As a kid I was constantly trying to bring people together through ‘clubs’. I think it was the Babysitters Club books that inspired me initially…but that desire to socially convene people has lived on, and generally in a less ‘members-only’ way.

Nevertheless, whenever I hear about clubs, my ears perk up hearkening back to times spent as a tween in my attic with friends making up dances to ‘NSync and dishing about boys.

Salad Club’s a different dish all together. Here’s how it works: You get a bunch of people together…coworkers are a perfect group but you can do this as a lunch event with friends too. Once you’ve recruited some folks, get everyone to bring in 1 or 2 salad-worthy items to contribute to a build-your-own-salad meal. Bringing one protein item and one non-protein item guarantees a nutritionally balanced salad. It mixes things up from your every day lunch routine, is cheap, easy and brings people together for some good ol’ bonding time. And if that involves boy talk and dance routines for you, then so be it!

This time of year is perfect for locally grown salad ingredients too! I made an ULTRA-local salad the other day using 100% local ingredients, most of which were grown on my roof. I am so proud!

this baby's got mustard greens, kale, sprouts, spinach, and arugula grown by me. Tomatoes & garlic scapes grown nearby, and oops...walnuts are not local. My bad. 98% local!

Ideas for local salad ingredients in July off the top of my head:

Green things: Spinach, dandelion/beet/radish greens, bok choi, kale, arugala, mustard greens, mesclun mix, snow peas, string beans, green onions/chives, fresh herbs,

Colourful things: Tomatoes, radishes, raw beets (thinly sliced), strawberries, raspberries, cherries, a plethora of other berries

Protein ideas: Sprouts (grown in your kitchen), hemp seeds*, sunflower/pumpkin seeds, local cheese/meat if that’s your thing. Cooked beans/legumes and other nuts are also good protein sources of course, but may be hard to find locally.

* My friends at Chocosol sell local organic hemp at various farmers’ markets in Toronto.

Oh, and speaking of garlic scapes…I discovered them at the farmers’ market last weekend. They are the green stems of the garlic plant that grow elegantly upwards and end in a flower bud. I made a garlic-y pesto out of them.

Naturally elegant

These were the ingredients I used but I didn’t keep track of the quantities. Blend in a food processor and adjust as necessary:

Garlic Scape Pesto:

Garlic scapes, roughly chopped + olive oil + lightly toasted walnuts + sea salt + pepper + spinach.

(Note: I added spinach because I found just the garlic scapes alone made it way too garlic-y. Spinach helped added volume without letting the garlic overpower it.)

Great! So welcome to the club. Now go out there and start recruiting!