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I've made many resolutions for 2011, and one of the simplest is to add one, creative salad to our weekly menu. I thought I'd share my top three new additions, as they are truly delicious and inspired recipes(healthy + hearty). Here they are, simplest to most time consuming:

{Cobb Salad} from Thomas Keller's, Ad Hoc At Home.

Mixed greens with avocado + bacon(I substitute Morning Star Farms veggie bacon and it works great)+ shaved red onion + hard-cooked eggs + black olives + torn croutons(pan fry your own croutons with bacon, torn bread, and butter)+ oven roasted tomatoes(bake plum tomatoes on a cookie sheet and remove loose skin with a paper towel) + Buttermilk dressing.

{Crunchy Thai Salad} from Jamie Oliver's, The Naked Chef Takes Off.

Any combination of the following ingredients makes for a tasty, fresh mix-

Bean sprouts + finely sliced red pepper + baby spinach + sliced scallions + finely sliced and seeded red or green chilies + peeled, gutted and sliced cucumbers + finely sliced chinese or savoy cabbage + whole sugar snap peas.

Then add-

Soba noodles + a giant handful of fresh mint, basil and cilantro leaves + chopped cashews

Dress with Thai dressing-

4tb fresh lime juice

olive oil to taste

1tb sesame seed oil

1tb soy sauce

brown sugar to taste

1tb fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely sliced

1 large handful of fresh cilantro and basil, chopped

Put in a jar and shake, shake, shake!

{Lima Beans and Quinou with Beets and Avocado} from Heirloom Beans, by Steve Sando

5 small beets(roast for 45 minutes at 400, peel skin, cut into 1/4in thick wedges) + Cook 1/2c quinou and add to the beats + 3c cooked lima beans + 1/2 Small sweet onion, thinly sliced + 1 avocado, cut into chunks

Dress with-

2tb fresh lemon juice

1tb cider vinegar

1tsp honey

1/3c extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

photo by hilda grahnat