We've had a lot of picnics at the Botanic Gardens this summer partly because it is so close and so fabulous but mainly because our yard is a horrible dirt pit and it has been hot hot hot. I need to either pack our picnic early in the day and assemble it there on a blanket in the grass or pick up a pile of snackables on the way. Wanting to use the lovely chard in our garden (and satiate my seemingly incurable need for pickled things in salads) I decided to layer a big salad in a jar. The dressing and pickled onions would go on the bottom to keep the greens from getting soggy. And either way the chard would hold up longer than some flimsy lettuce. I added in some crumbled blue cheese to play off the tangy vinaigrette and some toasted pecans to help balance the sweet and pungent flavors. Once there, we dumped it into a big bowl, tossed and served and everything was as it should be. We ate it as a side, but it would be a good meal on its own or topped with chicken or steak.

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