photos by Lighter
Happy spring! We’ve had spring showers the last few weekends in St. Louis, and the weather has been reminding us of a certain spring 2014 weekend. Last May, we gathered our favorite people and jammed them into a little gazebo for a wedding in the rain. Let me tell you – it was the happiest thunderstorm we’ve ever been a part of.
All this rain has also been great for our little garden. Our gardening strategy can be summarized as lazy optimism. We sort of throw some seeds in the ground and see what happens. When Mother Nature takes care of the watering for us, we feel like we’re in sync with the Earth (or something like that).
Our latest harvests – mint, radishes, & greens – inspired this spring salad. It’s great with last week’s Lemon Mint Aioli (add some apple cider vinegar until it’s thin enough for a salad dressing). Check out the Man Salad Blueprint for tips on making hearty man salads.
Here’s what I plugged into the blueprint: radishes, cucumbers, carrots, split peas, quinoa, lettuce, lemon-mint dressing, and pumpkin seeds.
- ½ cucumber
- ½ cup radishes
- 1 carrot
- 3 cups mixed greens
- ¼ cup green split peas
- ¼ cup quinoa
- 3 tbsp raw cashews
- 3 tbsp water
- Juice of ¼ lemon
- ½ cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp fresh mint leaves
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Boil quinoa until tender.
- Put split peas in a saucepan with enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, then simmer until split peas are tender. Drain any excess water.
- Rinse cucumber, quarter lengthwise, and cut into bite-size pieces. Rinse the radishes and remove the stems. With a paring knife, slice the radish into thin circles. Rinse carrot and chop into bite-size pieces. Rinse mint leaves. Peel garlic.
- For the dressing: Combine cashews, water, apple cider vinegar, garlic, lemon juice, mint leaves, and salt and pepper to taste in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth.
- Combine mixed greens, chopped cucumber, chopped carrot, radish slices, split peas, and quinoa. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Top with pumpkin seeds.
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