Salads, a la you!

Salads are great. They are an excuse to throw everything you like over greens and make something fresh and delicious that won't weigh you down. I recently made this great salad with:

• mixed greens
• crumbled blue cheese
• dried cranberries
• dry roasted almonds
• citrus ginger dressing (store-bought)
  

and later made a great variation with avocado as well.

You can make salads with anything you like, but for optimal taste and texture I like to use:

1. Greens, obviously! Spinach, arugula, mixed greens, lettuce, whatever you like.
2. Other vegetables: cucumber, tomato, mushrooms, carrots...
   
3. Cheese: blue cheese and goat cheese are classics, but brie is also good, or feta, or parmesan.
4. Something crunchy: almonds, walnuts, wasabi peas, red onions, etc.
5. Something sweet: pears, dried cranberries, strawberries, etc.
   
6. Avocado. Anytime, anywhere.
   
7. Dressing: vinaigrette works for pretty much everything, and I'm loving this citrus ginger deal. It brings out the sweetness in the salad, and goes really well with cheese, oddly enough. I tend to avoid creamy dressings because they make salad taste like mayonnaise, and are harder to match tastes with.
   

Putting in a protein (beans, tofu, seitan, falafel, chicken, or bacon are all good possibilities) is a great way to get rid of leftovers. Some people also like something salty, like olives, and I find that's generally best done in place of something sweet.

Dressing are really easy to make, too. A standard vinaigrette might consist of:

• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• garlic, pressed
• pepper
• strong mustard
• a little bit of honey

and proportions can be adjusted as you wish. They also keep pretty well if you make a jar and use only a little at a time. But they're also easily purchasable for quick salad-making.

That's my salad schpiel. If you want a far more detailed one, check out Mark Bittman's amazing salad encyclopedia on The Minimalist. I'm hungry just reading it!

Happy cooking!