Our Bibb lettuce patch was a huge success this year.  It was already two weeks ago that John looked at me and said, “I am so sick of salad.”  And still we have a whole row left. 

A month after the first head was plucked and I can’t remember a time when we didn’t eat salad.  John has started going door-to-door offering the beautiful Bibb heads to our neighbors.  Three gladly accepted, and one said he was allergic.  For some reason, possibly an inner caveman desperation to move on from salad to meat and potatoes, I don’t believe him.  If anyone has a lettuce allergy, comment and I’ll bring him some beans when they’re ready.      

No matter how much salad I eat, there’s one recipe that never tires.  I’ve posted it before; the recipe is for a homemade raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  Basil is a main ingredient, and my sweet basil is just starting to come in.  The dressing is delicious tossed with the unlikely pair of grapefruit and green beans for a quick side dish.  It completely tempers the sourness of the grapefruit.  

This time the dressing was drizzled over a side salad of Bibb lettuce, strawberries, cucumbers, and pears with a main entree of Chilean sea bass.  It’s as good as it looks and the perfect weeknight meal because everything besides the fish can be washed, chopped and prepared ahead of time.  The minute you walk in the door, toss the fish (it doesn’t have to be sea bass) in a bowl and cover it with low-sodium soy sauce.  Marinate for at least 15 minutes, then dip the fish in tea leaves, and broil on both sides.  Celestial Seasonings has a line of Zinger teas.  Tear open a few of the bags and coat the fish as if the tea leaves were bread crumbs.  Tangerine Orange Zinger is my personal favorite but lemon, raspberry and red zingers work well too.  Bon appetite!