Journey to mega salad

hello to all the beautiful readers out there. Being in the middle of one of the most colourful seasons of the year feels just great: walking outside in the green area near to my dormitory is always a pleasure because in every angle I see a new leaf or a flower blossoming. This atmosphere of rebirth is reflected on the vast majority of people as they start to change their wardrobe from the dark colored heavy winter jackets to more lighter garments with some prints here and there, evoking in this way the end of those long cold winter nights and the commencement of a new begining: spring. The methamorphosis doesn't stop just there beacause now that the weather is ideal for picnics, cookouts and barbeques, gatherings of all kinds take place in most pubblic green areas. Moreover I can say that there is a definite shift of behaviour too: for example the people in the city where I am currently living, Gdansk, now they tend to smile more and willing to spend time sitting down for a chat in an outdoor area while enjoying the sunny days.

In order to be in full harmony with the evolving environment I have also decided to make a big change when it comes to the food I consume each day. Just to give you an approximate look on my diet from beginning of autumn to the end of winter, I have been mostly eating soups, potatoes almost every day, various grains like buckwheat and barley, legumes and some polish sausages. This implied that I had to spend time cooking this food over the gas burner and so all of my meals were warm and with a considerable amount of fat from various sources.

Now those days are gone and most of the food I eat during the day is at room temperature, less fat content, little or no cooking time over stove. This is because I have started eating mega salads for lunch and dinner. I will share some of them now.

Adventure in one plate

When I prepare this salad I tend to follow only one principle: you have to choose a base for your mega salad which can be anything from rocket salad to boiled and cooled rice. My favourite base is a mix of green lettuce or leftover buckwheat from the day before. Once you got this done you can now set free your inspiration and start slicing or grating any vegetable of your choice: carrots, cucumbers, celery, radish, tomatoes and garlic. Whatever you have in your fridge is going to be a great new combination of flavour so don't be too shy because the result will be an exciting adventure for your taste buds.

Check some of the mega salads I had for lunch, it will change your world and your idea of a homemade salad.

How to prepare mega salad for two

You will need

1/2 iceberg salad

1 pcs cucumber

1 pcs tomato

1,1/2 pack boiled and cooled buckweat (100g)

1 can sweet corn

2 chili peppers

100g feta cheese

For the dressing : 2 tbsp olive oil, 1tbsp vinegar, 1 tsp mustard, salt and pepper.

What to do 

Start by cooking the buckweat in boiling water and once cooked, let it cool down on the side. Wash all of your veggies and look for any dirt or suspicious things that you might find... haha nothing to be worried about, just some small animals hanging in between the green leafs. This might be something that some of you will think about when you are confronted with the idea of preparing a salad with lettuce and other frsh ingredients. I won't say that it won't happen but it's not going to be your daily scenario so go out there and get your green leafs and just keep an eye open while rinsing them. Once you got everything clean chope them and move them into a bowl big enough to allow you to mix this goodness with ease. 

Don't forget the finishing touch: the dressing. What I tend to is put everything in a small jar and shake it for a good minute or two and then just pour it over the mega salad and give it a quick mix, because the rest is history in the making. The flavours infused in this simple but yet so magical salad will change your world, guaranteed. 

Once you get the basic concept (which to be real with you, there's none because you just have to put together whatever you have in your fridge or pantry, the rest is a mega salad journey) tha variants are as many as the ideas you can get when you set free your immagination. This means that some days you will end up with something startosperically tasty and on other days you will have a meh salad for lunch. Don't get discouraged but persist and seek new recipes, techniques and ideas that will get you on a new journey to a mega salad... this blog might be a good source of inspiration ;)

*Acronyms used: tbsp= table spoon, tsp= teaspoon, psc= pice.

Thanks for reading this post!

blessup!!

---

Photo gallery