Summer Veggies...in a Jar?

If winters are harsh and brutal here in Wisconsin than the summers are a delicious slice of heaven. When the fruits and vegetables begin to show up at the farmer's market and my garden, I get very excited, and at the same time, a little overwhelmed.  So many vegetables...which do I choose, what do I make? I try not to go too crazy and stick with ingredients for recipes I know I will make. If you know me, I'm an intense cook on the weekends and not-so-much of one on the weekdays: What doesn't get done this weekend will have to wait until the next.  This isn't the best philosophy, but with all of the OT at work and my exercise schedule at night, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for weekday cooking marathons. Remembering my "weekend only" habit helps me from over-buying. This weekend at the farmer's market I just purchased the essentials for a good, early summer salad. Boy, I was not disappointed!

Have you been noticing salads in a mason jar.  I've been spotting it on Pinterest and the internet, but I didn't get the purpose. I looked into it more closely, and it's actually kind of neat for taking a salad to work. You put the dressing on the bottom, layer the harder vegetables from the bottom to the lettuce on top(I used a quart jar--it was plenty big enough). It makes for a "neat" salad experience; especially when you eat lunch at your desk.  You dump the jar into a bowl or onto a plate and you are all set to munch.

The first is dressing, carrots, cucumbers, roasted beets, avocado, asparagus, lettuce, kale and sprouts. 

That's a salad in a jar

May I mention here, how easy it is to make your own salad dressing. I don't buy salad dressings, and I haven't for quite a while. I take 1/4 cup pickle or olive juice, another 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, a dash of olive oil, a tablespoon of mustard, and a sprinkle of Bragg's Sea Kelp seasoning, and I shake it up. Or add whatever you want in whatever quantities but be creative and healthy.