My Signature Salad

After another (briefer) blogging hiatus, I am back. And, I am going to try really hard to stick with it this time. Also, with September just two weeks away, there will be many excellent fall veggies to use in my salads--specifically pumpkin. I just returned from a trip to Australia (hence the hiatus), where I had the yummiest pumpkin salad (I will definitely be recreating it when pumpkins are in season and will post the recipe then). Variations of the salad were available in every city we visited at restaurants, delis and grocery stores. I may even be bold enough to call it Australia's signature salad. . . which leads to today's topic: my signature salad.

My signature salad is the salad I can eat for lunch five days in a row. I almost always have all of the ingredients at home to prepare it, and when I am not sure what to eat for lunch or dinner, I inevitably turn to this salad. It is not without variation. Sometimes I switch out the greens base, exchange its apples for pears, and have recently substituted sour dried cherries in place of the dried cranberries I've used for the past few years.

No matter its variations, my signature salad has four main ingredients:

• 1/2 a head of romaine, chopped;
• 1 granny smith apple, chopped or thinly sliced;
• a small handful of dried sour cherries or dried cranberries (about 1/4 cup);
• 10-15 raw almonds or walnut halves.

I usually leave it undressed when I take it to work, but at home, I will add a bit of Parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar. If I am making it for my husband, I'll throw together a quick balsamic vinaigrette with vinegar, honey, chopped garlic, dried onion flakes and Dijon mustard. Occasionally, I will even make a fancier vinaigrette in the food processor, but that recipe is for another time. Today, I am sharing the strictly utilitarian version of my signature salad. The fancied-up, for-guests version is an entirely separate post and may or may not include candied almonds.

I start by chopping the romaine and the apples. Romaine can be swapped out for baby or regular spinach or mixed greens. I am currently on a granny smith kick, but Fujis work equally as well.

(My sister and husband find the above photo vulgar, but my mom and I don't see anything wrong with it. They just have dirty minds.)

Then, I add the dried sour cherries or cranberries.

Last, I add the nuts (walnuts or almonds). Since I took the pictured salad to work, the nuts are in a separate container on the side, so they don't get soggy.

This salad is garnished with an Babybel cheese, which I rip up and throw on top right before eating it. Feta and Parmesan also work well in this salad.

Here is a version of the salad with pears, feta, pistachios, sour dried cherries and baby spinach. Isn't it a beauty?