Tracy Lee Karner

Not your same old boring salad

Tracy Lee Karner
Wake up your taste buds with an exciting salad.

Tired of your usual salad?

This Arugula, Apple, Walnut salad with Ginger-Lemon-Dijon dressingΒ is a sweet-tangy-spicy pick-me-up for your tastebuds.

Bonus: it will ratchet up your energy-level, too.
Salad Ingredients (per serving):

  • 1/2 cup baby arugula
  • 1/2 cup romaine or other lettuce, shredded
  • 1/2 medium apple, cored, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1/4 stalk of celery, thinly sliced
  • about 1/8 cup of shaved carrot (after you peel the carrot, just keep peeling to get a pile of shavings)
  • 1 tablespoon of chopped walnuts

Toss the greens together. Arrange apple, celery and carrot on top. Sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with approximately 1 tablespoon of dressing.
Ginger-Lemon-Dijon Dressing Ingredients (3-4 servings)

  • 1 tablespoon lemonade concentrate (see cook’s note below**)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or use your favorite salad oil)
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
  • salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake until emulsified.
**Cook’s note: We keep thisΒ homemade lemonade concentrate in a squeeze bottle in the refrigerator: Β mix equal parts freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar; shake like crazy. Shake again before using. (For a refreshing lemonade, stir 1 tablespoon of concentrate into an 8-ounce glass of icy club soda.)
Whether you love salads, or merely put up with them because you know they’re good for you–your weary taste buds will thank you for adding this one to your repertoire.
Are you a salad seeker or a salad resister?Β 

21 thoughts on “Not your same old boring salad”

  1. Definitely a salad seeker, Tracy. I love the sound of your ginger lemon dressing, and anything with walnuts is always a favourite. I especially like pear, blue cheese ( something like Roquefort) and walnut salad on a bed of mixed leaves. Very easy to prepare and looks – well – classy!

    1. I’m a salad seeker, too, but I do tend to get stuck in a rut. This dressing was like a new salad-revelation for me. I can’t get enough of it (and a little drizzle goes a long way…)
      I’m a pear and blue fan, also.

  2. Nothing you make is ever boring, Tracy, but this salad is over-the-top stupendous!!! WOW!
    We’re going to make this salad tonight, but 10-year-old granddaughter is going to substitute fresh sliced pears on hers. (Grace just wanted to let you know that she’s also going cut up a few red grapes, too. Don’t you just love 10-year-old beginning cooks who immediately alter recipes?
    I, on the other hand, trust your impeccable taste and will make my salad (and everyone else’s, except Grace’s) exactly as you posted this! πŸ˜‰

    1. Grace is ahead of me on this… πŸ™‚
      I forgot to mention that this salad will happily be variated. I was thinking pears, or citrus (orange and/or grapefruit segments).
      It’s clear that Grace is on her way to being a terrific cook!

  3. The dressing sounds very unique! I would like it due to its tangy flavors and ginger spice added. I love salads that have walnuts, sliced almonds or pecans in them! Marylin is such a sweetie! I think this would be a good recipe, but will have to wait to get the ingredients! Smiles, Robin

  4. Now that looks really tasty! I’m a salad resister, only because I’m generally too lazy to make salads. I would eat them every day if I had someone to make them for me!

    1. Salads are somewhat fussy, I guess. Especially if you’re not super-comfortable using a chef’s knife (lot’s of chopping involved).
      I end up making a lot of them because I like fresh/raw veggies and fruit, and chopping is therapeutic for me. Gets my mind off my writing and back into the present moment. So, at the end of a day’s writing, my routine is to go the the kitchen and pull out the knife, the cutting board, and all the fresh produce, and see what happens…
      Next time we get together, remind me that I’m supposed to bring the salad…. πŸ™‚

    1. No! I hope the fig tree isn’t really dying!
      I’d love to try arugula with fresh figs. It’s not easy to get fresh figs here, so I’ll have to come to you for that. Tell Mr. Fig to please, please, please revive.
      Love and hugs back!

    1. I just “clicked” on you. Your new look is fabulous.
      I was just telling my husband about you, Denise, trying to explain why people half-way around the globe are more interesting to me than some of my next-door neighbors. Why isn’t the world smaller? Why are you not close enough that you and your daughters could stop by for dinner?
      I’m your total fan!

  5. I like salads once they become fancy…just like this one. A good, home-made vinaigrette, which for me usually includes honey, dijon mustard and some interesting vinegar, is key to a good salad. I like to add all sorts of fruit, like pears, grapefruit, berries and most of all, avocado. Yum. Now I am hungry.

    1. The first thing I taught my children about eating and meal preparation was this:
      Never, never, never, never, never buy bottled salad dressing.
      My friend couldn’t get her son to eat salads. Until he ate one of mine. And I told her the secret.
      I used to like to add dried cranberries, until they became so overdone in restaurants that I got sick of them. But recently, now and then, a little sprinkle of them with some pecans and oranges….
      Excuse me, I need to go eat now. πŸ˜‰

      1. I don’t know why anyone would buy bottled salad dressing when it’s so easy to make, tastes better and costs less to make your own, plus there are no yucky preservatives when you make dressing fresh, from scratch.

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