Cleaning Lettuce From The Garden

We have really enjoyed all the lettuce coming in. I'm hoping it'll continue to produce until our tomatoes start getting ripe. Every time I fix a salad, I love surprising Andy with a new combination of ingredients. The other day we had baby carrots, lettuce, spinach, hard boiled eggs, Vidalia onions, and Parmesan cheese. I believe the only thing that would have made this better was some sliced black olives. I'm counting down the days until we're eating fresh-picked home grown tomatoes!

When I pick lettuce, I like to clean it like I do when I fix turnip greens. I clean my sink out and fill it with cold water, lettuce and a big  handful of salt. If there are any bugs, the salt helps them rise to the top. Pick out anything that doesn't belong in your salad! Our garden has been relatively weed-free, so it's pretty easy. Soak and rinse two more times. Remove the drain stopper and let the lettuce sit for several minutes. Shake off the excess water and drop into a salad spinner. This kitchen tool is a must-have if you have a lot of leafy greens.

My little buddy Brody was a big help with the salad spinner! He has been officially trained in salad preparation and said he would help his Mom and Dad fix their salad.