North Meets Southwest Chopped Salad

Posted on July 11, 2019

Our 2019-20 Northeast Farm to School Institute has officially kicked off with a three-day action planning retreat at the Coach Barn. The Institute supports schools in designing and implementing effective, school-wide Farm to School programs— programs that create a culture of wellness, improve food quality and access, engage students in agriculture and nutrition education, and strengthen local food systems. Twelve school teams of school nutrition personnel, classroom teachers, school administrators, school board members, and community members arrived ready to connect the "3Cs" of their school: Classroom, Cafeteria, and Community.

In between the workshops, team planning sessions, learning journeys throughout the Farm, and presentations from local and regional partners (including Hunger Free Vermont; representatives from the Leahy, Sanders, and Welch campaigns; and the USDA), participants rolled up their sleeves and took on our first-ever Salad Competition! 

Cross-school teams competed with the mission of creating four delicious salads. Each team started with one of four ‘base’ ingredients: black beans, cabbage, quinoa, and greens. Teams of 2-3 added additional ingredients inspired from a bountiful spread from the Shelburne Farms Market Garden and Shelburne Farms Executive Chefs. Farm to School connects cafeterias to local food sources. Purchasing and utilizing local and seasonal foods requires more time, creativity, equipment, and skill. Having the whole Farm to School team participate in and support these efforts can make these changes successful in the coming year. Lots of great salads were made, here’s one that rose to the top of the menu:

North Meets Southwest Chopped Salad

Ingredients

Salad

  • 3 cans black beans
  • 2 garlic scapes, finely chopped
  • 1 small cucumber, julienned
  • 2 zucchini, sliced
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 6 small carrots, sliced
  • ¼C sedum, torn
  • 3-4 leaves kale, torn
  • ¼C cilantro, chopped
  • 3C leaf lettuce, torn
  • ½ head red cabbage, diced
  • Squash blossoms

Dressing

  • 1 lime, juiced
  • ⅓C apple cider vinegar
  • 1C olive oil
  • 1t garlic powder
  • ½t Aleppo pepper
  • ½t crushed black pepper
  • 1t salt
  • 2T maple syrup

Directions

  1. Shake all the dressing ingredients together in a well-sealed jar until combined.
  2. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour dressing over and lightly toss to coat.