Floral Salad

So, in naming my blog "cheap, quick, local" I fully intended to focus on really quick meals made with inexpensive seasonal ingredients. I have realized (and written about) the fact that most of these recipes are not particularly "quick". I really like to cook, and spend over an hour most days in the kitchen.

Here is an idea for jazzing up a summer salad that is actually really really fast. Just add flowers. In addition to fresh, local, organic lettuce harvested minutes before this picture was taken at Kings Valley Gardens we added Day Lilies and Calendula petals. I have eaten pansies before and, to be honest, don't find them particularly tasty. The Day Lilies have a really delicate and subtly sweet flavor. They don't just look pretty (although they do look very pretty) They really improve the salad. And if you have Day Lilies growing in your garden they take all of about 30 seconds to add to a salad. See! Cheap, quick AND local!... If you have Day Lilies... I will work on some ideas that fit the bill and don't require specialty products.