Sardine Salad

I love sardines.  They're small, strong-tasting little fish that pack a super nutritional punch.  Being that they're small, they're also naturally lower in mercury than larger fish like tuna, who've had mercury and other toxins biomagnified in their bodies. Here's a little sardine salad recipe that is sure to please any sardine lover in your family.

Sardine Salad 
yield:  2 servings

Ingredients for salad:
3 c. organic mixed greens, packed
12 heads organic Brussels sprouts
1/2 c. broccoli sprouts (alfalfa, clover, radish, or other type of sprout would work well here, too)
1 4.375 oz tin sustainably caught sardines
Thinly sliced red onion to taste
Sea salt

Ingredients for dressing:
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp pastured butter
2 Tbsp capers
juice of half of a lemon

Directions:  Steam Brussels sprouts.  While Brussels sprouts are steaming, melt butter in pan.  Once melted, add capers and lemon juice.  Whisk until well incorporated.  Arrange mixed greens over two plates, add steamed Brussels sprouts and broccoli sprouts.  Flake sardines over top of salads and add the red onion.  Pour dressing over the top of your creation and sprinkle with sea salt.  Enjoy!

the food that is grown

The most wonderful part of tending to a garden is when the food that you've grown is ready to eat.  A large salad was on my mind, and the peas were the first to be picked.

The romaine was next on my "shopping" list, so I went to the aisle where it was located. I picked two, tall hearts of romaine--one for Michael and one for me.

What next for our salad, you ask? A beet, of course! I've been watching this particular beet rather closely, as it has been growing much more quickly than its brothers. I decided that it was a perfect size for slicing onto a salad, and so it was plucked from the earth.  In addition to the beet root itself, I also used the spinach-like leaves in the salad. The leaves are so full of nutrients! It would be a shame to discard them. In addition to the nutrients they provide, they also add a nice splash of color to an otherwise "all-green" salad.

While picking the largest beet, I noticed that there was a particularly tasty-looking wild plant growing nearby. It was wood sorrel, a flashy and lemony addition to any dish. It is so tasty!

Time to prepare those greens...