On Friday I picked up our first spring share of crops from the Crown Point Ecology Center’s C.S.A. In our magic box we found a bundle of green onions, some crisp young kale, and a bag of assorted tender and delicious lettuce leaves.

My attempt at making kale chips was not successful.  The young kale couldn’t really stand up to the heat of the oven.  That’s ok, I’ll try again later in the season.

For dinner last night I paired the ever-scrumptious pasta with sausage and roasted peppers with a salad from our share of lettuce. To dress the salad, I made a very simple garlic vinaigrette. A slight drizzle on the delicate leaves made for quite a delicious side dish. We both sopped up the remaining drops on our plates with garlic bread.

I’ll be the first to admit that our fridge is chock-full of bottled and mass-produced salad dressings. It was so nice to take a break from them and make a dressing from scratch that included ingredients that I could pronounce and not question its origin. Give this sunny-yellow dressing a try.

Garlic Vinaigrette – adapted from Martha Stewart Living 

• 1/4 cup white-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon very finely minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Add all of the ingredients to a jar with a tightly fitting lid.  Shake vigorously to combine until fully emulsified.

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