Salads are a sure and delicious way to get a lot of nutritious food in a single meal. Vitamin rich greens provide a colorful base that invites endless additions and variations of fruit, nuts, grain, and meats. Salads are welcome dining relief in the summer heat, and a blissful reminder of more clement days during winter’s drudgeries.
Farmhouse Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise (low fat is fine)
- 1/4 cup pure New York maple syrup
- 1/3 cup milk (lower fat is OK here, too)
- 1/4 cup white vinegar
This is an easy dressing, made with ingredients usually kept on hand. It will thicken upon refrigeration. Thin with a little milk or vinegar, to taste.
Salad Base
- Spinach leaves, washed, dried, and torn. Or,
- use a mix of your favorite greens.
- Fresh Bean Sprouts, washed and dried
- One small sweet red onion, thinly sliced
- Several strips of bacon, diced, cooked and drained
Toss ingredients together and keep refrigerated. Dress immediately before serving.
Salad by the Calendar (add to the salad base):
Spring – sliced strawberries, green onions, and toasted pecans
Summer – farm fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced onion, and crumbled goat cheese
Autumn – Cubes of New York cheddar and New York apples
Winter – Citrus segments (oranges or grapefruit segments, or drained mandarin oranges,) thinly-sliced pears, toasted walnuts.
Avocadoes are a great addition anytime, as is your imagination.
