Day Seventy - Nine: Salads galore

While running earlier today, I realized that a large percentage of the recipes I provide you all with are salads or some sort of combination of cheese and bread to create a snack, a meal, or really anything that becomes an excellent showcase for the cheese of your choice. I happen to love salads and think that just like cheeses, there are endless variants of combos!

If you think about it and break them down, my salads tend to be composed of:

- A lettuce green such as arugula, mache, baby romaine, spinach, frisee, etc. etc.
- A crumbled cheese - I tend not to use some of the nice cheeses I get for salad purposes, these sorts of cheeses are best enjoyed on their own or against the backdrop of a bit of bread.
- A crunchy vegetable or two to add texture to the salad
- A protein - that  for me takes the form of beans, tofu, eggs or fish, and of course cheese. However for you it could of course include a variety of meats
- Aromatics - herbs, garlic, shallots, etc.
- Occasionally nuts or dried fruits
- A few other add ons whether they take the form of other greens or other veggies or fruits.
- Then of course a homemade vinaigrette.

Isn't interesting when you simplify it, it is somewhat like going to one of those create your own salad places.

Needless to say, without me you wouldn't have the opportunity to create flavors that meld so successfully or understand why they meld, at least lets hope thats the case.

So I thought for today's recipe, I thought I would apply this to a protein rich salad recipe to fuel for a long run tomorrow:

Baby Romaine Lettuce
Crunchy Sprouts
Broccoli Sprouts
Diced Firm Italian Herb Marinated tofu
Rancho Gordo Garbanzo Beans
Diced marinated Sundried Tomatoes
Diced carrots
A sauteed red onion for extra added flavor
Grated Parmesan
Homemade Vinaigrette composed of: Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Aged Balsamic Vinegar, Maille mustard, a drop or two of white cooking wine to bring out all of the flavors of the tomatoes and sauteed onions.

See you now have applied a mixture of ingredients that fit into the specific categories we mentioned from above. But should one or two of the ingredients not be your tastes, substitute it for another ingredient that you prefer, that's the great thing about knowing how to cook and combine flavor profiles, its like being a painter, you need to armed with the right tools and materials to create your masterpiece. I only hope that my musings inspire you to try new taste combinations and experiment with your comfort zone when it comes to foods and cheeses in particular. Whether or not you follow my recipes, please be inspired to try new things and think outside of the box!!!