Salad Greens

In this part of the country, our salad days -- our heyday, our days of youthful exuberance -- are in the spring, before summer heat turns arugula peppery and crisphead lettuces bolt and go to seed. Whether you sowed a row of lettuce seed when the ground was still cool, or buy a bag of mixed greens at a farm stand, or graze through the green bundles under the sprinkler in your supermarket, salad greens should be bright and fresh. Look for lettuces that are crisp and free of tears and browning leaves.

The morning after dining at the Westminster Inn with my father, he asked, "Would you go back if it was all your own money?" The answer: No.Granted, the Westminster Inn has a lot going for it. The old East End School is a truly sumptuous place to dine. The book-lined main room, the "Library," is unusually inviting. And the view at sunset from the glass-ceilinged sun room was truly beautiful.But eating here is a very expensive proposition, more expensive than was justified by what we had. And the service, which we suspect is intended to be proper, came across as uncomfortably sophisticated.

Tucked in behind Howard County General Hospital and next to Howard Community College, Charter Deli opened to "serve the business and residential community," according to Tom Mash, the restaurant's owner. "I've been waiting for years to open a good deli in Columbia," he said. "When this building came along and the owner asked if I was interested, I jumped at the chance." Mash co-owned and operated a delicatessen in Silver Spring for almost 18 years before opening Charter Deli in June with his wife, Sandy.

Each day of the week offers a menu aimed at a different aspect of meal planning. There's a family meal, a kids' menu aimed at younger tastes, a heat-and-eat meal that recycles leftovers, a budget meal that employs a cost- cutting strategy, a meatless or "less meat" dish for people who may not be strict vegetarians but are trying to cut down on meat, an express meal that requires little or no preparation, and an entertaining menu that's quick.Shopping ListWhat you'll need for this week's menus (consult recipes for exact amounts)

There may be no better place than the annual Food Marketing Institute's huge exhibition at Chicago's McCormick Place to ferret out food trends in supermarkets.But 1996 doesn't seem to be the year of bold new directions for supermarket fare.Still in evidence from last year's show were plenty of salsas and flavored coffees (though these trends seem to be fading), nonfat and reduced-fat products (in a holding pattern), bagged fresh salad greens (expanding to single-serve portions with dressing and everything you need to eat them at your desk)

I'm stooping next to a shallow soil bed, dropping a lettuce seed into a furrow that I just made with my finger, when it hits me. I'm planting this thing, and it will grow. Never mind that it's been thousands of years since a human being first found out that putting a seed into the ground could result in a new food-bearing plant. I feel like a pioneer, and I'd like to shout my discovery to the world. But because I'm in the Hampden community garden, and there are children in a playground nearby, I don't.

Like a ripe tomato, still warm from the vine, and white corn, so crunchy-sweet it hardly needs cooking, a vinaigrette is an essential building block for the perfect summer meal. Vinegar and oil, combined despite their best efforts to remain apart and distinct, give every summer menu item -- from a grilled steak to salad greens -- a chance to be better. "Vinaigrettes are so incredibly versatile," said Real Simple magazine food editor Renee Schettler. "Especially this time of year when we have access to so many vegetables that require only a chop or a slice."

Add fiesta flavor to your next salad. Buy greens from the local salad bar to save even more time.This recipe is from Pace Picante Sauces.Fast Fiesta Ensalada6 cups packed, assorted torn salad greens1 1/2 cups cherry tomato halves1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 1x 1/4 -inch strips1/2 cup frozen, fresh or canned whole kernel corn, thawed and drained if necessary1 2 1/4 -ounce can sliced ripe olives, drained1/3 cup sliced green onions with tops1/3 cup...

PHILADELPHIA - Standing on the edge of his expansive garden, Umberto Bifulco bent over, curled his long fingers around a cluster of broad-leaved, deep-rooted dandelions, and pulled. "Look at it," he said excitedly, holding up the vegetable. "Look how beautiful it is. I want you to taste it. I'm going to eat it, too. Don't be afraid." Bifulco sliced off the roots with a pocketknife, brushed off the dirt, handed over a stalk, and bit into another. "Now, isn't that good?" Bifulco prompted.

Summer days call for cool salads. You can almost hear the salad tongs clanging against a large bowl generously heaped with refreshing greens.Because I like my greens as fresh as I can get them, a couple of years ago I put in a small raised bed on the hot, sunny, southern side of my house, not really too big, but ample for providing lots of fresh garden goodies. I started out with red oakleaf lettuce and exotic red romaine, then I sowed a few seeds of red chard and feathery mizuna from the mustard family.