January Salads

I love salads. I could eat salads every day. Not because I'm a girl and feel obliged to make salads a staple of my diet, but because the salad possibilities are absolutely ENDLESS. How could one possibly get bored with salads, or find something to genuinely dislike about them, considering that no two salads are the same. If you're vegan, build your salad around beans. Carnivorous? Grill yourself a steak salad. Need something warming? A roasted winter vegetable salad is lovely. Or if you're feeling spicy, you can always go for a taco salad tossed with pickled jalapeños.

Summer often steals the show in terms of salad season, but January comes as a close second in its righteous, if usually short-lived, healthy resolve. And since I prefer cold-weather produce (Carrots! Parsnips! Brussels sprouts! Squash!), winter salads usually rank as some of favorites anyway.

Here's what I've been whipping up the past few weeks:

Raw Cauliflower, Celery, Dates with an Herby Orange Dressing.

Steamed Carrots Tossed with Garlic, Parsley, Lemon Juice and Trader Joe's Pre-cooked Lentils.
(Seriously, buy those).

I Love Roasting Fennel, Artichoke Hearts and Eggplant.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Butternut Squash - a Favorite Combination.