(2023) Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing and Croutons

We’ve returned from a ten day road trip to the Madawaska Kanu Centre (MKC) in Ontario. In addition to a week full of daily paddling instruction, their kitchen kicks out homecooked meals three times a day. I grabbed some of their recipe cards from the gift store.

MKC puts their freshest produce forward by serving cut fresh veggies with a dip at every lunch and dinner. The recipe cards didn’t include my favorite dip from the week, but this Caesar salad dressing can be served with the sliced peppers, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes from this week’s box.

(2023) Stir-Fried Lettuce (or Swiss Chard)

If you’re ready to do something else with lettuce, although I think I’m just going to enjoy the pretty red lettuce we got in a few big salads, then there’s a recipe for a lettuce stir fry from “Tenderheart,” but you could also use it for the Swiss chard. Adapted from Hetty McKinnon’s “Tenderheart.” This should work well with all kinds of tender greens.

(2023) Butter Lettuce, Grape, Fennel, Walnut + Buttermilk Salad

I do have a recipe for a salad, this one from “Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit” by Abra Berens. I love that the only dressing is buttermilk. Could it be more simple? Helps that I love buttermilk! Berens includes fennel, but I’d substitute radishes and green onions if I wanted to stick with what’s in the box. The grapes are just a nice addition to a salad, but you’re right, we’ll never see those in a Georgia produce box.

(2019) Mark Bittman’s Vegetable Pancakes

Vegetable pancakes seem to be a thing these days, and I love this recipe from Mark Bittman that will use up any vegetable you have on hand. You can use some of that lettuce if you chop it and maybe saute a little before mixing into the batter. Spinach? Sure. Grated kohlrabi. Absolutely. Chopped cabbage, probably anything from this week’s box except maybe the tomatoes which might turn watery.We eat these either with a little soy sauce or a little hot honey. That’s my new addiction and I’m not even a fan of hot sauces. But hot and sweet like the hot honeys people are producing these days? Love it.

(2017) Buttermilk Green Onion Dressing

Sort of a takeoff of ranch dressing but with fewer herbs. You can add anything you like, of course, but finely chopped green onions (or the tender part of the greens from that big garlic head) are perfect. It might seem like overkill to have buttermilk, sour cream AND mayonnaise in a dressing, but it works. Sorry I don’t remember where the original recipe came from. Works for your lettuce or if you want a more traditional mayo-based slaw. Just increase the recipe as needed for your greens.