Today's summery salad

I typically assemble salads according to my whims and what's in the refrigerator/cupboard. The only real planning involved is how to obtain the salad greens: backyard, CSA, friends or shopping?

The basic principles: Using whatever is around, find some textural variety, a mix of sweet and sour and savory, and make a homemade vinaigrette or a creamy dressing based on kefir, yogurt or mayonnaise.

Apples, berries, pears and dried fruits are frequent attenders in the sweet category, as is honey in the vinaigrette dresing. Textural variety is provided by mixed greens, edible flowers, nuts, fruits (fresh or dried), crunchy or fibrous vegetables like cucumber or raw zucchini or bell pepper or carrot, and, occasionally, cheese.

In keeping with the basics of "whatever ya got" and switching up the flavors and textures, today's salad was a greens mix of half lettuce, half sorrel. It was topped with fresh blueberries, pecan pieces and cucumber batons, with a honey-sweetened balsamic vinegar-Dijon vinaigrette spiked with a little lime juice.

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Chopped Salad: low on lettuce, high in flavor

Dinner that was a big bowl of salad (especially mixing fruit and lettuce) was a specialty of mine when I was single, but I dropped the habit when I started having some digestive difficulties that were exacerbated by high-insoluble-fiber leafy greens. This week, after re-reading a Cook's Illustrated article from a few years ago about chopped salads, I was inspired to play around with one of the recipes to make it my own and use items I had at home. The chopped salads are mostly stuff that is not lettuce, which got my attention.

Since seeing some improvements this year in my ability to tolerate foods that were formerly banned from the grocery list, I decided to give lettuce a chance in my dinner salad last night, but as a supporting actor only, not in a main role. When preceded by a Scandinavian crispbread as a tummy-friendly starter, last night's salad was a star.

Pears and More Chopped Salad
4 large servings or 6 side portions

1 English salad cucumber, seeded and cubed
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
kosher salt
fresh-ground black pepper
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 Bartlett pears, cored and chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (could substitute 2 crisp apples)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 small head green leaf lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
4 ounces crumbled Amish blue cheese
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Whisk oil and vinegar together in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add cucumber, bell pepper, pear, toss and let stand a few minutes. Toss in lettuce, then pecans and cheese.

Best served immediately, but leftovers do keep overnight for a tangy lunch if you don't mind lettuce that is a little limp.

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Today's sandwich: Tzatziki chicken wrap

Leftovers used: chicken fingers from take-out dinner, tzatziki sauce from Falafel Fun Fest 2010 The Reckoning: Mediterranean Extravaganza of Extreme Fun and Festivity (a recent potluck party -- don't ask me why the name is so ridiculous, I just approved it), cilantro also from FFF10TRMEEFF.

Instructions: cut chicken fingers into thin strips, warm a burrito-size flour tortilla in the microwave for 20 seconds, lay out chicken strips in center of tortilla. Spread liberally with tzatziki and sprinkle with lots of cilantro leaves. Fold up bottom of tortilla over chicken, then one side, then finish wrap by folding over the other side and pulling tightly.

Tzatziki sauce

1 cucumber
1 or 2 large cloves of garlic
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (or strain lowfat yogurt through paper towels/cheesecloth/coffee filter)
fresh ground black pepper
optional: 1 to 2 tsp fresh chopped dill

Peel cucumber and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Grate with the fine holes on a box grater and squeeze the juices out of the grated cucumber. Place squeezed cucumber in a bowl. Run the garlic through a garlic press (use this tool because it minces very fine and squeezes juice -- mmmm, extra garlicky) into the bowl with the cucumber. Mix in yogurt (and dill, if using) and a dash of black pepper, garnish with more black pepper.

Tzatziki is used as a sauce on falafel and gyros, and I've had it served to me over sauteed mushrooms and onions at a festival food stall. It's great on many fried foods, sandwiches and meats. I also like it as a vegetable dip and I make it a snack by scooping it up with crackers.

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