Gourmet Salad with Mango

This is my first salad creation of the summer, and a follow-up on my post about the 5 rules for making a full meal of your salad!

My salad consists of some lettuce from my very own roof-top veggie garden, and the usual culprits: ripe tomatoes and carrots. But the extra protein and fruit I added are what really made it special!


Color:
The bright summer colors did a lot to make this salad visually appealing and beautiful!


Protein:
I added a mix of walnuts and almonds as my protein #1, and cubes of feta cheese as protein #2.

Fruit:
I added juicy, ripe mango as my fruit -- it added an unexpected sweetness to this savory salad and balanced out the salty feta cheese really well!

Texture:
Crispy fresh lettuce, juicy soft mango, the crunch of the nuts and the dry crumbliness of the feta made for a great variety of textures that kept this salad interesting and exciting!

Homemade Dressing:
I made a simple oil and vinegar dressing for this salad, but the key was using balsamic vinegar. This type of vinegar has a natural sweetness that went really well with the mango flavors and really enriched the salad!

This colorful salad had enough variety to make for a full meal, and the protein kept me sated even though it was all relatively light.

Let me know if you have experimented with any delicious salad combos of your own! Post comments and recipe suggestions in below and I will be sure to follow up. Happy eating!

Lettuce Celebrate the Harvest!

I started a veggie garden in my roof this spring having no clue what I was doing. I just ordered some seeds on Taobao, bought some pots and soil and planted in a pretty haphazard way.

I've always been a but of a green thumb and growing things I can eat is something I have always enjoyed, but I never really tried growing things beyond my kitchen herbs. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was, and how rewarding!

I felt bad initially about digging up my lettuce plants, but have been able to eat salad from my rooftop now and again by simply snipping a few leaves when the need arises. This past Friday I finally dug up my lettuce plants and some baby spinach for the most locally sourced meal I've ever had!

Mostly the weather is getting too warm for the lettuce to stay happy, so it was time to say goodbye. Making room for my summer crops like basil, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber.

Happy eating local!

Quick Sandwich!

Feeling uninspired to prepare a real lunch, I decided to go with a quick sandwich!

Sorry, I totally forgot to take a picture until after I bit into it!

I mixed some of the pesto I had made with a generous spoonful of plain yoghurt and got a delicious spread I used to flavor the bread.

The bread is a new experiment of sorts, bought at a new bakery I decided to try (more on this in a future post!) and it wasn't quite as delicious as the German bread I usually buy at City Shop... oh well!

It was a simple affair, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. A light, simple lunch!

On Hot, Hot Days...

Sometimes you just need to eat something cool, cool, cool. Like a fresh salad :)

My seasonings of choice are always just salt, good olive oil, and lime and/or balsamic vinegar with a dash of ground black pepper!

Lettuce, arugula, tomato, carrot, radish, cucumber and red bell pepper tossed in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper -- yum!