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What's your everyday salad?


Fat Guy

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We've been eating a ton of salad (which I love) because I'm using it in place of more fattening foods, as I'm dieting (and have taken off 17 pounds in the last month).

I start with one full plastic container of "Earthbound Farms" Baby Arugula, and half-to-one-full one of their "Herb Salad", though sometimes I go for the Baby Lettuces instead.

Then I add sliced (and or quartered) radishes, cucumber, and carrot, and fresh sugar-snap peas (or shelled fresh peas if I have the patience) and when I can find them, cut up Lunor imported from France cooked beets (Fairway). I don't do celery but sometimes add avocado. I sometimes add one-inch cuts of fresh string beans, though my other half doesn't like them raw and I love them.

For my dressing I squeeze an orange into a bowl and add a few spoons of Cindy's Wild Blueberry Vinaigrette (surprisingly, it whisks into an emulsion) and toss the salad with it, and top it either with "Santa Sweet" organic grape tomatoes (the best !!) or slices of some nice heirloom tomatoes we've been getting.

In fact, most nights I add some chilled cooked shrimp, or some cut up chicken meat from a place that sells rotisseried Murray's chickens, and call it dinner. I'm a salad freak anyway, so I love it.

Overheard at the Zabar’s prepared food counter in the 1970’s:

Woman (noticing a large bowl of cut fruit): “How much is the fruit salad?”

Counterman: “Three-ninety-eight a pound.”

Woman (incredulous, and loud): “THREE-NINETY EIGHT A POUND ????”

Counterman: “Who’s going to sit and cut fruit all day, lady… YOU?”

Newly updated: my online food photo extravaganza; cook-in/eat-out and photos from the 70's

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Our general everyday is a Greek-ish salad, with romaine, cabbage (cut to the same size as the romaine) lots of cukes (from the billion popping out of the garden, nowadays) tomatoes, feta, and diced onion. Homemade lemon/oregano vinagrette. That's the basic. We have some bottled dressings around, too, but the vinagrette is always on the table. Any given night can sub the cheese for something else, add nuts, or other vegetables like bell peppers, radishes, carrots sometimes.

I've also been really in the mood for old-fashioned salads, lately, so we're on quite a kick with those. Relish-type staple "salads" on the table, like a crunchy munchy light Waldorf type, or carrot raisin, broccoli, or some sort of vinegar slaw.

Then, sometimes I mix it up with just simple vegetables, like last night it was fresh cucumbers with a bit of sliced onion, lots of black pepper, lime juice, and plain yogurt. The other day, whole romaine leaves with this bottled miso dressing that we all love. When my tomatoes finally redden, I'm sure they'll be starring in simple "salads" too.

We eat salad every night, so I try to mix it up.

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Last night I made a main dish southwestern type salad. I used iceberg( the only time I use it is in this salad), corn and blackbeans dressed with the dressing I make. Cukes( no tomatoes because we both can't stand them raw), avocado, shredded cheese and some leftover grilled chicken. I also threw in some crushed tortilla chips.

The dressing was all made in the food processor. A handful of cilantro, evoo, white wine vinegar and about 6 canned jalapeno rings. I love the tanginess of the dressing, a nice change from creamy dressings normally found on SW type salads.

Btw, I notice a lot of people like bagged mixes. I really hate them( except the ones from Trader Joes). The ones we get here( dole?) have a weird smell when I open the bag.

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This summer we have been having chopped salads often.

Diced tomato, cucumber, red onion, olives, avocado, and fresh mozzarella with balsamic vinaigrette and plenty of fresh basil. Delicious.

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It differs depending on what's on hand, but always with homemade dressings. In the winter, a lot of times it's a plain wedge salad with blue cheese dressing or vinaigrette with blue cheese crumbles. Another favorite is mesclun with some sort of fruit in it (winter it’s usually pears – to spring with some type of berries) with a vinaigrette and goat cheese crumbles.

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I had what I think is one of the word's best salads today for lunch: watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, diced sweet onion, and shredded mint leaves. Nothing else, as the feta make a sort of dressing when you toss it. I use sheep's milk feta because that's what's readily available here in France, but any creamy feta will do. I know, it sounds weird, but try it!

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For me, what constitutes a daily salad varies wildly based on the season. In the summer "daily salads" are a huge production for me to make, as I don't really like lettuce much, but feel obligated to include basically every other fresh veggie from the garden I possibly can, including: carrots, sugar snap peas, cukes, zukes, scallions, and tomatoes, then on top of that toasted nuts, chickpeas, cubed cheese, etc. I've now taken to making my husband's salads in a medium sized mixing bowl, as the pile gets so high!

In the winter things are much easier! My go-to winter salad is arugala or spinach, shredded carrots, diced apple, toasted walnuts, and feta.

Dressing is the same year round -- a lemon, lime, or white balsamic vinaigrette.

Emily

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My basic everyday salad is organic greens and sprouts, tomato, boiled egg, evoo and balsamic vinegar and ground pepper. In the winter I use roasted beets instead of tomatoes. I also try to incorporate some protein like roasted chicken or beef, or cashews.

Dawn aka shrek

Let the eating begin!

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Our usual is romaine, cucumber, radishes, some sort of onion (red, walla walla or scallions) and tomato with blue cheese dressing, topped with sunflower seeds. My husband likes lots of stuff in his salad so I'll often add celery, a bit of broccoli and julienned carrots. Personally, I don't care for a crowded bowl and have been known to blow through an entire head of iceberg lettuce within two days if the blue cheese is especially good.

Shelley: Would you like some pie?

Gordon: MASSIVE, MASSIVE QUANTITIES AND A GLASS OF WATER, SWEETHEART. MY SOCKS ARE ON FIRE.

Twin Peaks

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...

Then, sometimes I mix it up with just simple vegetables, like last night it was fresh cucumbers with a bit of sliced onion, lots of black pepper, lime juice, and plain yogurt. ...

Yeah- if that qualifies as a salad, then that's pretty much a default option for me, especially if is that hot and muggy. It's always with diced cucumbers, but also includes whatever else I have available (onion, pepper, carrot, even chick peas...) placed in the bowl, salted and given a squirt of lemon, topped with the yogurt, herbs du jour (dill, cilantro, marjoram or mint) and then a sprinkle of cumin and cayenne. If I eat a major meal at lunch, then that is all I really need for dinner.

aka Michael

Chi mangia bene, vive bene!

"...And bring us the finest food you've got, stuffed with the second finest."

"Excellent, sir. Lobster stuffed with tacos."

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Mine include a mixture of chopped :

Onions

Cucumber

Cabbage

Spring Onions

Tomatoes

Some cut in round shape and other are chopped . I like to have them all mixed up dry with my meal . Sometimes I do mix some mayo and other sauces

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I had what I think is one of the word's best salads today for lunch: watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, diced sweet onion, and shredded mint leaves.  Nothing else, as the feta make a sort of dressing when you toss it.  I use sheep's milk feta because that's what's readily available here in France, but any creamy feta will do.  I know, it sounds weird, but try it!

It is not weird it is really good. I have also seen grape/feta as a suggested combo. I'm hanging out for summer to try it.

I do not enjoy salad in the winter. The most I will do is make DH bean salads for lunch.

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This is a little off-topic, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread and waste all that precious screen space in these difficult times. It's about salad, but perhaps not your everyday variety.

I need to make one to feed, oh, 35-40? on Saturday. It's for three log canoe crews (www.logcanoe.com -- kind of like rugby on the water) as a side dish at lunch. I need something hearty, so I'll probably add hard-boiled eggs and bacon, etc. (Maybe even avocados, but I'd break the bank on that...).

So what I need is a good theme and perhaps a great dressing I can make ahead. I'll be bringing all the ingredients, sailing all morning and assembling right before we eat, probably in two large batches, the second put out after the first one is finished. I want to dress it at the last possible second.

High-energy ingredients are a plus.

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This is a little off-topic, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread and waste all that precious screen space in these difficult times. It's about salad, but perhaps not your everyday variety.

I need to make one to feed, oh, 35-40? on Saturday. It's for three log canoe crews (www.logcanoe.com -- kind of like rugby on the water) as a side dish at lunch. I need something hearty, so I'll probably add hard-boiled eggs and bacon, etc. (Maybe even avocados, but I'd break the bank on that...).

So what I need is a good theme and perhaps a great dressing I can make ahead. I'll be bringing all the ingredients, sailing all morning and assembling right before we eat, probably in two large batches, the second put out after the first one is finished. I want to dress it at the last possible second.

High-energy ingredients are a plus.

This topic was dormant for a year and now there's 18 posts in 2 days - everybody's thinking salads this time of year!

A high energy salad to go with a competitive canoing theme . . . you could do a "coureur de bois" thing. They were the tough Voyageurs that opened up North America in the 17th and 18th century by canoe - paddled all day collecting fur and eating beaver, moose and maple syrup. Pea soup, pork and beans, bacon, etc.

Maybe.

Peter Gamble aka "Peter the eater"

I just made a cornish game hen with chestnut stuffing. . .

Would you believe a pigeon stuffed with spam? . . .

Would you believe a rat filled with cough drops?

Moe Sizlack

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I have pretty much given up on out-of-season tomatoes although I think a salad suffers without them.What is the Splendida brand grape tomato and where does one find it in NYC?

Ruth Friedman

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So what I need is a good theme and perhaps a great dressing I can make ahead. I'll be bringing all the ingredients, sailing all morning and assembling right before we eat, probably in two large batches, the second put out after the first one is finished. I want to dress it at the last possible second.

High-energy ingredients are a plus.

Reuben salad is the answer to me. Basically it is canned corn beef (leftover fresh would be better but good canned works) broken into small pieces , plastic packaged saurkraut (rinsed and drained), grated swiss cheese, croutons, chopped onions, caraway seeds amount dependent upon your choice) iceberg lettuce broken into pieces or sliced and some kind of an thousand island dressing (homemade or a good substitute). Toss everything together and serve.

It is substantial, delicious and not something that most people have ever had.

Just an idea, hope it helps.

Kay

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I had what I think is one of the word's best salads today for lunch: watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, diced sweet onion, and shredded mint leaves.  Nothing else, as the feta make a sort of dressing when you toss it.  I use sheep's milk feta because that's what's readily available here in France, but any creamy feta will do.  I know, it sounds weird, but try it!

Not weird at all. I like to add a little lemon or lime juice and a (very small) splash of oil.

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We eat some sort of salad almost every day. of course it does depend on whats in season or in the garden but it is usually one of the following (maybe with its own daily twist)

-green/red lettuces (not iceberg) or spinach leaves with wine vinegar (red or white), evoo, salt/

-or if its an asian meal then i do a dressing with miso, rice vinegar, sugar

- or most commomly with fresh lemon, evoo, and s&p (yes I agree more salt than you think).

-sometimes i'll do a more formal dressing as well, with garlic, mustard, vinegar/or lemon, shallots, dash of worstershire

- tomato (either grape, cherry, bigger, whatever as long as its ripe) with feta, wine vinegar, evoo, red onions - sometimes lettuce if i feel like it and sometimes with cucumbers

-tomato (either grape, cherry, bigger, whatever as long as its ripe) with fresh mozzarella torn in again with wine vinegar (sometimes lemon), evoo salt and some basil

-i love the watermelon, feta, red onion (soaked in lime juice) and evoo salad in the depths of summer

-a green salad with avocados, lime, evoo - sometimes with shrimp/prawns, or bacon and orange wedges

-caesar salad - with anchovies, lots of parmesan and usually bottled dressing (but must be a good one) * this is for specific cravings when nothing else will do, esp with a good steak on the barbie

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I had what I think is one of the word's best salads today for lunch: watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, diced sweet onion, and shredded mint leaves.  Nothing else, as the feta make a sort of dressing when you toss it.  I use sheep's milk feta because that's what's readily available here in France, but any creamy feta will do.  I know, it sounds weird, but try it!

I love feta & watermelon. I haven't tried it with the onion and mint, but I definitely will this weekend. I prefer a salty, crumbly feta to the creamy ones.

My Everyday Salad:

Spinach, bite sized tomatoes (usually halved), persian cucumbers, red onion or shallots (sliced thin), fresh mint, bleu cheese (or feta or avacado), pine nuts or sliced almonds, and grilled chicken if I have some in the fridge. The dressing is a basic dijon vinegarette.

"In a perfect world, cooks who abuse fine cutlery would be locked in a pillory and pelted with McNuggets."

- Anthony Bourdain

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We're sort of minimalists. Most of the year it's baby arugula with grape tomatoes that have been halved and salted for a while (to remove some water). Dressed with a basic vinaigrette - 1/2 sherry vinegar, 1/2 red wine vinegar, good olive oil, salt, pepper, shallots. Or a mache and grape tomato mix with lemon vinaigrette (no shallots). Of course all bets are off the few months we get a variety of fresh local greens.

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I had what I think is one of the word's best salads today for lunch: watermelon cubes, crumbled feta, diced sweet onion, and shredded mint leaves.  Nothing else, as the feta make a sort of dressing when you toss it.  I use sheep's milk feta because that's what's readily available here in France, but any creamy feta will do.  I know, it sounds weird, but try it!

Abra: your salad just turned up in the current issue of Saveur magazine, with the addition of kalamata olives. Sounds divine!

kit

"I'm bringing pastry back"

Weebl

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My current fave is mixed greens (preferably including some baby spinach), lots of diced sweet red pepper, sliced black olives and crumbled feta cheese - with a Kraft Red Pepper & Parmesan cheese dressing. I love that salad!

For a lighter salad, I really like cucumber (preferably peeled, seeded and diced) with sliced or diced radishes and cubed feta cheese with a basic vinaigrette dressing (white wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper) and maybe some chives or something thrown in. It looks pretty on top of lettuce leaves.

When whole pomegranates are available, I like to make a salad and dressing both containing the seeds. The basic recipe came from my grocery store, I think there are lots of similar recipes around, but I was late discovering this one!

  • For the dressing, I crush half the seeds to obtain juice, which is mixed with oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper.
  • For the salad, I plate some spinach (or mixed greens with spinach) and top with sliced or diced fresh pear or apple, walnut halves, crumbled blue cheese and the remaining pomegranate seeds and drizzle with dressing.
  • You can use mango or papaya in place of the pear/apple, cashews or almonds in place of the walnuts, and a mild goat cheese in place of the blue cheese, and add something like cayenne or cumin to the dressing.

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To answer chappie, I'd suggest a wonderful slaw, rather than a salad, so that it'll hold up better. To me, salads are best when fresh. For my slaw, I usually mix almost everything in advance, including the dressing. With my standard slaw, I only add the tomatoes and cilantro at the last minute.

I do a colorful slaw, based on the ingredients I have handy. But it usually includes:

thinly sliced red cabbage

julienned carrots

julienned red bell peppers

halved, salted grape tomatoes

scallions

cilantro

I've added haricots verts, bean sprouts, julienned cucumber, etc.

For a dressing, I favor a tahini-lime dressing - - it's creamy without the dairy, so there's no problem about it going south in the heat. The dressing usually includes tahini, olive oil, lime juice, shallots or garlic minced, dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I never measure, so apologies for the lack of measurements.

I'm unsure how you would make this particularly high-energy, I'm afraid. Maybe someone has ideas of good high-energy ingredients that could be added.

To answer the original question, we make a lot of salads. My husband is really the cook in the family - - but salads are always mine to make. Our standard always includes: lettuce (romaine, green/red leaf, or mesclun), tomatoes, cucumbers, some kind of onion, and bell peppers (ideally not green). We're likely to also add carrots, radishes, and mushrooms.

The dressing is almost always a balsamic mustard vinaigrette, usually using cheap Trader Joe's balsamic (the aged stuff is too sweet for me in this type of salad). Like another poster, we tend to use a lot more vinegar than the traditional vinaigrette, both for health reasons and because we like the taste.

If the salad is our main course, we'll usually add croutons, freshly made with garlic and olive oil using old French bread. For protein, we'll sometimes do bacon, tuna, grilled chicken, or eggs. We frequently add blue cheese (roaring forties or point reyes, usually), and occasionally add feta or cheddar.

When available, we love to add: sugar-snap peas, radish greens, fresh basil, avocados, and whatever else looks good.

I really love a beautifully-composed salad. I just wish it didn't take me so long to chop everything!!

Edited by REB (log)
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Yes, these are salad days. Yesterday I had a very unique, filling, and delicious entree salad. Main ingredient was farro (the wheat grain). In the salad were chopped grilled vegetables: zucchini, asparagus, red onion, as well as sun-dried tomatoes, chopped kalamata olives and slivers of parmesano-reggiano cheese. Dressed with EVOO and balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and chopped fresh parsley. It was fantastic!!

Cooking is like love, it should be entered into with abandon, or not at all.

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