Kitchen

[house_cat]

Thank you! I was dreading this task and now I'm looking forward to being creative!
Heading off to get ready for work now, but I'll check back later.

[Sunshine Kate]

On 10/21/2014 granddi said:

All the above and very cold. I chill a Stainless Bowl to prep and store the salad. Then transfer to my serving bowl. I have a beautiful Robert Lee Morris stainless salad bowl.

All the ideas listed are great. I put mine in a stainless bowl and refrigerate. Before serving I transfer to a serving bowl. The lettuce is crispy and fresh. The way I like my salad.

[HonnyBrown]

A wide variety of colors from fresh produce

Edible flowers make things pretty

Interesting homemade salad dressings

[Madisson]

We love fresh spinach or romaine salads with lots of veggies (sliced radishes, sweet onion, julienne-cut carrots, green or black olives, small chunks of avocado, grated purple cabbage, and Greek pepperoncinis). Add some freshly grated Feta or Parmesan cheese, some great croutons, and a tasty dressing. Voila...a delicious salad! If it is going to be served as an evening meal, we will add strips of chicken breast or steak and more veggies than if it is served just as a side salad.

For some reason, neither DH nor I care for tomato or fruit in a green salad...although we love both served separately.

[Poodlepet2]

House Cat, saladsb-day salads- are my new found obsession. On page two of this forum, I started a topic about bistros salads. Honnybrown gave us a recipe for a savory dressing that is fantastic-I made it. All of these ideas are great, but if you think your guests are going to be persnickety about ingredients, consider creating a mini salad bar. You could have a little bowl of dried cranberries, another with nuts, red onion, a couple of the more pedestrian cheeses like cheddar or parmesan....have a great day, Poodlepet

[Iwantcoffee]

I like blueberries and strawberries in my salad. It adds lots of color and nutrition too. If you do not want fruit have veggies with lots of color and flavor like red bell pepper. I also like olives in a salad.

[ical]

Don't forget beautiful and healthful purple cabbage!

[VaBelle35]

On 10/21/2014 ical said:

On 10/21/2014 RedHeadedWench said: Believe it or not, when I started adding a dash of salt and pepper in to the toss, my salads started tasting a lot better. A good mix of greens and veggies aren't a bad idea either.

I agree! But when there are others who are going to eat it, well, someone might complain about "salt" or a bit of "pepper", so I will leave it bland. But personally, I agree, it does add to the flavor and I prefer it that way too!

I got this tip from Bobby Flay. Once I started seasoning my greens first, before adding everything else, it made a huge difference.

[deb5555]

My secret is I make it as soon as I go shopping, before it gets wilted. Clean the lettuce the same day! I love romaine lettuce from aldis.

Green, orange and yellow Peppers, Radishes, grass onions, cukes, celery all chopped up. I make a big bowl on Sunday and it's done and ready for the week, add croutons and a little cheese and it's good to go. I keep different kinds of dressings in the frig.

I add kidney beans/taco meat if we make a taco salad with some taco chips and salsa dressing. The salsa dressing is mixed 50/50 with western dressing and is the best

Having it ready and available is the secret or it just sits and wilts in the vege drawer!!!

Any kinds of added beans keep you full longer, black beans, kidney beans, chick peas, what ever you have in the house, drain and add to your salad for variety, MIX IT UP so it doesn't get boring.

[haddon9]

On 10/21/2014 deb5555 said:

My secret is I make it as soon as I go shopping, before it gets wilted. Clean the lettuce the same day! I love romaine lettuce from aldis.

Green, orange and yellow Peppers, Radishes, grass onions, cukes, celery all chopped up. I make a big bowl on Sunday and it's done and ready for the week, add croutons and a little cheese and it's good to go. I keep different kinds of dressings in the frig.

I add kidney beans/taco meat if we make a taco salad with some taco chips and salsa dressing. The salsa dressing is mixed 50/50 with western dressing and is the best

Having it ready and available is the secret or it just sits and wilts in the vege drawer!!!

Any kinds of added beans keep you full longer, black beans, kidney beans, chick peas, what ever you have in the house, drain and add to your salad for variety, MIX IT UP so it doesn't get boring.

Yes this!!! The fresher the better!!!

I also like a great variety of veggies...lots of mixed greens, a colorful mix of peppers, crunchy cucumbers, carrots (chopped well), etc. I like to add some nuts too and any cheese and tomatoes I'll add at the last minute or place on the side to keep the salad fresh.

Just as important as fresh veggies is good quality dressing! I personally like imported olive oil and balsamic vinegar. There is a shop in town that sells a variety of oils & vinegars that's tapped from huge drums. They let you taste them and will bottle your selections. It's SOOOO Good!