For much of my childhood, I thought that the definition of salad was iceberg lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes, perhaps a few radish slices, and a bottled salad dressing, like French or Italian dressing.
I had no clue that 10-15 years later, making up intricate and varied delicious salads would be one of my favorite hobbies. In fact, my salads are my foods that tend to get the biggest compliments when served to guests, and its not rare that you'll find at least 4 or 5 different salads at my dinner table- I've even served a meal where there were 14 different salads on the menu!
With my love of salads, you might find it strange that out of the 900 some posts on my blog, and nearly 300 recipe posts, I've only included recipes for 10 different salads on my blog. Well, the main reason for this is because I rarely use an actual recipe to make salad, and only rarely make the same salad twice; my salads are usually "fly by the seat of my pants" recipes, using whatever I have in the house, but always coming out perfectly.
How is it that my salads come out terrific despite never following a recipe? Why am I now in love with salads when as a child I didn't really care much for eating salads?
Because I've discovered a master technique to making the perfect salad from just about anything available.
Why is this technique being featured on my frugal site? What does the perfect salad making technique have to do with frugality?
Lots, in fact.
See, the reason I generally don't use cookbooks for making salad (or really for most things, in fact) is because when you read a recipe and want to replicate it, it often means going out to the store and buying all the ingredients listed. (This is especially true for salads, as they usually are made with highly perishable produce, not
things people can stock long term in their stockpile.)
When you buy something for a specific recipe, it usually isn't the most frugal move, as you aren't buying it because it's on sale or in season, and often you make a special, additional trip to the grocery store to get it (a bad frugal move).
The most frugal recipes, the most frugal salad recipes, are the ones made with whatever it is you already have in the house, that you purchased because it was in season and on sale, or better yet, that you grew or foraged yourself.
The thing is- you aren't likely to find a recipe to make a salad using exactly whatever it is that you have in the house, but with the proper technique, you too can make the perfect salad that is ultra frugal.