The anatomy of the salad

Salad is an interesting beast. Typically, when I tell non-vegans that I am vegan they ask what I eat. They assume that all I eat is salad and maybe a veggie burger now and again. I play along and generally tell folks that all I eat is grass and water. Water? True enough. I drink almost two gallons per day. Grass? Yuck. I rarely even eat salads, let alone grass. I have to come up with more creative ways to get myself to eat greens the majority of the time.

I have gone through phases where I try to eat salad more often, as the (often) raw veggies are a great boost to my fried food vegan diet. Getting my food processor was a huge boost to eating better, as now I can make my own dressing with ease. For weeks, the debate raged between getting a food processor and a deep fryer. Luckily the food processor won out.

I never realized that salad making was a skill until recently. Ashley made a salad while I worked on the Shepherd's Pie. It seems that small people cut the veggies smaller than bigger people. The salad tasted great but I felt like I was eating a salad found in a specific level in a Super Mario Brothers video game. It was a great time and we joked constantly about it.

For your viewing pleasure, here is the art of salad making and a quick recipe for making a creamy tangy dressing without your food processor / blender.



Mustard Dill Dressing

1/3 cup of vegan mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoon of dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of dill weed
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
3 small drops of hot sauce.

In a med sized bowl, mix all ingredients together with a spoon. The dressing should be rather thick and creamy with a yellowish tint and the dill weed should be visible.