Michelle's Salad Wisdom.

Our first year of marriage yielded little to be desired in the way of good cooking. The second, third and so on were just as horribly disastrous as the next. In one instance, I planned a great meal of chicken and rice. Instead of cooking the rice and chicken separately I had this great idea to cook them together - in a rice cooker (stop laughing) with no seasoning other than water. I served it in a rice bowl with some Vegetable Supreme seasoning on top. To this day, it is my absolute worst moment in the kitchen.

However, it's not just the lack of cooking know how that made my cooking disastrous, it's also my ability to be clumsy in pivotal moments. I had spent hours making a raspberry pie with home made crust on bottom and a lattice decoration on top. It looked great, it cooked beautifully, and when the timer went off; I pulled it out of the oven and to my utter dismay, saw it plummet effortless onto my kitchen floor.

Over the years, I have made improvements in my cooking and found a couple things that I do well - one of these things is a good green salad. It's the only thing I get complemented on and I've learned to be proud of these moments and proud that I've never (although there's still time) made a bad tasting salad. My salad wisdom started around the time the girls were born and progressed to the following scientific conclusions that to make the perfect salad you need the following:

1. Lettuce. I always buy my lettuce for salads in the bags, either at Costco or the local grocery store. Instead of using the lettuce as is, I take it and cut it up into smaller pieces. There's nothing worse than trying to eat a salad with huge pieces of lettuces - it just isn't dainty.
2. Choice vegetables. My vegetables usually include, green onions, chopped carrots, chopped cucumbers, and tomatoes. I'm not a big raddish fan or green pepper fan.

3. Cheese. I prefer not to eat a salad without cheese. My choice cheeses are feta, blue cheese, cheddar, and Parmesan (fresh).
4. Something sweet. The next two ingredients make a good salad great. I like to add craisens, but I've been known to add apples and raisins, raspberries or blackberries to a salad depending on the dressing.
5. Something Salty. I'm not a fan of croutons and always push mine off to the side if I'm served with them. I prefer sliced almonds, walnuts, and pecans. My favorite are the sliced flavoured almonds you can get in your grocery salad section.
6. Your favorite dressing. I've made my own dressing, but with so many great dressings in the store, I usually buy a ranch, ceaser (both light), and several vinaigrette's, such as, Italian or raspberry, and a honey mustard is perfect in a spinach salad.

7. and Meat to make it a meal (unless you don't eat it!) I always have pre-cooked meat around the house for salads. Currently I have cooked chicken, bacon, and salami ready to add.

Less lettuce, more extras!

I love making a salad with more extras than lettuce. For instance, I love Caprese Salads - tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil leaves, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar - so good. Usually it's served with sliced mozzarella and tomatoes on a plate. Instead, I chopped up lots of tomatoes, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, and added Italian salami to the mix. I then added enough lettuce to make it colorful and added the balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Wow, it was really good! Taking the same idea, I love to added couscous to a spinach salad, making sure to have more couscous than salad! I usually add craisens, sunflower seeds, and feta cheese - with a light flavored vinaigrette dressing - really good too! My close-up pic is a little blurry - but it's still good!

I've been making mini-salads everyday for lunch and adding all the above 7 ingredients to make it a meal. It really fills me up. Today, I am stuck with soft food, since my three hours in the dentist's chair made my mouth numb.

This photo the girls and I took yesterday. Every so often, I shed my week day pants and try to match my Cici who is always in a skirt. She asks me everyday to put a skirt on and I feel bad saying no so often. I just have a hard time doing skirts mid-week - especially when the temps were at 50 degrees yesterday. However, I decided to shed my jeans and go twinners with her - she was more than a little ecstatic. Nini is so cute in her "my way" style, just love it.

Do you have a great salad recipe?
Do you and your children ever dress alike?