The Iceberg That Sank Salad, Until…

Believe it or not when I was growing up I was never a salad eater — or much of a vegetable eater for that matter (unless you only count carrots and potatoes). Maybe it was because salad on our dinner table consisted of iceberg lettuce, a chopped tomato and possibly some carrot slices thrown in for good measure. And of course there was always some bottled dressing full of ingredients I didn’t know how to pronounce to drown the melange.

Fast forward to my college dining hall where I met my future wife (she was eating exclusively vegetables at the time). Things had changed since the old iceberg days, now there were things like arugula, wild greens, and watercress, pepper and onion slices, pine nuts and almonds, feta and goat cheese, chickpeas and navy beans, dried apricots and raisins, apples and oranges, and bottles filled with oils and vinegars waiting to married. Sure the produce had gotten a lot better from what was available, but for me what was revolutionary was the idea of a salad had transformed. There were all these other goodies to mix with your greens — anything was possible.

This week I asked you all to give me some advice on what to do with my Farmer’s Market Bounty. Christy, who I haven’t yet had the privilege of sharing a meal with, wrote in suggesting a “salad with fruit, greens, finely chopped red onions and goat cheese.” So tonight, I whipped up Salad a la Christy in her honor. I followed her cue with arugula, red onion, and Soledad goat cheese, and added blackberries, raspberries, sliced avocado, and toasted walnuts into the mix. A dash of salt, some fresh cracked pepper, and a simple olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette I mixed up and viola… Salad a la Christy.

Christy proclaimed, “I love to bring fruit into the main course.” Amen!

Salad a la Christy

Christy and I welcome some other salad suggestions…