on building a {good & green} dinner salad...

what we really feel like for dinner tonight is a healthy salad-the kind of mostly green salad that makes you feel good about yourself yet fills you up and satisfies at the same time. i look in the refrigerator and start pulling out ingredients that looks promising: organic baby arugula, endives, a bowl of cooked beluga lentils, a couple of hard boiled organic eggs, a big bunch of flat leaf parsley (i've been craving parsley in the form of a good quinoa taboule all day, but decide to add lots of it to this salad instead), a rather ripe avocado that's begging to be used, mushrooms, tomatoes. my excitement grows as the pile on the countertop becomes bigger, and i begin to process my goodies: crack and peel the eggs for a quick chop, add arugula to the salad bowl, top with quartered and chopped endives and tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, a sprinkling of cooked lentils (great idea to have cooked lentils in the house for salad craving nights), a good amount of chopped parsley (because it not only tastes good but is so good for you), (almost forget the) avocados, a sprinkling of red pepper flakes and crushed incredibly fragrant oregano just picked and dried stove-side from a friend's herb garden....and we are almost t-h-e-r-e! my mouth begins to water as i cut the lemon in half to squeeze over the salad, catching the seeds with my other hand-then a generous drizzle of the deliciously nutty extra virgin olive oil i use for salads & dipping (not for cooking), a sprinkling of sea salt, freshly ground pepper courtesy of the ever loyal green pepper mill. give it all a good gentle toss. pick at the ingredients and taste throughout the process (obviously, tasting is essential during all stages of salad building). adjust seasoning. add even more of the oregano you loved while tasting throughout. maybe another sprinkling of lentils. a touch more lemon juice. another quick toss. dig in. ahhhhhhhhhhh. such a satisfying dinner. happy happy tummies. all is good.