Creamy Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette Salad + Victory Gardening
The garden is producing joy aplenty and so it’s time of to make salads and other delicious dishes. This recipe incorporates the wonder greens we are harvesting as well as the zest and juice of our Meyer lemons to make a creamy Meyer lemon vinaigrette salad.
Creamy Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette Recipe
We know, we know. Many of you are still freezing while we’re basking in Southern California’s warm embrace. It’s a catch-22 situation with this post because we get e-mails requesting more updates on the garden, but if we do, we certainly don’t wan’t to be rubbing today’s 78°F sunshine in anyone’s blog face. But we will talk about this yummy Meyer lemon vinaigrette recipe.
As we mentioned, folks are asking us to write about our garden updates more, what we’re currently growing and how the pesky possums’s are treating us (you, smart asses!). We’ve been cautious to gloat about our freakishly warm “Winter”, but since we’ve made weather peace with all of you, here’s the update: The garden is going friggin crazy and so it’s time to make this meyer lemon vinaigrette recipe.
Victory gardening = lettuce + lemons = dinner!
Our Victory Garden
To find out more about Victory Gardens, visit Revive the Victory Garden, Red White & Grew, San Francisco’s Victory Garden, or google “Victory Gardens” to find a plethora of information at your fingertips.
So, what is in our Victory Garden this month? Our four varieties of radishes are popping up like weeds and they’ve become such uncontrollable green critters that we’ll have to eat the radish tops in a salad soon before they fight each other for space. The beets, onions, spinach, tatsoi, mustard greens, soybeans, kohlrabi, broccoli and cauliflower seedlings were all sunbathing in the warm sun today. The leeks have barely poked out to say “hello”, but in a few weeks, they’ll be screaming out for more attention.
Mixed Garden Greens
The biggest attention stealers today were all the baby, mixed green lettuce and meyer lemons. This is the time of year that we drown in tender lettuce and beautiful citrus. With 13 citrus trees in the garden, this is the time of year that we, literally, Zest To Death! Although not all the citrus trees are bearing fruit now, what we do have on the trees is enough to eat and perfume our house with. It was only appropriate to have our first big garden salad of mixed greens, tossed in a creamy meyer lemon vinaigrette. The simple blend of fresh meyer lemon juice, some olive oil and touch of other seasons just can’t be beat. The bright, aromatic flavors of fresh lemon juice on soft lettuce leaves, crispy stems and some added crunch from nuts was what we call, a Victory dinner.
What a well deserved dinner this was, especially for Todd. He spent 4 hours trimming half of our 32 ficus hedges, to be saved for mulch throughout the year. A round of applause for the mulch man, Todd! He’s my pruning hero.
Salad with Creamy Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 head lettuce
- walnuts, almonds or pecans (optional)
Dressing Ingredients
- Zest of 1 large meyer lemon
- 2 Tablespoons Meyer lemon juice from about 1 large meyer lemon
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 clove garlic , crushed or minced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt , or to personal taste
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar or honey , optional
Instructions
- Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl (meyer lemon juice, olive oil, salt, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, sugar, and garlic). Whisk together until mayo blends into vinaigrette, leaving no lumps.
- Toss over fresh lettuce and nuts.
OK, I’m having land envy! We’re in a Japanese apartment on a second floor with barely enough room to hang out our clothes to dry and put the poopy diapers, let alone grow anything (though maybe with the poopy diapers hanging out out there stuff might grow really really well). I grew up in Florida and my grandparents had fresh citrus out the wazoo – I really miss that! What a beautiful post and beautiful garden and beautiful dinner and beautiful…everything. 🙂
Gorgeous garden!
After reading this I am definitely California dreaming…
I just discovered your blog – gorgeous photography!! And gorgeous garden! Not to mention gorgeous food too!
Stop it. You keep this up and I’m going to wind up with another citrus tree! Those Meyers are such smooth-skinned darlings. Love the images you’ve captured with their salady friends.
I’m sad to report that there are entirely too few Meyer lemons in New York City. I know *someone* must have them, but I’ve been checking around to no avail. 🙁
How I long to have a Meyer lemon tree in our backyard, or any variety of lemon tree for that matter. Never gonna happen in our climate, although my husband recently added a potted grapefruit tree to his office. We’re keeping our fingers crossed!
That is a wonderful salad and your Meyer lemons look so beautiful and ripe. We got a late start on our cold frames due to Michael’s travel schedule (he had to build them for me, that’s his thing), so we didn’t get as much in the ground for a winter garden as we would have liked. We are starting seeds for our spring/summer garden next weekend and putting up four new raised beds in March. Yes, I am giddy with excitement!
It’s a bit different in Canada. I was raised on a farm, growing our vegetables. But the season is so short. There is nothing like having your own garden in your backyard. I miss that in the winter months. I’m jalous at yours. I love your updates about it even if we are freezing here. Just to look at your pictures it bring warmth in my house. Have a good one.
You guys rock. I just adore your garden!! Dani and I have decided this is the “year of the garden” for us. We are pulling out a bunch of ornamental plants (giving them to neighbors), and planting a ton of vegetables instead. Amen to Victory Gardening!
Course, we have absolutely no idea what on earth we are doing, so we might be calling on you guys..
I just did a quick estimate, and if the weather will be on my side, I can start gardening again in four months. FOUR MONTHS!!!
So, I’m envious! But I love seeing pictures and hearing stories from your garden. Please post more!
Y’all are AWESOME – I can’t tell you how excited I was to see ‘Victory Garden’ on my reader. Do you know how long it’s been since I heard anything remotely related to a Victory Garden? I wish I had the space for my own, but alas, not right now. Right now I’m relegated to container planting, but at least I’ve got basil and rosemary seedlings sprouted and ready for transplanting!
Since you guys planted in your own apartment (before you got this jealousy-inspiring house and garden), any suggestions/advice for someone in the same situation? Herbs are already here and happily stretching to the light, but vegetables are questionable and fruit (for now) is out of the question.
The salad is hunger-inspiring – and I just finished lunch.
Kate
It looks wonderful
I’m jealous, but happy to see your ray of sunshine! And totally psyched about growing my own arugula in a few months… 😉
What a beautiful garden you have! And I so love Meyer lemons;we had them here in Israel end of last year, but I think their season here is over now.I just love their colour and the way they smell.How lucky you are to have such trees in your garden! Lovely dressing, I will try that, albeit from lemons as we don’t have Meyer lemons this time of the year.
So fresh and delicious! Another triumph for you guys! 😛
So jealous – not of the weather, the garden 🙂