Let’s take a trip back in time.
It’s the second semester of my freshman year of college, and a friend has invited me to her place for dinner. Yes, I went to a school where freshman had full kitchens – and were trusted with gas stoves.
I had a difficult first semester of school, so I was in no position to turn down a social invitation. As we casually made plans over AIM, the only acceptable form of collegiate communication pre-Facebook, I inquired as to the menu for that evening. I was in charge of wine (some things never change).
My friend responded that her mom had sent a nice salad recipe her way, so she thought she’d try it out. I gulped and responded positively – the beauty of the internet: your conversation partner can’t see the nervous look on your face.
spinach, roasted portobello, roasted red pepper, chickpeas, agave mustard dressing [mustard, agave, cider vinegar]
As an eighteen year old, I had never tasted a salad. My parents ate them regularly, but I had been content to spend high school evenings with a daily bowl of pasta. One city semester down, experimentation was the motto, and I had tasted many new foods and flavors, vegetables included. But salad? Leaves? This was new territory.
Comfortable in their dorm room, I chatted with my friend’s roommate while she whisked together a balsamic dressing. She set the bowl on the Ikea kitchen table, part of the wooden uniform of every NYU apartment, and as any hostess should, she offered the first spoonfuls to me. I recognized the components: grilled chicken, goat cheese, cucumbers.
mixed greens, string beans, carrots, bean sprouts, cashews, sesame oil, rice vinegar, fresh ginger
But then, there were the leaves. Coarsely chopped hearts of romaine – though coated in dressing, I could not stop imagining myself chowing on a Central Park tree branch.
My first bite was cautious, small without being obvious, I hoped. My friend and her roommate were chatty, but my mind was elsewhere. Here went nothing.
spinach, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes, cannellini beans, pine nuts, evoo
Turns out, I loved it. In fact, I had two bowls. I happily munched on that salad before I ever understood that the contents of the bowl were “good for me.” I ate simply because I liked it.
In the end, the friendship wasn’t a lasting one. But, the affair with salads? Now, that’s a different story.
Do you remember your first salad? Was it for health or enjoyment? Or both?
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I totally did not eat salads until I was around 18. Too funny.
Such a great story :D I grew up eating salads- my mom is American but I grew up in the UK and we had salad with every dinner. I don’t think I ate a cooked vegetable side dish until I started school. Nowadays, salad is common here (man, I am OLD!) but when friends came for dinner, they thought my family was really weird with our lettuce/tomatoes/homemade thousand island dressing instead of the ritish standard overcooked peas and carrots!
What a fun story about your experience with salads…up until late high school, I was the ranch dressing and carrots kid, but now, I can’t get enough veggies in! :)
I love this post! My mom served side salads with dinner most nights when I was growing up, but I didn’t begin to think of the endless possibilities of salad ingredients until college. We had a pretty decent salad bar, and thus my obsession of adding fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and cheese to salad was born. Nowadays I can’t get enough!
great salad story! I always ate salads growing up, with italian dressing, but that’s about it! now I top my salads with almost everything.
I used to be a really picky eater which mademlife difficult for my parents as I was a vegetarian then, too! luckily I’ve grown out of it and I love me huge jass salads!
I ate salad as a kid sometimes – my parent’s chef salad or regular salad without mushrooms and with cheese. But I didn’t really start liking it until college, when everything in the cafeteria tasted icky and salad was the only decent choice.
I don’t remember my first salad which I guess is a good thing! But I do remember solely eating bowls of pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese for several years through high school…haha
I’m glad you warmed up to salads. I think I’ve always been a big salad eater. But my love for them has definitely grown over the years.
I used to hate seafood when I was younger so it was always a chicken Caesar salad for me when I went out to restaurants with my family. I love salad so much!
Oh my goodness this post is hilarious because I had my first salad freshman year of college, too! But a different scenario. Also, I was always afraid of “lettuce” and salads in high school. I would call it bunny food. As I sit here, current time, eating a big old salad for dinner :D
Never heard that story from you before. Brings me back to when I first tried a salad which was also as a freshmen in college Grandma never required us to eat one since Grandpa didn’t like them. I’ve never stopped eating them since. Loved the revelation you gave us with this story.