Lettuce being harvested in Corban Stanton’s garden. Photos by Corban Stanton

By Corban Stanton
Copy Editor

As spring comes to an end and summer kicks into gear, gardens go from budding to bountiful, and it offers exciting prospects. There are countless options to cook up with the produce, and it can be overwhelming to navigate through.

In late May and early June, berries start to get enough sun to produce little red and yellow juicy bites. Lettuce, chives, mint, nasturtium, pea starts and kale are also in bloom. 

For me, it is reminiscent of my early childhood and growing up in the farm-centered community of Forest Grove. Every summer if I got hungry and asked for a snack, my parents would tell me to go find something in the garden.

It forced me to find an appreciation for fresh foods, and turned me into a bit of a vegetable snob. 

One meal that I remember having on a regular basis with the available ingredients is salad and biscuits. It’s the kind of meal that instantly captures the image of a Victorian picnic and has the essence of a tea party without all the frivolousness.

Necessary ingredients for a 4 serving meal include:

• Handful of strawberries
• A couple leaves of mint (a little goes a long way)
• Spoonful of sugar
• 3 chive flowers
• Lettuce 
• Handful of pumpkin seeds
• Oil
• Vinegar
• Salt
• Nasturtium flowers 
• Pea shoots
• Goat cheese
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ½ stick of butter
• ¾ cup of yogurt

It is important to prepare the strawberry mint biscuit topping first so that it has time to macerate. Cut the strawberries into slices and plop them into a bowl. Rip the mint leaves into ribbons and add them into the bowl with the sugar. Toss the mixture until coated and then let sit. It won’t be used again until the salad and biscuits are done. 

The strawberries and mint, cut up and macerating in a bowl.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. 

To start the biscuits, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Take the cold butter and use a cheese grater to grate it into the bowl. Then mix until it is slightly rough and gravely. After this is achieved, pour in the yogurt. Lightly mix until there are no dry spots left. After it is consistent take the dough and fold it onto itself to create layers that will peel apart afterwards. Sprinkle it with flour as it is folded so that it does not become sticky.

Once the mixture has been folded several times, place the dough onto the baking sheet and fold it a couple more times. Cut it into serving sized squares and bake it for 8-10 minutes. It should be golden when pulled out. 

Biscuits freshly pulled out of the oven and ready to be consumed.

To make the salad, start by making sure the lettuce is cut into bite sized pieces. If the leaves are too large then one bite may end up being most of the salad.

Once the lettuce is ready add the pea shoots, as many as the maker wants, nasturtium flowers, chive flowers (these should be separated into smaller pieces) and pumpkin seeds and toss the salad. It can be fun to add a couple raspberries or other garden bits. 

To make a vinaigrette dressing, mix oil and vinegar at a ratio of 2:1, and make as much as needed. If just a plain vinaigrette is too boring then a little bit of jam can be added to add some fruity flavor. 

The finished salad sits in a homemade dish.

By the time the biscuits and salad are done the strawberries should have sat for long enough to have gotten sweeter and absorbed the mint flavor. This can be enjoyed directly on the biscuits. 

When serving, putting a side of goat cheese, which can be put on the biscuits or salad, makes the dish more filling and adds a creaminess that would otherwise be missing. 

The meal is light and fresh, a welcome change after the hardy meals of winter, and easy to make. It both stands alone, yet can also be complimentary with tea or before a more filling meal. It covers almost every food group, however if more protein is needed, a boiled egg works well with the flavour elements of the salad.