The meaning of Salad Days in the whole scheme of things is those carefree, youthful days when life was an adventure everyday and something wonderful was around every corner. The good news is that even though we may be past our own Salad Days, incorporating dietary salad days into our regime may make us feel that youthful wonder and energy once again!
In my last column I wrote about being prepared to whip up a meal in a short time, simplifying meal times and making life easier. What better time to be able to do this than in the summer when the last thing most of us want to be doing is spending time 'slaving over a hot stove'?
Forget the hot stove whenever possible. Eat salads! Some of the ingredients will need to be cooked, but you can do this ahead, at your leisure and have them at the ready when you are hungry.
You'll need to have some staples on hand: canned artichokes, canned chickpeas (unless you cook some yourself, which taste much better— yes they do!), ditto for lentils, olives, capers and, of course, the necessities for a quick vinaigrette—lemon juice or vinegar, mustard and a good extra-virgin olive oil.
In your refrigerator you will store a selection of greens: baby kale, baby spinach, Romaine or any other lettuce you like. Butterhead lettuce is wonderful and makes a great alternative wrapper for a mock tuna wrap. You'll also want to keep avocados, cucumbers, carrots, onions and tomatoes on hand.
I also keep a variety of nuts in my refrigerator. These can make a salad feel more like a meal and they add more nutrition and flavor to any salad.
My new favorite salad:
Avocado Grapefruit with Lemon Vinaigrette
(This is a riff on a salad I saw Ina Garten make on her TV show last month and I am not embarrassed to admit that I have made—and eaten—this no less than five or six times in the last month.)
This serves four as a salad side, but I can easily eat half of it as a meal.
One avocado
One half lemon
One tablespoon mustard (Dijon, honey mustard, or whole grain, or whatever you have)
about one quarter cup of extra virgin olive oil
one red grapefruit
about two handfuls baby spinach
pickled red onions (last column's recipe) or just fresh red onion
walnuts or pecans, pan dry-toasted with a touch of maple syrup to finish
Make the vinaigrette: cut the lemon in half and squeeze over a medium size bowl straining out the seeds with your fingers. Add the mustard to the bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly until emulsified.
Slice the avocado. The easiest way to accomplish this is to slice it in half the long way 'round; hold the half without the pit in the palm of your hand and with a sharp knife very carefully slice the flesh into slices the long way and use a large spoon to remove them as one.
Place in the bowl with the vinaigrette.
Holding the other avocado half in your palm give it a good whack with your knife to the pit and twist to remove the pit. Slice the half and add it also to the vinaigrette. With your hands or a wooden spoon, gently separate and toss the avocado slices in the vinaigrette so they are all coated with dressing. This will keep the flesh from turning dark.
Place the baby spinach in your chosen salad bowl or on a platter and cover with the avocados and vinaigrette.
Peel the grapefruit, being sure to remove all the white pith, and supreme the grapefruit while holding it over the dish that the spinach and avocados are in. (To 'supreme' means to remove the grapefruit flesh without the membrane surrounding the sections—it takes some practice, but is doable. Basically you just want to avoid using the tough membranes as much as possible.) Arrange the grapefruit sections on the salad and squeeze the remaining membranous parts over the salad, straining out the seeds with your hands.
Top with red onions and nuts.
Lentil Salad
This is a very macrobiotic salad (if you make it without the hot pepper ingredient) first introduced to me by my friend Judith many moons ago. I enjoy it often. It’s a great summer salad because it can be cold or room temp and travels like a well-trained animal.
Two cups lentils (drained and rinsed if canned) but, really folks, why canned? No soaking and they cook fast!
One quarter cup sliced green onions, white part only (this would be three or four onions) substitute a mild white onion if you don't have green
one carrot, finely diced ( The dice should be about one quarter inch in size.)
two tablespoons tamari (soy sauce)
two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
two teaspoons toasted sesame oil
dash of siraccha or red pepper flakes (to taste)
Combine. Eat.
Mock Tuna Salad- this is something to put in a lettuce wrap or to top your salad or to fill a tomato – basically anything you might do with regular tuna salad
two cups raw sunflower seeds, soaked one or two hours, drained
one whole garlic clove, with skin (39 natural antibiotics!)
two tablespoons apple cider vinegar or fresh lemon juice
one quarter cup dulse flakes ( this is a sea veggie; find it at a natural foods store ) or dill, minced
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
celery, diced (about one half cup or to taste)
onion, diced (about one half cup or to taste)
Large lettuce leaves, (Butterhead lettuce is great here!) or regular flatbread wraps
Add diced celery and onion. If you like chopped apples or raisins in your tuna salad, go ahead and add those, too.
Place a scoop in your choice of wrapper or on your salad or in your scooped out tomato or on top of an avocado wrap, etc. Enjoy!!
Hope your Salad Days are long and plentiful!