The art of tossing salad.

[ArkiStan]

Can you girls recommend some interesting ingredients that I can use to make my salads more exciting? I'm not a hardcore vegan or anything. I just want to avoid the boring iceberg lettuce+thousand island deal(I can go to McDonalds for that). It's ok if the salad become a little rich. It'll still be healthier than a cheeseburger. I use mostly mixed rich greens for the base and top it with balsamics, olive oil-based, or garlicy dressings.

Here are ingredients I've used a lot so far:
- roasted garlic (yum!!)
- pasta
- onions
- finely scrambled eggs
- roasted garlic
- smoked salmon
- peppers
- mushrooms
- tofu
- roasted garlic


You tips are welcome! Veggies, proteins, herbs/spices, cool new dressings...anything that'll keep it exciting(other than eating it at the movies). THANKS!

[gear02]

dear lord...i wasn't expecting this was an actual salad question :)

Make your own dressings, even ranch. It tastes so much better.

[Hoser]

gear02, were you referring to Chris Rock's tossed salad reference?

[gear02]

http://tossing-salad.urbanup.com/155994

But seriously (I didn't mean to hijack your thread), make your own dressings. One of the best salads I've never made was a simply iceberg wedge salad, but with a homemade ranch dressing. I got it off foodtv:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31328,00.html

[ArkiStan]

I guess I should have made it more obvious that I was playing off that reference. :shrug:

But seriously, back to the question.

[Thesifer]

My favorite in a salad is blue cheese crumbles.. I can eat a salad with Italian dressing and whatnot in it .. as long as it has blue cheese crumbles.. yummy

[Maarchk]

I would say try a cranberry salad. its like spinach leafs, dried cranberries, blue cheese crubles, and glazed walnuts along with other lettuce types. i think its online somewhere. I'll check it later for you if you want.

[hapoo]

Well you can either go with Jelly or Syrup. I prefer Syrup. :P

[oblongmelon]

romaine lettuce ripped into bite size pieces, mandarin oranges, any kind of apple that you like, cut in pieces,black olives, red bell peppers-chopped small, purple onion, and basil leaves (whole, fresh and washed, and left whole)...with a very simple dressing of red wine vinegar, olive oil, a pinch of salt and a pinch of garlic powder....served in a really cold stainless steel bowl to stop wilting. Tis yummy..

[DarkFury]

The title of this thread made me go... OMFG!!!!

Only to find out that he is actually talkin' about making a real salad. :heh:


I guess I should have made it more obvious that I was playing off that reference. :shrug:

But seriously, back to the question.
Food and that reference just don't mix. :2far:

[InfiniteNothing]

This thread has been a huge letdown

[ArkiStan]

hehe sorry to disappoint guys. At least after this thread you'll know how to make a really good salad to eat while watching Chris Rock show reruns.

So far I'm really liking the black olives, blue cheese crubmles and basil leaves! THese are all stuff that I like a lot, yet never thought about as potential salad ingredients. I'll definitely try them out soon.

Keep the tips coming.

Oh, and I'll try syrup sooner or later hapoo. :)

[avlena]

for my salads, i typically put on grilled chicken (which has been marinated in italian dressing), fresh bacon crumbles, feta cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, avocado, and egg. Everything is freshly cooked when I make the salad. essentially, it's a cobb salad, which is one of my favorite things to get when we go out. For dressing, i do a mix of italian and ranch.

[Airencracken]

This thread has been a huge letdown

:stupid:

I thought there might be a few russian trombone questions...

[Gothic Girl]

This thread has been a huge letdown
:stupid: :stupid:

[ArkiStan]

don't feel let down. Next, we'll talk about how to use these recommended ingredients in spicy ways.

[guiseppewv]

:stupid:

I thought there might be a few russian trombone questions...

rusty ones? :D

[attgig]

fries and steak.

still more healthy than fries and a burger :-P

[Jeffbx]

Salad is what food eats.

[guiseppewv]

Salad is what I put in my stomach to give the steak something soft to land on. :P