On the side

A couple of my friends have begun to request this salad I make from time to time. This is another thing that I kind of make up as I go, but it seems to be gaining a following, so I'll post the recipe for that, too. It was originally inspired by a salad in Deborah Madison's book Local Flavor. I love that book and pretty much all of Madison's recipes but this salad no longer bears much resemblance to its point of inspiration.

The Southwest-ish Salad

2 bags prewashed Spring mix or baby lettuce mix
2 avocados
1 yellow bell pepper
3/4 jicama

The dressing:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime (2 if it's a dry lime-- you're just trying to get a 2:1 proportion between olive oil and lime juice)
1 minced shallot
3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne (there's your cayenne fix, Mom!)
1/2 tsp salt

Whisk dressing ingredients together and toss with lettuce and chopped vegetables.



KITCHEN SINK UPDATE: $306 later, a plumber tells me he'll let me know when he finds a goat in my pipes. I wonder what percentage of that $306 goes to cover the comedy.