Small Salads

When I first started making meals forty years ago, "salad" was something with lettuce, or possibly cabbage. And definitely dressing on top. (We'll leave aside Midwestern offerings with jello and/or marshmallows.)

I am grateful that Mediterranean, Mexican, and European influences have led me to the small salad: something ranging from pico de gallo to fresh relish to marinated vegetables, just a cup or two of something cool and interesting to make a contrast to the other dishes--cucumbers in yogurt; sliced tomatoes with fresh herbs; cherry tomatoes with black olives and some sliced onion.

Tonight's very pedestrian menu of salmon cakes, oven fries, and lima beans required such a salad. This one had Persian cucumbers, black olives, cherry tomatoes, a green onion, a little yellow bell pepper, a red jalapeno, and some wine vinegar and olive oil. And a little chopped fresh basil.

Still recovering from yesterday's bland lunch, I put wasabi paste in the tartar sauce. I liked it.