Oh, I love fall foods. The pots of soup, the chillis, the roasted veggies and casserole dishes. So much so, that I tend to forget to eat my fresh veggies this time of year. And maybe I’ve been turning on the a/c and blocking out the fact that it’s not actually fall here. It’s 90 degrees, and I spend the day sweating, and I actually need to replenish my body’s hydration with fresh, water packed vegetables.
Our bodies are pretty intuitive, and mine is saying, “bring on the fresh salads,” in a very big way.
Even if you do live in a cold, Northern hemisphere climate, you might also be craving something light, fresh, and water packed, to help balance out all the holiday indulgences.
This salad isn’t a magical combination of seasonal produce. It’s isn’t really much of a recipe at all. But it’s exactly what I’ve been craving and preparing for meals several times a week. Sometimes as a side to a protein, sometimes just as a big bowl of crunchy, fresh, balance restoring goodness, knowing a large meal is on it’s way (or was indulged in the day before).
I don’t even bother to mix up the dressing separately. Right in my salad bowl, I drizzle olive oil, add a shake or two of Italian seasoning, some fresh cracked black pepper, and douse it heavily with red wine vinegar.
The countdown to our trip to the States is on! We leave in 3 weeks, and will be there for nearly 3 weeks. I’ve been shopping online black Friday sales, crossing Christmas items off my list. The first year I lived here, I bought Christmas gifts from the markets here- I actually even shipped home some of the locally made pottery. And, as anyone could have predicted, several of the pieces arrived broken. Travel gifts are fun to share when you’ve been abroad a year or two, but 5 years in to it, it gets a little old!
Anyone else trying to get their Christmas lists all checked off early this year? Do you tend to be an early or last minute shopper?
I like to make gifts– but that doesn’t happen as often now that I’m living abroad. Typically, my homemade gifts are some type of food, and those don’t travel well!
Contents
The BEST Crisp 'n Fresh Italian Green Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine chopped
- 1 large carrot chopped or shaved
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup sliced cucumbers
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese garnish
- 1/4 cup pine nuts optional
Instructions
- In a salad bowl, mix lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Drizzle olive oil and red wine vinegar, and season with italian seasoning and a pinch of sea salt.
- Garnish with parmesan cheese and pine nuts.
Nutrition
Wow… Michelle your photos look incredible!!! I could faceplant that salad right now (melting!)
Your photography is beautiful as usual!
Thanks Arman 🙂 And next time you’re in KL, let me know. Blogger meet up in the rainforest walk at KLIA? 🙂
And also, I go to Melbourne every other year or so…
looks beautiful! and so healthy!
i agree, both beautiful and healthy indeed!