Today’s Happy Healthy Cook-up is all about Savory Salad

There are four things that make this particular salad YUM-MY:

1. Linda’s homemade salad dressing (loaded with garlic!).

2. Generous amounts of grated parmesan/romano cheese.

3. Making it savory with grains like farro or quinoa and some kind of protein (or two or three).

4. Pre-tossing it!

Recipes in this cook-up:

Linda’s Savory Salad

Linda’s Magical Salad Dressing (which I got from a Spanish Cookbook called Ensalada 1905 from the Columbia Restaurant in Sarasota, FL)

Linda’s Fast Food Salmon

Linda’s Basic Savory Salad

Serves 8-10

Salad has become the centerpiece of the cook-up for me. If I don’t have a lot of time and could only make one thing for the cook-up this would be it, because it is delicious, the most important healthy food I can put in my body, and it’s healthy fast food.

Make sure you have a really big bowl for tossing. You’ll want to have a generous amount of lettuce in order for it to be meal sized.

Ingredients:

Washed mixed greens of your choice. I have been buying the organic baby greens and baby spinach that are triple washed and then just throwing them in a great big bowl. Then put in or place decoratively (if serving for something special) everything that you like. For this “kitchen sink” salad, I put whatever I have in my refrigerator that I think sounds good. Here are some ideas:

carrots,

broccoli,

green onions,

green beans,

pea pods,

sweet peppers,

cherry tomatoes

zucchini

yellow squash

avocado

cheeses (I love fresh mozz, goat cheese, blue cheese, shredded or chunked jalapeño or whatever I have)

pepperoni or hard salami (no nitrates/nitrites)

olives (no pits)

artichoke hearts

dried fruits and berries of your choice

seeds (sunflower, chia, pepitas)

nuts (walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds, macadamia)

fresh fruits

hard cooked eggs

You get the idea! There are no rules here. Truly whatever combo you like.

*If you are making this for the week ahead I recommend storing (to maintain freshness) the dried goods, fruits, cheeses, etc each in a separate ziploc or mason jar that you can just toss in at the last minute.

Protein: Already cooked-up 8-10 servings of your protein of choice

The proteins also get added at the last minute (baked or grilled salmon, chicken, beef, hard cooked eggs). Ideally, you have already cooked these up and simply are adding them on top.

Linda’s Magical Salad Dressing

I double or quadruple this for use the whole week. It also can be used as a marinade.

1/8 C white wine vinegar

1/2 C extra-virgin olive oil

4 cloves garlic (the original calls for one- as a rule I quadruple it)

1 t Worcestershire

Salt and Pepper (fresh ground)

1 t italian seasoning

2 t fresh lemon juice (juice of one lemon basically)

Store this in a mason jar in the fridge. The olive oil may solidify in the fridge overnight so you need to remove it and set it on the counter, or run it under warm water to loosen and shake well. I usually go through a whole jar every 1-2 weeks.

Linda’s Fast Food Salmon

I love salmon (in fact, someday I will write a book in honor of it!), but it is not great for leftovers. For this, I think I would wait to cook it right before you want to use it. It really is delicious, nutritious fast food. Any of it that is left over I would use the next day on a salad. Anyway, rinse it, pat it dry, place on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet (skin side down) and sprinkle it generously with Cajun Seasoning rub (or whatever herb blend you love).

Bake at 350 for 16 minutes then put under the broiler for 2 minutes and VOILA!