Falling in love with salad!

Salad! Salad! Salad! Oh, so many ways to turn the green stuff into a fantastic starter for any fancy meal. As fall comes around, the treats of summer, i.e., vine-ripened tomatoes and other garden delicacies, give way to the tastes of fall.

How best to embody fall than with super greens that are not only heart-healthy but delicious? Kale. Broccoli. Brussel sprouts. Oh, my! Yes.

This little rustic concoction blends the flavors of fall with a light and creamy yogurt dressing.

READY! SET! GATHER!

First, we gather and then we blend! Or is it the other way around? Mad scientist at work in the kitchen. Beware!

Oh, The Fixin's

~ The Dry Ingredients

1/2 lb of brussel sprouts

1 head of broccoli, chopped fine

1/4 red onion, diced

1.5 cups shredded kale

1 head of romaine lettuce, finely shredded

1/3 cup dried cranberries

16 oz canned corn or 1 cob of fresh corn

All Dressed Up

~ The Wet Ingredients

1/4 cup of mayonnaise

1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, plain

3 tbsp of half-and-half

2 tbsps. of granulated sugar

2 tbsps. of apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp of dry mustard powder

1/2 tsp of chives, dried

1/2 tsp dried onions

Substitutions

What to do? You checked your cupboard high and low, and you are missing a key ingredient. Never fear! You can make a few substitutions without upsetting the apple cart. It will still be delicious!

Mayonnaise - If you don't have this staple in your cupboard, you can replace it with Greek yogurt and vice versa.

Half-and-half - If you don't have half-and-half, you could substitute whole milk.

Kale - Feel free to replace it with spinach.

Romaine lettuce - You can replace it with iceberg lettuce.

Dried chives - Replace with fresh leeks or scallions.

Adding an Ingredient or Two

~ Sliced almonds or cashews to taste

~ 1 tsp of poppy seeds to the dressing

~ Crotons or crispy onions

Chop! Chop! Chop! & Shred

In a large bowl, add the salad ingredients. Combine the sliced brussel sprouts, shredded kale, finely chopped broccoli, shredded lettuce, dried cranberries, corn, and diced red onions together. Mix together well.

The kale, brussel sprouts, and broccoli are all strong flavors, so ensuring that they are chopped finely will help the flavors blend together.

Measure! Whisk! Blend!

Measure the mayo, half and half, yogurt, sugar, apple cider, mustard powder, chives, and onion powder together. Whisk until fully combined into your creamy vinaigrette.

If you are adding the poppy seeds, feel free to add them at this stage.

You can make the dressing ahead, giving time for all of the ingredients to blend together happily as they chill in the fridge. This step isn't required!

Time for Your Dry & Wet Ingredients to Meet

We made plenty of dressing, so please do not dump the entire volume of dressing on your salad, or you will have salad soup! Refrigerate the remaining dressing to enjoy on another fall salad!

Slowly add the dressing to the salad and mix until fully combined. Start with 1/4 cup of dressing and add more until fully combined. Do not add too much.

Leftovers! What to do?

The salad ingredients will keep for a few days when fully covered in the refrigerator. The salad dressing can be kept for 3 to 5 days without spoiling, perhaps longer, if all of the ingredients are fresh.

Enjoy them while they last! Then make another fabulous and heart-healthy creation!

~~~

Well, I hope that you enjoyed another one of my salad creations. I volunteer on the weekends and get to work alongside a professional chef. Sometimes, we don't have access to all of the ingredients we need, so we hunt around the kitchen until we find suitable substitutes. It feels like I am in an episode of Chopped, but the learning experience has been amazing. Here's to Dallas for his help, patience, and creativity!