Purpose Salad (for Meatless Monday)

The home gardens, Farmers’ Markets and Grocery Stores are laden with options aplenty
for fresh salads and assuredly they’re not always consistently the same items.  If you
make a habit of growing/selecting a multiplicity of ingredients to keep on hand from the
six categories below…you will have a tasty, balanced formula for making interesting
salad combinations that you may not have thought of before.  I am always concerned
when one or more daughters changes their diet to vegetarian (no meat) and do want
to make sure that they consume adequate protein.  With this formula, it’s there…
it’s all there on purpose stocked and ready to mix and match to make salad magic. 
Thus the name “Purpose Salad”, plus I would like to think that by being purposeful
about eating healthy with local, sustainable ingredients that my/our purpose gets
a little clearer.        

Purpose Salad (for Meatless Monday)

Ingredients

Base – Iceberg, Spinach, Arugula, Mesclun, Romaine, Kale

Protein – Tofu, Cheese, Nuts, Seeds  
Veggies and Fruit (fresh, steamed, roasted, pickled, dried) – Carrots, Potatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cucumbers, Radishes, Celery, Tomatoes, Onion, Squash, Brussel Sprouts, Green Beans, Peppers, Cabbage, Mushrooms, Strawberries, Blueberries, Grapes, Orange, Grapefruit, Apple, Pear, Melon, Cranberries, Apricots, Pineapple, Peaches
Dressing – too many choices to mention…I prefer homemade Vinaigrette
Other – Sprouts (various), Croutons, etc.

Method

Procure ingredients, wash veggies, fruit and prepare each item to advance to the state
desired for salad readiness.  Ex: if roasting veggies, slicing/grating cheese.  Begin to
layer in a visually appealing way starting with base and the next items go from largest to
smallest, ending with nuts cheese and other small item toppings.  Tip:  Pre-moisten Base
with dressing in a bowl before plating.

The salad I prepared in the photograph was made with, Arugula, Carrots, Red Onion,
Peppers, Steamed Small Purple Potatoes, Radishes, Steamed Green Beans, Orange, Pan

Sautéed Tofu, Clover Sprouts,

Sunflower Seeds, an Irish Cheddar Cheese and dressed with a homemade Orange Vinaigrette (see recipe below).

Orange Vinaigrette:

1/2 c freshly squeezed Orange Juice, strained

1/2 c White Wine Vinegar
1/2 c Canola Oil
1 T Granulated Sugar
2 t Yellow Mustard
1/4 t salt
1/4 t white pepper

Place all ingredients in a jar with tight fitting lid and shake until combined. 
Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Enjoy

~CGJ