Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Romantic Salad

Ever since my oldest child can remember, there were certain "set" salads in our home.  Caesar salad, "sweet salad", (as she calls a regular green salad with Craisins and French dressing), "regular" (green) salad, chicken salad, (or turkey after Thanksgiving), "Fruit Salad", (made primarily from Ruby Red grapefruit in season, oranges, pineapple chunks, and cherries, and.... "Romantic Salad".   

Years ago, before I got married, I watched the movie, "Drop Dead Fred".  The main character in the movie, Lizzie, was making dinner for her unfaithful husband, and ruined it.   Since she ruined it, she decided to make a big salad instead.  "A salad?" he asked her in disdain.  "Yes!" she said hopefully.  "It will be a Romantic Salad!"   This cracked me up, and for some inane reason, it stuck in my head.  

Once I was married, and cooking every day for a family, of course, things became routine.  Hubby would dutifully eat whatever I made, but of course children are a little more picky.  Many times when I was making a regular "ho-hum" dinner, with a salad, I'd have that mental bit of film run through my head, "Romantic salad!", and I'd plunder through the pantry and fridge to find and chop up whatever interesting items I could find to add a little pizazz to our salad.  This was well received at our dinner table... hubby liked the "little extra" that felt "special", and our daughter was the same way.  Salad she normally turned her nose up at until I begged a few bites into her, was now interesting and worth eating.  :)  

A few months ago, we were having "Romantic Salad" with dinner, and my younger daughter asked me "why" we call it that.  

Simple.

A Romantic Salad is made with one key ingredient.  Love.  Anything else you add... chopped dried fruit, nuts, a bit of grated apple, cheese, meat, is just "extra".   Tonight I made Romantic Salad for dinner.  Organic field greens, Craisins, grated cheese, chopped leftover meat, and some fresh chopped veggies from my parents garden.  And a lot of love.   If that's not "romantic", then I don't know what is. :)

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