What makes a great garden salad for you?

[Photographiend]

I know this sounds strange.. but it is really good. Olive oil, vinegar, Fresh Garlic to taste (pureed) and craisins to taste (ground up.. left a little chunky). You HAVE to be a Garlic lover though... lol!

That doesn't sound bad it sounds like a great little vinaigrette.

 

[Derrel]

I have made a "secret" oil and vinegar salad dressing that is simply fabulous on an Asian-style salad. The secret is the oil used...what is this oil you ask??? It is the olive oil that comes out of a tin of Brunswick brand sardines. Crack open the tin of sardines, and drain all the oil into a frying pan. Add two or three finely-sliced medium brown mushrooms and 2 teaspoons of salted butter. Sautee the mushrooms in the oil and butter for a couple of minutes. Add two shakes of quality Worchestershire sauce at the end. Add whatever type of vinegar you happen to like. Serve mixed well in a green salad that has been garnished with sardine chunks carefully distributed throughout the salad, not just all piled on top. Add a few delicious croutons. A salad rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and calcium from the sardines.

The oil from a can of smoked baby mussels or oysters also makes a wonderful oil for a salad dressing...the flavor of it is exquisite...delicately smoky.

 

[weepete]

Hm, pixmedic beat me to it but other than bacon, cheese and croutons, mibbies a bit of mayo.

 

[Photographiend]

Derrel - I'd be willing to try that on steak too.

 

[dbvirago]

Derrel's reminded me of another dressing I used to make. It started with chili oil as the oil and green Tabasco as the vinegar. After that, it didn't really matte what else you threw in it.

 

[sm4him]

Iceberg or spring mix, maybe some baby spinach for the greens. Then any of the following: homegrown tomatoes (I just don't bother with those nasty store-bought things they label as a tomato), cucumbers (slices chopped into bite size, not the whole slice in there, I don't like that!), bacon, chopped egg, sunflower seeds or sliced almonds, craisins, kalamata olives, feta cheese or bleu cheese.

BUT: NO dressing. None whatsoever. I have never, ever found a dressing I can stand to eat. Not creamy ones, not spicy ones, not vinaigrettes, not plain olive oil, none of it. I get some VERY odd looks from waiters!

There is ONE place here, a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant called King Tuts, that makes a Greek Salad that I will eat WITH the olive oil dressing. That is the only exception I will make to the no dressing rule, and ONLY at THAT restaurant.

I've tried various things, and maybe one day I'll come up with a vinaigrette I can stand; Charlie's sounds like a possibility, actually.
But creamy dressings are definitely out--I hate mayo so much I refuse to even stick a knife in the mayo jar! :lmao:

 

[flow]

I won't touch iceberg, we mostly use romaine here. If I had my choice, I would put spinach in there too! Or just all spinach on its own even. But half the family can't have it, so I'm out of luck. Tomatoes sometimes; goat cheese & apples ... and vinaigrette dressing. NO creamy, ick. I usually don't do croutons because (A) that's a lot of grease, salt, and calories for a salad, and (B) Husband and child tend to eat them as snacks, like potato chips, before salad time arrives. Although I have done some crispy cheese circle things before, those were pretty good instead of croutons.

 

[RainyDay]

It's all about the dressing. Doesn't matter what lettuce you've got in there, unless you have a delicious dressing, it's still a bowl of dry lettuce and other assorted foods. I like a simple olive oil and salt/pepper, plus whatever you want! It could be chilli sauce, garlic, coriander (fresh if possible), mustard, italian dressing, or whatever!

 

[Photographiend]

I won't touch iceberg, we mostly use romaine here. If I had my choice, I would put spinach in there too! Or just all spinach on its own even. But half the family can't have it, so I'm out of luck. Tomatoes sometimes; goat cheese & apples ... and vinaigrette dressing. NO creamy, ick. I usually don't do croutons because (A) that's a lot of grease, salt, and calories for a salad, and (B) Husband and child tend to eat them as snacks, like potato chips, before salad time arrives. Although I have done some crispy cheese circle things before, those were pretty good instead of croutons.

A good alternative to Croutons are seasoned stuffing cubes. Croutons are oily because they are either buttered or oiled then toasted. But stuffing cubes are dried bread. Healthier and just as delicious.

 

[cgipson1]

Homemade Croutons... extra butter, extra garlic, pepper, salt, and whatever else you like... (or the healthier baked version with a light EVOO spray)

 

[Tee]

The greatest leap forward you can make in salad technology is making your own dressings. It's easy, it's cheap, and you get a ton more variety in your flavors.

I used to make my own vinaigrette every once in a while. I need to start doing that again but this time with a yogurt based theme. The acids now a days are killing my stomach.

 

[ziggy84]

I try to eat a dinner salad two-three times a week. I use romaine/spinach mix with crutons, bacon bits, mozzarella cheese, and ham. I don't really touch Iceburg, for there is no nutritional value at all...I wanna check out that seasoned stuffed cubes, sounds gooood