See that salad? I just ate leftovers for breakfast. After my annual too-many potato chips session at the lake with my family, I’m craving fresh, bright, satisfyingly crunchy things. Surely I am not the only one! I really want to tell you all about Oklahoma, and how the trees shrink into broccoli florets and the dirt turns red on that familiar drive south on I-35. I want to tell you about meeting my newest cousin and how she let me hold her for over an hour (maybe I hogged her a bit). And how extra-cute Cookie is after a few days apart. She’s snuggled up under my right elbow now.
I just got the manuscript back for my cookbook, so I have a busy week of editing and drinking too much coffee ahead of me. I can finally see the finish line. I’m excited to wrap it all up and get back to hanging out with you guys in the comments and on Instagram. I’ve really been missing you. Anyway, this salad is inspired by one that I reached for at Trader Joe’s a couple of weeks ago. They call it the “Mega Crunchy Salad with a Bite.” I grabbed one of the last ones before they closed, so it wasn’t quite as crunchy as it should have been, but I recognized the potential.
Here is my version of the Trader Joe’s salad, which is not a dead ringer, but close. My salad features chopped romaine, radishes, carrots, toasty sunflower seeds, quinoa and dried cranberries. This salad is a big, colorful bowl of healthy, crunchy goodness. It packs great for lunch, if you just store the zippy cilantro-lime dressing separately. Salads are pretty much all I want to eat this time of year, so I’ll be back with more salads soon.
Watch How to Make Perfectly Fluffy Quinoa
