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le family it is a popular garnish in salads and sandwiches use watercress alone or mix it with milder greens it can be added to potato soup used as a base for cream soup used it stir fries or cooked like spinach pull off and discard larger stems which are tough and stringy watercress wilts quickly so don t trim more than an hour before serving it is not wise to pick watercress in the wild wild watercress may contain parasites and bacteria that may cause intestinal infections be sure to wash commercial watercress thoroughly watercress may cause cystitis in some people and its medicinal use is not advised for those who have a delicate stomach or suffer from acidosis or heartburn excessive or prolonged use can lead to kidney problems some doctors advise against its use during pregnancy watercress contains substantial amounts of beta carotene calcium vitamins a and c and antioxidants do not buy wilted watercress and try to avoid bunches with yellow tinged leaves watercress is available year round although it flourishes during spring to store watercress remove any yellow leaves and place the bunch of watercress in a glass of water as you would flowers cover the bunch loosely with a plastic bag it should keep for two to five days be sure to change the water daily you may also toss an open bag of watercress in the crisper bin before using rinse the watercress under cool running water then place on towels and pat dry inspect each sprig as you pat it dry tiny snails often cling to the undersides of leaves trim and discard any tough stems the thinner stems are edible raw watercress is good in first course salads drizzled with a simple vinaigrette of lemon and mustard and olive oil or in sandwiches citrus goes well with watercress in salads watercress is good stirred into already mashed potatoes or tossed with pasta and oil watercress should be added to soups during the final minutes of cooking winter purslane winter purslane also called cuban spinach miner s lettuce and claytonia resembles ordinary purslane only the leaves and stems are smaller and more delicate buying salad greens select lettuce that has a rich color and crisp fresh looking leaves lettuce should be fresh and crisp with good color and no signs of yellowing decay or slime blemishes wilting or rust spots look for lettuce with healthy outer leaves as this is often the most nutritious part of the plant select compact iceberg lettuce heads with dark green outer leaves look for medium sized heads of romaine and other leaf lettuce with dark outer leaves that are tightly closed check the sell by date on packaged greens do not by packaged greens if dark rims and bruises or signs of soggy wilted lettuce such as faded leaves and flattened ribs are visible choose packs containing leaves with vibrant colors choose head lettuce by its weight rather than size heavy heads will be juicy and crunchy when buying loose leaf lettuce buy the smallest plants larger ones are more bitter and tough reject plants with leaves that spring from a thick central core indicating that the plant has bolted and will have an off taste when buying romaine buy small heads large ones have tough dry bitter outer leaves when buying belgian endive select heads with yellow tips those with green tips are more bitter their peak season is the late fall and winter storing salad greens when you get your greens home blot moisture from the leaves with a paper towel place them unwashed in a plastic bag with holes in it or in a large paper bag in the crisper of your refrigerator store for only two days after two days the greens will start to get slimy and smelly lettuce keeps crispier as close to 32 degrees as possible but not below 32 degrees lettuce will turn brown easily if stored close to most other fruits and vegetables due to the ethylene gas given off by many fruits and vegetables iceberg lettuce will keep for 7 to 14 days romaine keeps for 6 to 10 days and butterhead will keep for only 3 or 4 days greens that are to be used within two to three days can be washed and dried before putting them in the refrigerator handle them gently so as not to bruise them store in a sealed plastic bag or container to slide bulky lettuce heads and bunches into plastic bags turn the bag inside out over your hand pick up the lettuce in that hand and pull the bag right side out over it salad tips thump the core of lettuce briskly on the counter and the core will twist out easily a salad that accompanies the main course should be interesting but not so substantial as to upstage the other dishes use separate dishes for the salad to keep the dressing from running into other dishes a green salad goes well with simple hearty informal courses green salads do not go as well with complex delicate main dishes the slightly acidic taste of salad dressing and the moist crunchy texture of salad greens do not go well with cooked vegetables or creamed foods wine and salad do not go well together the taste of wine is distorted by the flavors of salad greens and vinegar serve the salad as a separate course without wine a first or main course salad should be especially enticing and should contain in addition to greens and a few vegetables at least one or two special ingredients such as marinated mushrooms strips of vegan cheese olives etc arrange the greens in a bed on a large platter and place the other ingredients on top rather than tossing them together pass the salad at the table and pass around two dressings one a plain vinaigrette and the other a creamy dressing a salad served after the main course should consist of only greens plus a vinaigrette dressing serve with bread or crackers and margarine and soft vegan cheese allow 6 to 8 cups of torn greens for four persons one large or two small heads or bunches of greens combine textures and flavors of various greens in a salad mild with bitter or spicy crisp with tender deep green with pale or red combine mild greens boston or bibb lettuce for example with bitter pungent dandelion or chickory use sparingly or dry leaf lettuce with juicy endive or romaine or soft delicate with harder crunchier escarole to rescue wilted greens that are not yet brown soak for an hour or more in a large bowl filled with ice water to wash greens place them in a sink or large bowl filled with cool water gently swish the greens around in the water allow the greens to stand in the water for several minutes so impurities can sink to the bottom skim the greens gently from the water with your hands being careful not to crush or bruise them if the water seems really dirty repeat using fresh water greens must be dried thoroughly or the dressing won t stick to the leaves to dry greens a spinner is the best or the greens can be hand dried place greens convex side down in a single layer on a triple thickness of paper towels gently blot the leaves with more paper towels to dry greens in the refrigerator put the washed greens in a salad bowl lined with a dish towel or several layers of paper towels and refrigerate for two to three hours more hand drying may be necessary to complete the drying you can place the greens in a clean pillowcase tie the pillowcase shut and put it in the washing machine on the fast spin cycle for no more that two minutes i tried this and it does work or if you have a large amount of greens place them in the pillow case go outside and swung the pillow case in circles your neighbors may wonder what you are doing but this works choosing a salad bowl glass bowls are attractive because they allow the salad to be seen through the bowl bowls made of other materials are good too but ever put a salad in a bowl made of unlined copper aluminum tin or cast iron because the acid in the dressing will react with these metals and cause the salad to taste metallic wooden salad bowls begin to smell rancid eventually use a bowl which is about half again larger that the volume of the salad greens to allow room to toss the salad torn greens are considered to be more pleasing to the eye that cut greens to tear the greens hold them gently between your finger tips and tear them as you would tear a piece of paper tear pieces about two inches across pieces larger than that are hard to put into your mouth if you are going to cut greens use a sharp knife to prevent browning at the edges allow about ½ cup of vinaigrette type dressing or 3 4 cup or more of a creamy dressing for 8 cups of salad 4 servings to toss a salad pour the dressing evenly over the top of the salad then toss briefly upward as many times as necessary to evenly coat the greens never stir the salad as this will bruise the greens serve the salad as soon as it is dressed or the salt and vinegar will draw the moisture from the greens and they will become limp and soggy to save a salad with too much dressing just toss in more greens to add color to your salad toss in edible flowers such as nasturtium violets chive blossoms or roses salad dressings most of the time simple oil and vinegar dressings are best a creamy dressing goes well with a main course salad that contains lots of extras low calorie oil and vinegar dressing for each 2 cup serving of salad sprinkle 1 ½ teaspoons olive oil over the salad toss until the greens are well coated add drops of vinegar salt and freshly ground pepper to taste then toss again always add the oil first to a salad if you add the vinegar first the greens will become wet and the oil will not stick to them vinaigrette dressing makes about ½ cup enough to dress 2 quarts of salad to serve 4 a small clove garlic optional 3 8 teaspoon salt 1 8 teaspoon pepper freshly ground 1 8 teaspoon dijon mustard 4 to 5 teaspoons vinegar ½ cup olive oil if you are using garlic peel the garlic slice thinly into a 1 quart mixing bowl add the salt and mash to a smooth paste with a fork add the garlic paste or just the salt if you are not using the garlic pepper mustard and 4 teaspoons of vinegar beat with a fork to blend beat in a little oil at a time beat until the oil and vinegar mix taste and add more vinegar and other seasonings if needed if you wish strain to remove small pieces of garlic you may leave the dressing at room temperature for a few hours covered with plastic wrap add the dressing to the salad just before serving if the oil and vinegar have separated beat again with a fork to mix before adding the dressing to the salad for italian dressing after the oil has been added to the vinaigrette dressing beat in 1 4 teaspoon dried oregano crumbled and 2 tablespoons very finely minced red bell pepper walnut oil makes a great dressing for bitter greens such as arugula radicchio and watercress to remove the rib from a leaf of lettuce fold the leaf in half lengthwise down the center of the rib slice or pull the leaf along the edge of the rib and lift the rib out to shred lettuce remove the ribs and stack the leaves 3 or 4 high starting at a long side roll the stack into a tight cylinders slice the roll crosswise the slices will unravel into tight shreds some other salad ingredients there are many more the possibilities are as endless as your imagination artichoke hearts can be added to a first or main course salad but they are too assertive for a salad that accompanies a main dish always blot canned artichoke hearts with paper towels before using them avocados add a delicious nut like taste to salads do not cut avocados until just before serving because they discolor easily add to the top of an already tossed salad so that the slices remain whole and do not make the rest of the salad slimy shredded cabbage added sparingly adds a pleasant crunch to the salad add just before serving because cabbage can develop a stale taste if it sits carrots should be grated or very thinly sliced rather than added to salads in chunks chunks are hard to spear with a fork and awkward to chew celery is an aromatic vegetable and should be used sparingly in a salad chop very fine so it will cling to the other vegetables like an herb cooked chickpeas and other legumes are best in first or main course salads canned chickpeas are best if drained rinsed and marinated for 2 to 24 hours in vinaigrette croutons should be added to the salad at the very last moment before serving do not use on salads that are being served with rice pasta or potato dishes dried cranberries are good sprinkled on salads cucumbers are best when they are small farm types such as kirbys if you are using large supermarket type cucumbers peel them cut them in half lengthwise scoop out the seeds and slice the halves into crescents herbs should be used sparingly so as not to overwhelm the salad it is best to use only a single herb in a salad fresh herbs are preferable to dry make sure the herb you are using in the salad goes well with the foods that will be served with or after the salad italian meals go well with a salad containing basil or oregano sliced fresh mushrooms wilt and discolor quickly so add them at the last minute marinated mushrooms are best in first and main course salads roasted nuts are great in salads olives are salty and strong tasting so they should be used sparingly in salads sweet onions or sliced scallions go well in salads that are served with a simple main course green bell peppers have a pronounced taste so a small one cut into rings or strips is enough for a salad to serve four red bell peppers are mild and sweet and can be added freely to salads roasted and marinated red peppers can be served with or placed on top of salads blot roasted and marinated peppers with a paper towel before using pickled hot peppers may be added to a salad as a garnish radishes add a bite to salads slice them in very thin rounds sprouts can be overwhelming in a salad so use them sparingly they wilt easily so dress salads that contain sprouts at the very last moment tomatoes are delicious in salads when they are in season whole cherry tomatoes are awkward to eat in salads sources grandmother s food secrets by dr myles h bader published by mylette enterprises llc las vegas nv 89102 brilliant food tips and cooking tips by david joachim published by rodale the essential vegetarian cook book by diana shaw published by clarkson potter publishers world vegetarian by madhur jeffrey published by clarkson potter publishers new york foods that harm foods that heal an a to z guide to safe and healthy eating published by the readers digest association inc 1997 the kitchen companion by polly clingerman published by the american cooking guild gaithersburg maryland master recipes a new approach to the fundamentals of good cooking by stephen schmidt published by clearlight publishers www tonytantillo com vegetables saladgreens www foodsubs com greensld www simonthescribe co uk wildwatercresssoup www washingtonpost com wp dyn articles a17271 2004mar23 www innvista com health foods vegetables lettuce www vegparadise com highestperch55 posted by mary french 5 07 pm 2 comments friday february 16 2007 tomato salad wi...