The Salad Matrix

Last night was my last Monday-night belly dancing class for a while. This means that I'll actually get home before 8:30 p.m. on Mondays. But till now, Monday nights meant quick dinners. And, if you have a loving husband who's a good chopper, what's quicker than salad (if you said drive-thru, go sit in the corner)? Salads can be a light meal or a filling meal, depending on how you compose them. Personally, I find it necessary to include some heartier elements. I tend to make salads according to a formula, a salad matrix, if you will.

The Salad Matrix

The Greens:

• Lettuce
• Mixed greens
• Shredded cabbage

Interesting Veggies:

• Carrots
• Beets
• Cucumbers
• Tomato
• Avocados
• Sprouts
• Okay, really any other veggie you can chop small and eat raw
• Really, you could even put in fruit, too

Power Add-ins:

• Nuts
• Eggs (poached/boiled work best)
• Cheese
• Boiled potato
• Homemade croutons/toasts

Just pick at least one thing from each column and you're sure to have an interesting, filling, yummy salad! But the salad components aren't the whole story. As Jenny at the Nourished Kitchen recently wrote about, you need fat with your veggies to get all their nutrition. So as a corollary to the Salad Matrix, I present The Dressing Matrix:

Acid:

• Vinegar
• Lemon Juice
• Buttermilk/yogurt

Pungent:

• Mustard
• Raw Garlic

Sweet:

• Honey
• Rapadura

Flavor:

• Herbes de Provence
• Black Pepper
• Grated hard cheese
• Other dried herbs

Oil/Fat:

• Olive Oil
• Bacon grease
• Homemade Mayo

Mostly, I use 1/2-1 tsp. pungent, 1/4-1/2 tsp. sweet, a pinch or so of flavoring, 2-4 Tbsp. acid, and at least as much fat as acid. For mayonnaise-based dressings, I use less acid, since the mayo has lemon juice in it, but buttermilk dressing can be delicious. As with most of my recipes, taste as you go to make sure the balance is right and everything tastes good. Salt usually helps, too. With oil-based dressings, the easiest way to do things is to put everything in a jar and shake until combined. Impress your friends and family, and get it all out of your salads!