I had to take about 20 minutes the night before to wash and prepare everything, but it was definitely worth it. Even the mini heart-attack I suffered while washing my salad greens.
Heart attack? How could a bowl of salad greens and a radish possibly trigger a heart attack? Ha.
Let's go back to that night. I had pulled out a few handfuls of salad greens and planned to rinse them and dump them into a plastic bowl to take with me to work. I was going to top the salad with chopped radishes and supplement with some almonds and viniagrette at work. Nothing too complex, since it was late and I was tired.
I rinsed my greens a few times, decided they were clean and began blotting them dry (I really need to get a salad spinner). Into my plastic container they went. Suddenly, one of my salad leaves moved. I stared for a moment, sure that my sleep deprivation had finally led to hallucinations. No, I saw it again. The leaf had definitely moved. I cautiously flipped the leaf over and sure enough, there was a nice fat green larva about the length of a quarter and the width of a pencil.
An undignified yelp and hop followed...
I couldn't bring myself to squash the bug, so I gingerly picked up the leaf (with a napkin) and threw it in the trash can. I know, I know. I'm such a girl and death by starvation is hardly less humane. I should have squashed it.
I spent the next 10 minutes washing each leaf individually. And that night, I dreamt of giant caterpillars. Somehow, they seem less friendly in real life than in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which, by the way, is an epic childhood classic. I hope I still have my copy so I can read it to my kids :D
Anyways, there you have it. The first sighting of a hitchhiker in my CSA share. And a reminder to always wash every leaf. Carefully and thoroughly.
Salad: made with individually, carefully washed baby greens and a chopped up easter egg radish
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