SALAD SEASONS, SALAD DAYS: LEAFY GREENS FOR FOUR SEASONS
In our culture, salads are typically associated with relief from cooking during the sweltering days of summer. But a colorful bowl of raw and cooked vegetables, grains, and proteins with the right toppings is a joy any time of year.
I love eating seasonally. I enjoy the hell out of peak produce! Hence, these recipes are organized into seasons. You must savor the plump, aromatic tomatoes of August, the sharp crunch of September apples, and the tender bittersweet glory of spring’s first arugula. BUT, don’t feel limited by my suggestions; many of these hearty salads are great throughout the year! You’ll find your favorites among this recipe escapade of flavors and textures; the Vanessa Kabocha Salad (page 157) with its red cabbage and 5-spice peanut sauce and the BBQ Tempeh ’n’ Dilly Slaw Bowl (page 107) are year-round habits of mine.
Not surprisingly, summertime salads outnumber all of the seasonal recipes. Summer heat and chill vibes ease us into cooking while savoring all the flavors of the bounty of the season. Hot, muggy weather leaves our palates longing for the sharper, acidic flavors of berries, vinegar, and citrus, or the juicy, water-filled relief of ripe tomatoes and heavy, fragrant peaches picked only yesterday.
But salads form the crux of my way of eating all year-round: as the weather cools, the combination of roasted veggies, still-warm cooked grains, and savory grilled proteins provides the perfect balance of vegetables and protein with less emphasis on filling starches. And hello, there’s a world of roasted Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, sweet potato, and other mouthwatering winter veggies that can do serious time as salad accompaniments.
The last chapter, Sweet & Savory, favors bold breakfast palates. I must eat breakfast, but muffins and pancakes are weekend treats; I’d rather start my busy weekdays with nuts, whole grains, minimal added oils and sugars, and abundant fresh fruits, beans, or veggies. This little collection of breakfast salads (and smoothie bowls) is a foray into fresh, high-energy fare that powers me through the morning and well into the afternoon without a tummy rumble or need for a snack. Try them and see: I hope you enjoy the fruits (and veggies and grains) of my labor!
SALAD DAYS: PLANNING A WEEK OF SALADS FOR A DAILY DOSE OF EASY LIVIN’
Hard-core home meal planning—the stock and trade of women’s “domestic” magazines—has the best intentions but typically just stresses me out. While I consider myself something of a planner, I prefer to swing like a trapeze artist through my overbooked week rather than plot out every meal.
But if you love the idea of structuring into the workweek some healthy salad meals, here’s a barebones guide to customize as needed. I love restaurants and even I get tired of grocery shopping; this guide is forgiving when the last thing you want to do is spend 4 hours after work cooking. Plan a few homemade salads and suddenly you’ll have time (and even a little extra money) for the important stuff (video games, long walks holding hands, knitting in a coffee shop, reading more comic books) and for eating your vegetables.
Sunday
Or any day you’re roving around the house without a plan. That day at home you sip tea at leisure, listen to podcasts—perhaps the day laundry gets folded instead of balled up and tossed into the dresser drawer. A day you mostly go without pants.
As a general rule for making these salad elements in advance, try to use up the salad components within 5 days. For delicate lettuce and spinach leaves, eat within 2 days. For tougher kale and chopped veggies, 4 days is about their limit.
Creamy dressings are best eaten within 3 days, and vinaigrettes can go for almost a week. Tofu, tempeh, and seitan, once seasoned and cooked, should be eaten within 2 days (if it lasts that long!), but steamed, unseasoned seitan and tempeh can be wrapped up and frozen for up to 2 months!
So, here’s the plan:
• Prepare and store beans for salads, such as Lentils for Salads (page 49).
• Wash, spin, and pack hearty greens such as kale or collards into produce bags, preferably the reusable “green” bags specially designed to remove ethylene gas and keep produce fresh longer than regular plastic bags. Julienne carrots, slice radishes, prepare other firm, juicy root veggies, and pop them into sealable glass containers with a little cold water.
• Bake, cool, and pack up crunchy nut toppings and croutons.
• Press tofu and seal tightly in containers. If you have the time, prepare any baked tofu toppings needed for salad recipes.
• Make a hearty salad for dinner. Make extra and pack up your lunchtime tote first before eating your fill (avoid the sog by keeping the dressing on the side to add when you’re ready to eat).
Out the door you go, but don’t forget the salad you cleverly packed up last night!
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
As the beginning of the week climbs up that hectic hump, stay as cool as cucumber ranch dressing with dinner salads made with a remix of those ready-to-use ingredients (beans, seasoned tofu or nuts, croutons, and greens) and fresh veggies, roasted chickpeas, or ready-to-eat proteins you prepped over the weekend. If you’re making weeknight dinner salads, make a double batch of your favorite recipe; before serving yourself, pack half in a to-go container for the next day’s envy-of-everyone lunch.
Thursday OR Friday night
The workweek is (ideally) almost over, and it could be helpful to plan a few tasty bowls to start the next week right. Try planning two to three salads (one for Sunday and one or two more for early in the week) and take those first steps toward building healthful habits. If you have Friday night plans, do your shopping Thursday night!
The weekend!
Work in these helpful salad-building habits at the start of the weekend, or any morning you don’t have to bolt out the door.
• Big shopping trip! Purchase produce, grains, and pantry items.
• Stock up on more green bags or containers for storing ingredients.
• Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning: make a steamy soup or fluffy pancakes. You’ve eaten enough salad already!
A FEW ONLINE RESOURCES
Good old Amazon, there for your orders at 3:48 a.m. for multipacks (or monthly subscriptions) of pantry basics such as nutritional yeast, chia seeds, vinegars, chickpea flour, vital wheat gluten flour, and even unroasted cashews. Great for filling in the gaps in your kitchen equipment too (like that tofu press or a big salad spinner!).
Breathtaking selection of spices, rice, and other ethnic groceries with a focus on Indian and Middle Eastern ingredients: a handy source for za’atar, papadum, garam masala, etc.
Find a local farmers’ market or a CSA for peak-season veggies year-round.
Endless options for packing your lunch salads in earth-saving, environmentally friendly style.