It’s that time of year again when fresh-from-the-farm foods are available at Farmers’ Markets and through CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares.*

For most of the weeks from now until the end of September, I’ll share with you tips and recipes for preparing fresh, locally grown foods. Also, I’ll help you avoid wasting fresh fruits and vegetables through storage and freezing tips, plus give recipe suggestions that help you use every last leaf, stalk, ear, etc.! I’ll be using foods currently in season in Nebraska and provided in a CSA share courtesy of Pekarek’s Produce.

Here’s how I’m using some of the produce from this week (shown in the top photo) in a salad. I will post more ideas and tips as I continue to enjoy my CSA share.

Last night, as an accompaniment to a pasta meal, I prepared a quick salad, using a technique learned on a recent trip to Spain. Here’s what I did:

1. I washed and dried the lettuce in a salad spinner (helps remove the water and make salad dressing stick better, plus you can use less dressing AND add fewer calories). Also, I sliced a few of the red radishes.
2. Each person at the table (last night, it was my husband and me) got a salad bowl with the lettuce and radishes.
3. Next, each of us added a splash of vinegar followed by a couple of splashes of extra virgin olive oil. Use a ratio of about 1 part vinegar (such as balsamic, sherry, red wine or a fruit-flavored vinegar) to 3 parts olive oil. Eyeball it at about 1 teaspoon vinegar to 3 teaspoons olive oil per about 2 cups of salad. (NOTE: If desired, add a dash of salt at the beginning).
4. Toss and enjoy!

The benefit of this easy recipe is you control the amount of ingredients plus you don’t have any of those aging bottles of salad dressing in your refrigerator that eventually get tossed! And … you don’t have to mix up a salad dressing in advance. Pretty cool!

If you’d like to take just a little more time and include a few more ingredients, prepare a salad dressing for the total salad using these steps for making an olive oil salad dressing.