A Raised Garden Bed Salad

We live north of town in what most would consider the country. Each year, the original group of neighbors who have lived here for 30 years or more always get together for a neighborhood Christmas party.  Everyone brings a covered dish and it is always wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

This last year our friend and neighbor through the woods to the north, brought a huge salad to the Christmas Party.  Everyone was oohing and aahing over her beautiful salad.  Well!  I could not believe my ears when she said she grew all of the lettuce in that salad bowl herself.

She told us she grew all her salad greens in raised beds.  With a raised bed you have the opportunity for gardening with perfect soil.  She filled her beds with quality topsoil and straw-like mulch.  She is able to work in her garden without much back-bending and everything is easy to water as well.

 She grows the green onions all around the edge of the beds and the lettuce leaves in the middle.

She has her tools handy to work in her raised bed garden.

In the background you can see the tomato cages ready for when the tomato plants get big.

Being Program Chairman for the Daffodil Circle of the Garden Club, I took the opportunity to ask my neighbor if she would give a talk to our group in March, about "Raised Garden Beds."   She said she would be glad to be guest speaker for our group.   

Sure enough, when this March rolled around she not only came and told everyone about raised garden beds, but during her talk she also demonstrated making the salad she had previously shared at our Christmas party.  Following the meeting we all enjoyed brunch which included the delicious raised garden salad she had just made.   She later shared her delicious Romaine Crunch Salad recipe.

Raised bed salad shared at the March Daffodil Circle Garden Club Brunch.

Everyone enjoyed this salad so much I thought you might like to have the recipe also.

Romaine Crunch Salad

Ingredients:

2  heads romaine lettuce

1  bunch broccoli

1  bunch spring onions

(Chop all above items into very small bite-size pieces)

2  packages Ramen noodles (do not cook)

1 cup walnuts or pecans

1 stick butter

• Chop nuts and Ramen noodles into small pieces.  
• Saute with salt and pepper in butter until golden.
• Cool on paper towel.

Dressing:

3/4 cup Canola oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup white wine vinegar

3 Tablespoons soy sauce

salt and pepper 

• Mix all ingredients except oil until mixed well.
• Add oil and shake until blended.

• Place salad ingredients on a large platter.
• Top with nut mixture.
• Garnish with fresh garden tomatoes.
• Toss with dressing.

If you make this salad I hope you enjoy it as much as everyone did at the Annual Christmas Party and at the Garden Club Brunch.  

Thank you for stopping by for a visit today and I wish you good days wherever you may be.