Salad for dinner? Again?? Ok!!

?Hey, B invited me to go out to eat with him and C.?

Oh, great! (Not really. I know where this is heading.) Where?re you guys going?

?We?re gonna grab a buffalo burger.? (My dinner fate is sealed.)

Ok, yeah, that?s cool.

?And that way you won?t have to cook tonight. Right???

Uh, well, I DO have to make myself something.

?Yeah, but you can eat salad or something?? he trails off as he heads out the door.

Yeah, I can eat another salad, I grumble to myself, just like I do every day of the year.

Honestly, I wasn?t much in the mood for salad tonight. I?d planned to grill some shrimp with lemon and pepper for J, steam some broccoli, and try out this new gluten free organic black bean spaghetti I?d picked up at Whole Foods the other day. Maybe toss it with a cumin-cilantro vinaigrette and some diced tomatoes. Maybe some chiles, too.

Ah, instead I opened the fridge, got out the lettuce and started to prepare my salad ? my dinner. I gave it a good swirl of evoo; spooned on the lemon juice; a good squirt of Braggs liquid aminos rounded out the vinaigrette. Tossed on some raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds, a small handful of toasted almonds. Topped it all with tomato cubes and dried cranberries.

As I sat down to eat, I wondered what kind of crackers or chips we had to go with the salad. Not in the mood for rice crackers. Definitely no toast. Didn?t have any kind of focaccia or other heart bread around.

Naturally I went for the sprouted corn tortillas. Heated a pan over medium high, tossed on a tortilla and let it get flavorful, ripe banana brown spots on each side. It was a bit dry and stiff when I put it on the plate and that?s when I had my ?aha? moment ? I?m having tostadas tonight!!

Onto the tostada went part of my salad. Muy sabroso!! That was a great dinner :)

Anyway, I think is going to be one of my ?go to? meals this summer. It?s fast; it?s nourishing; it?s gluten free; it?s delicious.  And I?m just imagining it with some black beans scattered on, or some ruby quinoa, maybe some diced mango. The possibilities are endless -- it?s salad :)

I?ll get to the black bean spaghetti and keep you posted.