salad – in thriver words

Salad Jar

I’m sure you’re familiar with a salad bar, but what about a salad jar? Okay, I made it up, so I don’t expect you to know what I’m talking about. Let me explain.

Last weekend, I really wanted a salad. I had romaine lettuce, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, almonds, blueberries, apples, and ingredients for multiple dressings on hand. Did I fix a salad? No. It seemed like too much trouble.

I needed to wash the lettuce, celery, carrots, pepper, blueberries and apples before I used them. I’d need to let them dry. Then I’d have to chop everything. And I wanted some protein on top. I had shredded chicken, but I was tired of it. By the time I mentally walked through the prep, I was weary of the whole idea. I ordered a salad.

Was that expensive? Yes. Was it better than what I would have made? No. But it wasn’t overwhelming.

There’s an easy way around such dilemmas – a salad jar. What’s that you may ask? It’s a jar filled with salad toppings that are ready to serve atop greens. If all I had to do was wash the lettuce then top it with several items that were already cleaned and chopped, the task would have seemed much more doable.

Carrots, celery, peppers, onion, jicama, cucumber, squash, asparagus, broccoli, and cauliflower can all be cleaned and chopped in advance. And they can be combined in a jar in proportions you find pleasing so that topping a salad is as simple as opening the jar.

In similar fashion, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries can be cleaned and jarred. You may want to slice the strawberries before combining with other berries if you’re going to use them in short order. Or clean and store a single type of berry. Prewashing the blueberries in my fridge would have made them more inviting.

Grape tomatoes require no slicing and can be washed before storing. Larger tomatoes can also be cleaned in advance even if you slice immediately before serving.

Toppings like nuts, seeds, toasted coconut, and dried fruit can be purchased ready to sprinkle on salad, but creating your own mix will ensure compatibility with specialized diets. I love a dried cranberry on a salad, but dried fruit is incompatible with a low histamine diet so many packaged salad toppers don’t work for me.

Clear storage jars allow me to see my salad toppers easily. They also stack well in my refrigerator and transfer well to the ice chest when I set out in my RV. I can use the same jars to store dressings mixed to compliment that week’s toppings.

You may argue that prep is prep and takes time. True. But there’s something about doing salad prep for more than a single salad when I’m cooking something else that makes it feel efficient and less cumbersome. And not every ingredient has to be put in a jar at the same time.

I can put a few chopped peppers in a jar when I’m prepping a sauté of peppers, squash, and onions. I might also capture a few slices of squash. The next day, I can add carrots while I’m preparing to roast a bunch or asparagus when I’m preparing some to steam. In other words, the salad prep doesn’t have to be a separate operation.

Some salad jars provide a good flavor combo for stir fry, frittatas, pasta prima vera, or pizza. Like any food prep, there’s fun in playing with new combinations.

At this moment when many of us feel overwhelmed, a salad jar is a simple solution with a variety of benefits. Try one!

If You Can’t Take the Heat

If you can’t take the heat, as they say, get out of the kitchen. My kitchen is on the west side of my house. On summer afternoons, it’s hot in there. I’ve added a/c vents, but the heat still gathers. When I can’t take the heat, I opt for salad.

Many of my salads have been based around bok choy and romaine this summer because I’m growing those in the garden. I also grow arugula and Swiss chard which I add to some salads. The arugula adds a wonderful peppery dimension.

Once the greens are chosen, the toppings are a wonderland of experimentation. Sometimes the combination feels just right. Other times, one ingredient stands out more than it should. No matter, the kitchen stays cool and the crunch is satisfying.

Another way to get out of the kitchen is to eat from someone else’s. Restaurant salads have a more predictable composition. That means there are some that become favorites. Here are a few that stand out:

GP’s Classic-ish Cobb from Goop Kitchen: It features a 7-minute egg, avocado, tomatoes, Point Reyes blue cheese, roasted golden beets, Mama Lil’s peppers and house pickled shishito mix, maple glazed bacon, little gem, radicchio, and a side of GCC Dijon mustard vinaigrette. The combination is perfection!

The Iceberg Wedge at The Olde Pink House: This one keeps it simple. An iceberg wedge with blue cheese dressing, tomatoes, and cucumbers. When done right, it doesn’t get better than a wedge salad. A great one begins with a chilled triangle of lettuce. I like that this version doesn’t include bacon. I often think bacon detracts from the cool light flavors that receive just the right balance from bleu cheese. I like the addition of cucumbers here though – another light note.

Peck’s Salad from Trio’s: The recipe for the dressing on this salad came from the Sam Peck Hotel that operated from 1935 – 1972. The light, sweet vinaigrette tops leaf & romaine lettuce with roasted pulled chicken breast, toasted almonds and bacon. I often opt for dressing on the side, but the portion here is exactly right.

Cucumber Salad from Zankou Chicken^®: I always order extra and eat it for days! Cucumber, tomato, red onion, and parsley tossed in lemon juice and oil. This is the perfect side for soooo many things.

MoMa Arugula and Proscuitto: I don’t think they serve this anymore, but they should. It was so simple and full of bold flavor. I think it was just the two ingredients with some coarse ground black pepper and a light drizzle of dressing, perhaps balsamic? It felt like it belonged with the impressionists. But, just like trends in art, menus change.

There are other standout salads that have disappeared – a Greek salad at a storefront restaurant on the north edge of Albuquerque and the Medite, made of organic quinoa, spinach, garbanzo beans, artichoke, fire roasted peppers, grape tomatoes, feta, lemon and extra virgin olive oil at The Pantry West in Little Rock.

There are salads that may still be served if I could remember the restaurant name or location closely enough to check. I had a wonderful tableside Caesar in Manhattan and a soaked salad…somewhere.

Salads with seasonal fruit entice me. I also like salads with crunchies like tortilla strips. While the heat continues, I’ll be searching for even more standouts to add to my list of salads that can help me get out of the kitchen when I can’t take the heat.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Antidote for the Heat

We’re looking at another week of excessive heat warnings; we must find an antidote for the heat! I live in an early 20^th century house. It has 12-foot ceilings and a variable speed dehumidifying heat & air system. I added vents in the kitchen/sunroom area. It should be relatively cool where I’m sitting. It is not. And it will get hotter as the sun sinks directly into the west windows.

When it feels like (checks phone so as not to exaggerate) 110˚ outside, there’s only so much you can do to cool the house. Of course there are things you can do to cool your body – sit in front of a fan, put a wet towel on the back of your neck, sit in a bathtub of cool water, and eat and drink cold foods.

The past week, I’ve been turning almost everything into a salad topping. Pork tenderloin – shred some and throw it on a salad. Baked beets – serve those puppies cold on top of a salad. Blackened Brussels sprouts – you guessed it; chop them up for a salad. In fact, I combined those three atop shredded bok choy, arugula, and Swiss chard yesterday for lunch.

The thing I like about salads is the variety of tastes you can achieve by using the same ingredients paired and dressed differently. This works especially well for families who have different tastes. You can pre-make salad to each person’s preference or get out some colorful serving bowls and let everyone mix their own. This is especially advantageous for families with multiple differing allergies or intolerances.

When I purchase greens, I like to have a lighter lettuce option – butter, romaine, or iceberg – to pair with bitter or peppery greens. My favorite mild salad green is mȃche, also known as corn salad, but it’s not easy to find. Baby book choy and baby Swiss chard are also delicious mild salad greens. I may also offer spinach as an option.

Many like to include greens with bigger flavor. Popular bitter greens include frisée, radicchio, and dandelion greens. Watercress is great in salads. It may be bitter or peppery. Arugula is also bitter and peppery and grows like crazy in my garden.

I recently made a quick happy hour appetizer by topping crostini with cheese, salami, shredded arugula and balsamic drizzle. Arugula, prosciutto, and cantaloupe also play well together. Tomorrow I may make a salad with those flavors. I could also add a little fresh mozzarella, basil, and the same balsamic drizzle. Yum! The perfect salad for a hot afternoon.

The sweetness of fruit helps balance salads that begin with bitter greens. Apples, pears, and blueberries are some of my favorites. Oranges, strawberries, pineapple, mango, and cantaloupe are also great fresh choices.

Fruit doesn’t have to be fresh to top a salad. Dried cranberries, raisins, figs, or apricots add delicious layers of flavor and texture.

And fruit salads don’t have to include greens. They can just be fruit. I like to make dressing for fruit salad by mixing orange juice and mayonnaise or orange juice and plain yogurt. I also like to top fruit salads with a dollop of plain yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon. Fruit is so flavorful it doesn’t need much.

My grandmother loved to mix vegetables and fruit in carrot, raisin salad. Some home cooking restaurants serve this. They often try to fancy it up by adding pineapple. I prefer the simpler version.

When you’re choosing vegetables for salad, you may automatically think of all the things that can be served raw – celery, radish, carrot, squash, cucumber, tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, or onion. But blanched and lightly cooked vegetables can be delicious as well.

A local Mediterranean restaurant serves a salad that’s shredded lettuce topped with sautéed yellow squash, red bell pepper, and onion as well as beef/lamb gyro. I like to add English peas and apple to salads topped with chicken. And sugar snap peas are a great salad addition raw or steamed.

The vegetables can even be canned. Kidney beans, green beans, black beans, and corn from cans can all be used in salads. Bean salads and pasta salads are refreshing cold foods during the summer heat.

Even if you feel like you’re just throwing things together, there’s no harm in topping a salad off with a little extra crunch or yum. Nuts, seeds, cheese, croutons, parmesan crisps, tortilla strips, potato sticks, and bacon all serve this purpose well.

The final element can be light, medium, heavy, or not needed. Some like their dressing creamy. Some like it acidic, citrusy, or sweet. The hotter the weather, the lighter I like it.

Not weighing myself down with hot, heavy food helps counteract the heat, but finishing with a bite or two of sorbetto or granita leaves me feeling cool as a cucumber. And that’s a great antidote for the heat.

Playing a Mandoline

When I talk about playing a mandolin, I mean a food slicer. While I have strummed a mandolin, I can’t competently play one. Since mandoline (slicer) can be spelled mandolin and mandolin (instrument) can be spelled mandoline, it seemed like a good idea to begin by specifying. Now, on to the playing…

My assignment for a 4^th of July BBQ was to bring a salad from my garden. This year’s weather combined with a last-minute change in seeds has resulted in a haphazard, untidy selection of growth. My salad harvest no longer includes lettuce, spinach, or squash. Instead, I have baby bok choy, arugula, and a limited amount of Swiss chard.

I decided to shred bok choy for the base. To that I added shredded chard and lightly chopped arugula. This year’s arugula is milder in flavor than last year’s, but if not kept in check it can quickly overpower other greens. I used a ratio of about 4 to 1 bok choy to arugula.

To balance the bitterness of the greens, I chose Gala apples, fresh mozzarella, and honey roasted pecan pieces. Some salads are delicious deconstructed. This one was dependent on the flavor combination in each bite, so I wanted to make sure the apples were distributed throughout.

I decided julienned strips would be the best option. Of course, the day before I managed to melt the handle of the knife I needed to cut the apples. I know that sounds odd. Somehow, it fell out of the silverware basket of my dishwasher and lodged against the heating element without me noticing. Well, until there was weird blue smoke in the air. But that’s another story for another day.

In this narrative, it meant I needed another option to julienne the apple. Off I went to my dining room closet where I store the mandoline I use for scalloped potatoes. My thinking was that if I used the mandoline to make thin, uniform slices, it wouldn’t be that hard to cut those into strips.

What I had forgotten was that the mandoline came with several interchangeable blades I’d never tried. I gave them a look and did a test swipe using a grater looking blade. Apparently, it’s a julienne blade because it made the most perfect strips I’ve ever seen. Whoo-hoo!!! My job just got a whole lot easier. I played that mandoline for all it was worth.

Once I had the greens assembled, I tossed in the apple, and added the cheese and pecans. Earlier I had made a balsamic vinaigrette sweetened with molasses and a little honey. It was thick and rich and poured like a balsamic drizzle. It was just the top-off the salad needed. It was a big hit!

I left the party feeling grateful for the mandoline with its functional simplicity and changeable blades. It shortened the work in my holiday and created a professional looking cut with the swipe of a hand.

I’m not big on small kitchen appliances and I try to keep the gadgets at a minimum, but the right tool at the right time can change cooking from drudgery to pleasure. That’s one big reason to learn to play a mandoline!

No Special Equipment Required for Gluten-Free Cooking, but Some Gadgets are Fun!