Sunday, October 18, 2009

Salad days

Anyone reading this blog over the last few weeks might wonder if I survive on a steady diet of cake. It would be hard to argue with the evidence. There was the delicious and melancholy applesauce cake; the ill-fated grape cake; and the ever-popular root beer cake, which I am already envisioning in cupcake form, perhaps with a cream center, an homage to the Hostess Cupcake.

Lest any of you think I'm a grown-up, female version of Augustus Gloop, tossing cakes, cookies, and anything else in my path down the hatch, let me set your worries aside. From time to time, I can show restraint. In fact, I'm quite the vegetable-eater.

The other day I composed this lovely salad with peppery arugula, apples, toasted walnuts, chives, and goat cheese.


Dressed in a bright lemon vinaigrette, it provided a much-needed contrast to the decadent sweets I've been enjoying recently. I'll always have a sweet tooth, but nearly as often I do enjoy a good crisp salad, preferably one with something crunchy and something creamy. The many varieties of apples in season right now provide the perfect sweetness and balance. For this particular salad I used Gala apples that arrived with our produce box. In addition to complementing the slightly sharp bite of the greens and the tang of the dressing, their cheery red color elevated the salad from appealing to downright pretty.

9 comments:

  1. Oh my... the root beer cake in cupcake form? I love it. That fudgy frosting would be a stunning cupcake topper.

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  2. Umm, yes, second/third the rootbeer cake in cupcake form....sorry, the thought of that cupcake has completely distracted me from the lovely salad.

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  3. I would survive on a cake diet... but I would feel less guilty to eat salad in between pieces of cake :).

    Love your salad, it sounds fresh and delicious!

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  4. I love salads, but I love cakes even more.

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  5. Right on, I'm posting a salad tomorrow. Great minds...

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  6. me too, I want to focus on the rootbeer cake ala hostess cupcake idea missus gloop... but, this particular combination for salad sounds tempting too. I love all of the ingredients, and am trying to eat more of the healthy fresh stuff too these days (stay back all of you holiday pounds)!

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  7. How about one day a salad, another day cake? I could go for that!

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  8. I guess I have no choice but to make the cream-filled rootbeer cupcakes with fudge icing. Gotta keep the readers happy.

    I like that foodhoe is calling me Missus Gloop... :)

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  9. Ha! I had someone comment once that I must weight 400 lbs because of the posts I'd been putting up. My response was "do you really think this stuff is all I've been eating?" I love a good salad.

    I also think cream filled root beer cupcakes would be the bomb, I say make em!

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