My mother loved her salads
- Scott Daniels: We Ate Well and Cheaply
- August 17, 2023
- 641
My mother loved her salads. This was pre-iceberg wedge, before table side Caesar, and putting a salad together was simple and straightforward. Head lettuce cost four for a dollar, and she bought all four. Given that Dad and I were not big greens eaters, she managed to eat all four herself before they went brown.
Her salads were not inventive but plain things with nutrition-free iceberg, carrots, celery, green peppers (which we called by the localism “mango”) and tomatoes. Her favorite dressing was French, a gaggy thing I still can’t stomach. Me? I was in love with the creamy green goddess who could tempt me to tuck into a bowl of cold vegetables.
The neighbors were far more skilled with their gardens and enjoyed exotic things like leaf lettuce and spinach, fresh scallions, and radishes. I was the teenager in charge of the summer vegetable garden, which meant all our produce came from the grocery store, even in August.
I think we usually had a bumper crop of tomatoes because of our proximity to a large farm with cows. We used to sneak over the fences to gather manure, just the thing for fat summer tomatoes. All the other plants had to fight for themselves, catch as catch can, in the heavy clay soil.
Mom was willing to buy different dressings in an effort to get me to eat more vegetables. Ranch was a hit because ranch dressing is delicious on everything. I liked the kits where you got the dressing mix with a special bottle to which you added vinegar, water and oil. That was more for the fun of making it than anything else, much like choosing cereal based on what toy was free inside the box.
Thousand Island dressing was good, but everyone squawked about how unhealthy it was. Blue cheese was deemed too fancy. My personal preference was for plain vinegar and oil, mainly because I liked the little carafes and the drama of drizzling out a few drops myself, as though I were discerning of the fine things beyond my years. Kids are dumb.
This is a time of garden abundance for those lucky enough to have a little plot to till. For the rest of us, there are farmers markets overflowing with the freshest produce to be had. Summer salads are satisfying, delicious and almost endless in possibilities.
That green goddess dressing I liked as a kid was my favorite. It was ranch but with a kick. I’d forgotten all about it until this version popped up from Cleveland chef Michael Symon. The avocado supplies the healthy fat so no oil is added while the vinegar adds enough acid to prevent the avocado from turning the whole thing brown.
When you pit your avocado, skip the trick of sticking a life blade into the pit to remove it. Injuries from this technique are so common ER doctors call it “avocado hand.” Instead, cut the fruit in half and push the pit out from the back with your thumbs. It’s just as effective and you won’t lop off half a finger.
Save the onions and dill to mix in after blending the rest. The little chunks of onion add a lot to the taste and texture of this dressing.
1 ripe avocado
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
2 or 3 scallions, green and white part, sliced thin
1 tablespoon of fresh dill, minced
Peel and seed the avocado and add the avocado, buttermilk, sour cream, garlic, vinegar, and salt and pepper to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl and add the scallions and dill. Stir until well blended. Transfer to a jar and refrigerate.