Tossing a Salad

So, I'm not exactly the world's biggest fan of salads, especially as a main event. Usually, I just don't find myself satisfied by eating a bed of greens for a meal unless it's covered in meat and french fries (thank you, Western Pennsylvania). However, I cannot deny how easy a salad can be to throw together and it does make for a refreshing break in your afternoon.

If I'm going to be eating a salad for lunch, it's going to be packed full of as many little bits as possible. I encourage using as a base whatever you already have in the kitchen. This is what I threw together, the amounts are up to you:

Organic Baby Spinach

Clementine Slices (because we happened to have clementines in the fridge)

Red Bell Pepper, sliced into bite sized pieces

Cannellini Beans

Toasted Hazelnuts

Crumbled Goat Cheese

Nice combo, right? I only bought the spinach and the goat cheese. But what really made it special was the vinaigrette I made. Make sure you keep it separate from the salad until you're ready to enjoy!

Tbsp finely diced shallots

3/4 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

All of those measurements are ROUGHT estimates.... I have no idea what I actually put into the bowl. Anyway, just whisk all those ingredients together until it looks like a vinaigrette... add more oil or vinegar as you see fit.

Simple, delicious, healthy, nutritious, and (with a side of freshly baked bread) filling!