Share and Get Your Salad Spun!

Salad greens just bring out the fresh taste of a garden. Those earthy nibbles with dressing and a few of these and those added and you have my favorite salad. It is that simple. A little crunch, a little sweet, a little zip, and ooooooh some of those. Perfection in a bowl or on a plate. But please, no soggy lettuce. It is such an insult to the salad-eater's mouth. The texture goes from crunchy to squishy, just like that. Spin it. Please spin it.

The generous folks at OXO have given me another chance to spoil you. This time it is with one of their incredible salad spinners, so you won't have to eat soggy salads. If you have been following me for awhile, you know that I have a deep appreciation for what this company has to offer. Their attention to Universal Design wins me over time and again and their salad spinner is no exception.

Last summer, the Lil Man loved to grab the greens from our garden and place them right in the strainer bowl. He was able to do the washing, spinning and, most importantly, the eating of the salads. It is hit-and-miss when we try to feed him salads, but when he is in charge of the greens it is a slam-dunk. We introduced green beans to him this same way. Previously frozen, no way. From the garden, spun and steamed. All net.

Another cool thing about this spinner, not one that is advertised, is that you can use it as a traveling salad bowl. You see, the spinner top locks down and you can remove the strainer. Pretty handy.

The easiest way to use the spinner is to gather your greens and then give them a couple of good rinses through the strainer. Then I like to prep them. Tear or cut them into bite-size pieces and give them a couple more rinses. (I cannot emphasize the importance of sorting and rinsing enough. Yes, I had a tiny slug make it's way into my salad bowl after a rapid rinse and that is all I am saying. That is ALL. Organic gardening at it's best.) Insert the strainer into the spinner, place the top on and then push, push, push the plunger down and let'er spin. You would be amazed how much water this thing removes! Good ol' centrifugal force put to use in the kitchen. Then there is a handy little brake you use to stop the spin-o-rama.

Fresh from your garden items you can rinse in the spinner:

:: Lettuce

:: Kale

:: Chard

:: Spinach

:: Berries

:: Herbs

:: Peas 

:: Green Beans

Here are some of the features and benefits:

:: Easy, one-handed operation

:: Patented pump mechanism and brake button

:: Clear lid lets you see inside and comes apart for easy cleaning

:: Non-slip ring keeps bowl steady on countertop

:: Basket and non-slip bowl can be used separately

:: Bowl capacity is 6.22 qts; basket capacity is 4.95 qts

:: Top-rack dishwasher safe

:: BPA free

Enough Enough. I know you want one now. Well guess what. They sent me TWO and I already have one. So that means I need to give them to YOU. How you ask?

Well, the Good Apple came up with this one. He is pretty great that way. The Lil Man has been asking us what our favorite food is, every night, you know the way a 4 year old can. The GA had the good sense to change it up and ask, "What would you eat 3 nights a week if you could?" Everyone gave their responses and I said a variety of salads. Really. That threw him. He is a carnivore who eats what I cook. If the menu planning was left to him it would be homemade Mac n' Cheese, Chili and BBQ Chicken every night. Is your heart still beating?

How to enter

In the comments section, write the recipe (or leave a link) for your favorite salad. Then I will make them and the family will choose their favorite. One will be sent out to a reader somewhere in the US and the other will stay in the San Juan Islands. 

This giveaway will be open until Friday, March 30th at 11:00PM PST.  I can't wait to see what you come up with!!! Winners will be announced during the third week of April.

Just look for this button on the sidebar 

to come back and leave your favorite salad!     

Previous OXO Giveaways: 

Good Cookie Spatula and Eggbeater.

Next Week! How Does Your Garden Grow?

Next Tuesday is the start of our weekly gardening gathering, but as you learned last week, I am not a very patient person. So, how's it going in your garden? We have had a lot of wind and rain and some snow. The peas are still in hiding, however, the radishes have popped through as of yesterday. Thank goodness. We had a moment of sunshine so I ran and made a somewhat impulsive purchase of 21 violas and pansies. The Lil Man chose the plants and where to plant them. This was a first and I had a moment of uncertainty when he started, but the beauty is that the entryway flower pots are his creation and a treat to see when we come home.

 

This weekend will be full of garden work and some more planting, so stay tuned and...what is growing in your garden?

 

Weekly Menu - Week of March 19

This week was different from most, the Good Apple was gone all week and as it turned out, of course, I had a sick babe on my hands. My wonderful island friends family brought us into their homes for dinner. I was so thankful for the reprieve and it was a good reminder to return the favor to friends who are on this road solo. It was a tough, humbling experience. 

The pictures were lacking this week because, well, I just couldn't pull it together. I DID capture Friday's dinner because I HAD to. It is one of our favorites and I can't wait to write it up. 

On the subject of pictures, I hereby declare that I will no longer ruin your palette with yellow toned photos. If they are yellow, they will not get posted. That's all there is to it. Now, this is going to be more easily achieved between now and September because there will be sunlight at dinner time. So basically, there are no excuses. Just sayin', throw me a reminder come October that you don't like to see yellow food. Sorry!

THE MENU

Monday- Grilled chicken breasts marinated with Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce*, steamed broccolini with balsamic vinegar served over greens and rice. Yum! (Did I mention the hot fudge sundaes with homemade whipped cream? Thank you A.S. for making the dessert run and making the sundaes with perfect whipped cream).

Tuesday- Turkey meatloaf, roasted potatoes and carrots, spinach salad with oranges, craisins and blue cheese crumbles. Dessert here too! Blueberry Streusel Pie. Num num num. 

Wednesday - Ravioli with Muir Glen Roasted Garlic Spaghetti Sauce, sautéed zucchini and garlic (from last summer's garden!) and green salad. 

Thursday- Chicken Enchilada Soup from Mental Chew A good friend tried this recipe and suggested adding lime. GREAT idea!

Friday- Nicaraguan Dinner, this is one of our favorite meals and it is always made with love by one of our favorite family members. Pork with Achiote and Lime, Cabbage salad with a vinaigrette, and Dirty Rice (beans and rice). 

Saturday - Sesame Noodles, again. We had just returned back to the island. We were tired. I was exhausted to be honest. This time I used Yakisoba Noodles and it was just as good, if not better. 

Sunday - out to dinner for the Good Apple's 40th birthday at Roche Harbor's MacMillan Room. 

Check out this menu: 

Cave-Aged Maytag Blue Cheese Salad - America's oldest working dairy crafts this naturally aged cheese. Garnished with toasted slivered almonds, hardcooked egg and Maytag Blue Cheese.

Potato-Crusted Scallops with Smokey Bacon-Onion Relish (from the menu) Alaskan Weathervane scallops lightly breaded with potato, then seared golden. With Rain Shadow greens topped with smokey bacon-onion relish around our Yukon Gold mashed potatoes.

AND dessert. We will be rolling out.

The kids stayed home with a sitter and ate a lasagna I had in the freezer, made by one of my island angel friends. 

Next week, it is all the Good Apple's choice since it is his birthweek. Hold on to your defibrillators, here we come.

*Trader Joe's Soyaki is also known as SoyVay on other market shelves. We even saw it at Costco this week. (We stocked up on organic chicken and turkey!!!)

These Moments J-P

This week was a challenge in so many ways. The Good Apple was away and Lil Miss was having rough nights, so most days it was all I could do to get a photo posted. There were silver linings when I needed them, thank goodness.

J is for Jam

This is the freezer jam we made last summer. The Lil Man wanted to make sure the "R" for raspberry showed since it is his favorite. I have to admit that I panicked a bit when I took this photo 10 jars left and we started with 36. Jam in yogurt, jam on bread, jam and cream cheese on bagels, jam in crepes, jam on pancakes. We eat jam and the supply is dwindling. Every time it is spread, a little bit of summer is shared.

K is for Kung Fu Master

Guess who's idea this was? It was difficult to take these shots. I was laughing so hard and he was soooooooo serious about it. I ended up creating a series of 8 shots. Check these out if you need a chuckle.

L is for Little Lemon Lover

What can I say? She loves lemons. While eating lunch with friends, we were discussing "L" possibilities when this was suggested. I dove for my iPhone waiting for the sour face and this was as close as it got, she loved it!

M is for Motorcade

This was one of those shots you literally "walk into". I was coming up with dozens of options on a dreary, windy day and this just made me giggle as we walked upstairs. I love that Filmore was getting a police escort.

N is for New Growth

I went outside, camera in hand, just hoping to find some pea shoots. Nada. However, I did find that my Dogwood was feeling Springy. I took about 20 shots and none of them really did it for me. I love the color and the lighting on this one, but the background is just too busy. Bah.

O is for Optimism

After posting the previous day's photo and not finding the new growth I had been hoping for, I was feeling a little punky. The weather here had been all over the map: warm and sunny, cloudy and rainy, cloudy and windy and rainy, snowing, hailing. And that is just in three days. As I was getting the Lil Man off to school, I saw this little daffodil burst open while it's neighbor stayed closed for business and I felt optimistic for the sunny days of Spring. I love these little reminders that the windy, stormy days will pass.

P is for Pastrami and (San) Pellegrino

Whenever we put our car in line for the ferry, we head up the hill to one of my favorite eateries on the island. Market Chef never disappoints, I mean never. Today's sandwich was Pastrami and I always get a Limonata. The kids enjoyed their Mac n' Cheese and stirfryed broccoli, carrots and mushrooms. Yum. Oh, and it happened to be a "P" day...so here is the lovely Pastrami for you to drool over.

Q, R, S, T, U, V, W are next. Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

All photos are taken by Val Curtis and can be used with permission only.

 

All photos are taken by Val Curtis and can be used with permission only.

 

Signs of life

Last fall, I planted 50 cloves of garlic. Today, they are the green in my garden. The perimeter of my beds will have either garlic or onions. Stinky plants keep a lot of critters away. Today, I am feeling optimistic about the possibilities.