Suddenly Salad

After clogging my arteries, just writing my blog about burgers, I thought the same effect might take place if I did a blog about salads. It may sound unusual, but this is the time of year I start thinking about salads... and my niece, Casey. My family and I eat salads all the time, year-round, but it is this time of year that I begin to fully enjoy them. And while, I miss my nieces and nephews endlessly, this is the specific time of year that I miss my niece, Casey, the most because she and I inherited a complete love of all things produce grown in the garden from my Mother.

When the first peas emerge in early spring, I resist the urge to “taste” them raw until Casey comes to visit. Then she and I go out to the garden and share the first taste of summer together, raw, sweet peas. When I visit her, we devour tomatoes. Rarely do I get to share the joy of a complete salad with Casey, where everything in our salad comes from our garden because of timing and the distance between us. The boys and I plant salad in the spring and get our first crop as early as possible. Since there are a limited amount of fresh vegetables that bloom along with my lettuces, I replant my lettuce in early August, so that come September and October, I can enjoy lettuces from my garden alongside my tomatoes, green onions, zucchini, carrots, peppers and any other vegetable I can combine. And then I imagine eating it with Casey, picturing her conscientiously picking each vegetable up, placing it in her mouth and savoring the results. Sometimes, I call her and tell her what I’m eating, but then I feel guilty because I can’t share it with her and I know she’d enjoy it. The whole experience can be bittersweet, but I am grateful for any time I do get to share with her and her siblings.

But, alas, not everyone is like Casey and myself and enjoys lettuce in any form. So it’s good to know that salads can also be exempt of lettuce. Salads can be eaten combined or deconstructed. Many of my salads, when the boys were very young, were deconstructed salads so they could assemble them, thus interacting with their food. (Think of making a simple salad like you would a Nicoise salad.) Yes, sometimes it was messy, but it was a long term success. When Alex went to homecoming last year, he told me he ordered a Chicken Caesar Salad at the restaurant and it was delicious. (I believe he also ordered some fat-filled, fried appetizer and a few large sugar-filled beverages to balance out his meal or counteract the benefits of his salad. But I will take the small victories when and wherever they come.)

There are many types of lettuces, but they basically fall into 4 general catagories:

Crispheads, like iceberg, form firm round heads and contain about 90% water. This results in a very mild lettuce that provides more texture than flavor. This characteristic makes them a great choice when introducing salads to children. (My sister, Rory, will argue that there is no good way to introduce vegetables to children, but she and her children-with the exception of Casey- are the pickiest eaters on the planet;-) Rory, I look forward to your witty comments regarding this blog;-)

Romaine lettuces have long, narrow leaves that are dark on the outside and lighter and crisper toward the interior of the head. They offer more flavor than crisphead lettuces, while still being crisp and sweet. They make excellent, edible containers for tuna salads and egg salads. This is Alex’s favorite type of lettuce.

Butterhead lettuces are probably my favorite. They include Bibb, Butter lettuce and Boston lettuces. Their leaves are soft, tender and crumpled with a mild, sweet flavor and buttery texture. They are delicate and almost wilt as soon as they are dressed. To me it’s a more luxurious lettuce.

Loose-leaf lettuces come in the most variety. They are sweet, mild and somewhat crisp. They’re best use is on a sandwich, most specifically a BLT. If you eat a BLT with homegrown tomatoes and leaf-lettuce, you’ll really taste the beauty that is this simple sandwich. And as far as Anthony is concerned, it IS the only taste of summer.

The other nice thing about salads is how easy they are to personalize, so feel free to do so with the below-listed recipes. You can eat your salad deconstructed or mixed together or like a lettuce wrap. For some reason, beyond my comprehension, lettuce wraps are a big hit with kids of all ages. I don’t know if it’s because you can eat it with your hands or the flavors, but I haven’t met too many children that don’t enjoy a lettuce wrap of some kind. It may also be because they are picking and choosing what to add to their wrap. That is also why I encourage you to have your children cook with you. There are so many benefits that outweigh the whining and extra clean-up. If they prepare it, I guarantee you, they will be much more likely to eat it.

And the nice thing about lettuce leaves is that you can fill and top them with anything: tuna salad, egg salad, bruschetta, some type of Asian stir-fry, slices of turkey, ham and other vegetables. You can serve them like chips and dip. Romaine lettuce leaves, separated served with Caesar dressing as a dip. Iceberg lettuce wedges with cucumber slices, carrots and cherry tomatoes with a side of ranch as a dip (oh, yum!) and a crudite tray with extra-virgin, olive oil, salt and pepper. Your choices are only limited by your imagination. Below I’ve listed a variety of salads and dressings. I tried to include some more uncommon ideas in the attempt to spark your imagination. Be creative and Mangia!

Country Dressing- This is a simple salad dressing that I got many years ago from Williams-Sonoma. It always garnishes rave reviews and highlights the bounties of any mixed, green salad.
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 Tablespoon of honey
¼ teaspoon of salt
2 Tablespoons of red wine vinegar
¼ Cup of extra-virgin, olive oil

Mix together garlic, honey and salt, stirring well. Add the vinegar and oil and stir until blended. Let stand 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry.

Roasted Bell Peppers Salad
2 large yellow bell peppers, cored and seeded
2 large red bell peppers, cored and seeded
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
Salt to taste
1 Tablespoon minced, fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 Tablespoon of extra-virgin, olive oil

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Try to keep the peppers as whole as possible while removing core and seeds. I recommend a paring knife to carve around the stem at the top, then pull out the stem with most of the seeds attached. Some seeds will still remain, just do your best to get the remainder removed, using your fingers or by shaking the pepper seeds out. Arrange the peppers in a shallow baking dish and bake them in the oven until they become completely soft. This should take about 30 minutes, but may take longer depending on the size of your peppers. You may get some browning (or burning) on the outside of the pepper. This is perfectly normal and fine.

Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool for about 15-20 minutes. Then, using your hands, remove the peel from the peppers. After the peel is removed, slice the peppers into long strips. (Sometimes I skip this step and just use the natural line of demarcation provided by the pepper. I do this especially if I’m going to use the peppers on sandwiches.)
Place peppers in bowl with sliced garlic and parsley. Add olive oil, stirring to coat. Allow to sit at room temperature for a couple of hours to allow the peppers to macerate. Once made, these peppers can be kept in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for about a week. The flavors will enhance even more over the course of that week.

Serve this roasted pepper salad with toasted, Italian bread slices that have been rubbed with garlic (or if you prefer, just use garlic bread). You can also use these peppers to top sandwiches or in place of meat on sandwiches.

Vietnamese Lettuce Wrap- a very fresh, low-fat salad compliments of Andrea Chessman. The boys enjoy this on hot, summer days.

Dressing:
¼ Cup of water
¼ Cup of sugar
½ Cup fresh lime juice (4 fresh limes, if you’re squeezing the juice fresh)
6 Tablespoons of Asian fish sauce (this is not something I would choose to eat alone, but mixed with other flavors it gives an authentic, savory flavor that can’t be matched)
3 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon crushed, red pepper flakes

Salad:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 2 Cups leftover cooked chicken or turkey)
1 Cup of chicken stock
The zest of one lemon
1 teaspoon minced, fresh ginger
2 teaspoon Asian Fish Sauce
8 ounces dried vermicelli
4 Cups of shredded leaf-lettuce
1 carrot, grated
½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil
½ cup roughly chopped fresh mint
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro
1 head of Butterhead lettuce, leaves separated. (I like Buttercrunch or Bibb)
½ Cup of roasted peanuts to garnish

To make the dressing, combine the water and sugar in a small bowl. Heat in a microwave until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 1 minute. Stir in lime juice, fish sauce, garlic and red pepper flakes. Taste and season with salt, if necessary.

Cut each chicken breast into five diagonal strips. In a medium saucepan, combine the broth, lemon zest, ginger and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and add raw chicken. Cook over low heat for 7 minutes. (If using poultry that has already been cooked, only cook for 3-4 minutes or just enough to heat all the way through.) Turn off heat and allow chicken to steam in covered pot for additional 5 minutes. Then remove chicken from pan and either shred or cube it.

Cook vermicelli al dente in salted water, about 3-5 minutes. Rinse in cold water and drain well.
Combine the chicken in a large bowl with the shredded lettuce, carrot, basil, mint and cilantro. Toss to mix.

Mix the vermicelli with the chicken mixture and pour dressing over the entire salad. Toss to coat. Garnish with peanuts. Serve immediately. To eat, place a scoop of the mixture inside the Buttercrunch lettuce leaf and fold together like a taco. Let each person assemble their own wrap. Please do not try to make the lettuce wraps ahead of time. The lettuce wilts.