Salads- most people love to hate ’em, and I just don’t get why!

I can’t get enough of those fresh crunchy greens, and all the paraphernalia that come with them. Last Sunday, I went over to my friend’s place for a quick and casual BBQ. Because it was quick and casual, I didn’t put much thought into it and just whipped up a standard Greek Salad to take with me. The only thing I did differently, was that I used sun-dried tomatoes instead of fresh ones.

My friend, however, made me feel like she had never had a salad this delectable before. I’m not sure if that’s entirely true though, because she’s one of the nicest, most polite people I’ve ever met and does wonders to my ego. Upon her flattering request, however, I shall post the recipe for the very simple (but according to her best ever), balsamic dressing I used.

There are four staples that all my quick go-to salads have in common:

• Lettuce
• Feta
• Tomatoes
• Balsamic dressing

In addition to the above four, I will add whatever is in my fridge and seems to make sense. Cucumbers, Avocado, Olives, Mushrooms, Berries, Carrot Ribbons, Corn, Kidney Beans, Dragon Fruit, Hard Boiled Eggs, Grilled Chicken or Tuna, are usuals in my weeknight salads.

By replacing just one ingredient with another, it quickly goes from being a Greek salad to a Nicoise Salad, or sometimes even an Everything-But-The-Kitchen-Sink-Salad!

Enough about me, though. Here’s how easy the Balsamic dressing is:

• 1 part Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 part Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/5th parts finely crushed garlic (yeah, i really like garlic)
• Salt according to taste (If you’re putting Olives, Sundried Tomatoes, Feta or Tuna that was in brine, you’ll need to take the salt content of these into consideration)
• Freshly crushed black pepper.

And it’s as simple as that! Sometimes I’ll even throw a couple of raspberries into the vinaigrette. Sprinkle some raw quinoa on top if you’d like some extra protein!

Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.