Deconstructing a ‘Zero Mile’ salad

Spring is a tough season to try to subsist on garden vegetables, but it IS possible to do pretty well with salad greens and early or overwintered herbs.

Let’s deconstruct this salad and see where it came from.

1. Ham slices – Crown S Ranch, pastured pig

2. Hard-boiled egg – Crown S Ranch, pastured laying hens

3. Spring greens – spinach – Kailing’s kitchen garden

4. Spring vegetables – red radishes – Kailing’s kitchen garden

5. Overwintered greens – romaine lettuce, mustard – Kailing’s kitchen garden

6. Perennial greens – arugula, French sorrel – Kailing’s kitchen garden

7. Overwintered herbs – parsley – Kailing’s kitchen garden

8. Perennial herbs – chives – Kailing’s kitchen garden

9. Purchased vegetables – Daikon radish, red pepper, tomato, grapefruit, white onion – PCC Natural Food Co-op

OK, Crown S Ranch is plenty of miles away – we’ll admit that – and the vegetables purchased at the PCC didn’t grow in the Pacific Northwest; but the good news is that we know our farmer for the ham and eggs and we’re co-op members at the PCC.

Even if you don’t have room for a kitchen garden, you can easily grow all the greens and herbs we included in this salad in balcony boxes in an apartment or sign up for a plot in a community garden. There is nothing more tasty than a freshly picked salad!

More about Crown S Ranch:

Engineering an Organic Farm: Crown S Ranch
Video: The Grazing Eco-System – Crown S Ranch
Video: Engineering an Organic Farm – Crown S Ranch