Lettuce-‘less’ salads …

Today marks the first day of spring, and as the weather warms (in Vegas, at least!), so our natural inclination is to move towards cooler foods. Suddenly soups and pastas are replaced by salads and sandwiches, and so here I wanted to challenge the traditional concept of the ‘salad’.

Last night my girlfriend had my son and me over for dinner. She made to-die-for enchiladas, and I brought the salad. As I was throwing it together at home, I decided that if I left out the lettuce, the three children (spanning the ages of 2-5) might even like it ….. So I raided my fridge and freezer and filled my salad bowl with all things colorful and delicious … but no leaves. When I arrived at my friend’s house, she exclaimed with glee ‘oh, wow, this hasn’t got any lettuce in it … it’s what my husband and I LOVE, and we named it the ‘lettuce-less salad’!

I have to say, there are some days when you rather feel like you are wading through the ‘good-for-you’ green leaves in order to have a taste of all the goodies at the bottom of the bowl … and on those days, I say ‘go lettuce-less’! Not only was the salad a nutritional powerhouse, but the kids love it too. Bonus!

And it was SO easy…. I scraped the kernels of corn off a freshly cooked corn cob, sliced some deliciously sweet cherry tomatoes in half, and finely sliced celery, carrots and apple before throwing them all in a bowl. Finally, I added some edemame which had been ‘cooking as I cut’! Easy! (and if I had had some sweet spring radishes, they would have made the salad 110%!).

The kids ate it un-dressed, and before I served it to my sweet friend and her husband, I tossed some home-made Italian vinaigrette through it to give it a bit of a kick. If you are curious: 4 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar, a heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a teaspoon of agave syrup, salt and pepper to taste, and a good, hard shake! Delicious.

So don’t be put off by the bag of unwashed leaves looking at you from the refrigerator … and while I’m a huge fan of all-things-green-and-leafy, there are times when we should change up even the best things in life, especially if it pleases every mouth in the house! And if you’re looking for a one-bowl-wonder to have on a summer’s evening, just add some garbanzo beans, or kidney beans … and/or feta cheese … and you’re done. Simple, fresh, nutritious and … well, yes, delicious! Yum.