Green Salad Blues

Where can you find a fresh green salad, with lettuce that sounds like the wheels of an old school train when you chew it? Let’s not forget garden tomatoes with stories to tell, when you slice them.

At home of course, but the work? So much work! You can’t use the full iceberg lettuce unless you are expecting guests, so you cut it in half. It’s wrapped in plastic but don’t let that fool you. There’s still sand lurking about somewhere so you rinse it. Some leaves try a getaway down the sink and you must bring them back to the iceberg. How do you chop the lettuce, small small or slice them into strips like cabbage?

No cucumbers around here today so I grated carrots. I hope you can see them in the blog photo. You don’t want to know the state of the kitchen by now, pieces of lettuce on the chopping board and carrots on the floor. How did they get there? The grater. I seldom use it because it’s very messy. Grated vegetables also hide underneath forcing me to collect the pieces with my hand.

The only fun part of making a green salad is your favorite salad dressing. Mine used to be blue cheese, now it’s anything olive oil-based. I enjoy adding the salad dressing, just a little bit. So much aggravation for a little salad but the end result is worth it, all pretty for the photo-shoot.

Take-out food. Don’t order the green salad because some restaurants hide dead lettuce leaves underneath and put fresh ones on top. Ask for coleslaw instead. Same with French fries. Why do take-out places put dead dry fries at the bottom, and fresh ones on top? I guess, it’s the price we have to pay for refusing to cook at home.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

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