Basic Salad

There is absolutely no reason to pollute the planet by buying those bottles of salad dressing that taste like salt and chemicals from the forbidding aisles of the supermarket.

A basic salad dressing for four is two tables spoons vinegar, two tables spoons oil, and salt to taste.

Use less on delicate leaves like butter lettuce. Start with a tablespoon each olive and vinegar and salt, toss, taste a leaf and add more as needed.

I use Four Monks vinegar from San Francisco. Its a distilled vinegar from wine. For a more complicated dressing back off the basic vinegar and add proportionally balsamic, rice, lemon or a combination for heavier salad leaves like romaine, arugula, or winter greens. I grow my lemons and when I need more I ask my neighbors. Balsamic is available at our farmer’s market from Big Paw. A teaspoon of balsamic will change the dressing considerably.

Olive oil is also found at the farmers market also from Big Paw. There are more vinegars and olive oils at the Saturday Farmer’s Market at San Mateo City College. For a more complicated dressing back off the olive oil and add proportionally sesame or walnut oil or whatever takes your fancy.

These oils and vinegars bring more to the kitchen than the store bought dressings. Given the strange world of corporations he vinegars and oils we don't get from the farmers market come from www.mizkan.com

The basic dressings works on everything and brings out the flavor of fresh cut salad leaves.

Beets and swiss chard

Its late February and the days are just beginning to lengthen. Rain brings clouds to try and shorted the day. Most mornings are sunny till about noon, then the clouds roll in and lock out the day. At the farmers market there are lots of winter greens. I use the solar sport oven in its winter upright position with a 6” wide oval roaster and 5” small pot.

One bunch swiss chard and one bunch beets with leaves. Raymond, from Calderon Farms, a organic table from Hollister, about 70 miles to the south, sells them for $2 each.

Rinse well. If you let them soak in cold water the gritty soil will come off. Scoop the water from the sink and use it on the plants.

Trim the stalks then cut the bigger ones off the leaf. Chop the leaves into half inch strips. Chop the stalks fine.

Peel the beets carefully with a potato peeler. Then cut into 1/4 inch strips.

Mix leaves stalks and beets in a roaster. Salt and mix. Place in the oven in the winter position with the reflector for one hour. Check to see if the top is steaming. If not go another fifteen minutes. If you use a thermometer make sure the oven gets over 230 for one hour. Use your kitchen timer because the reflector can warp the oven if left unattended.

The leaves will have wilted.

In a bowl mix two tablespoons olive oil, two tablespoons white wine vinegar, one crushed clove garlic optional, two teaspoons cumin plus two tablespoons hot New Mexico chili powder optional, one cup chopped cilantro or parsley optional. Add to roaster, mix, taste for salt and serve. Big Paw brings olive oil and vinegar from the north bay as far away as Calistoga about 100 miles from Belmont.