Since June-uary has given way to early summer in Seattle (with temps just shy of 90 degrees), last night was no night to be cooking. So we happily dined on one of our go-to meals, a big salad, in the shade of our Japanese maple. (Have you heard the saying that the best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago? Well, it’s true. We planted our lovely tree next to our patio shortly after moving into our house 9 years ago, and it’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.)
But I digress (I blame the heat). A main-dish salad is one of my go-to meals not just in the summer, when light, cool fare tastes best, but any time of the year, because it’s one of the easiest ways I know to put together the components of a healthy meal (ample veggies, adequate protein, healthy fat and a little carb) with minimal fuss.
Last night’s concoction included a variety of baby greens from our vegetable garden (kale, mustard, lettuce, spicy greens blend), grated radishes (also from the garden and not quite visible in this photo), tomatoes, avocado, leftover grilled steak and roasted chicken, a bit of cubed feta and a pile of green beans. Dressing is olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard (which we brought back from Paris) and salt & pepper. On the side is a slice of sour rye (procured over the weekend from Acme Bread in San Francisco) with a smear of cultured butter from Cherry Valley Dairy in Duvall.
I could eat this way every day (and sometimes do)!