Salad on a Whim

The best things about being on a regular diet are the cheats we are allowed to incorporate into our food. On a low-carb diet plan, or almost any other diet regimen, salads are considered to be “free-food”- aka eat how much ever you fancy. With a gestational diabetic and a regular type 2 diabetic at home for lunch, it was only a matter of time before one of us acknowledged the fact that yes, salads should find a way to our table everyday for lunch.
Sadly, Indians are not hands-on salad eaters. We love vegetables, no denying. But the plethora of curries and Subzis that contribute to our cuisine could get so overpowering sometimes that eating raw vegetables takes a back seat. But if you are lucky, you would find some of us, especially people from the northern part of India, indulging in what they call “salAdh” at times as an accompaniment to their Rotis. The only vinaigrette they use is freshly squeezed lime juice with some salt and pepper, which in my opinion does wonders to any vegetable! I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat salad as a side when you can find tender radishes and sweet onions in the market, right? Well, not this Indian.

Thankfully, my mother is a lover of salad and enjoys them with her Rotis. So today, I decided to get off the couch in time to make a delicious salad for lunch. It was a very simple “dish” with all the usual suspects in attendance: lettuce, tomato, cucumber and avocado. But at the last minute, we decided to add an orange on a whim. I used a creamy vinaigrette which I suspected would not go all that well with the fruit in the salad but experimenting has a way of proving me wrong regularly and this was one of those times!
Easy-Peasy Avocado-Orange Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
Half a lettuce

One avocado

One Roma tomato

Half a hothouse cucumber

One medium-size orange, separated into segments

A hand full of walnuts

Vinaigerette-
Half a cup mayonnaise (I used Kraft mayo with olive oil)

Quarter cup apple cider vinegar

Two Tbsp grated onion

One pod grated garlic

One tsp dry oregano flakes

One tsp dry basil flakes

Quarter cup milk

Dash of hot sauce (I used Mexican style hot sauce)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Okay, I shall not insult your intelligence by narrating the method!

Although the vegetables are nothing exotic, the addition of orange and walnuts gives this salad a beautiful depth. I should confess that I omitted the latter but tonight, I shall include it.

The vinaigrette is an adaptation of the Creamy Italian Dressing from the book Vegetarian Creations with a few improvisations. 

A Quick Guacamole Press

This is probably not even a full-fledged post, I mean who doesn’t know to make good ‘ol Guacamole? Though a dip native to Mexico, it has found its way into the rest of the world. In fact, one of the best Guacamole I ever ate was at Don Pepe, Chennai. Actually, it was the first time I tasted this avocado-based dish.

A bit of history: Guacamole (also called Butter Fruit in India), in Aztec, means avocado Sauce.Nutrition-wise, avocados are filled with anti-oxidants, a good serving of vitamins, fibers and the good kind of fats. I have a funny story associated with Avocado which I will tell you at the end. So this is the first time I went creative with my Guacamole. I mean, I’ve always known that making the dip involves more than avocados, garlic, salt and pepper but I never really bothered to find out how it really is made.

I had a couple of Haas avocados, hence the research. Today, I went traditional: chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, couple of pods of crushed garlic, lime juice, cilantro, cayenne pepper and salt. The result was yummy and I figured it would have been a crime if I hadn’t shared with you. Luckily, I had a couple of tortillas in the pantry which I quickly cut up, sprayed oil on and baked it in a preheated 350 F (175 C) oven for 10 minutes.

What a yummy, healthy snack for the grey fall evening, reminiscing the honeymoon to Mexico, et al! So the story: on one of our annual traditional holidays to Kodaikanal with family, we spotted a couple of avocado stalls in the town. On our way back home from Kodai, my father, unable to resist the temptation to try something new, made a quick stop at the market to buy what the local natives called “butter fruit”. We didn’t know how to pick the best, so Amma followed the traditional method of veggie picking and selected the firmer ones… which is not how you select avocado. The fruit needs to be a little mushy.

We soon cut up the butter fruit, pitted it and ate the flesh: yuck! After forcing ourselves to eat one, we threw the rest of them out, rather reluctantly, since they were expensive… man, if only we had waited a few days more and made guacamole! So there, a rant, a recipe and a story… and I called this not a full-fledged post. Shockers.