Sale Day Salads

This week's Safeway circular featured a two-for-one produce sale.  Thus, being the opportunists that we are, my husband and I stocked up on deeply colored green and red leaf lettuces and hearty looking green onions.  The previous week, Rogue's Garden (Valdez's local health food store) had offered 5-lb. bags of organic carrots which proved too good to ignore.  With our Tupperware overflowing greens, yellows, and oranges, we set a goal to create a week of uniquely flavored salads composed of a range of ingredients.  By Friday night, we had reaffirmed that salads are much more than watery tasting mixes of lettuce and tomato.

Tomato Scallion Salad



Starting Line-Up

Lettuce can go bad very quickly if not cared for and stored properly.  To make your load of lettuce from your grocer's sale last as long as possible, wash and store it immediately upon arriving home.  Tear the leaves off the stalk and wash gently in cool water.  Lay the  leaves out on a towel and gently pat excess water off with another towel.  Discard any lettuce leaves (or sections of leaves) that are already wilted or bruised.  Carefully place leaves in an airtight container and store in the bottom of the refridgerator.

In a second airtight container, mix an ensemble of approximately 6 cups of finely chopped veggies such as carrots, bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli, and green onions.

Finally, create two dressings to accompany your salads this week.  For our selection, I created the two dressing below.

Peanut-Soy Dressing
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 T peanut butter
1 T soy sauce
2 T chopped bell peppers
Combine all ingredients in a blender.  Blend on high until smooth.

Apple Vinaigrette
1/4 c olive oil
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T agave nectar
1 T apple juice
1 t orange peel
salt & pepper
Combine all ingredients and shake well.



Orchard Salad

Day 1:  Orchard Salad

Green leaf lettuce, torn into small pieces
Mixed vegetables, chopped
1/3 Braeburn apple, chopped
Raw pecans, chopped
Shredded unsweetened coconut
Dress with Apple Vinaigrette (above)

Day 2: Tomato Scallion Salad

Red leaf lettuce, torn

1 tomato, sliced

2 scallions (green and white parts) finely sliced
Dress with Peanut-Soy Dressing (above)

Day 3:  Pineapple and Lettuce Salad

Red and green leaf lettuce, torn
Mixed vegetables chopped
Pineapple chunks (canned or fresh)
Top with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese and Apple Vinaigrette (above)

Day 4:  Pistachio-Feta Salad
Red leaf lettuce, torn
Mixed vegetables, chopped
1/4 c shelled salted pistachios
Feta cheese (sprinkled on top to taste)
Dress with Peanut-Soy Dressing (above)

Day 5:  Snap Pea Salad
The last of the remaining red leaf lettuce, torn
Snap peas, sliced
Tomato, sliced
Feta cheese (sprinkled on top to taste)
Dash of olive oil, dash of balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper