i am not a big fan of salad, yet i eat it every night for dinner. there are two kinds of salad: the kind with mostly lettuce and fancy dressing, and the kind that i make. lettuce is not my favorite thing, yet i put some into my salad. it's just boring and i don't really like eating cold food in the first place. i am not so sure how i got started with salads for dinner. perhaps it was because i knew i should eat more salad and raw veggies. perhaps. i tried eating them for lunch but it wasn't filling enough and i was hungry soon after. plus it didn't give me much energy. dinner is a time when i can easily eat too much, if the food is in front of me. the problem/solution is salad, it's not filling so i eat a whole big bowl of it.
my salads vary from day to day, depending on my mood and what was on sale at the store. i always include a little bit of lettuce and lots of cabbage. the rest, includes but is not limited to the following:- carrots (shredded!)
- kalamata olives
- cheese - mostly parmesan, but i also like feta and pepper jack
- radishes
- avocado (when i can afford it!)
- protein - beans (black, garbanzo, edamame), grilled meat (chicken or steak)
- corn
- roasted red peppers
- bell peppers
- poached egg
- tomatoes
- roasted beets
i've never really been a huge fan of dressing. i do enjoy the japanese-style dressings you get at japanese restaurants. i guess it's ginger based? i dunno but i like it. i've had many dressings that i enjoy like sam choy's oriental, green goddess, and sometimes ranch. at home, i stick with simplicity. oil and vinegar. i've got a few different oils that i use: olive oil, flax oil (omega FA!), macadamia nut oils (from my sister), sesame oil, and chili oil. i don't use them all, if anything i'll mix two. for vinegar i use red wine vinegar (for something light), balsamic vinegar (for a more rich flavor) or rice vinegar (for an asian style). and really the most important part i think is salt and pepper. you have to put the right amount. salt livens up the flavors you have and pepper adds a little kick.
sometimes i make a seaweed salad instead. i've got some dried wakame that i just reconstitute for 5 minutes in cold water. i chop up some carrots, cucumber and daikon if i have it, drain the wakame, throw it all together with some sushi vinegar and a teensy bit of sesame oil, let it sit for a bit and then eat it. it's wonderfully fresh and easy. sometimes you just want to eat seaweed!
3 comments:
that sounds so yummy, i also love salads but am terrible at making them. i think that's because we didn't eat salads in my family when i was growing up. our vegetables were either canned corn or that generic tri-medley of corn, carrots, and peas. my mom never actually made salads, so my creative salad making skills are severely lacking. but... i still like to eat salad.
usually i buy some spinach and use that as my base (i don't really like lettuce either, except for manoa lettuce, that's good stuff) and add some black beans, edamame or tomatoes, yummy. also, i love going to cpk because they have great salads!
mmmmm....CPK!!!
Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the SBTVD, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://sbtvd.blogspot.com. A hug.
Post a Comment