Hail Caesar

Caesar salad, that is. I love this with fresh, spring lettuce!

You will need:

Olive oil

Anchovies

Egg

Red wine vinegar

Lemon

Garlic

Pepper

Lettuce

Blender

Parmasean Cheese

How to make it:

First, take a few anchovies packed in oil andplunk them down into the blender. I know this sounds gross, but when you are eating that amazing fresh salad you will be thanking me that you added the anchovies. They are *essential* to the flavor of this dressing.

Secondly, crack open a fresh, local, pastured egg into the blender. It is very important that this egg be fresh, local and pastured to reduce your risk of salmonella poisoning. (Salmonella from fresh eggs is extremely rare and I have no problem eating raw eggs. In fact, the raw yoke has enzymes that are very healthy and destroyed by cooking. I would never use a conventionally raised egg in this recipe, both for flavor and for health considerations.) I used an egg from a lady I met at church whose husband raises backyard chickens. Fresh, local eggs are pretty easy to come by if you look. Mix the two together.

Add olive oil and red wine vinegar to the mixture. Squeeze a bit a lemon into it as you are mixing. Crush a glove of garlic to taste and add a little black pepper. BLEND until tasty. Make sure you turn off the blender before dipping your finger in for a taste.

Put chopped lettuce into a bowl, pour the dressing on top and mix thoroughly. Shred on top some real Parmigiano Reggiano* cheese and enjoy! If this isn't the best salad you've ever eaten, I'll eat the rest of the anchovies in that little jar!

I topped my salad with some lemon-garlic chicken, served asparagus on the side with a dessert of apples, coconut and berried. My mouth is watering; gotta run!

*A little note on Parmigiano Reggiano cheese... This cheese is an 800 year old recipe made only in Parma, Italy from Parmesan cows who dine on local grasses. Ideally it ought to be made from raw milk and aged appropriately. This cheese is very easy to digest and even people like me who have a hard time with dairy can enjoy this cheese fully. Even though this cheese cannot be made locally, it is also important for the Local Food Movement to support regional specialties. The majority of your diet isn't going to be parmesan cheese, so when you do enjoy it, enjoy the real deal.