the everything-in-your-fridge salad

I love salad. My general dinner rule is there must be something green on the plate and, nine times out of ten, it's salad. The key to loving salad is knowing how to make a good one. I hate when people say they don't like salad. They just haven't had a good one yet.

The nightly cooking ritual is as follows: Lovah is in charge of the "meat" (chicken, steak, fish, etc), while I'm in charge of the sides (salad, rice, couscous, roasted veggies, etc). And most nights, I end up with a salad that looks like this. How? I throw some romaine in a bowl and top it with everything I can find from the fridge. The usual suspects: tomatoes, carrots, apples and sunflower seeds. If we're lucky, there might also be some crumbled cheese, pickled beets, snap peas, sweet peppers, and dried cranberries. 

When Lovah happens to be working late or traveling and I know I'll be having a solo dinner, I plan a monster salad. I can pile on the goat cheese (which he thinks tastes like dirty socks), make my homemade vinaigrette extra garlicky (recipe coming soon!), and put all the fruit I want in it. Lovah used to say that fruit doesn't belong on salad but I've tricked him into liking apples, pears, even strawberries. Pretty soon I'll slip in some blood oranges—he won't know what hit him.

Last night happened to be a solo meal featuring one of my five-star salads. Give me one giant colorful bowl of fixins topped with baked chicken and drenched in balsamic vinegar, a glass of Merlot, the remote control, a sleeping baby, and an Audrey Tautou flick....

...and I'm a happy girl. I made enough for leftovers but I might have eaten the entire bowl.

The Everything-in-Your-Fridge Salad

Romaine lettuce
Tomatoes
Carrots
Snap peas
Peppers (bell or sweet)
Beets (pickled or roasted)
Crumbled cheese (blue, goat, feta)
Fruit (apples, pears, or strawberries)
Nuts (sunflower seeds, toasted almonds, or candied walnuts)
Meat (chicken, steak, or turkey)
*Additional topping ideas: dried cranberries, cucumber, avocado, hard boiled egg, bacon, celery, olives, red onion, etc.

Oil and vinegar

1. Chop all ingredients to desired size and toss together in a large bowl.

2. Drizzle with oil and vinegar to taste. Toss to coat. Serve.

Comments

[Rachel @ MWF Seeking BFF]

This salad looks amazing. How do I hire you to come to Chicago and make me dinner? Is there any way at all??

[Deelish Dish]

Rachel - I'm hardly a cook or baker, I just like to mess around with food and eeeaaat. But one day when our worlds collide and we become BFFs, I'll totally cook for you. See?! Another example of friending like dating! :)

[Adriana]

Deelish Dish, this is TO-TA-LLY my kind of salad, like... exactly what I eat on a daily basis! i usually don't add meat but... cheese, check, dried fruit, check, fresh fruit like granny smith, check and i could keep checking! very yum! and those shortcakes below... OMGGGGGGGG...

[Adriana]

and by the way, i'm totally jealous of you because you live in SF... so so so jealous! and i'm moving to oregon soon, i hope i'll like it!

[jen]

i do the exact same thing when husband is gone; either a salad or spring rolls. we would be the perfect neighbors when husbands go away, i love goat's cheese, extra garlic, babies and audrey. xoxo

[Anotheroneopens]

You've got a great fridge! Mine has 2 carrots, some wilted spring onions, a bit of celery and a couple of radishes. What could you do with that? I need a food parcel but I'll send one to you instead- what would you like from UK if BA actually fly that day? Ask R as well.

[Jennifer @ maple n cornbread]

GORGEOUS!!! I love BIG crazy salads with a mix match of anything I can throw in it. And Im not afraid to say that I eat mine right out of a giant salad bowl :)

[Juliana]

Nice salad...like you a tend to mix and match whatever I find in my fridge :-)