A Green Salad

I've had a very strong craving for green salads lately.

I have this theory about cravings and how it's the body's way of letting you know what it needs so I guess my body was needing the freshness and the green!

For this salad I used a baby greens mix with arugula and spinach.

I added some veggies I happened to have: a sliced Roma tomato, some refrigerator chilled roasted eggplant from the night before (the gray stuff in the picture) and some fresh broccoli with a side of buttery toast.

I usually dress my salad with a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of olive oil, salt and a generous amount of pepper, but I added a dollop of sour cream since that's how I like to eat broccoli.  I also almost always add a handful of walnuts and dried cranberries or cherries.

Also this time I had on hand some dill pickled okra from Hill Country Homestyle I got at the farmer's market, grown, picked and canned right here.  I like how they always check your lids to make sure they haven't popped.

Go local!

It's $7 for this 30 oz. jar and it lasts me about week cuz I love me some pickled okra!
Plus the jar is good for reusing and storing walnuts and dried cranberries.
Seriously it's really good and tastes just like a pickle.  And the little seeds are so fun to pop on my teeth.  Okra tends to be a bit unpopular because it can have a "slobbery" or gooey quality (I can't think of the right word in English!) but the pickled kind is actually not too bad.
Okay, slimy aka mucousy, thanks Wikipedia!
It actually shares some qualities with nopales (cactus) that way: both nopales and okra can be slimy when raw, both of them become less slimy when cooked and/or pickled, the "sliminess" is actually very refreshing and hydrating not to mention good for your digestion and of course both can help keep you regular.

Cute logo!