Not-Quite-Settled-In Salad

I have now officially been living in Minneapolis for one week. I still do not have: a bed, a couch, most of my clothes, any books, and various other sundry items (all en route from New York). I also do not have a bookshelf, a television, a nightstand, or a dining room table and chairs (all to be purchased). I do, however, have a set of pots and pans, a cutting board, a spatula, a knife, one large bowl, and some groceries – all purchased here, and all weighed higher in importance than the above-mentioned bed.

Maybe my priorities are different than most, but I think they’re the right ones (I say as I’m crouched on a folded up rug in my dining room). I can’t do anything about the day my things will be delivered, and I can’t do anything about what shows up on Craigslist when. I can, however, try to eat well and healthfully and inexpensively from the get go, rather than blowing money and calories on take-out meals with the excuse of getting settled. For one, I don’t really like going out for every meal. For two, have I mentioned it’s expensive? And for three, today my heart starting feeling like it was going to implode after one too many microbrews, and I knew it was time to make some salad.

While money is on my mind – I am a newly minted grad student after all, without the mint – expense is not really the point here. Or rather, the point is not just saving money, because then you could just eat a can of chili every night. But, if you were eating a can of chili every night, wouldn’t you just end up getting take out again? Probably. The point is not feeling forced to get take-out or go out just because you are moving or otherwise not in the comfort of your own home or kitchen. Salad is perfect for this not-quite-settled state. It’s not an endeavor. It’s can be shared with company, but doesn’t demand to be. Salad is happy being eaten by just one person.

I first made this salad when I was in Minneapolis for a week in July, apartment-hunting – another not-quite-settled situation. I was only going to be in town for 5 nights, so I didn’t want to buy a ton of groceries; I needed something that I’d be able to eat every night, that would be easy to make, and be relatively self-contained. As it happened, I was also mid-detox from a wedding and my liver was craving leafy greens. Add feta, red onion, tomatoes, salmon, and a delicious – bottled – salad dressing, and voila.

I don’t suggest making an enormous batch of salad and letting it sit in the fridge. Rather, each night you should wash/chop/etc. the amount of each salad component that you need that night, then cling-wrap the rest, and put it back in the fridge. Cook the protein element separately each night as well. The whole thing will take about 10 minutes (with clean-up), and you’ll be back to craigslisting dining room tables in no time.

This, I might add, could also be used as a template for a weekly grocery list to make lunch every day for brown-bagging.

Salad for One, to Last a While

Completely Flexible Ingredient Suggestions
-    1 head of lettuce (I like red leaf)
-    1 thing of cheese (I like feta for this)
-    1 red onion
-    tomatoes: one container cherry or grape tomatoes, a couple regular tomatoes, or a giant heirloom tomato
-    about ½ lb. nuts (I like pistachios, shelled)
-    1 bottle salad dressing (I use Organicville’s Tarragon Dijon)
-    some protein (1/3 lb. salmon per night, or you could also use a sausage per night, and/or a fried egg)

Prepare desired amount of each ingredient for that night’s salad (wash, chop, crumble, fry, etc.). Combine, in a large pot with a spatula if, say, you haven’t yet bought a salad bowl or tongs.