Salad Fanatic

Do you happen to know any salad fanatics?  Do you have one in your life perhaps?

Among behavior and habits to watch for include bringing salad to the beach or pool for lunch while other family members and friends pack sandwiches.  Worry over running out of celery to chop up for the salad lunch tub even in Summer when crunchy vegetable choices abound from the farmer's market and their own gardens.  Saying that eating anything heavier than salad at lunchtime makes then feel gross.
 

 Do they show other signs of packing produce into their regimine such lining up their lunch and snack-time fruit on their office desk?

Perhaps they cause you to smirk while they enjoy a few treats during the week, such as brownies, cookies or cake, and due to their salad munching and dedicated exercise habits they march steadily towards their weight-loss goal. By contrast, you wrap up another peanut butter and honey sandwich for a pool-side lunch, and count walking your dogs in the neighborhood, as they stop to sniff every two seconds, daily exercise.

A Philadelphia Reference With Figure Of Former Mayor and Govenor, Ed Rendell

I marvel at my salad-eating, beach-goer, Mr. Savory!  I can barely grow enough greens to keep him flush in his leafy habit.  He fills his size-able container, layering the edibles as he chops:  bell peppers, carrots, radishes, turnips, tomatoes, and yes, celery...the Dole variety slipped into the plastic bag...Odds and ends from dinner sit like jewels on the top:  chunks of leftover fish or chicken, cooked grains.  The other day at the pool, he purchased chicken fingers from the snack bar, cut them up, and added them to the salad he made at home--you know, to round it out.

Adding a little something different daily remains key to staving off boredom.  A few olives, capers, nuts, raisins, anchovies bring a spark to that otherwise endless tub of herbaceous-ness.  Not too much dressing, a couple tablespoons sight measured, keeps the mix flavorful and crisp.

The biggest surprise the Salad Fanatic has experienced?  He now craves salads for lunch.  If he skips a day, his enthusiasm abounds for it the following lunchtime.  How about that celery?

Salad Is Happening Here

I am a salad composer.  I work from what I have and rarely make the same salad twice.  I have a short memory for what I have concocted, no matter how fully I enjoy it.

My salads are like a happening; existing in that time and place, never to be performed again.

I am starting to write these compositions down, so I can share them with you and maybe even perfect upon them.

Circumstances here on vacation have put me into salad making mode. It's been very hot, and after a long day at the beach when we're coming home full of sun, turning on the oven is not appealing.  Secondly, while this kitchen is well supplied with equipment for breakfast and cocktails (Mr. Savory made us pancakes on the electric griddle this morning), it's rather lacking in the basics for cooking dinner.  Last evening after filling the largest pot with water to boil for corn, I realized that the one pot lid in the cabinet is too small for that particular pot...

Shrimp, Green Bean and Corn Salad

4 cups green beans, boiled or steamed until tender

2 ears corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 large tomato, cut into one-inch chunks

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced in half-moons

1 Hokurei turnip, thinly sliced

1/4-1/2 cup toasted walnuts, broken into pieces or coarsely chopped

1/4 cup or more to taste, crumbled Parmesan cheese

Handful of basil leaves, torn

1/2 pound cooked shrimp

Mustard-y dressing of your choice (we had a mustard-mayo sauce that we used)

Cut green beans into one-inch pieces and combine in a large bowl with all the other ingredients, except shrimp.  Layer shrimp on top of salad for serving.  Pass dressing around for everyone to take their own. 

Serves 3 as a main dish, 6 as a side salad.

A Walk on the Beach

I've been thinking a lot about salads the past few months. Mostly I'm thinking about composing them, and using their layers of textures and tastes as a reflection of some pretty complex emotions.

I took daily walks on the beach when we were in Cape May, mostly to look for shells and beach glass. Olivia and I also like to check out everyone's creations--sand castles, forts, holes and sculptures. More than anything, though, the walks help me to think and sort things out.

After one of my walks, I sat down with my journal and wrote this.

To think about what comes next is not very comfortable. It feels too soon, inappropriate. But listening to myself when I can, I feel as if I can take a step, lift back a branch to peer slightly ahead. Slightly ahead merely means, maybe tonight I could make a salad from the arugula and radishes I brought from the garden.

When we left for Cape May, we hadn't been cooking for a month. Friends and neighbors had been cooking for us. Everyone kept bringing us salad greens as part of the dinners, and meanwhile my arugula, mesclun and radishes were growing bigger and bigger. Right before we left, I harvested it all and brought it with us.

We packed up all sorts of odds and ends that others had sent. My salads at the beach were compositions of these items, really the best way to make a salad in my opinion. We had a bottle of an orange ginger dressing, all sorts of nuts from a gift basket and some goat cheese. Finally we could eat the home grown greens and radishes.

A Walk on the Beach Salad

Arugula or Spring Mix
Watermelon radishes or any other radish variety, sliced
Crumbled goat cheese
Pistachio nuts, chopped
Carrot ginger dressing*
*I added a tablespoon of light brown sugar to this recipe. I omitted transferring the mixture to a blender, and continued using a food processor.

I made this salad today for my lunch. Three months have passed and we're back to salad greens and radishes. Since I don't have any more of my own at the moment, I shopped at my co-op this morning. I decided on a carrot ginger dressing in place of the orange ginger. I think the combination works well.

Bring the Garden in Friday with Beet and Arugula Salad

It is 74 degrees here today. Spring is tempting and teasing us.

Yesterday I went out in the garden and picked a huge bowlful of arugula that I planted in the Fall. With beets and goat cheese from the farmer's market, and the addition of slivered blood oranges and toasted walnuts, this salad seemed to fit this March day: a composition of a touch of Spring, lots of sunshine, and a healthy dose of Winter.

Are you planning your garden, yet? This week I took out last year's plans, my leftover seeds, magazine and notebook.

I made a list of everything I want to plant--a list that is probably too long. Like last year, I am thinking of adding a raised bed. When I get a little more organized (will this ever happen?), I'll tell you more about what I'm hoping for.

Roasted Beet and Arugula Salad with Walnuts and Goat Cheese
adapted from Food to Live By

Orange Walnut Vinaigrette

1/2 cup walnut oil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
5 tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon finely minced shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously to combine. Let the dressing sit at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to develop before serving. The vinaigrette can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to 1 month. Let it return to room temperature before serving.

Salad

1 pound beets, roasted, at room temperature
5 ounces (about 6 cups) arugula, rinsed and dried
2 blood or naval oranges, segmented
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled goat or feta cheese
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Trim off the beet greens, leaving the stringy root end and about 1/2 inch of the stem attached. Rinse the beets under cool water and gently scrub them to remove any dirt. Dry them with paper towels.

3. Place the beets in a shallow baking dish and coat them with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

4. Bake the beets until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the beets.

5. When the beets are cool enough to handle, remove the stems and stringy roots, and slip off the skins with a paring knife. The beets can rest for up to 2 hours at room temperature. They can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.

6. Cut the beets into bite size pieces, about a 1/2 inch dice. Place the beets in a small bowl, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette, and toss until the beets are coated. The salad can be prepared to this stage 1 day in advance, if desired.

7. Just before serving the salad, place the arugula in a large salad bowl. Add about 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Toss to lightly coat the arugula, add more if desired.

8. Transfer the arugula to a platter or individual salad plates. Arrange the beets and orange segments on top of the greens and sprinkle the cheese and walnuts over them. Serve immediately.

Serves 4, as a side dish.