My Favorite Things – Salads Galore
If I had to list my favorite things, salad would not be on it. I grew up in a one salad family, where romaine lettuce, red wine vinegar, and a few sliced green onions comprised the leafy green accoutrement of our dinner. I am thankful that that has changed, and there are now numerous salad recipes on the Internet these days. They have evolved from boring lettuce and tomato to great recipes that include any sort of meat, chicken or fish, to a melodious harmony of crisp vegetables. Luscious ingredients such as mushrooms and chestnuts combine to entwine and please your taste buds in an epiphany that salads are no longer boring or mundane. While these recipes may sound hard, they are actually quite easy and have been served in Michelin rated restaurants. They don’t even have to include lettuce, as in a popular Italian salad of simply tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.
What is wonderful about having an online cooking site such as Gourmandia.com is that it shows the imagination of those outside of the United States. Traditional salads of iceberg lettuce, tomato and carrot are replaced and superseded by artichokes, asparagus, and other imaginative items. Many times Europeans pull vegetables straight from their garden and use them in their salads…a sort of Dirty Dish, if you will.
Salads are more than just vegetables, however. They can be intertwined with barbecued chicken and red onions for a main course summer salad. If you fancy a salad of leafy greens of your choice, tender sliced morsels of flat iron steak and red onions and feta cheese, then you have a main dish fit for the heartiest of eaters. You can have a wonderful spinach salad and hot bacon dressing that is packed with nutrients. Most salads are very easy to prepare and take a minimum of time, which fits in well with our hectic schedules. Salads are versatile, most importantly, since you can include whatever your imagination wants to put on it. So what kind of salad do you want tonight?
