Les Salad Mis

I really hate whining. Maybe because I'm such a whiner myself. I whine about the weather (too hot, too cold, too rainy, too bright), I whine about clothes shopping (what sadistic genius thought up putting fun-house mirrors in dressing rooms?), and I whine about making salads.

I love eating salads, I just don't like making them. There's something annoying about having to wash the lettuce, dry the lettuce, and shred the lettuce. Don't ask why, it just is. I make my daughter do it whenever I get around to putting salad on the menu.

Recently I went out out to dinner and had an amazing salad. It was part of a three course meal and I knew I shouldn't eat it all if I was going to save room for dessert, but I couldn't help it. It was so delicious I savored every last bite.

As I thought about that salad, I recalled that I had a similar recipe that a friend had given me years earlier. I pulled it out of my recipe stash and it was really close. I bought a giant Costco container of mixed organic salad greens and we ate salad three days in a row. It was that good. And no lettuce prep involved. Yeah!

(The recipe calls for blue cheese, which I dislike, so I used a wonderful Irish Dubliner cheese, also from Costco.)


Apple Walnut Salad
- adapted from Simply Classic

Serves 6

Mixed organic salad greens
1 large flavorful apple (I used Braeburn)
3/4 cup Glazed Walnuts (recipe below)
3/4 cup tangy, crumbled cheese - blue or other favorite


Dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tbsp shallots, minced (I didn't have, so I tossed about 2/3 Tbsp dried onion flakes in and let the dressing sit for a while.)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper

For Dressing, plut all the ingredients into a small jar with a tight fitting lid and shake until evenly combined.

Place salad greens in a large bowl. Cut apples into small chunks and scatter over the greens. Sprinkle walnuts and cheese evenly over the salad.

Drizzle dressing over salad and toss gently. Serve immediately.

Glazed Walnuts:

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp salt
1 pound walnuts

Preheat oven to 250 deg. F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Combine butter, corn syrup, water and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add pecans and stir to completely coat nuts. Spread nuts evenly on lined baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool and serve. Store in an airtight container.