For lunch today, I made a salad. Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cheese, ranch dressing.
As I was eating, it hit me that I don't even really like salads all that much. This was my intial thought. I mean, don't get me wrong, I know they are supposed to be good for you and all, but I'm just not a fan.
Wait, no, my second thought was that it's not that I don't like salads, it's that I am not a fan of lettuce. I don't really like mass quantities of lettuce.
If you ordered a salad in a restaurant and asked them to hold the lettuce, would they look at you like you lost your mind?
I mean, pasta salad doesn't have lettuce so what is the real definition of a salad? Is lettuce a main ingredient or not?
I have given this some thought -- the majority of the salads I like don't have lettuce -- pasta salads of all kinds, the "salad" that is just fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, ham salad (similar to chicken/tuna but more fattening which makes it taste better).
What do you think of when you hear the word "salad"? What is your mental picture? Take a minute, please, and ponder this.
Dictionary.com offers some definitions. The first one says that a salad contains "raw leafy green vegetables" which in my mind implies lettuce. The second one is again about vegetables and gives you the image of perhaps potato salad because of its mention of mayo. The third one is "A green vegetable or herb used in salad, especially lettuce" -- hmm, lettuce especially -- this is interesting. And the fourth one is just about a variety mixed up.
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of salads is "lettuce and other stuff."
I think I need to shift my paradigm so that salads are not "lettuce and other stuff" but rather "good stuff and maybe some lettuce" so then I can really appreciate and like salads.
So seriously, does anyone have thoughts on this or is this just my mid day rambling?
My salad had too much lettuce, and thus, I didn't really enjoy it all that much.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
I'm off iceberg, so I totally hear you on this. Go for the tomato, cucumber, olive, feta option I suggested earlier this week -- delightful, or if you prefer the italian version to the greek, skip the cucumber and substitute mozzarella for the feta -- delightful and SANS lettuce!
Joke:
Q: What is the most holy vegetable?
A: Lettuce -- it prays the most "lettuce pray."
I know I'm a tool.
i also think that lettuce is overrated. i once tried to make a "salad" at a salad bar without lettuce. Since I'm a huge fan of toppings of all kinds, I thought that this was a brilliant move. Sadly, I was mistaken, and the "topping-only" salad sucked. After repeated attempts to make lettuce-free or reduced-lettuce salads, I've sadly come to the conclusion that lettuce is needed as a filler, or at least to soak up some of the ranch dressing.
Susan... you are a tool, that's why I love you and your humor. Perhaps I will be more conscious in seeking out salads as you describe.
Laraine... don't give up. I am convinced you can make the salad without the lettuce... but do you remember in high school that when we got "side salads" with rotini and meat sauce that the entire salad was just lettuce and dressing?!?! ridiculous. thank God it was only 25 cents. haha.
anyone else want to contribute to this lofty discussion?
omg, i forgot about the shredded-lettuce salad! i always tried to steal extra 10 cent cheese cubes by hiding them under my tea roll to add to my so-called salad.
A friend recently told me that lettuce is the number one food that causes food poisoning. It typically is "bad" or "dirty" lettuce and although is much more mild than eating bad fish, for example, it is still quite uncomfortable as I learned yesterday.
Post a Comment