Salads, salads, everywhere!

Sorta Nicoise Tuna Salad - No potatoes & the olives are blended into the dressing. Fat Flush Diet friendly. Big salads are so good & pretty, too.

I started this food blog last December because my Facebook food photo albums had almost 200(!) dish/meal photos in them.  A bit excessive, right?  Yeah, I thought so, too.   Seems I had started this food blog over on Facebook first...I just didn't know it at the time.

Now that I've been doing blogging for five months, I've found that I'm having even more fun in the kitchen ~ searching for recipes to write about, then cooking the dishes & finally photographing them.  I continue to rack up photos at an alarming rate!  The problem I'm running into is that I still have a bunch (actually, bunches & bunches) of my original photos that still haven't made their appearance on the blog yet...  What's a cook, who gets 'happy' with her point & shoot camera, to do???

Well, today I am going to let the remaining photos of my green salads have their 15 minutes of fame.  I have to ~ summer is right around the corner & a whole new batch of leafy green bowls of goodness are just waiting to be created & photographed.  So, I've decided to have a 'pre-summer salad clearance'.  Everything must go!  :)  Enjoy!
 

"Alright Mr. DeMille, my salads are ready for their closeup." 

Crisp, Cold Salads....  

Chef Salad ~ When it gets hot, we start having a lot of salads. Even J enjoys eating his greens. It's nice to be able to add some of our own homegrown veggies to our salads.

Wedge Salad ~ Every time I make these, I wonder why I don't do it more often. They really do eat like a meal. They are SO much cheaper to make at home and you can dress them any way you like. Shame on restaurants who charge $5+ for one of these.

Ginormous Salad w/French Herbs & Tuna - (this photo/salad/comment was made when I was on the Fat Flush Diet 06/2011) Yes, this HUGE salad was my late lunch/dinner. I got a bit happy adding all the veggies, oops. It took a while to finish. I still can't believe I can eat this much food and lose weight. I had no idea getting rid of white carbs would have such an impact. Where has this diet been all my life?

Lettuce, Heart of the Core ~ This is a little treat, just for me, when I get to the end of the lettuce. I cut away all the sides & end of the part of the lettuce you normally throw out. After you trim it all away, you are left with just the 'heart of the core' of the lettuce. (see before trimming & after) Sprinkle a little salt on it & you have a crunchy tidbit, just enough for one. Waste not, want not. :)

Homemade Croutons ~ J has a thing about eating crusts on his sandwiches.  Sometimes he will & sometimes he won't.  I hate to throw them out on the days 'he won't', so I keep the leftover crusts I cut off, in a bag, in the freezer.  When I get enough of them, I thaw them out, toss them with some olive oil/spices, and then I toast them in a skillet until they are crispy & golden.  We then eat them on salads or just as munchies.  Waste not, want not.  :)

'Wilted' Salads...

Pan Sauteed Wilted Lettuce ~ I had some romaine lettuce get a bit too cold in the fridge & it wilted. I just had to try & salvage it. I found this recipe & it was really tasty. The flavor reminded me of bok choy & this could easily stand in for it in a recipe. I added walnuts & a bit of Braggs, excellent!

Sauteed Dandelion Greens with Peaches & Walnuts - (I made this last year, before we became seasoned, backyard dandelion foragers) This is what happens when you go shopping at Whole Foods. You come home with interesting veggies. J wanted me buy them, so I did. He had some tonight, raw, in his salad. I did too, but I sauteed mine with some spices, onions, peaches & walnuts.  Gotta love a kid who will eat dandelions!