{"id":1061,"date":"2025-10-10T10:15:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T17:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.slowbloom.com\/blog\/?p=1061"},"modified":"2025-10-10T10:15:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T17:15:48","slug":"cracking-the-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.slowbloom.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/cracking-the-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"Cracking the Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I have never been a fan of salads. The proverbial salad of my youth was mostly lettuce, with a few other sad vegetables and too much salad dressing on top. My sophomore year of college I spent a few weeks living with a French family, and the mother perfectly dressed her salad with a homemade vinaigrette  I still think about. It was probably the first time I ever had a green salad that I liked. The next year I visited Italy for the first time, where my sister introduced me to the insalata caprese.<\/em> I expected some variation on a green salad, so imagine my surprise when the server brought out a plate of beautifully sliced tomatoes alternating with sliced of mozzarella, with green olive oil and fresh basil. THIS was salad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three decades since, I have come a long way from green salad, Cobb salad, and Caesar salads, but at home I was still stuck in the mindset that \u201csalad\u201d was greens with random other bits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Salad\"<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This summer I feel I finally cracked the salad! In the spirit of sharing my insights, and because I promised my friend Robin I would, here is my general approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past few years I\u2019ve left cookbooks and recipes further and further behind. I tend to cook more from my intuition, from my taste, and from what I am drawn toward. Additionally, I take an approach I\u2019ve started referring to as \u201ccomponents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakdown<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This approach can work for hot meals, cold meals, and anything in between. I tend to like at least one thing to be hot. I think about flavors (acid, salty, sweet, sour, tannic, bitter, spicy), colors, and textures. I think about carbs, proteins, fats, and vegetables\/fruits. And I think about sauces\/dressings. Here is a basic list of ingredients I found very enjoyable for my salad this summer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n