Salad Days, Edition Now

Salads cool the body and sit light in the stomach, but they also allow me to keep the oven off, which keeps the house cooler in summer.

I’m a believer in leftovers, and these salads tend to improve after 24 hours, making for a good two day stretch of meals (or more) after a session in the kitchen.

In search of protein, I often combine our salads with a small steak, cooked hard and fast on a hot grill, sliced and finished with good olive oil and flaky salt. Or, I’ll grill thinly sliced chicken breast marinated in olive oil, salt, fennel powder, and cumin. The packages of thin, pre-sliced breasts, which seem to be more common at the grocery, are quick cooking (5-6 minutes on the grill), and have none of the problems associated with the inflated, dry chicken breasts of my childhood.

If I’m really in a rush, we always have several packages of Hodo Extra Firm Tofu on hand, which I’ll slice and serve on the side, finished with olive oil and this mushroom powder. Ugly as hell, tastes great.

Here are four salads I’ve had in my rotation recently: