Salad Days

Ah, just a short post here. The holidays have come and gone since I last posted. Nevermind that I still have a Christmas tree sitting in my living room. Things are gradually returning to normal. Of course, we are now entering the serious part of winter, where unless you work for the government, there's not a holiday in sight until Memorial Day. (Easter doesn't really count because very few of us get Good Friday off these days. Yes, I know the store will be closed on Easter Sunday, but you're missing the point....)

At any rate, the surfeit and excesses of the holidays are past, and I begin to long for signs of spring, even though the weather can become truly frightful with cold temperatures and biting winds that still demand something heartier than teensy delicate little salads. What's a girl to do, especially when she'd like to keep her holiday weight loss rolling? You make a big pot of some kind of soup that's heavy on the vegetables and light on the cream, and one of my favorite salad combinations at this time of year.

The salad starts with romaine lettuce that has been torn or cut into bite-sized pieces. You then top the lettuce to your taste with sliced red onion, julienned cooked beets, mandarin oranges, toasted walnut pieces and crumbled goat cheese. To dress the salad, make a very basic vinagrette by combining sherry vinegar, a nice dollop of dijon mustard, a teaspoon or two of minced garlic, salt and pepper in a small mason jar. Shake until the salt has dissolved and the mustard is thinned out. Gradually shake in your favorite extra virgin olive oil, until you have about twice as much olive oil as you did sherry vinegar. I usually wind up with about a cup of dressing when it's all said and done, which is plenty to dress this salad lightly and still have plenty left to dress several others in the coming days.

I love the combination of the creaminess of the goat cheese with the crunch of the walnuts, and the contrast between the sweetness of the beets and mandarin oranges against the bite of the red onions and the tartness of the dressing. The dark leafy greens, beets and mandarin oranges are all visually pretty and pretty good for you. The walnuts and olive oil add some healthy types of fat, and between the walnuts, olive oil and goat cheese, you feel pleasantly satisfied, like you've eaten something rich. I figure the goat cheese adds a bit of protein to keep you feeling full, especially when combined with the carbs in the walnuts, beets and mandarin oranges. Best of all, it all comes together in about 15 minutes. With some soup and/or nice crusty whole wheat bread, you can feel downright virtuous about what you're having for dinner or toting for lunch, especially while you whittle away the excesses of the holidays!