Worth Your Weight in Salad

Did you know?

The Cobb salad was invented by Bob Cobb, cousin of Ty Cobb. Bob Cobb (what was his mother thinking??) was the owner of Hollywood's Brown Derby in 1937. The original recipe contained lettuce (Iceberg, chicory, watercress, Romaine), tomatoes, bacon, chicken, hard-boiled eggs, avocado, corn, Roquefort cheese, chives, and the signature Cobb salad dressing.

I have to confess, I'm not the best example of a salad lover. Big chunks of Iceberg, Romaine, and mealy tomatoes just don't do it for me. However, a salad made from fresh garden greens is another story. I also like my salad to be chopped in bite-sized, manageable pieces. A wedge salad is my worst nightmare. Anyway, in order for me to like salad, it has to be prepared in a specific way with only the freshest ingredients; otherwise, I'm heading to a different section of the menu.

My CSA started this week, and in it came a head of green leaf lettuce, a bunch of arugula, beets and beet greens, strawberries, kale, spinach, and garlic scapes. In the spirit of creating a salad dish I was willing to eat, I began creating a hybrid Mexican - Cobb knock-off salad. Using the green leaf lettuce and arugula from my CSA and the vegetables that were hanging around in the crisper, I created a taste of the rainbow that puts Skittles to shame.

Taste of The Rainbow Salad

1 head of green leaf lettuce (I'd get yours from Stillman's Farm if I were you!), finely chopped

1 bunch of spicy arugula, finely chopped

1 cup of black beans

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

1 yellow pepper, finely diced

1 cup Trader Joe's roasted frozen corn, defrosted

1 avocado, sliced

1 small bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)

Simple Dressing

1/4 cup EVOO

1/4 cup lemonade

1 tsp Arizona seasoning

1 tsp turmeric

S&P

Instructions:

Chop all ingredients into tiny, bite-sized bits. Layer ingredients in a salad bowl. Mix dressing ingredients together and whisk. Drizzle over the salad.

We topped the salad with small slices of free bird chicken, grilled and seasoned with Arizona rub.

So delicious, filling and a overall feel-good meal.

These guys also came in the CSA box. Garlic scapes, not snakes. Any suggestions for cooking? I was thinking of sauteed kale with garlic scapes...

Question of the Day: How do you like your salad? Are you a Ranch dressing person? A wedge lover? A Caesar salad soul? Or, when you hear salad do you think potato and macaroni?