It’s funny how when the weather turns crummy, most people turn to heavy stews soups and casseroles. They bust out the slow cooker and cook up a big old hunk of beef with a side of potatoes and gravy. But for me, when winter comes, I long for the easy food. Quickly tossed together salads with winter citrus based dressing so I can get back under the blanket on the couch with my lover and our little ones.  There’s nothing in this world of food I love more than a big, juicy, crispy salad covered in vegetables, cheese and avocado. Add in some seriously addictive candied nuts and I am in food heaven.

Have I ever mentioned that I lived on salads for practically five years. From high school to marriage I ate nothing but salads. Salads were my comfort food for I had exhausted my allowance of real comfort foods during the first 18 years of my life. Here I was, 20 years old, single, having lost 65 pounds and I was determined to never see that side of the scale again. So salads were my friend. I learned to make a million different salads. I became known for them. Elaine’s “Big Salad” from Seinfeld? She ain’t got nothing on me and my notorious salads.
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