we're eating out, I have to sweeten the dressings to be able to eat them. I'm sure if people saw me sprinkling sugar over my salad they'd think I was crazy!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love beets, especially roasted. In fact, I'm going to plant another row soon. I thought I'd planted two rows, but goofed...one row was beets, one row was chard. Oh, the miners are now in the net covered bed. More drastic measures will have to be taken next fall.
Add a little feta cheese to that Cranberry Walnut salad and you've got one of my favorites!
ReplyDeleteIt's like Christmas all over again! What a bargain bag-lots of surprises....and like you said, whatever you can't use, someone else can!
ReplyDeleteHave fun!
Villager, sounds like a winner!
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Sue, I never could pass up a mystery grab-bag ;-)
What's your recipe for the "light balsamic sweet & sour dressing"? My husband would like that salad. I don't usually do "sweet" for my salads. I like a bit of lemon olive oil and some white balsamic.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I don't really have a recipe, I just mix it up to my taste. Basically about one part balsamic vinegar to 2 parts oil. I like canola or a light olive oil, I'm not fond of the flavor of extra virgin olive oil on my salads. I put the oil and vinegar into a small blender container and add sugar or sweetener to taste, then blend it until it emulsifies. I keep the container in my refrigerator, and give it a whirl each time I'm ready to use it. That keeps it from separating and giving me a mouthful of either oil or vinegar.
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering about those Seeds of Change seeds. I ordered them as well, and still haven't seen them. :( Hope they get here soon...
ReplyDeleteMmm. That's a good salad mix. I still can't get over your huge lettuce.
ReplyDeleteLove the salad. I eat a lot of salad but the veggies sure aren't from my unplanted garden. I am having the same weather and no let up in sight.
ReplyDeleteQuite a collection of seed. I am going more and more for the heirloom seed for many things in the hopes of saving the seed and cutting down on the cost of seed or I guess I should say shipping.
M. Matheny, it's been so long, I honestly forgot I'd ordered them!
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Kelly, surprisingly, there's only enough of it left for one day. The heads weren't that large, the Little Gem being perfect for one or two single servings. Another variety, that has yet to be picked, is getting huge! In fact, I think I'll pick outer leaves today, it's getting so crowded.
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Wilderness, that's the thorn in my side....shipping and handling costs. I'd love to buy from certain seed companies, but I refuse to pay those prices! I pretty much stick to Ed Hume seeds, which are available at the store on the seed racks, and go on sale several times a year for half price. On sale, I get a lot of seeds for (usually) a dollar or less a pkt. Even if I buy on line from that company, the shipping is around $2 and I can handle that.
Your seeds arrived a bit late in the season. Did they send it late or did you order it late? I think you could use it next year, but the germination rates go down a bit. I too save the unused packet of seeds for the next year. Dahlia seeds I've been using for about 4 yrs now!lol! And it germinated 5 out of 6, not bad at all!
ReplyDeleteRandom, they didn't offer them until early in April, and I think it said 4-6 weeks for delivery. Most of the packets are stamped for sale by 1/2012, but their envelopes say they are good for at least two years if unopened. I keep my seeds in the refrigerator, and they stay pretty viable. Some of my pepper seeds are on their third year with 100% germination! I think the only seeds that have been problematic were carrot seeds, but they were all the same variety and germination wasn't great when fresh.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't found a home for your rainbow inca corn seeds, I would love to have them. This variety does great in my humid, tropical climate.
ReplyDeleteI am in need of disease resistant heirloom flour corn with saveable seeds. Like rainbow inca! :)
This corn makes good flour if grown to maturity and then dried, I have been told.
Tangoflowers, I'm sorry, but I have already given them away! I advertised all the seeds I wouldn't use on Freecycle and they were picked up in the first hour.
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