The Big Salad:  Pretty much what it sounds like.  It can, in fact, be your entire dinner.  Pshaw, you say.  You think it will never fill you up.  The trick is to just add tons of stuff to it.  If you want to make it more protein-rich, you can add hard-boiled egg slices, cooked chick peas, or cooked beans (we like kidney beans).  You can also add grains, like barley or quinoa.  It you have other veggies, throw them in: carrot slices, red or green pepper, artichoke hearts, black or kalamata olives, etc.  We like to saute onions and mushrooms and throw them in.  Dried fruits are also yummy, particularly cranberries and blueberries.  These pair wonderfully with a tart vinegar-based dressing.  Nuts and seeds are also good.  We like toasted pecans and almonds (sliced or chopped), as well as sunflower or pumpkin seeds.  And don’t forget the endless possibilities offered by our dairy case friend, cheese.  Whether grated parmesan, cheddar, or crumbled feta, it will make your crazy salad into a meal.

Caesar Salad:  When we offer Romaine lettuce, we like to suggest this recipe.  It’s from Katherine’s mother, and one that Katherine and Todd still make frequently.  We like it more as a side, particularly with a grilled steak or hamburgers (from locally raised, grass-fed beef, of course).  It’s worth making it at least once, if for no other reason than to see the difference between a real Caesar dressing and the whitish-yellow, curdled muck you get at chain restaurants.

A word on Dressings:  Okay, so most of you probably buy dressing in a bottle.  Who can resist Annie’s Goddess dressing?  But believe it or not, for some of us, dressing in a bottle is a luxury item.  So we have to work with what’s handy.  And for us, that’s usually olive oil and vinegar.  There is no simpler dressing that the following formula: equal parts olive oil and vinegar (red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic vinegar are our usual choices), chopped garlic to taste, and salt and pepper.  And when we say pepper, we mean from a grinder (yes, it’s pretentious, but really worth it).  Homemade salad dressing is not only the easiest dang thing ever, but there’s not a trace of high fructose corn syrup (take THAT, Newman’s Own).  To get super fancy, fresh herbs like oregano, basil, thyme, sage or whatever you have handy will add something special to the mix (but please, not all of those in the same dressing – try one by itself till you figure out what you like).   After a few tries you’ll find that it doesn’t really take any time at all.

Above all else, don’t forget to feel superior and virtuous after you’ve eaten a whole plate of salad for dinner.  It will really take the sting out of that greasy Rueben you had for lunch, and the Ben and Jerry’s you’re going to eat while watching Survivor.  Mmmm.

We hope you’re enjoying the beautiful weather.  We’re planting like mad while we have a break from the rain.  The field is still wet in places, so we are more delayed than we had hoped.  We have our fingers crossed for a bountiful Spring share, but we’re not sure how it will turn out.

See you in May!

You can now purchase your CSA shares online, which is a new development for us.  It might not work properly at first, so please work with us!  If you have any problems, or if you don’t have Paypal, just call or email and we’ll work it out.  We have made some changes from last year.  The most exciting change is the new market share, where you can pay up front for items from the farmers’ market.  We also have had to make a hard decision, which is we will no longer be dropping shares in Strasburg on Mondays.  We were losing a whole day to this drop, which was our least popular day and location.  So we will only have Wednesday and Saturday shares available.  We will still be dropping shares in Woodstock both days, though we have not determined the Wednesday location yet.

And for those of you looking for an Elliot update, we are pleased to tell you that he just turned one!  We had a modest celebration at home, and he was treated to two additional birthday parties at friends’ houses.  He is one spoiled little boy!  He is not talking yet, though he can sign when he needs a diaper change, which we think is truly remarkable.  He is also beating us at peek-a-boo daily, and jamming on his little xylophone with gusto.  He can’t wait to see you all at the farmers’ market this year!

As always, let us know what you think of the new website and CSA page.  We are still uploading recipes, which takes some time, but hopefully we’ll have them all up by the time the CSA starts.  Happy 2010!