Assembling a Gourmet Salad

I've never been super into cooking, and fortunately, with a kitchen garden, I can put together the most amazing meals by simply assembling leaves, roots, fruits, and seeds I've harvested from my raised beds. Nothing is easier to assemble than a gourmet salad that's just as appetizing as any slice of pizza, scoop of ice cream, or sandwich once you know the key to having salad game.

If you've found yourself bored or disappointed in bland, same-old-same-old lettuce mixes lately, here are three ways to add some zest and excitement to your salad bowl.

Add More Color to Your Salad Bowl

I might think that green should be everyone's favorite color, but maybe your brain has been trained to associate green veggies with healthy and bland. Trick your brain into thinking you're getting a special treat by adding bright pops of orange, red, purple, and even pink into your garden-centered meals.

I often take a strainer out to the garden with me to harvest various things to add to my salads along with different types of lettuce. By the time I'm done cutting leaves or pulling roots, my salad bowl is a bright array of colors and blend of textures that make me excited to dig in.

Here are some ideas for plants that add beautiful color to your salads:

• swiss chard
• mizuna
• purple mustard
• french breakfast radishes
• tomatoes
• carrots
• chive blossoms
• edible flowers

Mix in Heirloom Varieties of Lettuce Leaves

How many plastic boxes of spring mix have you purchased from the grocery store in your lifetime without ever expecting to see something new amongst the wilting leaves?

Most of the leaves you find at the grocery store (i.e., baby spinach, romaine, iceberg) are selected for their durability. They have to survive processing, boxing, shipping, and then sitting on the store shelves all before they wind up in your cart. Heirloom varieties typically wilt or turn slimy quickly, which makes them unideal to sell in stores. All that means you're missing out on flavors that can really pack a more delicious punch in your salads, maybe even some flavors you've never tasted before.

My favorite salad mix to start from seed is called Rocky Top lettuce mix from Baker Creek Seeds, and even though it's a spring mix, there are rare heirloom seeds tossed in with your standard romaine, red lettuce, and butter crunch seeds. Those heirloom leaves bring something so important to the mix: variety. I even grew one heirloom plant that ended up climbing four feet tall! Heirloom seeds have unique qualities that you just won't get from standard salad plants.

Use Fresh, Seasonal Ingredients in Your Salads

The freshest, most flavorful ingredients you can add to your salad bowls to tickle your taste buds will come from seasonally grown leaves and vegetables either harvested from your own garden or purchased at your local farmers' market. Seasonal eating helps ensure there's always something new to toss into your bowl and gives you a greater appreciation for the passage of months in your area.

Grow Your Own

The best way to add more color, mix in heirloom varieties, and eat more seasonally is by growing your own salad leaves at home. Nothing is crisper, more flavorful, and more nutritious than garden-fresh leaves harvested just moments before you pop them into your mouth. Your salad bowls will never be more beautiful or taste more exciting than when you're harvesting the ingredients yourself.

Plus, if you're someone who doesn't like the flavor of certain store-bought leaves, you can try growing them yourself and experiment with harvesting the leaves when they're still small. I've heard from so many people who hated arugula until they grew their own and realized how tasty this incredible plant can be.

Trust me, once you start growing your own salad leaves, it'll be hard to go back to the boxed/bagged kind!

Pick an option below to start growing your garden knowledge and your very own organic salad garden with Gardenary in no time.

• Explore the best containers to grow salad greens and our top 10 salad greens to grow in the salad garden.
• Download our Salad Garden Guide ebook.

Here's to more flavorful gourmet salads this year!