For the last year, I have been making an effort to post about the easy to make food that I eat all the time. This “recipe” fits that brief, possibly more than any other on this blog.  I eat this Salad a few times a week, pretty much year round, for years and years now. I’ve photographed it here on a nice plate, but in fact I never eat this at home. This is what I pack for lunch almost much everyday that I leave my house for work.

I rarely eat lunch out. I’m horrified by how expensive and BAD lunches are. A few weeks ago I failed to pack lunch for a day in Manhattan and spent over 20 dollars on 2 onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed) and a bubble tea. How can people afford to not pack home lunch?!?

The glorious and rare exception to my packed lunch rule is when I am teaching in Queens. Each neighbohood of Queens seems to have competing culinary geniouses from all over the globe ready to serve you the best food you’ve had in months for under 10 dollars. I recently had the pleasure of going to Queen mulitple times in one week. I ate amazing empanadas from the Empanadas Cafe in Corona and Pani Puri and Fuska from a Bangladeshi food truck on 37th street in Jackson Heights. Each of these meals cost less than 10 dollars and that included a delicous cafe con leche to go with my 2 empanadas and perfect chai to go wih my giant plate of Bengali street food. I used to live in Queens and I’m sometimes really annoyed that I moved to Brooklyn. Don’t even get me started on the grocery shopping excellence in Queens.

But, I mostly do not work in Queens. So I mostly pack salads from home. One of the requirements for my packed lunches is that they not require refridgeration or a microwave. As a guest visiting various public schools, these things can be difficult to come by. Also, I’m just not into microwaves. This salad does fine without refrigeration for a few hours. I usually eat lunch with the kindergarteners, which is really more like brunch anyway. Are you overwhelmed by the glamour of my life yet?

I have a few other packed lunches that knock this salad out seasonally. Autumn Vegetable Tart with Beet and Horseradish Salad takes over in the fall for a month or two. I make Colorful and Crunchy Green Bean salad or Red Cabbage Ruby Salad with Feta when get those ingredients in my farm share. In the summer I have a solid moment with Ieva’s Greek Salad. Here are some pictures of all of those delcious foods on nice plates (not in tupperware).

However, for the entire Winter and Spring this is THE salad. I somehow never get sick of it!

The salad I eat almost every day

Include these 5 elements

1. Little Gem Lettuce- Romaine, boston and butter lettuce are all acceptable substitutes but little gem is by far the best. I’ve left the leaves whole for this photo, but If I’m packing this lunch for work I chop it up, so that it is easier to eat.
2. Lots of crunchy vegetables-I always use radishes and celery. In the spring I’ll also add snap peas or pod peas from my farmshare. Purple daikon is wonderful when it’s in season. I cut them into a dice.
3. A small amount of flavorful rotein- These days I like blue cheese, but I have gone through phases with boiled eggs and crumbled bacon.
4. Creamy dressing– see options below
5. Crunchy topping– see options below

Creamy salad dressing options

• My current favorite is this Miso Kefir Dressing (which I actually make with yogurt these days, because I no longer make kefir at home). 
• For a long time I liked this Smokey Buttermilk Dressing. 
• The original was the Creamy Herb Dressing in this post about making homemade mayonaisse.
• For a vegan option I would recommend Cashew Dill Lemon Dressing.

Any of these recipes makes enough salad Dressing for several salads and they will keep for a week, or more sealed in your refrigerator (unless you choose to make one with raw egg yolk). I suppose you could use store bought ranch dressing, but I would not because for some reason I find bottled salad dressing repulsive.

Crunchy Topping options

My current favorite are spiced pepitas or sunflower seeds (see recipe below). I also sometimes use the seasoned breadcrumbs from this recipe, toasted in a bit of butter. I have also used these pickled red onions found in this recipe.

A recipe for spiced seeds

This makes a big batch that keeps well in a sealed container at room temperature. They never last longer that a week at my house because they’re also a yummy snack food.

• 1 c  (6 oz) pepitas (Pepitas are pumpkin seeds and if you don’t have them, sunflower seeds will work well instead)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon ground sumac
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt (preferably smoked salt)

Toss the pepitas with the oil, spices and salt.  Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 375 degrees until they are golden ( 6-8 minutes.)  If you hear them popping they are done!  Cool completely on the baking sheet before storing in an airtight container.