My Latest Food Craze

This is a not food craze but I am getting into it because of the season change. I am a big (as in really big) salad eater. I love salads. I used to have them for lunch every day (not so much nowadays). But the season is changing and it is getting cooler (some days much colder). How to satisfy my love for salad in this weather, I ponder. I thought of grilled caesar salad so something along those lines. Sort of like a reverse warm spinach salad. Warm salad instead of warm dressing. I always have romaine salad in the fridge and is the usual base for my salads. Cool. Let me work with it.

I get started. I halve a romaine heart in half and toss it on a very lightly oiled (olive, of course, for flavor) pan. Grill pan is the usual suspect but I just used a regular pan which is just as good. Oh, okay, I admit it. I threw both halves on the pan. I already fessed up that I eat Peppermill size salads. To justify using the whole head of romaine, it was a small heart of romaine. While the romaine is heating up, I prepare the other ingredients. My usual method of madness is to toss together whatever is in the fridge. Protein today for the salad is leftover chicken breast. Love chicken for the low-fat protein and usually put the white meat aside for salads. Just the right portion size for a salad. A large chicken breast is good enough for two portions. This was a dinky portion since it was deli chicken. Okay, what else. Feta cheese diced up into small bits, sliced red onions, zucchini in half moons, diced Asian pear, thawed frozen corn, thawed frozen peas. That should work. Good timing. The romaine is done after I prep the rest of the fixings. Slice the romaine into bite size portions and toss on top of the fixings. Cruise the fridge again. Which one of the numerous dressings am I in the mood for today? Ahhhh, Cheese Fantastico. Good choice. Dress the salad and toss.

Oh, this is yummy. The warm romaine soaks up the vinegarette. The mixture of warm/cold, sweet/salty, crunchy/soft. Opposing textures and tastes. You remember I said I was really into the food experience, right? This one hits the spot.

Give it a shot. Make your own version of a grilled salad and check it out. I hope you like it as much as I do.