The Crabby Cook - by Jessica Harper

This salad is what happened on Saturday night when I was cleaning out my vegetable drawer. If you had something re thrilling to do that evening, you probably have a better life coach than I do.

I was not just inventing dinner, however. Being an avid multi-tasker I was doing it while listening to an audiobook by Elizabeth Warren called “A Fighting Chance.” These two tasks were perfectly compatible; somehow hearing the story of the senator’s rise to peer worked well as a task B when matched with the otherwise rather tedious task A.

This is not always the case. For example, when I listened to “The Girl On The Train,” I found it difficult to simultaneously make Saucy Chicken Tacos. Go figure. I burned the tortillas and missed the novel’s key info about how the murderee ended up in a ditch.

Anyway, just so you know, concocting a salad goes well with E.W.’s life story, and it goes even better when you add add a third task–drinking a lovely (stiff) margarita.

 

Scenic Salad With Creamy Lime Basil Dressing

1 small head romaine lettuce

½ cucumber, diced

2 ears corn

1 ccup grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 avocado, diced

1 scallion, sliced, white and green parts

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

 

Dressing:

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ to ¾ cup olive oil

 

First, make the dressing.

Pour the lime juice in a small bowl. Mix in the mayonnaise, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in the olive oil in a thin stream, whisking the mixture constantly, until smooth and thickened. (Use the smaller quantity of olive oil if you like a tangier dressing, the greater quantity if you like thinks a little bland, like my usband does.)

Now make the salad.

Wash the romaine leaves and cut crosswise into thin strips. (You should have about 3 cups.) Place them in a large salad bowl. Cut the cucumber in half crosswise. Set one half aside for another use.

Cut the other half in half lengthwise, and cut those halves in half again, lengthwise. Using a teaspoon or knife, scoop out the seeds. Then cut the cucumber into a large dice and add to the bowl with the lettuce.

Cut the kernels from the corn cobs and add them, along with the other ingredients.

Add enough ressing to coat all the ingredients well. Serve immediately, with chicken tacos if you’ve got ‘em.

 

 

 

Tags: avocado reicipe, lime basil dresing, mixed vegetable recipe, tex mex food, vegetarian chopped salad

This entry was posted on Monday, April 20th, 2015 at 5:29 pm and is filed under Salad Days. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.