A late winter's salad

Signs of spring cheer the heart, but it's only mid-March as far as produce goes in the East. If you like a salad for lunch, think beyond tomatoes and lettuce. Here's one that's colorful and hardy for a cool, rainy day.

A late winter's salad
Serves 2

Ingredients
½ cup cooked wheat berries, chilled
½ cup cooked French tiny green lentils, chilled
4 mini bell peppers, sliced
Handful of haricots vert, or tender green beans, cooked and cooled
½ cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons quality olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Celtic gray salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions
Toss all in a bowl and serve. Also good over a bed of tender field greens or arugula.

Baby lettuces: Best (almost) naked

One of the joys of the home garden is fall lettuce. As the nights get colder, the tomatoes and peppers wane, but perky little leaf lettuces keep chugging right along, except when a warm spell comes along and causes them to bolt (that's gardening speak for sending up a stalk and going to seed).

And picking off the leaves before they get too big ensures a tender, sweet salad. You don't need to do much to them; unlike lettuce that has spent too much time in the garden and then the refrigerator, they still have their delicate flavor. I'm sure you have a favorite dressing for salad, but now's not the time to show it off. Dress the tender leaves with a drizzle of good olive oil, then sprinkle with a grind of dried oregano, basil, red pepper, black pepper and sea salt.

The vinegar that adds so much flavor to most of your salads just overwhelms the fresh, baby lettuces. Save it for later, when your imported lettuces will need all the help they can get.

A spring salad

Here's an unbeatable mixture: Fresh English peas, asparagus, new onions, shaved fennel, frisee, roasted pistachios, Virginia ham sliced thin and crisped with a little garlic. Toss with a little high quality olive oil, sprinkle with a little kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste. Mmmmm, spring!

Name that tuna

Quick - what do you think of when you hear the words "tuna salad"? A scoop of canned tuna and fresh diced celery held together with mayonnaise? Yes, that's the traditional recipe, whether it is atop a bed of greens or slathered on a sandwich.

But if you'd rather not go the mayo route, here's a tuna salad alternative that has more protein and fiber.

Lori K's tuna salad

Serves 2

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon diced red onion

1 5-ounce can white albacore tuna, drained

1 tablespoon capers

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley, sage or tarragon (optional)

Instructions

Mix all ingredients and chill. Serve on mixed greens that have been tossed with olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.