Brown Bag Lunch Project: Salad Days

A couple weeks ago I was on a salad kick that lasted just as long. They invaded my lunches and dinners, and sometimes I ate the same salad for both on the same day—a combination of laziness and busyness on my part.

Top Row, Left—Mango Salsa and Pan-cooked Fish with Mixed Greens

The Mango Salsa recipe was from my friend, R. In a bowl, combo a slightly under-ripe mango (bite-size cubes), a quarter of a yellow onion (finely chopped), and a good handful of cilantro (a finely chopped). Then mix, squeezing fresh lemon juice and adding salt and cayenne pepper to taste. The salsa was the dressing for the greens and the compliment for the fish, which was seasoned with S.'s wonderfully smokey chili rub. It's a secret mix and I only get jars of it and not the recipe.

Top Row, Right—Fish, Tomato, and Mozzarella with Mixed Greens

This was very much an assembly salad where I just piled assorted things in my fridge on a bed of greens. The fish was leftover from dinner the night before, and I already a small tub of fresh mozzarella and pint of cherry tomatoes from grocery shopping before that. Then I squeezed fresh lemon juice, grizzled olive oil, and sprinkled salt and pepper over the whole lot. In the end, it was a bright salad and one of my better thrown together meals in a while. I liked it so much I reconstructed for it dinner, which is the plate that's pictured.

Middle Row, Left—Chicken Salad on a bed of Mixed Green

I don't follow any one recipe for my chicken salad, but the it usually involves leftover chicken of some sort (obviously), celery, and carrots. Then mayo, a touch of mustard, and salt and pepper get mixed together with the chicken. I brought this one to work for lunch in the black plastic container.

Middle Row, Right—Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella

This combination is ubiquitous, but when something works, and tastes so good together, why mess with it. I can eat these three things together with olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, salt, and freshly ground pepper by the pound, and was sneaking bites of this salad from a plastic container while attending a seminar at work.

Bottom Row, Left—Green Salad topped with Parmesan, Olives, and Roasted Tomatoes

I threw this together in the morning ten minutes before I needed to leave for work. It was a case of opening my fridge, while all bleary-eyed, sticking my hands in and pulling out the bags, containers, and jars they bumped into.

Bottom Row, Right—Grilled Chicken on Mixed Greens

I get overwhelmed with all the many varieties of salad dressing to choose from at the supermarket and usually don't buy anything for fear of buying the wrong thing—a kind I won't like and then don't use. As a result, I need to make my own, which I do with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper—and turns out to be pretty good, too, as simple as it sounds.


Also, it seems others have salad on the brain. Lis from La Mia Cucina and Kelly from Sass & Veracity are hosting a "Salad Stravaganza". Submissions are due to them by June 25th.

Happy Salad Days to All!