Garden lettuces

It’s been such a fast and furious spring that the flip switch from scarcity to overload is hitting on Memorial Day. For the last 10 days, I’ve been harvesting a little arugula, some tiny snippets of lettuces, a small radish or two every evening. But I can tell that by the first days of June, the garden is going to be teeming with greens ready for eating. All at once, I’ll be looking for takers. Not everyone qualifies, though. My criteria is that the recipient handle with care — no bruising the leaves, no overloading the salad with too many ingredients, no heavy, sweet, or (horrors) bottled dressings.

I like my vinaigrettes on the spicy side — almost equal parts white wine vinegar and olive oil (my new favorite is Olio Carli from Liguria) with salt, pepper, and plenty of  tarragon or basil.  Drizzle lightly over arugula and other greens along with sliced radishes and those little Armenian cucumbers. The little black dress of salads.

And if you follow the rules,  you’re automatically in line for green beans –those skinny French filets — and black kale. We’ll see about the raspberries.

Austin skyline

Nothing like lists to spark interest. Trolling through the maze today, I noticed a WalletPop article listing Austin, Tex., as the top restaurant dining city in the country — more money is spent on eating out there than anywhere else in the US.  Who knew?

And Boston diners are No. 19, way under Irvine, Tex., San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Nashville, Tenn.! Doesn’t anyone cook at home in those cities?