I will never forget, when I first came to America some colleagues from school took me to Fresh Choice. Fresh Choice has a salad bar and you get to build your own salad, you can choose the ingredients you want to put in it. At the time I wondered: Why? …and how? Sesame seeds? Boiled eggs? Carrots? Some weird looking stuff? Sunflower seeds? Pumpkin seeds? Raisins? Some more weird looking stuff? And among all these, I was happy to see some of the ingredients I was familiar with, tomatoes, cucumbers, green salad.
The dressing options were at the end of the bar. So, I kept the wondering state: What is dressing? What do I do with it? I see some white sour looking stuff, and some other creamy stuff, and then some oily fluid with things floating in it, and something pinkish, and some creamy reddish. I wanted to yell for help. Is this a test? A contest? Do they have a hidden camera? Am I supposed to know what to do with all these? It was frustrating, to say the least.
Nevertheless, I was hungry. I asked my friends several questions about how to make my salad, in hope I will understand what’s going on, but I only got one answer: “Whatever you like.” What do they mean, whatever I like? I could like them all, just not in my salad. How do I make the right salad? Isn’t there a right way to make a salad? Clearly, they did not understand this question. So, having no choice, I did what I knew and I ended up with the simplest and smallest salad at the table. Of course, at the time, I did not know that the salad was actually the main course. So, I left the restaurant hungry and still puzzled with the feeling that I was doing something wrong.
Since then, I learned a lot. Now I go to the produce section and if I don’t find exactly the sprouts and seeds and nuts I want to add to my salad today, I complain. I am used to having salads as main course and I know how to make sophisticated salads. Aside from the classic ingredients that my mom used, I add a selection of, depending on the salad, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, beans sprouts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, black sesame seeds, walnuts, pecans, shaved almonds, raisins, dried cranberries, avocado, several types of cheese, numerous types of olives, capers, several herbs, enzymes, and I wonder how I can remember all of them. It was a time when I used dressing, not anymore, I know better now, I make my own natural, just two types of lemon juice, or lime juice, and special olive oil. And they are so good!
Oh, I must go now. I am going to make a salad. Remember, I shopped at Whole Foods today! By the way they have duck and goose eggs. And sheep and goat yogurt. Oh, I love this store!
