Need fabulous salad ideas

[VeggieMel]

Tomorrow evening my husband and I are going to our friends' house. My husband's going to bring a cooked entree, and I'm going to bring a salad and maybe a side. These people are very special to us, and I'd like to bring a extraordinary salad. If you have an exta-special salad recipe, could you post it? Also if you have any really special side dish recipes, you could post those too. Thanks!

[yeahbethany]

People go nuts over salads with fresh ingredients! yesterday I made a great salad just with different types of fresh lettuce and big chunks of heirloom tomatoes! For dressing, I blended almonds with celery and fresh squeezed orange juice. This is probably a bit more geared toward "experienced raw eaters?" You know better than I would if they would like this.

I'd say a salad with mixed greens (lettuces, arugula maybe, etc), tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, etc would be fabulous. People love it if you add some sliced strawberries, whole raspberries, or diced mango to your salad.

Do you have a farmers market near you?

[joy]

Here are some that I bring to cooked events, at which a number of meat-and-potatoes men have told me, "I just love your salads! They always have so much flavor!"

Depending on the theme of the dinner you're attending, one of these might work:

Italian: marinated eggplant, marinated mushrooms, romaine, torn basil leaves, sliced red pepper, black olives, italian parsley, arugula, marinated red onion, tomatoes, and capers (not always raw)
*For the marinade, I use raw cider vinegar, olive oil, garlic, pepper, sea salt, oregano, basil, and maybe a dash of balsamic; drain the veggies, whiz in some extra oil, a few black olives and sundried tomatoes, and use it as a dressing

Mexican: Red and green leaf lettuce, corn cut from the cob, cubed jicama, chopped cilantro, red and yellow pepper, sliced avocado, chopped white onion (soaked in ice water for 30 minutes to remove sharpness), and tomatoes
*For dressing, blend together a few avocados, juice of several limes, a jalepeno pepper, 2 garlic cloves, and sea salt

Asian: Napa cabbage, sugar snap peas, red pepper, green onions, baby corn (if you can find it raw), sliced cucumber and celery
*For dressing, blend olive oil, sesame oil (just a few drops), cider vinegar, shoyu (if you use it), garlic, and agave

Enjoy ;)

[sweetgoddess]

Joy! YUMMINESS! Thank you for sharing, the Italian Salad is making me drool! :p