Salad days are here!

The approaching warmer weather (it's really coming, believe me!) means you're going to want to spend less time cooking over a hot stove. It also means a plethora of wonderful sun-ripened produce, either at the Farmers Market (every Sunday in Berkeley Springs!), from a roadside stand, or even from the good old grocery store. Why not try some main dish salads for dinner over the next few months? You already know how to toss a salad, using whatever looks good. But ramp it up a notch, and make your own dressing. A simple vinaigrette can be nothing more than 3 parts oil to one part vinegar, or you can get fancy and experiment with different flavored vinegars such as balsamic, fruit-flavored (raspberry is really nice), or one of the wine-flavored vinegars (try to match it to whatever meat or other main ingredient that you're using). Add some herbs, fresh if you have them, some salt and pepper, taste and correct the seasoning, and you're done. 

Besides tossed salads, you might try a composed salad. One of our family's favorite composed salads is the Salad Nicoise. You don't have to use fresh tuna like this recipe does; just use a good quality canned tuna if that's what you have. But the vegetables should definitely  be fresh....Serve with a nice homey bread and maybe a glass of wine, and it's suitable for company.

Or try a chopped salad. You'll literally load your chopping board with whatever you have on hand and chop it all into uniform, small pieces. Here's some ideas to get you started:

Lettuce, avocado, red onion, bacon, red pepper, spinach, chives, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers. If you want to see a demo of how it's done, check out this video. I find that when the ingredients are chopped, you often don't even need dressing, since the ingredients meld together so nicely on their own. 

Salads are fresh excuses to get creative with your ingredients, creating a healthy meal in the bargain. Have fun!