Two Salads A Day

When I was a little girl, my mother made a salad every night for dinner. We usually had it with meat and potatoes. Sometimes she'd make a casserole with artichokes or asparagus. She was an excellent cook. In those days, our salad consisted of iceberg lettuce, sliced tomatoes, chopped green onions, and cut up avocado. We used to buy Good Season Italian dressing spice packets at Safeway. I would cut open the envelope of herbs, and  mix it with red wine vinegar and salad oil. We had a special carafe that had the measurement lines written on the glass. It was easy, (even for a little girl) to follow the directions. I loved it. My mom always had me help her in the kitchen. I learned to cook by working alongside her and watching what she did.

Everyone in our family would have a small plate of salad, and then I would usually eat what was left. That meant I had two or three helpings, every night. I just loved the freshness of it. I could feel how healthy it was to eat raw vegetables. I liked the way it tasted once it had been sitting on the table for a while. It seemed like the lettuce would absorb the flavors of the oil, vinegar, and spices.

Now that I have my own home, I still make daily salads. I've changed the ingredients a bit. Tonight I made a spinach salad with fresh spinach, grated carrots, chopped orange bell pepper, sliced avocado, chopped green onions,  cut up radishes, fresh cilantro leaves, cubed tomatoes, fresh pressed garlic, and grated cheddar cheese.

I made the dressing fresh, over the bowl. I measured some olive oil into the wooden spoon, and tossed the leaves with freshly pressed garlic until they were coated. I stirred in some sea salt and balsamic vinegar into the spoon, and drizzled that over the top. I sprinkled oregano, tarragon, basil, and dill over the top of the leaves. Freshly ground pepper tastes delicious as a seasoning, too.

Now that I'm older, I make an effort to eat two salads a day. I usually have one in the afternoon, with my lunch. Most of the time I eat leftovers from dinner  for lunch. Today it was tuna casserole. Dinner will be a second salad, which was already made this afternoon. I prefer to eat lightly at night. Since I make one large bowl, I don't have to worry about making a second salad at dinner time.  Sometimes I will have a baked potato or homemade bread with my meal. Tonight I had some homemade pizza dough that I baked in the toaster oven with melted butter and fresh garlic. It made a nice, chewy flat bread. It only took a few minutes to prepare, and it cost next to nothing. Delicious! It would also be good with grated fresh parmesan cheese.