Anytime salad with fresh's, staples, and in-between's

Making a salad is an easy and rewarding way to come up with a new dish by combining five different types of ingredients you have at hand:

• Fresh’s – vegetables and fruits that are relatively fresh (one to two days from purchase) and bursting with energy, like (baby) spinach, (baby) kale, broccoli, raspberry,
• Semi-fresh’s – a few or possibly more days old with still good flavors to be eaten raw, like cauliflower, snow/sugar snap pea, Brussel sprout, red/yellow/orange peppers, (baby) golden beet, tomato, avocado, blueberry, blackberry, apricot, peach, nectarine, cherry, pomegranate
• Left-overs – quinoa or vegetables cooked/grilled a day or two ago, barbecued meat, cooked beans (3-4 days ago)
• Semi-staples – Parmesan, gouda, Manchego, and feta cheese, red onion
• Staples – nuts (slivered almond, walnut), seeds (pumpkin, sesame), dried fruits, jams or preserves

Pick what you think will go well together, and make a quick dressing with oil (olive, avocado, sesame), citrus/vinegar, salt/soy, spices, garlic/ginger/mustard, and a bit of sweet touch (honey, maple syrup, brown sugar, jam), you’ll have a beautiful salad!

The feature photo is a salad with golden beets, curly kale, peach, cherry, nectarine, left-over quinoa, and feta cheese. Below are a few examples of different combinations, and recipes for each will follow.