Syndicated Column week of April 15, 2013. 

Spring sunshine is here! There are other signs of spring robins in the back yard. The buzzards returned to Hinckley. Daffodils have sprouted in the front yard. Farmers have begun plowing the fields. The neighbors have returned from Florida. Baseball season has started. Motorcycles are on the roads. My daughter pulled out her flip flops. Spring has arrived.

I know people who have started planning their gardens and a few who have roto-tilled already. I have some suggestions for items to plant in the gardens. You see, I am a gardening hazard. I can admit it. I love fresh garden produce, but fail when it comes to the producing part. So I rely on local farmer’s markets and roadside garden stands.

I love to eat salads, and stop at roadside stands often. So I suggest that people who plan to have a roadside vegetable stand begin their garden with my salad in mind. I think they should plant lettuce to start with; I understand that lettuce is easy to grow. I also like tomatoes, green peppers, green onions and cucumbers.

My favorite salad is a collection of all the fresh vegetables listed above, a couple of sliced hard boiled eggs, a diced apple, some chopped ham and my Aunt Dot’s sweet salad dressing.

Sweet Salad Dressing

1 cup milk
2 cups mayonnaise
½ cup sugar

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Use a whisk or a fork to blend the ingredients into a smooth mixture. You may need to add more milk or mayonnaise to gain the consistency you prefer. More milk creates a thinner dressing. More mayonnaise will make the dressing thicker.

Make it a Meal: Pour over your salad and toss prior to serving, or place dressing in a small pitcher to allow guests to pour their own portion.

Approximate Nutritional Information: Servings Per Recipe: 6, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 159, Total Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 697mg, Total Carbs: 32g, Protein: 2g.

Variations:  Salad is an easy dish to vary. I could eat salad every day of the week and make a different style of salad for each day. Add some diced grilled chicken or steak instead of the ham. Leave out the meat for a vegetarian salad. Toss in some baby spinach leaves. Sprinkle some bacon bits on top. Add some chopped nuts or granola for extra crunch.  Use up the left over broccoli or mixed veggies from last night’s supper by mixing them in the salad.

One of the salads I like best, always seems to appear at church potlucks. They call it 7 Layer Salad and it’s served in a clear glass bowl with all the ingredients spread into their own layer. I don’t remember the exact ingredients, so will have to do a little research, but I think any salad would look pretty served this way.

Warm sunshine, garden produce and fresh salads that’s what I call spring!

Noel Lizotte is breaking free of corporate stress with convenience cooking! This recipe is similar to ones printed in her cookbook Apron Free Cooking which is available on the website www.apronfreecooking.com.

To get a printable copy of this recipe, click here.

What is your favorite salad dressing flavor?

Don’t forget to share this recipe with your friends using the buttons below!

Interested in one of the books pictured above? You can purchase on Amazon here.