Lovely Lettuce

Eating dinner outside is one of the greatest gifts of spring. When dinner is a large salad with fresh garden lettuce it’s even better. After dinner, if your husband happens to snap a photo of you smelling the wisteria and it looks like a Maxfield Parrish print … that’s the whipped cream on dessert.


Every January I order at least one package of my favorite lettuce seeds, the spring mix from The Cooks Garden. By late winter the thought of plucking those delicate green leaves from my garden and tossing them into the world’s freshest salad captivates me. Every March I hold the package in my hand and read the planting instructions on the front of the envelope.

“Lettuce can be planted as soon as the soil is workable in early spring” it says.

I know that lettuce is a cool weather crop and that seeds will germinate in soil as cold as 40 degrees. It’s the as soon as the soil is workable part that gives me problems. It seems that my soil and the weather work against me. If the soil isn’t frozen then it is usually far too wet to plant in late March. But this year there was a three day window where conditions were perfect and I got those lettuce seeds in the dirt!




















We have been enjoying our fresh garden lettuce for the past few weeks and if my second planting of more heat tolerant varieties does as well as the first we will be in lettuce at least another month. So how do I dress this lovely bowl of delicate leaves? Usually simple balsamic vinaigrette is an honest highlight to a salad but when I crave more verdant intensity I turn to Green Goddess.

The legend has it that Green Goddess dressing was invented at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923 for a banquet in honor of stage actor George Arlis who was staring in the hit play Green Goddess. I think the dressing is a hit but I tend to ad lib with the original ingredients.



Green Goddess Dressing

¾ cup fresh parsley sprigs, packed

1/3 cup light but REAL mayonnaise

3 Tablespoons light sour cream

3 Tablespoons plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons sliced green onion

1 Tablespoon cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 clove garlic, halved or quartered


I play fast and loose with the ¾ cup parsley. I add most every green I have in the herb garden. Parsley is still the major element but I have been known to add fresh dill, cilantro, sage, oregano, and tarragon in varying amounts depending upon the food it will accompany.





















Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, cover and process until smooth. There will be tiny flecks of dark green in the light green dressing. This will be enough for four main course salads.

I usually add shrimp and/or crab to the lettuce when I serve this. This dressing makes great seafood dip and is also great for pasta salad.