Turning Over a New Leaf
April 20, 2006

No secret about it, we're having a bona fide spring in Vermont this year- a miracle for marveling. With everything turning green and sprouting like crazy, I feel just like Mary Lennox running around the grounds of Misselthwaite Manor shouting "It's wick, it's wick!"

I even bought my lettuce seeds for two large window box containers that sit on my deck. All season I'll be growing gorgeous varieties of greens that don't need to be washed or weeded. To keep it coming, I'll reseed the boxes every few weeks. Butterhead bibb, little Caesar, Ruby, Grand Rapids, a Looseleaf blend of blackseeded Simpson, Deer Tongue, Green Ice, Lolla Rossa and Mighty Red Oak will mix and mingle with sweet basil and chives to round out my salad garden. Since I'm more of a yardener than a gardener, it's a simple but rewarding way to enjoy the bounty of Vermont's growing season.

We still have a few weeks to go before seeds can actually be planted, but allow spring's freshness to fade. Why not try some new kinds of salad leaves from your local produce section? I recently had a salad of Belgian endive and fresh beets on a pilgrimage to Alice Water's legendary Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA. The endive sparked an awakening: instead of the traditional single leaf serving, which tastes like a wooden tongue depressor, I discovered that endive is delicious cut into disks. I came home feeling bold and inspired enough to create my own version of endive salad, and I think you'll it love, too.

Endive & Radicchio Salad Chez Dannies
Serves 4

In the salad bowl: 4 spears of endive, tough outer pieces removed, sliced into quarter inch disks. 1 head of radicchio, outer layer removed, cut into chiffonade (thin ribbons).

With clean hands, gently toss the lettuces with 3 tablespoons of Marie's Blue Cheese dressing. Plate the salad on four plates.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cooked and crumbled bacon among the four salads. Repeat with 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese. Grind fresh pepper over salads.

Homemade croutons: Gently tear 2 slices of multigrain bread into rough cubes. Place in a quart sized plastic bag and toss in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of granulated garlic (not garlic powder or garlic salt). Shake bag lightly to mix, pour croutons onto the baking sheet for a toaster oven. Toast croutons light- medium just before serving; divide equally.

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008