Queen of The Salads

I promised you a post on food for Friday. That would be yesterday. And here it is today. I tend to think: I've got plenty of time, so I'll do it tomorrow. But then it's yesterday and I think: how did that happen? How did today get skipped? Isn't that just like living . . .

So, I'll give you the foodies, but first a caveat. I have a ten-page paper due on Monday morning. The last piece for my online class. So I've been hammering away at it instead of posting.

Okay, that's my excuse. Now here's the goods:

I'm a big fan of The Salad. Anyone that says "I don't much like salad.", "Salad is boring.", or "Salad is okay, I guess, if it's a slow day and I don't need a gustatory parade making it's way down my mouth." is simply not schooled in the Way of The Salad.

I am. I am a Salad Sensei. And I am about to enlighten you . . .

You don't have to get complicated, a simple salad can be nice, but there a few different angles you have to factor in when building the magic. Different tastes, colors, textures, basic foodie construction. Use organic ingredients if you can. Cheap or overly processed stuff will turn the magic into a cafeteria salad bar. Buy the good stuff. You're worth it.

It's important to start with a lettuce you like. I go through phases. For a long time I ate nothing but spring/herb mixes. These are light leaves, generally, and often contain herbs/leaves with a bit of oomph like arrugula (roquette), cilantro, dill, spicy asian greens. But romaine is a nice robust leaf. And even iceburg has it's delicate, crunchy beauty. Spinach will add all sorts of vitaminy/minerally whatnot. Italian blends will have nice crunchy lettuces like radicchio in them. Yum. The best is what you can find locally, preferably from your farmer's market or organic produce section. But the bagged stuff in the grocery stores are good, too.

Next for the other veggies. Pick a few that you like, even if you don't normally consider them "salad" veggies. Zucchini or yellow squash are yummy. Lightly steamed green beans or broccoli. And slice them up in different ways. Light, watery veggies like zucchini or mushrooms or tomatoes can be diced small. Carrots, beets, or daikon (a mild radish that looks like a big white carrot) can be grated using the large tines and will add a juiciness to your salad. Chunks of fresh avocado. Even leftover cooked veggies (peas, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, etc.) from last night's dinner will be tasty. Small thin slices of red onion will also rock this salad and give it some bite. Bite is good.

Next comes the protein. Some grated cheddar. Chunks of mozzarella. Feta or goat cheese (though I usually only use these when I'm doing a specific type of salad which will get upcoming posts all of their own). Shredded turkey or deli meat. A scoop of cottage cheese. Or if you want to get Serious: while you're doing the veggies, roll a chicken breast in cajun spice (your grocery store will have several brands most likely), then broil til done (about ten minutes). Slice up and place chicken on top of the shredded cheese and salad veggies and everything will get all melty.

I almost always toast up some seeds, too. Sunflower or pepita (pumpkin) are my favorite, though occasionally I toss in walnuts or sliced almonds. This can be your protein or you can add this in addition to your animal protein simply as an added flavor and texture and source of nutrition. Easy peasy to make. Take a small handful of seeds (don't need to toast nuts) and put them in a skillet on medium heat. Toss frequently to make sure they don't burn. They'll turn golden-medium brown and a lovely toasty scent will perfume the air. Toss onto salad either on top of cheese (to help it get melty) or immediately put dressing on top (it'll sizzle so nicely) to warm it and diffuse the flavor throughout.

Next, a "digestive". But really just an excuse for a nice tart salty taste into the mix. Olives (black or green), capers, a dollop of sauerkraut, artichoke hearts, hearts of palm, pickled okra (yes, ya'll, we have these down South :)

Finally, the dressing. A bad dressing ruins the whole lot. Newman's dressings are all delish, except for the red wine and vinegar one which I think sux but hey, someone likes it, right? I love his balsamic vinaigrette and his family style italian, which also make great "sauces" for steamed veggies, but that's another story. And for the cajun chicken salad I mentioned, ranch is the way to go, especially if you do half ranch and half vinaigrette. But my big thing these days, though, is to make dressing from scratch.

It is so freakin easy that I can't believe I waited this long. The secret? Fresh garlic, put through a garlic press. (If you don't have a garlic press, go purchase one posthaste as they will change your cooking in fabulous ways as the garlic will go liquidy and more aromatically permeate whatever dish you put it into.)

The basic rule is 2 parts oil to 1 part acidic (vinegar and/or citrus juice). I tend to make only enough dressing for the salad I'm getting ready to eat so here's a basic recipe for that, though you can enlarge the recipe for a bigger portion of it:

* 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (my sis loves the light stuff, but I like the darker stuff. choose for the tempo of your own tastebuds)

* 2 tablespoons of a combo of vinegars (whatever you have: apple cider, rice, red wine, a dash of balsamic or umeboshi. go out and buy a few if you don't have these as they really change the taste of the dressing into something amazing)

* 1 tablespoon of citrus juice, either lemon or lime. my local health food store has small bottles or plastic squeezers of organic lemon and lime juice. fresh is fabulous too but i find these to be really good and then i don't end up having to squeeze lemons and get the acid all over me and then i cry and want my mommy. but whatever you do, don't use the crap from the regular grocery store. it's terrible and will ruin the taste. seriously.

* 1 clove of garlic run thru your garlic press

* some sort of seasoning like oregano or herbs de provence (to taste, approx. 1/4 teaspoon)

* salt and pepper to taste

This next part is a big one. If you just put the dressing on top of the salad, that's fine, but what really kicks booty is if you place everything in a large bowl, add the dressing, then toss it all so that everything gets nice and coated and if you have warm things in there (like toasted seeds, steamed broc or greens beans or the broiled chicken) everything gets melty and gooshy and that is a good thing.

Does this sound complicated? Perhaps I gave you too much too soon and now you are all overwhelmed and won't even set forth on the road to Salad Heaven. If this is you, here's a quick breakdown:

- make dressing

- toss handful of veggies (broc or green beans) into a steamer

- small handful of seeds in saute pan and begin toasting

- handful of lettuce

- prepare veggies (grate carrots/beets/daikon, slice avocado, etc.)

- add olives/capers etc.

- add protein

- add toasted seeds

- add dressing and toss

- EAT! :)

Yum. Seriously. Yum.

Here's a few more:

With leftover roasted chicken and steamed greenbeans

Some seed action

This salad technique can reorganize your eating habits. Think of how much healthier you'll be, how much more genuine nutrition you'll have available for random joy and spontaneous bursts of energy, how good raw veggies will treat your long-suffering little colon. Because you'll want to eat this salad every day because it's so dang delicious. And you can even make a big batch of the lettuce/veggie part and then add different protein and dressing each day.

The possibilities are endless . . .

Did I mention Yum?

Comments

[kelly]

We've been in major salad action around here, much of it coming right out of the garden, and every time I get to the layering in of ingredients, I think of you and the summer you spent here, and the magical salads and stir-fries we made. Soooo goooooooood.

How'd you find the time/energy to write such an informative, humorous, interesting, LONG post? You rock!

[Kathryn]

I'm a salad devotee. But in the past couple months I've gotten lazy and stopped making them. The more pregnant I get the harder it is to shop and less pleasant it is to stand in the kitchen with aching knee and back. You've re-inspired me with this post.

You know, after your paper is finished, maybe you could create a PDF of this post and offer it in the sidebar for people to print and tape to their cupboards. At the least I think it definitely deserves a place in the greatest hits section. :)

[Sephyroth]

I think the most "extreme" I've ever gone with a salad is putting some avocado into a straightforward lettuce salad. I'll definitely try some of these ideas out, thanks!

I'm also going to mention this post as one of my favorite posts from the week :)

Sephyroth
http://www.sephyroth.net

[kate]

kelly . . . coffee, lots of coffee :)

kathryn . . . wish i could air mail you salads . . . or rent you a salad princess in your area . . . perhaps you'll become a master of the four item magic salad??? :) thanks for the good idea about keeping it posted. i have a new sidebar item called "Pages" which is where I'm keeping special pages of stuff (greatest hits, book list) i'll add this one . . . :)

sephyroth . . . keep me posted on your adventures with salad . . . and if you send a pic i'll certainly post it :)

delite . . . sorry to delete your comment but i don't allow advertising on the site . . . good luck to you, though :)

[Occidental Girl]

Quite possibly my favorite phrase in the world is "get melty".

Thanks for the salad ideas. I like to think I know how to put together some good and interesting salads, but no; I did not think to steam green beans and broccoli nor do I ever think to use olives.

These look amazing!

[Kris]

Ah, love the recipes!!! Thanks for the pics, also.

[kate]

oc . . . i love that phrase too . . . it tastes yummy too :)

kris . . . more to come! :)

[littlefish]

Thought you might enjoy this. I thought it was pretty funny to see after having read your blog entry here a while ago.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/foodanddining/features/2007/salad-spinner-071807/index.html?hpid=smartliving