During our first year as CSA members, I was a bit overwhelmed by the cleaning and drying of greens. At the beginning of summer, I did a great job of rinsing and storing the veggies the day we received our share, but as summer wore on, I tended to stick them in the fridge until needed.
Drying greens right before dinner turned out to be a tedious process, usually involving lots of towels and paper towels. Once, I even bought a laundry bag for our washing machine and spun the greens. Unfortunately, the greens came out smelling linen fresh, thanks to Downy residue in the washer.
I had heard about salad spinners but did not realize their amazing benefit until I found one on Craigslist and put it to use. I paid $10 for an unused Ratchet Salad Spinner from Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which would have been $20 in the store. My tedious drying process became a short chore, one eagerly shared by my husband and children.
If you are unfamiliar with spinning salad, it’s very easy. Just rinse your greens and place into the bowl. Press the handle multiple times. Centrifugal force is used to sling the water off of the greens. You can see a demo here. In less than 5 minutes, my greens are ready to enter the skillet or salad bowl. If you are using greens throughout the week, this handy tool will soon be one of your favorites. Yes, it’s the little things in life!
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