I was never into salad growing up, or even in college; it’s a simple side effect of having only been served essentially iceberg lettuce, a few shredded vegetables, and a basic dressing. These days, I go kinda nutty (literally and figuratively) in assembling a salad (credit goes to Connie from UniLu for turning me on to nuts in salad). I just got back from Whole Foods and their salad bar easily sates my texture and flavor needs.

I opened my box of salad, and in it I found:

• Spinach leaves
• Green and red bell peppers (sliced)
• Falafel balls
• Tofu (fried)
• Cashews
• Dried cranberries
• Cheddar cheese (shredded)
• Bacon bits (soy substituted)
• Celery (diced)
• Raisins
• Sesame sticks

My delicious late-lunch salad, taken by my iPhone

As you can see, I like strong, “bursty” flavors; I also like rough and/or crunchy textures. You’ll note a distinct lack of dressing; those of you who have shared a meal with me know I am a notoriously slow eater. As such, anything wet gets soggy by the time I’m even halfway through the meal. While I like the flavors of many types of salad dressing, for a large salad (which this one is), dressing is right out, because the salad is the meal and the meal takes time.

This is also a reminder that I need to stock some reusable utensils in my office, so I don’t have to snag plasticware.