May 6, 2004

• Salad

  I love salad.

  Because I'm allergic to lettuce, I'm not supposed to eat salads.

  There are, however, days when I'll say to hell with the consequences. Today was such a day. I needed a salad.

  I can get away with small amounts of lettuce once in a while. I can eat even larger quantities of spinach with no dire consequences. Even small amounts of members of the cabbage family will cause me instant misery.

  This is the season when the baby salad fixings are at their best. I got a package of baby herb salad mix containing several lettuces (red and green remaine, red and green oak leaf, lollo rosa, and tango), baby spinach, red and green chard, mizuna, arugula, frisee, radicchio, parsley, cilantro, and dill. I also got a package of fresh basil to mix in with the other greens. I threw in some Persian cucumbers and some very sweet little tomatoes, the size of cherries, that came clinging to a vine. I thawed a couple of cups of cocktail shrimp, tossing them in with the leaves and fruits, and added my remaining supply of goat cheese, about a third of a stick. With a splash of sweet Vidalia onion dressing, I was ready to go.

  A good salad has multiple contrasts: bitter and sweet, soft and chewy and crunchy, with a medley of tastes. This was a good salad. It went well with a slightly sweet, fruity, white wine.

  When Cathy got home, I simply pointed her to the fresh ingredients and let her make her own salad. When Delia arrived, I made her a salad similar to the one I had enjoyed but with feta cheese instead of goat cheese.

  The little package of fresh salad mix lasted just long enough for our three salads. That's the way it should be.

  Salad should be fresh.

  • 03:54
  • 3 Comments