Salads are.... good, actually

[jajalala]

Okay so I've been a vegetarian since I was a child (like started maybe 5-7 years old?) and half my family is vegetarian, so it's really was not a big deal for family dinners and stuff and there is in fact PLENTY of food that is not meat-centric that a whole family can eat.

But America is a meat-centric culinary culture, so when it came to school lunches, big events with food, or eating at a friends house it was frequently the case that I could not eat whatever the "central" dish of the meal was. Obviously there were generally some other options and sides and such I could eat, I did not starve, but there was one dish in particular that often cropped up and ppl would be like, "Oh my daughter invited you to our house for dinner but warned me you're vegetarian, so I prepared this!"

Salads.

They're boring. They're not filling. They're flavorless lettuce and, if you're lucky, a few croutons or whatever. And I always associate them with that "oops all the main meals that we put time and effort in are meaty, but as a vegetarian you must love salad!" assumption that makes me cringe like "these people cannot envision a single meal that is not centered around a meat aside from a bunch of leaves"(I swear I'm not against meat-eating, vegetarianism is a personal choice of mine, but I'm flabbergasted by the number of people who are shocked and who assume the only thing I can eat is a salad). I'm exaggerating, but that is my vibe and association with salads. I will eat them under duress.

HOWEVER....


My roommate and I had this exchange recently while talking about dinner planning:
Beloved roommate: What if we had salad?
Me: Fuck salads
Beloved roommate: ...don't you love vegetables?
Me: Yeah I love veggies, but salads? *Explains history*
Beloved roommate: Okay fair but like.... have you ever considered that they were making bad salads?
Me: But how would a salad be good?
Beloved roommate: Well as adults we can in fact choose all the components we put in a salad, so we can just put the vegetables and other things we like in there! We don't even have to do lettuce, we could do a colorful spring mix!
Me: There's options other than lettuce?

Anyways long story short, salads are actually fucking delicious!!! I lick my bowl after having it (okay maybe that's technically bc of the yummy dressing but that is still part of the salad)!! It turns out a salad encompasses a wide range of possible dishes and some of those are delicious. And it's highly customizable. I stand by lettuce being gross and boring but I am now a salad fan.


The salad my roommate and I ended up making:
Spring mix salad base
Cucumber
Strawberries
Walnuts
Goat cheese (!!! This part is genius, it's so soft and melty and goes VERY well with the dressing)
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing (I am generous with it. I love the flavor, why shouldn't I dunk it in flavor?? I think I was afraid of dressings as a kid bc I was totally unfamiliar with them bc my family never made salads but now I'm in love)

Comments

[octahedrite]

I am intrigued. I like the idea of eating salads; one of my coworkers used to eat a huge one every day for lunch, and the one time I had some it was pretty filling. But I've never got the hang of making them myself; I'm very unfamiliar with the concept of dressings. I googled the one you use, it looks a tiny bit labor-intensive. Do you make it in advance and store it?

[jajalala]

Ohoho the secret is that you can just buy the dressing pre-made at the grocery store... at least the one I like was at my grocery store! Could vary depending on the store tho, most likely would be in the condiments/oils aisle, and if it's there there will probably be several different options! TBH I'm still very intimidated bc I don't know what most of them taste like and I'm afraid to buy a whole bottle and discover I don't like it, but I know at least one I like now.

For me the dressings thing was a gamechanger bc the leafy parts ARE pretty flavorless. I def slather it on bc I like the flavor (might want to test the salad with just a light splattering before u go hard).

Good luck if you decide to make a salad of your own!

[octahedrite]

Dang, I never thought to look for salad dressing at the grocery store. Wish they sold little samplers so you could try them all!

I used to buy salad mix and add it to soups/sandwiches/curries/stir fries, but now I buy only the greens I like (spinach and arugula mostly; they also keep longer in the fridge than the mix). Will venture into the world of salads one day armed with this new knowledge of dressings. I do like balsamic vinegar and in theory it would taste great sweetened, so I might try the balsamic vinaigrette!

[pauraque]

I make salads all the time! Yours sounds great (except I don't like walnuts so I wouldn't include those). Other things I often include are carrots, chopped apples, sunflower seeds, avocados, and hard boiled eggs. I do have to remember to restrain myself so I don't just keep adding more and more things and make way more than I can eat. :P

[jajalala]

Ahaha I tried adding chopped hardboiled egg to the salad I described above but it interacted weirdly with the other flavors (getting strawberry and egg in the same bite.... hmm).

Sunflower seeds seem like a tasty textural element, thanks for the suggestions!!

[tropicsbear]

I've always said that I'm okay with eating vegetables as long as they don't taste green, and lettuce is the #1 green-tasting vegetable. I detest them.

[jajalala]

YEAH it's green with..... nothing :'( tasteless vibesless lettuce

[corvidology]

Spring mix salad base is lettuce... I'm guessing you were raised around the horrors of iceberg lettuce? *shudders*

Do you like mushrooms? I know they're deeply divisive but they're lovely in a salad and you can even get some of the large portabellas, slice and marinate them briefly in your delicious dressing and throw them in the salad.

[jajalala]

Yeaah lettuce=iceberg lettuce in the post. I think the spring mix I get has like arugula and some darker/redder greens that idk the exact names of.

Hmmm mushrooms are a complicated subject... hated them for a long time, but do have cirumstances (mostly cooked/marinated/pickled) where I like them. I've never considered marinating in dressing before, hmm....

[corvidology]

You might try branching out into other greens as well, particularly the 'baby lettuce leaf' versions of Baby bok choy, arugula, romaine and spinach which all make excellent salads.

My personal favourite is Mache but it's not always easy to find.

[bluedreaming]

It’s delightful that you’ve discovered the true joy of salad, and not salad as a sad afterthought!

small anecdote about salad, skip if uninterested

I grew up with salad as a child; we were not vegetarian (I’m vegetarian now) but our meals had only a bit or no meat, and salads were mostly kale (the good kind, not the tough curly-leafed stuff in stores) and other vegetables from our garden, with dressing one of my parents made. They were delicious, and we even had a rule that we had to eat supper before salad or else we would get too full on salad and not eat our supper.

By lettuce, are you referring to iceberg lettuce? In my opinion it’s only suitable to eat lightly stir-fried with sesame oil and oyster/vegan oyster sauce.

[jajalala]

Omgggg loving ur salad-loving fam, I ought to get into kale perhaps, could be another fun salad base (altho it may be a challenge to find what u descrive as the 'good' kind).

And yes iceberg lettuce is the general lettuce I refer to throughout the post, very light and flavorless... gives greens a bad name imo