There are a lot of people who feel as though salad is for women. In fact, I recently discovered that there is an entire Tumblr called Women Laughing Alone with Salad. I dare you to find a similar website showing photos of men eating salad.
When Graham asked me to try to incorporate salads into our meal plan more often, I was skeptical, because sometimes when I serve him salad for dinner, he is left feeling unsatisfied at the end of the meal. The challenge for me is to come up with salads that are filling enough for a hungry carpenter to eat for dinner at the end of a long work day that begins when the alarm goes off at 4:30 am.
When Graham asked me to try to incorporate salads into our meal plan more often, I was skeptical, because sometimes when I serve him salad for dinner, he is left feeling unsatisfied at the end of the meal. The challenge for me is to come up with salads that are filling enough for a hungry carpenter to eat for dinner at the end of a long work day that begins when the alarm goes off at 4:30 am.
Graham really enjoyed the last salad that I made for dinner (pictured above), which I simply referred to in our meal plan as “Chopped Salad.” Whenever I make a salad for dinner, I refer to Elaine Benis’ classic description of a big salad: “It’s a salad, only bigger, with lots of stuff in it.”
Salad. Big. Lots of stuff in it. Got it.
This particular salad did, indeed, have lots of stuff in it:
I tossed everything together in a big bowl, thought to myself that there was enough salad there in that bowl to feed a family of eight, then put together my very favourite, super easy salad dressing:
Salad. Big. Lots of stuff in it. Got it.
This particular salad did, indeed, have lots of stuff in it:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Chick peas
- Chopped zucchini
- Chopped seedless cucumber
- Carrot
- Celery
- Romaine lettuce
- Avocado (on top)
- Hard boiled egg wedges
I tossed everything together in a big bowl, thought to myself that there was enough salad there in that bowl to feed a family of eight, then put together my very favourite, super easy salad dressing:
- 3 oz. extra virgin olive oil
- 3 oz. red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 squirt of liquid honey
- Salt & pepper to taste
I shake it all up in a squeeze bottle and keep it in the fridge. Ever since I started making this dressing, I have stopped buying bottled dressing. It’s so yummy.
I served the salad with a bit of garlic bread, and gave Graham some pickled beets to go with his, and it seemed to fill him up, which is why, in the end, I decided to call it the Carpenter’s Salad.
Stay tuned this summer for more salads for men!
I served the salad with a bit of garlic bread, and gave Graham some pickled beets to go with his, and it seemed to fill him up, which is why, in the end, I decided to call it the Carpenter’s Salad.
Stay tuned this summer for more salads for men!