Crunchy Tossed Salad

The pandemic drags on. May approaches and there is no end date, no timeline, just the indefinite present tense of a crisis that refuses to resolve. The clinic is busy — pets are getting more attention than usual because their owners are home all the time, which means more noticed symptoms, more appointments, more "I think my dog is sick" calls that turn out to be "my dog is the same as always but I'm looking at him more closely because I have nothing else to do." I don't mind. The work keeps me grounded. The animals don't know about COVID. The animals don't care. They just need to be taken care of, and taking care of things is the only skill I've ever really needed.

Mother's Day is this week and it's pandemic Mother's Day, which means the kids can't go to the store to buy cards or flowers or the gas station card that Scott used to get, so they made everything from scratch. Mason made a card with a drawing of the periodic table (of course) and wrote: "Happy Mother's Day to the strongest element on the table. Love, Mason." I don't know what element I am but I'm going to assume it's something with a high melting point. Lily made a card with a horse (of course) and wrote: "HAPY MUTHERS DAY I LUV U MOM" and the spelling is creative and the love is spelled correctly and I treasure it more than anything Hallmark could produce.

Tom came over and we had a pandemic Mother's Day dinner: he grilled salmon, I made a salad, Mason made the mashed potatoes (his now, always, the tradition continues). We ate on the back deck because the weather is warm and outside is the only space that feels unlimited in a world of limitations. After dinner, Mason read me a chapter from Harry Potter (book five now — he's progressing through the series at the rate of a child who has nothing to do but read, which is exactly the rate). Lily fell asleep in the deck chair, Hank at her feet, the evening golden and warm.

I called Mom. She cried. She doesn't usually cry on the phone — Diane is a private crier — but pandemic Mother's Day broke something loose. She said, "I miss you kids." I said, "We'll see you as soon as we can." She said, "I know. It's just — the house is quiet." The house is quiet. Diane, who has spent her entire life filling quiet houses with food and activity and purpose, is in a quiet house, and the quiet is the worst part of the pandemic for a woman whose love language is "feeding people in person."

Tom had the salmon, Mason had the potatoes, and the salad was mine — which felt right, honestly, because a salad is something you can assemble out of whatever the refrigerator offers without a recipe or a plan, and that’s about the level of bandwidth I had left by the time Mother’s Day evening arrived. This Crunchy Tossed Salad is the one I come back to when I need something that feels like a real contribution to a meal but won’t demand much from me: big texture, fresh flavor, and the kind of thing that holds up on a back deck where the light is golden and nobody is in a hurry.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 0 min | Total Time: 15 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 large head romaine lettuce, chopped
1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup croutons
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the dressing. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl until emulsified. Set aside.
Prep the greens. Combine chopped romaine and iceberg lettuce in a large salad bowl. Pat dry if washed, so the dressing clings rather than pools.
Add the vegetables. Layer in cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, red onion, and shredded carrots over the greens.
Add the crunch. Scatter croutons, sunflower seeds, and toasted almonds over the top. These go on last so they stay crisp until serving.
Dress and toss. Drizzle dressing over the salad just before serving and toss gently to coat. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
Serve immediately. Transfer to a serving bowl or plate straight from the tossing bowl. Best eaten fresh — especially on a warm back deck.

Nutrition (per serving)

Crunchy Tossed Salad — The One Thing I Could Control on Pandemic Mother’s Day