My Nightly Salad

My Nightly Salad
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My Nightly Salad
For the past 23 years, I've been making a salad in the bowl pictured above at least three nights a week. The bowl has never been washed, has a crack down the side and on the bottom has burn marks from one night when I accidentally left it on a hot stove top. If my house were burning down, this bowl would be the only thing I would grab from the kitchen. The recipe below is written especially for my dear friend, Marianne.
salad
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
Prep Time 5 minutes
Servings
people
Ingredients
salad
Instructions
  1. In the bottom of a wooden bowl, smash garlic until broken down into little bits. Sprinkle salt on top. According to a study done about ten years ago, if you let the garlic and salt sit for up to 15 minutes an enzyme breaks down which increases the health benefits. But really I just think it tastes better if the garlic sits, mellows out and sweats a little after you salt it.
  2. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar. With your serving spoon swirl the garlic, salt, olive oil and balsamic together until well mixed. At this point, sometimes I let it sit for up to an hour or more until I am ready to toss in a few handfuls of lettuce.
  3. Toppings? Most of the time I forget, but when I do remember I add hemp seeds (I'm in Colorado after all), sliced almonds, walnuts and/or avocado. What I never add is fruit. I know, I know, I know...my family is annoyed about it, too. For the record, I also hate fruit in my chocolate.
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2 thoughts on “My Nightly Salad”

  • Thank you!
    For the past 23 years, I’ve tried to recreate this salad dressing. I found a bowl just like yours at an antique store. It was nasty with age. I spent the afternoon with 4 different grades of sandpaper and then a high-quality mineral oil to restore it. It’s my favorite salad bowl no doubt, but it does not replicate your treasure.
    Do you smash the garlic with a pestle? I haven’t let it sit for 15 mins with the salt. I will try smashing in the bowl and salting tonight!
    Indeed that bowl is the magic ingredient! I hope your girls understand how precious that bowl is for future generations. My MIL has a wood mortar and pestle that she’s used for 40+ years for her hummus. I’m the only one in the family that recognizes its worth.

    • I smash the garlic with the back of my wooden serving spoon. I’ve also had a little wooden mushroom-looking thing that I used for years to smash it into the bowl, but I think I lost it in all of our moves.
      Yeah, I sure hope the girls treasure the bowl, but if not, I’ll bequeath it to your children!
      Let me know if letting it sit with the salt changes your salad.

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