I admit it: I had a completely different meal on the menu
for tonight up until about 2 p.m. It was
a heavy, labor-intensive affair that was going to be incredibly well-received
and (I hope) impressive, but, again, heavy and labor-intensive to get there. So as I went out on a quick mid-afternoon
walk to stretch my legs at work, it occurred to me: Why don’t I just … do
something different? The dinner I’d
planned for tonight can certainly keep till tomorrow or next week – there’s nothing
that will expire between now and then.
So with that in mind, here came tonight’s spinach salad
instead! Modified from a
Pioneer Woman recipe, it has a wonderful balance of light, crisp flavors
(spinach, mushrooms), plus some more protein-rich ingredients (hard-boiled
eggs, vegetarian bacon) to give the dinner enough heft to carry the day. Half-moons of sautéed onion rounded out the scenario,
and instead of the Pioneer Woman’s dressing suggestion, I used one of my very
favorite homemade versions to top everything off!
The dressing, while we’re on the subject, goes like this:
Spoon out several dollops (that’s a technical term) of mayo into a smallish
bowl, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Next, add a teaspoon or two of lemon juice, and finally about a
tablespoon of olive oil. Then whisk like
your life depended on it until everything is combined, and spoon the final
product atop the salad of your choosing!
Though the dish still required two pots and pans – one to
boil the eggs, one to sauté the onions (the original recipe also calls for sautéed
mushrooms, but I like mine raw) – it was still a heck of a lot less to wrestle
than a normal midweek meal! And the
final product was gourmet indeed – at least for around these parts!
Traditionally, I look to salads during the warmer months,
but I see no reason not to integrate them into the cooler climates every now
and again as well. Autumn is the perfect
time to enjoy spinach and kale, which are just coming to full harvest in our
area at the moment, and a filling, tasty dinner salad is just the ticket
sometimes. We’ll definitely come back to
the well (so to speak) again soon – with both this recipe and others as the
weeks go by!
:)
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