Chef Salad and Homemade Dressing

Tom had a bag of mixed greens left over from the farmers' market this morning.   Since we only have a limited amount of space in the hoophouse where we are growing the greens this winter and they grow a lot slower in cold weather,  he rarely has any left over.  So, this was a treat to have a bag of greens that were already harvested, washed and ready to go.

I decided to make a chef salad for our lunch.  Here is a picture of it.

To the greens, I added a couple of sliced boiled eggs (from our chickens), some sliced black olives, some grated cheese and some shaved turkey.  The jar sitting beside it contains a poppy seed dressing that I like to make.  I started making my own salad dressing a few months ago when I realized that all the ones you buy in the store are loaded with preservatives and ingredients I couldn't pronounce. 

So I encourage you to start making your own.  It is easy to do and is much cheaper!  Here's a picture of the ingredients that I used for this dressing.  The recipe follows.

Mix the following together in a jar, screw on lid and shake well.

2 - 4 tablespoons of sugar (depending on your taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup oil (I add 1 tsp. Sesame oil for an oriental flavor, but not necessary)

1 teaspoon prepared mustard (I used Dijon, but plain old yellow mustard is fine)

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 cup red wine vinegar 

I think you could substitute balsamic or apple cider vinegar, but I like to use red wine vinegar.  This is just super-easy to make.  Give it a try!