Summer Chopped Salad

I have been having a total nightmare of a time trying to find stuff to cook. My kitchen is still paint project central, our garbage disposal has decided to give up the ghost, and all of my cookbooks are packed. Then there is the additional problem of being married to the king of meat and potato men and living in a very warm San Diego climate in a house with no AC.

I guess I’ve never managed to be healthy enough to cook regularly during the summer time when I wasn’t working way too much to do anything other than order take out. But considering that in our eight years of marriage I’ve always either worked like a crazy woman or been an utter invalid, (no middle ground for me!) that pretty much figures.

There was a fancy salad/sandwich place I used to go to once a week when I was working the temp job to reward myself for managing to not fall asleep at my desk. It was a place called Croutons (naturally) and they served everything you’d expect a fancy salad place to serve – lots of paninis, a chinese chicken salad, a bbq salad, a ceasar salad, one with walnuts and apples, etc, etc. The only one I hadn’t encountered before was one called a chopped salad. It was full of cheese and salami and garbanzo beans(!) and was crazy delicious. I craved the salad like it was served with meth dressing.

Since this salad was so stuffed with protein, I thought I might actually have a chance of serving it to Bear without too many complaints, and I was right. He really liked it and it managed to fill him up.

Chopped Salad:
1 head of romaine lettuce, torn and washed
1 can garbanzo beans, washed
1 pint of grape tomatoes (pint? that’s the little one, right? You want the little one.)
1 C grated mozzerella cheese
1/2 lb salami, sliced into chunks (have the deli person slice it thick for you) (a mild salami is best)
Homemade croutons
Baked cheddar cheese crisps

Croutons are so easy. Tear up pieces of somewhat stale bread (I used sourdough) toss with olive oil, Parmesan cheese and your choice of herbs (I used rosemary and dill) and then pop in a 325 oven until they’re crispy. It is SOOOOO worth the minor effort. It’s like the difference between a twinkie and an eclair.

Then, make the cheddar cheese crisps. These are even easier. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Then grate a bunch of cheddar cheese on top and spread around until you have a thin layer. Bake at 325 until crispy. When it cools, just crumble on top of the salad.

Throw everything else into a great big bowl and toss.

I tried to whip together a mustard vinaigrette for this, but failed miserably. I tried to just figure it out as I went, but I got crazy with the vinegar and it turned out inedible. Must try actual recipe next time.

Instead, we just used Newman’s Balsamic vinaigrette and it was completely delicious.